It’s that time again, a new hockey video game is on the horizon. We’re just a little over a week away from NHL 21 dropping on October 16th, and ahead of its release, we wanted to take a moment to make some predictions about the Flyers’ roster.
Kyle and I have come together to give both our predictions for the rating that EA will assign them, and also what rating we would give them if we had the power. With the forwards up first, let’s start at the top, with who we believe should be the Flyers’ highest rated player in NHL 21.
Sean Couturier
Final NHL 20 rating: 88
Brad: Couturier is one of the best centers in the league, and should at the very least see a one overall bump in NHL 21. Winning the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward may be enough to push him into the 90s, but I think he falls just short. They’ve already revealed that Patrice Bergeron is a 91 — Couturier should be the same, if not higher. But he won’t be.
Prediction: 89
My rating: 91
Kyle: I couldn’t agree more with what Brad said in that last sentence. He’s right there with Bergeron but we all know he’s not getting that 91 rating. Seeing as how EA never really goes too crazy with ratings increases, especially for players in this range, I doubt he gets the bump he deserves.
Prediction: 89
My rating: 91
Claude Giroux
Final NHL 20 rating: 88
Kyle: Giroux is on the wrong side of 30, and not coming off a stellar season, but I think he’s still more than capable of having another huge year. He probably sees a decrease hence my 87 prediction. I think he’s an 89 player though, despite him being an 88 in the final roster update.
Prediction: 87
My rating: 89
Brad: Giroux had a down year production-wise, finishing fourth on the Flyers in points, and having a relatively quiet playoffs. Given that Giroux was an 89 at the start of both NHL 19 and NHL 20 — coming off of 102, and 85-point campaigns — it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to stay at the 88 he received in the final roster update, or drop even further to 87. Then again, Tyler Seguin is an 89 following his own down season. So who knows.
Prediction: 87
My rating: 87
Jakub Voracek
Final NHL 20 rating: 86
Brad: As long as they’re done classifying Voracek as a “sniper,” we’re all good here. Maybe I’m falling into the recency bias trap here with how highly I thought of his performance in the playoffs, but I think Voracek is more of an 87 than 86. The puck skills, senses, and skating categories should all be five star, with physical not that far behind.
Prediction: 86
My rating: 87
Kyle: I don’t think Voracek sees an increase here, based off his points per game number stayed relatively the same, but I do think he deserves one. His defensive game I thought improved quite a bit this year under Alain Vigneault, so a slight boost to defensive ratings I think should put him at 87.
Prediction: 86
My rating: 87
Travis Konecny
Final NHL 20 rating: 85
Kyle: I think Konecny deserves that two point increase after being the Flyers leading scorer this season. He held that lead for much of the year, and was point per game for a good portion of it as well. He probably ends up an 86, because his previous two years were so similar, but we shall see.
Prediction: 86
My rating: 87
Brad: Kyle does raise a good point here — Konecny did lead the team in points and that may very well lead to the increase that he’s seeing. I’m just unconvinced, and feel like an 85 is what he’ll have at the start. I’d go with an 86 though, with the defensive and physical categories keeping him from the 87.
Prediction: 85
My rating: 86
Kevin Hayes
Final NHL 20 rating: 82
Brad: Yeah, Hayes really can’t be an 82. Even with holding the opinion that his first year as a Flyer, while both good and extremely necessary, has been a bit overrated, he scored at a second-line level, and was one of their most important penalty killers. He’s not a low-end second liner, he’s a very good second line center.
Prediction: 84
My rating: 84
Kyle: I think we all were surprised just how good Hayes was for the Flyers. I thought his 82 rating at the beginning of NHL 20 was too low, and definitely think it’s too low now. I think they give him a boost, but just to 83.
Prediction: 83
My rating: 84
James van Riemsdyk
Final NHL 20 rating: 83
Kyle: JVR had pretty much the definition of a “meh” season. He wasn’t great, he wasn’t bad, he was just good. I think he stays exactly where he was at the end of ‘20.
Prediction: 83
My rating: 83
Brad: It’s possible that van Riemsdyk drops to an 82, but I think he should, and will, remain an 83. His defensive game was a step up from a year ago but I don’t think that translates to a higher rating.
Prediction: 83
My rating: 83
Oskar Lindblom
Final NHL 20 rating: 82
Brad: Tough to make any changes here, so I think he simply stays at 82 at launch. His play at the start of the 2019-2020 season was surely in the 85-86 range though.
Prediction: 82
My rating: 82
Kyle: As Brad said, his play at the start was easily 85-86 level. I do think that start should make him an 83, but I think EA takes the safe route and goes with 82.
