- EA Sports released the full forward ratings for NHL 27 on Tuesday
- Nikita Kucherov leads all right wings at 97, a third straight year at No. 1
- Read below for the top 10 at both wing spots and how thin left wing looks
EA Sports put out the rest of its forward ratings for NHL 27 on Tuesday, and the two wing spots belong to Nikita Kucherov and Kirill Kaprizov.
Kucherov checks in at a 97 overall, the best mark of any right winger in the game. That makes three years running for the Lightning star, who sat at 96 in NHL 26 and 95 in NHL 25.
Here are the graphics EA dropped Tuesday morning:
David Pastrnak lands second among right wings at 95, followed by Mikko Rantanen at 94. Mitch Marner and William Nylander tie for fourth at 93, with Sam Reinhart and Clayton Keller at 91, Cole Caufield and Mark Stone at 90, and Lucas Raymond closing the top 10 at 89.
Nobody is going to argue Kucherov’s spot after the season he had. The 33-year-old scored 44 goals and handed out 86 assists for 130 points, took home the Hart Trophy as MVP, and finished behind only Connor McDavid in the Art Ross race. We wrote earlier this month that NHL Network had him as a lock to stay No. 1 among wingers, and EA came to the same place.
Take a look at the year that got him there:
Left wing is where things get interesting. Kaprizov holds the top spot for a second straight year at 94, the exact same number he carried in NHL 26 after putting up 89 points in 78 games for Minnesota.
- 1. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild: 94
- 2. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars: 92
- 3. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets: 92
- 4. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild: 91
- 5. Artemi Panarin, Los Angeles Kings: 91
- 6. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers: 90
- 7. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning: 90
- 8. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning: 90
- 9. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils: 89
- 10. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators: 89
Line that up against the other two positions and the gap jumps out. A 94 makes Kaprizov the best left winger in the game, but the same number would only tie him for third among right wings and seventh at center. He ends up tied for 12th among all forwards in NHL 27.
Center is still the loaded spot, and McDavid sits above everyone at 99 after becoming the first player in EA Sports NHL history to hit the number on Monday. Nathan MacKinnon follows at 97 and Leon Draisaitl at 96.
Gamers can start digging through the rest of the NHL 27 ratings database now. Deluxe edition buyers get early access on Sept. 4, and the standard edition arrives Sept. 11.
