NHL 17 is an upcoming ice hockey simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports. It will be the 26th installment in the NHL game series. It will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles on September 13, 2016 in North America and September 15 in Europe. An open vote took place to find the cover athlete for the game. The vote featured one athlete from each of the eight World Cup of Hockey 2016 teams. The game's cover image features Russian forward Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues.
Using the Ignite engine developed by Electronic Arts, NHL 17 features gameplay improvements in terms of artificial intelligence and physics. The game also features several game modes, including Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT), a trading card-based team building mode, the fan-favorite EA Sports Hockey League, an online co-operative play mode, and a revamped version of "Be a GM", a simulation mode where the player acts as a team's general manager, titled "Franchise Mode", which now features team owners. New modes were also added, with key additions including the World Cup of Hockey tournament mode as well as Draft Champions, a fantasy draft spin-off of HUT. A newer Creation Zone is added into the game, featuring an expansive team builder as well as an arena creator. All 27 teams from the ECHL are also playable, for the first time. The game, similar to the past two NHL titles, features presentation in the style of NHL on NBC.
Prior to the game's release, several trailers were released for it, detailing its development progress and the improvements in certain parts of the game. A public beta for the game was initiated on July 28 and lasted until August 4. It contained the HUT, EASHL, and Online Versus modes, as well as the Creation Zone. Critics who played the beta wrote generally positive reviews and noted it as a good precursor to the full game.
