Fresh off the ice from practice, Kingston Frontenacs players Cal Uens and Cedrick Guindon found a new way to blow off steam — by testing out the newly-released EA Sports NHL 25 video game, featuring none other than their own team.
For many fans, the yearly release of the NHL video game is highly anticipated. But for the players, it has a special meaning. It’s not every day you get to see yourself as a playable character in one of the world’s top hockey video games.
“I gotta score with myself here,” Guindon said, excited to see how his virtual counterpart performed.
Fellow teammate Vann Williamson remembered the first time he saw himself in the game.
“I remember I played with our team and used my guy,” Williamson said. “It was pretty… it was pretty cool, pretty surreal.”
Quinton Burns shared a similar sentiment: “My first year here was pretty cool. Buddy buddies sent me pictures of me in the game.”
Of course, one of the first things the players do is check their virtual ratings. For reference, Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid — arguably the best player in the NHL — has a 97 overall rating. So, how did the Frontenacs stack up?
“Maybe like a 65?” guessed Burns.
“I mean, realistically, probably like five,” Guindon joked before seeing his rating. “But I know how the game works, so I’d say probably, uh, 57. Oh, I’m 67. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, well, I’ll take that any day.”
“Hope and 60 at least… 61? Oh, I’ll take that,” Mason Vaccari said upon seeing his score.
“Fifty-six, maybe. No, you are right, 56. Yeah, yeah, yeah. What a number,” Uens added.
Ethan Miedema was equally curious: “Did I hit the 60 mark? Hopefully 60, 60, 63. Yeah. Nice.”
In terms of realism, Uens said the game has come a long way.
“A lot more realistic,” he said. “I remember playing when I was real young. Like when you touched a guy, you’d send him flying through the boards, and now you can actually fight off a check.”
After an intense round of virtual hockey, Guindon was clearly the victor, scoring a 7-2 win over Uens.
“Yeah, I scored. I scored myself,” Guindon said with a grin.
Uens, with a touch of sarcasm, added, “That was fun…”
Safe to say, the Frontenacs have given NHL 25 their seal of approval — though some may have enjoyed it more than others.