Strategy Guide - Guide for NHL 2001
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TABLE OF CONTENTS -INTRODUCTION -CONTROLS -RULES -DEFENSE -OFFENSE -TEAMS -SECRETS INTRODUCTION The NHL franchise has become a staple of many a college dorm room challenge. What gamer among us has not participated in an after school grudge match or late night session of single season play? Established on the Sega Genesis as the hockey game, EA Sports' excellent franchise has grown steadily since its first incarnation. For 2001, NHL has been taken to the next level on the Playstation 2 with realistic player models, lightning-quick gameplay and updated teams and rosters. CONTROLS Offense X: Pass/face off SQUARE: Shoot TRIANGLE: Deke CIRCLE: Speed burst L2: Dump puck L1/R1: Spin left/right R2: Line change Defense X: Change player CIRCLE: Speed burst/body check SQUARE: Poke check/block shot TRIANGLE: Big hit L2: Last man back R2: Line change RULES The basic rules of hockey are explained below. They can be toggled on and off in the Game Settings menu to make for a more wide-open contest. If you want to fully simulate the NHL experience, set them all to on. Face-offs Each stoppage of play (penalties, violations, the end of periods) requires a face- off to start again. The ref will skate the center of the face-off circle and drop a puck between two opposing players. Use the analog stick and pass button to win the face-off to a teammate. Offsides You cannot cross your opponents’ blue line unless you--or a teammate who has already crossed—is in possession of the puck. If you do, you’ll be offsides the second the biscuit crosses the line. Likewise, passing to a teammate who is across the line will result in offsides. Luckily, the computer-controlled players in NHL 2001 are remarkably good about staying on. So are your opponents. They will also sometimes hold you at the line to force offsides. The best way to avoid this call is by passing to the player closest to the blue line, then taking him across before passing again. Note: It goes both ways! Don’t pass back out of the zone, because as soon as the puck crosses the line the other way, you’ll be whistled. When offsides is called, the face-off will occur between the center and blue line. Icing If you send the puck from half-ice or further, and it crosses the goal line, you have iced the puck. That doesn’t mean the whistle will automatically sound. If you touch the puck before your opposition, it’s all wine and roses. If they touch up first, there will be a face-off in your zone. All bets are off when you are a short- handed team. Ice to your heart’s content. Two-line pass If the puck crosses two lines--and is received by a player who was across the second line before the puck--then a two-line pass is whistled. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Penalties Whoops! Did I do that? Violations during play are punished by sending a player off the ice for a specific amount of time relative to his crime. The player will then sit in the penalty box until his time runs out or the opposing team scores. The team who has a player advantage is said to be on a power-play, while the team minus a player is short-handed. Common hockey violations are listed below. Hooking: Minor—2 minutes Using your stick to hold a player or bring him to the ice. Hooking usually occurs when a player who has been beaten reaches out with his stick to slow his opponent’s progress. Excessive use of the poke-check button will result in hooking calls. Cross Checking: Minor—2 minutes Checking any player from behind. You may body check from the front and side, but hits from behind will result in two minutes in