Prediction: 82
My rating: 83
Nolan Patrick
Final NHL 20 rating: 81
Kyle: Patrick is obviously a tough one, not having played a NHL game in over a year. I think they give him one lower, but I think I’d keep him the same at 81, at least at launch.
Prediction: 80
My rating: 81
Brad: Yeah, another tough one. The fact that Hayes was an 82 and Patrick was an 81 at the end of this season is incredibly confusing, but nevertheless, I do think they drop his overall by one this time around.
Prediction: 80
My rating: 79
Scott Laughton
Final NHL 20 rating: 79
Brad: I think Laughton is one of the players that gets a bit lost in the ratings and stays the same. He should get moved up to an 81 though, as that is essentially a high-end third liner. Maybe even an 82.
Prediction: 79
My rating: 81
Kyle: Laughton was fantastic for the Flyers this season. I think he deserves a bump into the 80’s, and I think he gets it, but just at 80 overall. I’d put him at 81 to give him that two point bump, given how effective he was in multiple roles in 2019-20.
Prediction: 80
My rating: 81
Joel Farabee
End of NHL 20 rating: 78
Kyle: Farabee showed much promise in his rookie year, and I think enough to get him to the 80 mark at launch. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them hold off on that at launch, but the alternative wouldn’t surprise me either.
Prediction: 80
My rating: 80
Brad: Like Kyle, I think Farabee should be an 80 in the initial ratings. They tend to be somewhat conservative when it comes to rating younger players, so I’m going with 79. Either way, still ready for the third line when you hop into franchise mode.
Prediction: 79
My rating: 80
Michael Raffl
Final NHL 20 rating: 79
Brad: Raffl is and has been a really good depth forward for the Flyers for a number of years now, and if he hadn’t spent a significant amount of time on the team’s fourth line I’d be inclined to give him an 80. But, he did, so I’ll stick with the 79. That’s such a great number.
Prediction: 79
My rating: 79
Kyle: Could Raffl get the raise to 80? Maybe, but it wouldn’t shock me to see them keep him at 79. While this season was better than the one before, it’s not too far off from his career norms.
Prediction: 79
My rating: 79
Tyler Pitlick
Final NHL 20 rating: 79
Kyle: I know my rating might seem hypocritical, given what I just said about Raffl, but I think Pitlick should be just that one point above. I don’t think he will get an increase, but I would give him one.
Prediction: 79
My rating: 80
Brad: Opposite of Kyle, if it were up to me I would actually drop Pitlick one overall to 78. If Raffl and Farabee get 79s, Pitlick should be one below in my opinion. Solid third liner, strong fourth liner territory.
Prediction: 79
My rating: 78
Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Final NHL 20 rating: 72
Brad: Here comes what should be a big boost. It’s possible that they give Aube-Kubel a 75 to start the year, as they like to do with “unproven” NHLers, but it’d be nice for them to go with the 78. Just to repeat what I said for Pitlick above, that’d put him in the solid third liner, strong fourth liner territory. I highly doubt he gets the 80 but I have him right there with Raffl, right on the edge of 79-80. For my own rating, I’ll push him over.
Prediction: 78
My rating: 80
Kyle: NAK was amazing for the Flyers this season, getting himself into the lineup and forcing AV to keep him there. It’s tough predicting how much love they’ll give guys like this, but I think he gets to 78.
Prediction: 78
My rating: 80
Derek Grant
Final NHL 20 rating: 78
Kyle: Grant is one of those guys I can see getting a small boost because of an increase in points this season, but I wouldn’t do it.
Prediction: 79
My rating: 77
Brad: He probably stays the same, or as Kyle said, may even get the increase because of the points. I just wouldn’t put him with Raffl, Pitlick, and Aube-Kubel though. Ideally there would be more of a ratings spread but I can really only drop him by one overall point. A 76 would be putting him too close to “shouldn’t be in the league” territory.
Prediction: 78
My rating: 77
Nate Thompson
Final NHL 20 rating: 77
Brad: Speaking of a 76 rating … yeah, that’s what I’ve got here. Firmly in that 4th line center/13th forward spot.
Prediction: 76
My rating: 76
Kyle: Knowing how this game can be with ratings he probably stays at 77 honestly, but I do think they bump him down one at least.
Prediction: 76
My rating: 75
Morgan Frost and Connor Bunnaman were left off of our ratings due to not being on the Flyers’ roster at the time of EA’s final roster update on the 30th of March. They’ll likely both be in the 75-77 range at launch if history is to be trusted. But, that’s all for the forwards! Tomorrow we’ll shift our sights to the defensemen and goaltenders.
