EA NHL 27 Dev Confirms Highly Requested Feature Is in Development
EA Sports NHL 27 officially entered early access on Friday, giving players their first opportunity to jump into this year's game ahead of its worldwide release.
Alongside the early access launch, EA Sports held an extensive NHL 27 developer Q&A addressing some of the biggest questions and feedback from the community. Developers discussed Connected Franchise, gameplay, presentation, Hockey Ultimate Team, World of CHEL and even the possibility of the series returning to PC.
However, one of the biggest reveals involved a highly requested feature missing from Connected Franchise at launch.
MORE: NHL 27 Review: Is It Worth Buying This Year?
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Fantasy Draft Is Being Developed for NHL 27
Fantasy Draft has emerged as one of the biggest requests surrounding Connected Franchise, and EA confirmed that work on the feature is already underway.
Senior game designer Gurn Sumal explained that the development team is working through the early stages of bringing Fantasy Draft to the mode.
"We're currently in the implementation of designing it, prototyping it out and getting it out there one day," Sumal said.
Later in the Q&A, senior game design director Mike Engelhardt identified Fantasy Draft as one of the requests sitting near the top of the community feedback portal.
"Our goal is to get it in as part of live within NHL 27," Engelhardt said.
EA acknowledged that Fantasy Draft could also help create more balance at the beginning of Connected Franchise leagues, where team strength can vary depending on which NHL clubs users select.
The comments don't guarantee Fantasy Draft will ultimately arrive in NHL 27, but they confirm EA is actively working on the feature with the goal of introducing it during the game's live cycle.
EA Addresses PC Return and Gameplay Changes
Fantasy Draft wasn't the only interesting topic addressed by the developers.
NHL 27 isn't available on PC, but EA said bringing the franchise back to the platform is "absolutely on our radar." Developers explained that a PC release would need to meet a high quality standard, including proper widescreen and resolution support along with mouse and keyboard functionality.
EA also confirmed several notable gameplay changes:
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The L2/LT skating exploit has been nerfed, causing players to lose speed more quickly while using it.
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Poke checks and stick-on-stick contact have been improved.
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Body checking has been tuned to better account for player size and speed.
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Goalies are more reactive, particularly on higher difficulties.
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Repeatedly relying on the same scoring methods should be less effective.
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AI teammates have improved awareness and can react better to situations such as dump-and-chase plays, screens and forechecking.
The new 32-team playbook system also gives every NHL club a different positional setup based on real-world data, while contextual strategy shifts allow AI-controlled teams to change their approach based on the game situation.
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NHL 27 Presentation, CHEL and HUT Updates
EA described NHL 27's presentation overhaul as its most significant in at least a decade. A new Orchestrator system allows players, coaches and crowds to react in real time rather than relying as heavily on predetermined cutscenes.
Authentic Jumbotron content from roughly 23 to 24 NHL teams is also expected in the worldwide launch update, joining authentic goal songs, improved goal horns and new crowd reactions.
World of CHEL is receiving rebalanced X-Factor costs, reduced Ability Points early in the year, faster recovery after hits and stronger penalties for extreme height and weight builds.
Hockey Ultimate Team players will have immediate access to all 32 NHL team playbooks without acquiring individual cards. EA is also streamlining collectibles and sets, adding skippable line-combination animations and introducing coaches that can provide lineup boosts.
NHL 27 Could Keep Evolving After Launch
The Q&A made it clear that EA plans to continue using community feedback to shape NHL 27 and future games.
Fantasy Draft is perhaps the best example. It's not available for early access and isn't guaranteed to arrive, but with development already underway and EA publicly stating its goal of adding the feature during NHL 27's live cycle, Connected Franchise players now have a significant potential addition to watch for after launch.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports Video Games section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