the clink. Interference: Minor—2 minutes Impeding the goaltender’s ability to play a puck. This includes knocking down a goalie or otherwise blocking him in the crease. Roughing: Minor—2 minutes Excessive use of force. Too much checking or checking away from the play will result in roughing calls. Ease up, there, cowboy! Elbowing: Minor—2 minutes Applying one’s elbow to an opponent’s face or head. Usually occurs when checking. Tripping: Minor—2 minutes Using the stick or your leg to trip an opponent. Fighting: Major—5 minutes Throwing down. Tussling. Dropping the gloves. Scrapping. Waging war. Get in a fight, go to the box. Nobody cares who started it. If the gloves come off, there’s gonna be some pain. You better have won, too, otherwise you’ll have five minutes to think about what a wuss you are. Game Misconduct: Leave the game Results in disqualification from competition. This results from getting a little too zealous in starting fights and such. Head to the showers, punk. Penalty Shot: This occurs when a player is on his way to the goal (theoretically to score) and is flagrantly obstructed from doing so. The player then gets one shot to beat the goalie. Skate from mid-ice and try to deke him silly. DEFENSE Whenever the puck is controlled by the opposition, everyone on your team switches to defense. There are always two defenders on the ice, regardless of the penalty situation, by in effect everyone on the team contributes on both sides of the puck. Use the following tips to strengthen your D and get the puck back: Don’t take defenders out of position Taking a defender consistently past the blue line will ruin the whole scheme. There are certain opportunities you will not want to pass up (i.e. a defender intercepting a puck with no one in front of him), but these are the exceptions, not the rule. Don’t pass in front of your own goal Unless you feel like getting scored on repeatedly. This is the equivalent of handing out assists to your opposition. When in doubt, clear the puck If things are getting too intense in front of your net, dump the puck down ice. This will give your defense a chance to regroup and take the pressure ofgf of your goaltender. Don’t bunch up on the puck handler This just results in other players being wide open elsewhere on the ice. Instead of flocking to the puck, hang behind the defender guarding the player with the biscuit. This way, he will put immediate pressure on the puck, and you can concentrate on shutting down any pass or shot he attempts. Crowd the middle The more bodies you can get in front of the goaltender, the more difficult it will be to get a shot through. If opponents cross in front of the net, put them on the ice with a stiff check. A player can't score if he's flat on his back. Poke-checking Instead of always body checking to get the puck, use the square button to poke check the puck away. Either you'll take immediate possession or knock the puck loose for someone else to scoop up. The Big Hit Use the Big Hit to put an exclamation point on a body check. Not only will this take the skater off his feet, you will give a shot to your team's momentum. Other things that boost momentum are: big shots, big saves and lots of puck possession. Defending the odd-man rush If you are outnumbered as the offense enters your zone, they are on an odd-man rush. Always skate to the player with the puck to force the issue. Either he'll put up a weak shot or force a pass. If he does get a shot off, most of your squad will make it back by that time to help out. Short handed defense While the opposition is on the power play, defensive discipline is extra valuable. Make sure you clog the area in