The official NHL® 18 Player Ratings are about to be unveiled, but before we roll them out we wanted to discuss the new player overall rating changes.

As a whole, player overalls will be lower and more spread out than they have been in previous years. There are a few reasons for this change happening.

First, it spreads out the talent from first liners to fourth liners to improve Franchise Mode logic. This means that there is a more defined gap between a player’s value in Franchise Mode and will affect any player transaction from trades to waivers.

Since talent is more spread out throughout the league, it also allows the superstars like Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby to be even more valuable to have on your team. The top stars provide you with an advantage, so you will want to do your best to have a superstar player on your team.

Finally, top prospects like Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier will be ready to step into the NHL straight out of the NHL® Entry Draft. This will allow for more authentic drafting as generally the top picks out of every NHL® Entry Draft class are able to step in and make an impact in the NHL.

Below is a general guide to how veteran NHL players fit in with their overall in NHL® 18. There will be some crossover as there are players in real-life who find themselves right in between a second line forward and third line scoring forward role:

Forwards:

First Line Forward = 85 OVR - 99 OVR

Second Line Forward = 82 OVR - 85 OVR

Third Line Scoring Forward = 80 OVR - 82 OVR

Third Line Checking Forward = 78 OVR - 80 OVR

Fourth Line Forward = 75 OVR - 78 OVR

Defensemen:

Top 2 Defenseman = 87 OVR - 99 OVR

Top 4 Defenseman = 81 OVR - 87 OVR

Top 6 Defenseman = 78 OVR - 81 OVR

Top 8 Defenseman = 75 OVR - 78 OVR

Goaltenders:

Elite Goaltender = 87 OVR - 99 OVR

Starting Goaltender = 82 OVR - 87 OVR

Backup Goaltender = 75 OVR - 82 OVR

Stay tuned for our ratings reveals!

Pre-order NHL® 18

EA SPORTS NHL® 18 delivers the creativity of today's young NHL with new Creative Attack controls and the first-ever Defensive Skill Stick. Play the fast-paced, arcade-inspired 3-on-3 EA SPORTS™ NHL® THREES mode, or reshape the league entirely with the new Expansion Draft and your own custom 32nd NHL team. Do it all with the most co-op and competitive multiplayer options ever delivered in an EA SPORTS NHL game.

NHL® 18 is available worldwide on September 15th.