Though it comes as little surprise to longtime fans of the franchise, EA Sports' early access release of NHL 27 over the weekend came with a brutal reception. From the heavy usage of generative AI , to the abundance of glitches , the lack of attention to detail , and the absence of anything truly new or exciting – it has left fans understandably upset and underwhelmed.
However, one of the biggest issues fans have had are the absolutely diabolical face scans of players. As you can imagine, the reigning Stanley Cup Champions were not spared of the hilarity. Though some of the Carolina Hurricanes players were modeled decently enough, others were certainly not so lucky…
Here they are, from best to worst, including notes on each of them.
Taylor Hall :The quality of Taylor Hall's face scan actually surprised me. I had figured that this one would fall by the wayside, like many below which we will get into, but this one was exceptionally accurate.
Jaccob Slavin :This one, on the other hand, did not surprise me. The 'Next Generation Player Faces' did not come along until NHL 25, and despite that, previous installments actually got very close in accuracy for the Hurricanes' alternate captain. Well done.
Sebastian Aho :Okay, this is where things are slowly taking a turn in the direction of 'what the h-e double hockey sticks were they thinking', but we do keep some accuracy. Of the three for this ranking, I think Aho's is the closest to the real thing.
Seth Jarvis :This one was very close to dropping to B, but there were some aspects that saved its bacon – namely hair, eyebrows, and facial hair. (…Do eyebrows count as facial hair?)
K'Andre Miller:Overall, it's close enough. However, I will say that I don't quite know what they were thinking with the eyebrow slit on the right side – I do not recall Miller ever actually going with that style (or at least not in recent memory).
Nikolaj Ehlers :Ehlers and Jarvis really could be interchangeable – both being fringe A and B. I would rank Ehlers as the most accurate of this grouping, though it is still clear that the face model looks…off.
Jordan Staal :The 2026 Conn Smythe winner looks…okay enough. It definitely could have been better, but then again, it really could have been worse.
Alexander Nikishin :I can see the vision – I can understand what they were going for…but for a face model of a highly physical defenseman, this one really just failed to hit.
Jackson Blake :If you handed me a photo of this one, and asked me which Hurricanes player it was, I would be able to tell you…but that still doesn't say much.
Jalen Chatfield :Not sure if the Hurricanes' top-line speed-demon of a defenseman, or a character from Assassin's Creed IV…
Logan Stankoven :If I squint really hard, I can see Stankoven…but if my eyes are wide open – as they should be when playing a fast-paced sports video game – he just looks like some random character I fultoned back to Mother Base last week in Metal Gear Solid V.
Shayne Gostisbehere :This…isn't the worst of the three face scans, but…it isn't great, either.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi :I know he was scratched for half of last season, but we still remember what he looks like! And this isn't it!
Andrei Svechnikov :…Huh?! That's…that's not Svechnikov, guys…I don't know who that is, but it isn't Svech.
Mark Jankowski :They got the hairstyle right, but…literally nothing else.
Brandon Bussi :They didn't even get the hairstyle right, I don't understand what they were thinking here.
Sean Walker :Did one of the game devs just step in for Walker's face scan, because I do not see a lick of resemblance to Walker here.
Jordan Martinook :The stuff of nightmares.
William Carrier :The man has won the Stanley Cup twice, yet gets such disrespect.
Eric Robinson :Nah, that's just young Martin Necas .
Nicolas Deslauriers :Come on, EA – we have the technology to at least make this remotely accurate…
Pyotr Kochetkov :They gave Kochetkov the Reddit mod build – what has this world come to.
Credit: NHL 27 images captured by The Canes Stats Brand via X
Also Read: What Does Cale Makar's New Contract Mean For Hurricanes RFA Alexander Nikishin?
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