front of the goal and knock down anyone who enters this sacred realm. Don't lunge at every pass. Just attempt to stay generally in front of the play as it's happening. If you go aggressively at the puck, you could miss, opening up a clear path to the goal. Clear the puck whenever you get it, or look for an outlet pass for a counterattack. There is no penalty for icing when shorthanded. OFFENSE Offense is where the magic happens, and it occurs every time a player on your team is in control of the puck. The main objective when on offense is to push the puck down-ice and, ultimately, score. There are certain things to keep in mind on offense that will help you put the biscuit in the basket. Here they are. Spread out and keep the puck moving The more you work the puck around, the more ice the enemy will have to cover. Successfully stretching the ice will open up passing lanes, and allow your other players to skate through open zones, ripe for a pass. As long as you control the puck, you are dictating the action on the ice. Don’t be afraid to pass back If you run into a wall of defenders, be wise and pass it back. You can always regroup while maintaining control. If you're really being hounded, pass it back to the defense and set something up behind your goal. Aim your shots Your shooting should always be set to "Manual" on the uniform select screen. This will allow you to place your shots during gameplay. That way, if you notice the goalie is leaning right, you can waste him by shooting left. If he is crouching or on the ice after being bowled over by a hard shot, flick one over him to capitalize. By aiming your shots, you will double the percentage of goals you score. The one-timer is king In NHL 2001, there is no better way to score consistently than by using the one- timer. To do this, take the puck over the blue line under control. Look for a wing flanking you to the right or left. As you approach the goal, quickly pass it across the mouth of the goal to the waiting attacker. Before the puck reaches the other player, aim and shoot. When the puck reaches his stick, he will blast a shot on goal. If you can position the shot, all the better, although a lot of times you will not have to. The keeper has to cover a lot of ice in a short time, and he may not get over. Wait for the good shot You may not always want to charge down the ice and shoot. Take a look around. Is there a wing screaming down the ice that you can dump it off to? Is there a forward camping out near the goal? Has the goalie thoroughly covered your angle? The important thing is quality of chances, not number of shots. If you can wait a couple seconds for something better to develop, do it. Maybe this means dumping the puck in the corner or passing back momentarily. Maybe it just means making that extra pass in the zone to set up a one-timer. The more quality, the more quantity of goals you'll end up with. Use screens A screen happens any time you get a body between you and the goaltender. If the goalie can't see you shot, he'll have a hard time stopping it. Be sure not to hit the player you're using as a screen, and don't camp out waiting for screens to happen. Use them when they're there, otherwise look for something else. Criss-cross in front of the goal When skating down the ice, often another skater on your team will cut in front of you. Skate past him in a criss-cross, then dump the puck back to him for a one-timer opportunity. This is especially effective with speedy wings. Wrap-around If you've chased down an iced puck or are simply seeking solace behind the opponent's net, you have an opportunity to score a wrap-around goal. As you head out