EA Sports’ NHL 12 Legends Choose Video Game Novelty Over A Scoring Hero
EA Sports finished announcing their legends today for NHL12. Mario Lemieux, Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Chris Chelios, Ray Bourque, Jeremy Roenick, Borje Salming, Patrick Roy and Steve Yzerman. You can’t deny that these players are absolute legends of the ga-
Wait a second. Is this Sesame Street? Does one of these things not belong here? One of these things JUST DOESN’T BELONG. Oh, I know. Jeremy Roenick. He stands out like his own broken nose.
You can’t argue that any of the others are legends, though seeing recently-retired Chris Chelios up there’s a bit odd (I wonder if they’ll give him the option to wear a Thrashers jersey). I have absolutely no beef with anyone else listed, but Roenick is notable for being a member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame, and that overplayed scene in Swingers involving something something something Gretzky head bleed. He’s also notable for being an absolute beast in EA Sports’ classic game NHL’94, and making IGN’s list of the top 10 video game athletes of all time.
CBS Sports suggests that Bobby Orr would have been a nice addition. Sure, but I’m sure that there’s someone that everyone in St. Louis, and most everyone in Dallas is wondering why he wasn’t included – Brett Hull. JR’s got a video game record. Let’s see what Hullie has:
- 3rd all time in goals (741)
- 21st in points (1391)
- Winner of the Lady Byng, Hart, and Lester B. Pearson awards
- Eight time all-star
- Cracked 50 goals in 50 games twice, joining Wayne Gretzky as the only two players to do it more than once
- 4th all time with 33 hat tricks
- All-time NHL powerplay playoff goal leader with 38
- Scored 70 goals three seasons in a row
- Scored 86 goals in 1990-1991; only Gretzky’s scored more
- Won two Stanley Cups
- Inducted in 2009 to the HOCKEY Hall of Fame.
People are always going on about “hockey bias.” Canadian bias, anti-Southern bias, etc. How about this being an example of some Original Six bias. The only guys here not on Original Six teams are Lemieux and Gretzky, and that’s because they’re indisputably considered two of the greatest hockey players to ever play the sport. You know who else is mentioned along with them? Brett Hull. But, since Hull played the majority of his career – and played his best seasons with – the St. Louis Blues, he gets no love.
Come on, EA. Would it kill you to think outside the box, include a market with over 40 years of hockey history, and a market that had 41 sell-outs to their name last year as part of your Legends feature?
Just for that, I’m ONLY playing Gretz as a Blue (but never against Steve Yzerman, because we all know how well that worked).
