Players
Positions, the ratings you see, how much you know about other teams' players, and how players differ on the ice.
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Positions
Skaters are centers (C), left wings (LW), right wings (RW) or defensemen (D); then there are the goalies (G). Each player also shoots left or right.
Centers take most faceoffs and cover a lot of ice at both ends. Wings work along the boards and go to the net. Defensemen hold the blue line, move the puck out of their own zone and protect the front of their net.
Ratings
A player's ability is shown as rating groups from 0 to 100, where 50 is an average professional.
Skaters have “Skating”, “Strength”, “Endurance”, “Shooting”, “Passing”, “Puck control”, “Faceoffs”, “Hockey sense”, “Defense” and “Checking”.
Goalies have “Reflexes”, “Positioning”, “Glove”, “Blocker”, “Low shots”, “Rebound control”, “Reading the play”, “Mobility”, “Puck handling” and “Stamina”.
The overall rating sums a player up for his position: faceoffs count more for a center, defense and strength more for a defenseman, and for a goalie his reflexes and positioning count most.
Your players and everyone else's
You see your own players' ratings exactly. For players on other teams and free agents you see estimates, rounded to the nearest 10, and never their salaries.
So two players who both show 70 can be some way apart. What they do in games, and their statistics, tell you more.
Every player plays his own way
Ratings say how good a player is, not how he plays. Two players with the same numbers can look nothing alike on the ice: one shoots at every chance, another looks for the pass; one carries the puck into the zone, another chips it in and chases; some throw their bodies around, others play it safe.
You won't find a player's style on his card. You learn it the way scouts do: by watching games and reading the statistics. Shots, hits, blocked shots, giveaways and zone entries show who does what.
Age, birthdays and retirement
Every player has a birthday in the game's calendar and turns a year older on it each season.
From his early thirties a player may decide to stop when his contract ends, and the chance grows with every year; nobody plays on past 40. Retirements are announced in week 8, so you know before the season ends, and the player plays out the season.
Questions and answers
An average professional in the game's world. Higher is better, and the colors go from red for weak through amber and green to light blue for excellent.
They are estimates, rounded to the nearest 10. Only your own players' ratings are exact.
The overall rating is a summary. A player may fit his role better than his overall says, play a style that suits his line, or simply be in a good run of games. Game ratings and statistics show how he really plays.