from behind the net, sharply turn in front of the goal and seek to put the puck past the goalie on the far side. Hopefully, he's slow to adjust to this sudden cut, and you can bury the puck in the net. Set up in the zone If you can consistently set up your offense in your opponent's zone, you will score a lot of goals. The idea is to keep your center and both wings in a semi-crcle in front of the goal. The two defenders will camp out near the blue line. Keep the puck moving quickly with sharp passes that avoid lunging defensemen. This requires discipline and good timing. Move the puck to one of the wings flanking the goal, then work in a loose circle. Pass back to the defender, over to the other, then down to the other forward. Pass across to the center for a one-timer. Then, collect the rebound and try anew. This much puck movement (as long as it's controlled) will destroy your opposition. Make them pay for overpursuit. Dump the puck in Another good option is to use the dump-in (L2) to start your offense. As you cross the blue line, heave the puck into the corner, then retrieve it with a crashing wing. Work the offense from behind the opposing goal, looking for an open center or crashing forwards to pass to for one-time shots. This is a bit harder to do, as you're such a stationary target near the boards. Break-away scoring The deke button was designed to wig out defenders as well as goalies. When faced with a breakaway situation (you v. the goalie), use the deke button to attempt to fake him out, then flick a shot past him. On the breakaway, it is easier to score with a quick wrister than to try to bully the puck by the netminder with a big, bad slap shot. If the deke isn't working, you can try to drag the goalie across. Head down the ice toward one side of the goal, then right before you reach the crease, make a hard turn and bury the puck past the goalie in the direction you're headed. Hopefully, he will not have made the adjustment and you'll score. Otherwise, you'll probably leave a pretty juicy rebound. Odd-man rushes Odd-man rushes are also breakaways of sorts. An odd-man rush occurs whenever your offensive players heading down-ice outnumber the opposing team's defenders. These are prime scoring opportunities, as the keeper has to try to cover all angles by himself. On a two-on-one situation, the defender will commit to the player with the puck. Draw the defender as far away from the goal as possible, then quickly flick the puck over the accompanying player for an easy one-timer. In three-on-one situations, you can make two passes or use the third player simply to confuse the goalie. Power play scoring The best strategy during a power play is to try to set up your offense in the opposing zone as discussed above in "Set up in the zone." Since the D is down a player, you should have a lot more room to pass. In addition, the keeper will have more goal to cover. Look for the open man and rifle it at every opportunity. Watch out for defenders dumping the puck out. This will result in a lot of wasted time, as you will have to skate to your end to collect the puck. If a defender gets a hold of the puck, use the SQUARE button to block any clear attempts he may make, or simply poke check the puck away from him. Short-handed There are two strategies while playing short-handed: fun and boring. The boring way is to clear the puck each time you get it. This will make the power play team waste a lot of time chasing down the puck. Don't worry about icing: it cannot be called on a short-handed team. The fun way is to look for openings to counter-attack. Since the opposition is intent on scoring, they will load up your zone with all their players. This will allow you to exploit them, as their defense is not back. Use a pass up the middle to crack the defense, then take it forward on a breakaway, or look to pass to another streaking wing. TEAMS EASTERN CONFERENCE ATLANTIC NEW JERSEY DEVILS Scoring:92 Defense:84 Checking:90 Goaltending:85 Overall:88 Three Stars: 1.Martin Brodeur 2.Scott Stevens 3.Patrik Elias ROSTERS Number Player Position 25 Jason Arnott C 18 Sergei Brylin C 3 Ken Daneyko D 26 Patrik Elias L 23 Scott Gomez C 16 Bobby Holik L 15 Steve Kelly C 22 Claude Lemieux R 11 John Madden L 21 Randy McKay R 33 Jim McKenzie L 89 Alexander Mogilny R 12 Sergei Nemchinov C 27 Scott Niedermayer D 20 Jay Pandolfo L 28 Brian Rafalski D 4 Scott Stevens D 24 Turner Stevenson R 2 Ken Sutton D 17 Petr Sykora C 5 Colin White D 30 Martin Brodeur G 31 Chris Terreri G NY ISLANDERS Scoring:72 Defense:73 Checking:79 Goaltending:79 Overall:74 Three Stars: 1.Kenny Jonsson 2.Roman Hamrlik 3.Wade Flaherty ROSTERS Number Player Position 40 Jesse Belanger C 32 Mathieu Biron D 58 Artis Brismanis D 33 Eric Cairns D 3 Zdeno Chara D 5 Vladimir Chebaturkin D 18 Tim Connolly C 21 Mariusz Czerkawski R 29 Johan Davidsson C 16 Chris Ferraro R 6 Ray Giroux D 26 Kevin Haller D 23 Roman Hamrlik D 15 Brad Isbister R 24 Kenny Jonsson D 36 Evgeny Korolev D 28 Jason Krog C 22 Oleg Kvasha L 13 Claude Lapointe C 44 Mark Lawrence R 10 Mats Lindgren C 42 Petr Mika R 11 Bill Muckalt R 37 Dmitri Nabakov C 49 Vladimir Drszagh R 4 Mark Parrish R 39 Scott Pearson L 14 Robert Petrovicky C 20 Jamie Rivers D 38 Dave Scatchard C 7 Ray Schultz D 9 Mike Stapleton C 46 Jeff Toms L 8 Steve Webb R 30 Wade Flaherty G 35 Steve Valiquette G 34 John Vanbiesbrouck G NY RANGERS Scoring:80 Defense:87 Checking:87 Goaltending:77 Overall:81 Three Stars: 1.Mike Richter 2.Brian Leetch 3.Mark Messier ROSTER Number Player Position 3 Derek Armstrong C 12 Alexander Daigle C 16 Rob DiMaio R 25 Jason Doig D 20 Radek Dvorak R 14 Theo Fleury R 39 Daniel Goneau L 9 Adam Graves L 4 Kevin Hatcher D 27 Jan Klavac L 7 Kim Johnsson D 13 Valeri Kamensky L 37 Chris Kenady R 28 Eric Lacroix L 19 Darren Langdon L 2 Brian Leetch D 24 Sylvain Lefebvre D 15 John MacLean R 38 Vladimir Malakhov D 6 Manny Malhotra C 11 Mark Messier C 93 Petr Nedved C 10 Chris O'Sullivan D 47 Rich Pilon D 17 Dave Purinton R 5 Stephane Quintal D 26 Tim Taylor C 36 Alexei Vasiliev D 8 Johan Whitehall L 18 Mike York C 33 Milan Hnilicka G 30 Kirk McLean G 35 Mike Richter G PHILADEPHIA FLYERS Scoring:85 Defense:90 Checking:92 Goaltending:84 Overall:87 Three Stars: 1.Eric Lindros 2.John LeClair 3.Eric Desjardins ROSTERS Number Player Position 45 Mikael Anderson R 14 Dennis Bonvie R 13 Travis Brigley L 43 Andy Delmore D 37 Eric Desjardins D 44 Mark Eaton D 12 Simon Gagne C 9 Mark Greig R 11 Jody Hull R 20 Keith Jones R 18 Damond Langkow C 39 Jeff Lank D 10 John LeClair L 88 Eric Lindros C 28 Kent Manderville L 4 Mike Maneluk R 3 Daniel McGillis D 29 Gino Odjick L 21 Derek Plante C 25 Keith Primeau C 34 Paul Ranheim L 8 Mark Recchi R 22 Luke Richardson D 55 Ulf Samuelsson D 17 Kevin Stevens L 6 Chris Therien D 92 Rick Tocchet R 38 Steve Washburn C 15 Peter White C 19 Zarley Zalapski D 35 Goalie Backup G 33 Brian Boucher G PITTSBURGH PENGUINS Scoring:82 Defense:71 Checking:72 Goaltending:80 Overall:76 Three Stars: 1.Jaromir Jagr 2.Martin Straka 3.Alexei Kovalev ROSTER Number Player Position 36 Matthew Barnaby R 18 Josef Beranek L 6 Bob Boughner D 44 Rob Brown R 22 Sven Butenschon D 26 Tom Chorske L 9 Rene Corbet L 59 Robert Dome C 14 Pat Falloon R 7 Andrew Ference D 38 Jan Hrdina C 68 Jaromir Jagr R 11 Darius Kaspiritis D 27 Alexei Kovalev R 20 Robert Lang C 5 Janne Laukkanen D 23 Steve Leach R 24 Ian Moran R 95 Aleksey Morozov R 28 Michal Rozsival D 71 Jiri Slegr D 12 Martin Sonnenberg L 82 Martin Straka C 3 Dan Trebil D 30 Jean-Sebastian Rubin G 1 Peter Skudra G NORTHEAST BOSTON BRUINS Scoring:78 Defense:63 Checking:73 Goaltending:74 Overall:72 Three Stars: 1.Jason Allison 2.Anson Carter 3.Joe Thornton ROSTER Number Player Position 49 Johnathan Aitken D 41 Jason Allison C 11 Per Axelsson R 15 Shawn Bates C 16 Ken Belanger L 44 Nick Boynton D 33 Anson Carter C 17 Paul Coffey D 7 Aaron Downey R 22 Mikko Eloranta L 42 Peter Ferraro R 25 Hal Gill D 55 Jonathan Girard D 51 Jay Henderson L 48 Joe Hulbig L 26 Michael Knuble R 50 Andrei Kovalenko R 10 Cameron Mann R 4 Marquis Mathieu C 18 Kyle McLaren D 29 Marty McSorley D 72 Eric Nickulas R 36 Peter Popovic D 46 Sean Pronger C 39 Joel Prpic C 12 Brian Rolston L 14 Sergei Samsonov L 28 Andre Savage C 53 Brandon Smith D 32 Don Sweeney D 6 Joe Thornton C 20 Darren Van Impe D 3 Jeff Zehr L 34 Byron Dafoe G 47 John Grahame G 35 Robbie Tallas G BUFFALO SABRES Scoring:74 Defense:72 Checking:89 Goaltending:92 Overall:80 Three Stars: 1.Dominik Hasek 2.Mike Peca 3.Miroslav Satan ROSTER Number Player Position 61 Maxim Afinogenov R 38 Dave Andreychuk L 41 Stu Barnes C 37 Curtis Brown C 51 Brian Campbell D 17 Jean-Pierre Dumont R 23 Miika Elomo L 93 Doug Gilmour C 77 Chris Gratton C 10 Denis Hamel L 21 Jason Holland D 20 Doug Houda D 45 Dmitri Kalinin D 24 Paul Kruse L 74 Jay McKee D 64 David Moravec L 3 James Patrick D 27 Mike Peca C 9 Erik Rasmussen C 32 Rob Ray R 42 Richard Smehlik D 16 Chris Taylor C 29 Vladimir Tsyplakov L 25 Vaclav Varada R 15 Dixon Ward R 4 Rhett Warrener D 5 Jason Woolley D 44 Alexei Zhitnik D 43 Martin Biron G 39 Dominik Hasek G OTTOWA SENATORS Scoring: 77 Defense: 70 Checking: 66 Goaltending: 73 Overall: 72 Three Stars: 1. Alexei Yashin 2. Daniel Alfredsson 3. Wade Redden ROSTERS Number Player Position 11 Daniel Alfredsson R 20 Magnus Arvedson L 14 Radek Bonk C 25 Slava Butsayev C 10 Andreas Dackell R 38 John Emmons C 12 Mike Fisher C 17 Colin Forbes L 59 Erich Goldmann D 18 Marian Hossa L 29 Igor Kravchuk D 2 Grant Ledyard D 15 Shawn McEachern L 21 Kevin Miller C 8 Ricard Persson D 4 Chris Phillips D 13 Vaclav Prospal C 3 Karel Rachunek D 6 Wade Redden D 26 Andre Roy L 5 Sami Salo D 23 Yves Sarault L 16 Petr Schastlivy L 9 Jeff Shevalier L 52 David Van Drunen D 37 Todd White C 19 Alexei Yashin C 33 Jason York D 7 Rob Zamuner L 35 Tom Barrasso G 40 Patrick Lalime G 31 Rich Parent G MONTREAL CANADIENS Scoring: 60 Defense: 78 Checking: 74 Goaltending: 86 Overall: 72 Three Stars: 1. Saku Koivu 2. Benoit Brunet 3. Jose Theodore ROSTERS Number Player Position 5 Aaron Asham R 30 Andrei Bashkirov L 7 Eric Bertrand L 8 Francois Bullion D 43 Patrice Bisebois D 17 Benoit Brunet L 63 Craig Darby C 28 Karl Dykhuis D 3 Miloslav Guren D 11 Saku Koivu C 20 Scott Lachance D 24 Christian Laflamme D 47 Juha Lind L 14 Trevor Linden C 6 Trent McCleary R 36 Dave Morissette L 32 Oleg Petrov R 37 Patrick Poulin L 71 Mike Ribeiro C 38 Barry Richter D 52 Craug Rivet D 53 Stephen Robidas D 26 Martin Rucinsky L 49 Brian Savage L 44 Sheldon Souray D 25 P.J. Stock L 61 Jason Ward R 22 Eric Weinrich D 34 Sergei Zholtok C 15 Dainius Zubrus R 35 Eric Fichaud G 31 Jeff Hackett G 60 Jose Theodore G TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS Scoring: 85 Defense: 82 Checking: 76 Goaltending: 88 Overall: 82 Three Stars: 1. Mats Sundin 2. Curtis Joseph 3. Igor Korolev ROSTERS Number Player Position 25 Greg Andrusak D 9 Nikolai Antropov C 94 Sergei Berezin L 27 Shayne Corson L 4 Cory Cross D 43 Nathan Dempsey D 2 Gerald Diduck D 28 Tie Domi R 20 Jeff Farkas C 14 Jonas Hoglund R 15 Tomas Kaberle D 52 Alexander Karpotsev D 8 Dmitri Kristich R 12 Kris King L 22 Igor Korolev R 21 Adam Mair C 55 Danny Markov D 33 Chris McAllister D 18 Alyn McCauley C 44 Yanic Perreault C 11 Gary Roberts L 24 D.J. Smith D 13 Mats Sundin C 32 Steve Thomas L 16 Darcy Tucker C 10 Gary Valk R 49 Dmitri Yakushin D 36 Dmitry Yushkevich D 30 Glenn Healy G 31 Curtis Joseph G SOUTHEAST ATLANTA THRASHERS Scoring: 58 Defense: 62 Checking: 65 Goaltending: 70 Overall: 63 Three Stars: 1. Andrew Brunette 2. Yanick Tremblay 3. Gord Murphy ROSTERS Number Player Position 26 Bryan Adams C 28 Donald Audette R 15 Andrew Brunette L 7 Adam Burt D 2 Petr Buzek D 14 Brett Clark D 18 Hnat Domichelli C 22 Shean Donovan R 21 Ray Ferarro C 33 Maxim Galanov D 29 Johan Garpenlov L 12 Steve Guolla C 6 David Harlock D 19 Bill Huard L 17 Matt Johnson L 8 Frantisek Kaberle D 24 Andreas Karlsson C 20 Geordie Kinnear D 27 Denny Lambert L 5 Gord Murphy D 36 Rumun Ndur D 23 Martin Prochazka L 25 Steve Staios R 13 Patrik Stefan C 39 Per Svartvadet L 11 Dean Sylvester R 4 Chris Tamer D 38 Yannick Tremblay D 37 Herbert Vasiljevs C 9 Vladimir Vujtek C 3 Sergei Vushedkevich D 35 Scott Langkow G 34 Norm Maracie G CAROLINA HURRICANES Scoring: 70 Defense: 64 Checking: 73 Goaltending: 78 Overall: 71 Three Stars: 1. Ron Francis 2. Arturs Irbe 3. Sandis Ozolinsh ROSTERS Number Player Position 13 Bates Battaglia L 27 Rod Brind'Amour C 17 Jeff Daniels L 21 Ron Francis C 23 Martin Gelinas L 14 Steve Halko D 24 Sami Kapanen L 33 David Karpa D 5 Marek Malik D 20 Sandy McCarthy R 92 Jeff O'Neill C 8 Sandis Ozolinsh D 15 Byron Ritchie C 19 Mike Rucinski R 45 David Tanabe D 2 Glen Wesley D 16 Tommy Westlund R 25 Shane Willis R 30 Mark Fitzpatrick G 1 Arturs Irbe G 35 Jean-Marc Pelletier G FLORIDA PANTHERS Scoring: 73 Defense: 74 Checking: 74 Goaltending: 82 Overall: 75 Three Stars: 1. Pavel Bure 2. Trevor Kidd 3. Viktor Kozlov ROSTERS Number Player Position 9 Len Barrie C 5 Eric Boguniecki L 6 Dan Boyle D 10 Pavel Bure R 49 Dave Duerden L 45 Brad Ference D 47 Craig Ferguson C 4 Bret Hedican D 12 Alex Hicks L 15 John Jakopin D 62 Olli Jokinen C 25 Viktor Kozlov C 11 Igor Larionov C 3 Paul Laus D 27 Scott Mellanby R 44 Rob Niedermayer C 48 Marcus Nilson R 17 Ivan Novoseltsev R 2 Lance Pitlick D 35 Jason Podollan R 26 Ray Sheppard R 16 Mike Sillinger C 22 Todd Simpson D 8 Jaroslav Spacek D 24 Richard Svehla D 14 Ray Whitney L 7 Mike Wilson D 28 Peter Worrell L 37 Trevor Kidd G 1 Roberto Luongo G 30 Mikhail Shtalenkov G TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING Scoring: 66 Defense: 64 Checking: 65 Goaltending: 70 Overall: 66 Three Stars: 1. Vincent Lecavalier 2. Petr Svoboda 3. Kevin Weekes ROSTER Number Player Position 3 Kaspars Astashenko D 11 Shawn Burr L 7 Ben Clymer D 27 Jassen Cullimore D 20 Stan Drulia R 34 Gordie Dwyer L 32 Nils Ekman L 42 Matt Elich R 43 Kyle Freadrich L 5 Sergey Gusev D 25 Dwayne Hay L 19 Brian Holzinger C 10 Mike Johnson R 17 Ryan Johnson C 6 Dan Kesa R 13 Pavel Kubina D 4 Vincent Lecavalier C 2 Paul Mara D 16 Steve Martins C 33 Frederik Modin L 9 Bryan Muir D 18 Marek Posmyk D 22 Wayne Primeau C 51 Dale Rominski R 21 Cory Sarich D 12 Reid Simpson L 24 Andrei Skopintsev D 15 Jaroslav Svejkovsky D 23 Petr Svoboda D 29 Pavel Torgaev C 8 Todd Warriner L 30 Andrei Zyuzin D 39 Dan Cloutier G 93 Darren Puppa G 80 Kevin Weekes G WASHINGTON CAPITALS Scoring: 81 Defense: 85 Checking: 89 Goaltending: 92 Overall: 86 Three Stars: 1. Olaf Kolzig 2. Peter Bondrar 3. Sergei Gonchar ROSTERS Number Player Position 32 Craig Berube L 28 James Black C 12 Peter Bondra R 8 Jan Bulis C 5 Sylvain Cote D 10 Ulf Dahlen R 36 Mike Eagles C 55 Sergei Gonchar D 11 Jeff Halpern C 3 Jamie Huscroft D 6 Calle Johansson D 2 Ken Klee D 22 Steve Konowalchuk C 20 Glen Metropolit C 15 Dmitri Mironov D 9 Joe Murphy R 13 Andrei Nikolishin L 77 Adam Oates C 29 Joe Reekie D 14 Joe Sacco L 17 Chris Simon L 4 Alexei Tezikov D 19 Brendan Witt D 27 Terry Yake R 44 Richard Zednick L 1 Craig Billington G 37 Olaf Kolzig G WESTERN CONFERENCE CENTRAL CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS Scoring: 72 Defense: 64 Checking: 81 Goaltending: 76 Overall: 72 Three Stars: 1. Tony Amonte 2. Alexei Zhamnov 3. Eric Daze ROSTERS Number Player Position 33 Jamie Allison D 10 Tony Amonte R 34 Blair Atcheynum R 38 Nolan Baumgartner D 2 Brad Brown D 55 Eric Daze L 6 Kevin Dean D 8 Anders Eriksson D 17 Michal Grosek L 36 Chris Herperger L 20 Mark Janssens C 23 Jean-Yves Leroux L 11 Josef Marha C 18 Chris McApline D 19 Dean McAmmond L 44 Bryan McCabe D 5 Steve McCarthy D 3 Boris Mironov D 92 Michael Nylander C 16 Ed Olcyk R 24 Bob Probert L 26 Steve Sullivan C 14 Ryan VandenBussche R 27 Valeri Zelepukin L 13 Alexei Zhamnov C 31 Marc Lamothe G 29 Steve Passmore G 41 Jocelyn Thibault G COMLUBUS BLUE JACKETS Scoring: 50 Defense: 58 Checking: 68 Goaltending: 85 Overall: 64 Three Stars: 1. Marc Denis 2. Geoff Sanderson 3. Mathieu Schneider ROSTERS Number Player Position 42 Kevyn Adams C 32 Radim Bicanek D 12 Kevin Dineen R 17 Ted Drury C 5 Bruce Gardiner C 34 Jean-Luc Grand Pierre D 23 Steve Heinze R 20 Jamie Heward D 18 Robert Kron L 25 Barrie Moore L 4 Lyle Odelein D 29 Krzysztof Oliwa L 6 Jamie Pushor D 2 Derek Quint D 7 Bert Robertsson D 80 Geoff Sanderson L 26 Mathieu Schneider D 37 Mattias Timander D 28 Tyler Wright C 30 Marc Denis G 31 Ron Tugnutt G DETROIT RED WINGS Scoring: 86 Defense: 80 Checking: 84 Goaltending: 82 Overall: 84 Three Stars: 1. Chris Chelios 2. Niclas Lidstrom 3. Steve Yzerman ROSTERS Number Player Position 17 Doug Brown R 22 Yuri Butsayev C 24 Chris Chelios D 11 Mathieu Dandenault R 33 Kris Draper C 28 Steve Duchesne D 91 Sergei Federov C 2 Jiri Fischer D 41 Brent Gilchrist L 23 Todd Gill D 44 Yan Golubovsky D 96 Tomas Holstrom L 13 Vyacheslav Kozlov L 20 Martin Lapointe R 5 Nicklas Lidstrom D 18 Kirk Maltby L 25 Darren McCarty R 55 Larry Murphy D 37 Marc Rodgers R 14 Brendan Shanahan L 15 Pat Verbeek R 3 Jesse Wallin D 27 Aaron Ward D 36 B.J. Young R 19 Steve Yzerman C 32 Manny Legace G 30 Chris Osgood G 31 Ken Wregget G NASHVILLE PREDATORS Scoring: 57 Defense: 63 Checking: 61 Goaltending: 82 Overall: 65 Three Stars: 1. Mike Dunham 2. Cliff Ronning 3. Drake Berehowsky ROSTERS Number Player Position 36 Niklas Anderson L 15 Draker Berehowsky D 3 Andy Berenzweig D 17 Alexandre Boikov D 71 Sebastien Bordeleau C 39 Martin Cisar R 26 Philip Crowe R 21 Tom Fitzgerald R 40 David Gosselin R 14 Sean Haggerty L 23 Bill Houlder D 32 Cale Hulse D 22 Greg Johnson C 10 Patrick Kjellberg R 11 David Legwand C 41 Richard Lintner D 34 Stewart Malgunas D 8 Craig Millar D 33 Marc Moro D 18 Mark Mowers R 20 John Namestinikov D 16 Ville Peltonen L 27 Randy Robitaille C 7 Cliff Ronning C 19 Karlis Skrastins D 44 Kimmo Timonen D 12 Rob Valicevic R 5 Jan Vopat D 24 Scott Walker R 13 Mike Watt L 43 Vitali Yachmenev R 1 Mike Dunham G 30 Chris Mason G 37 Tomas Vokoun G ST. LOUIS BLUES Scoring: 82 Defense: 88 Checking: 95 Goaltending: 85 Overall: 85 Three Stars: 1. Chris Pronger 2. Roman Turek 3.Pavol Demitra ROSTERS Number Player Position 56 Lubos Bartecko R 41 Bob Bassen L 46 Derek Bekar C 4 Marc Bergevin D 3 Jim Campbell R 39 Kelly Chase R 22 Craig Conroy C 38 Pavol Demitra R 10 Dallas Drake R 32 Mike Eastwood C 6 Dave Ellett D 37 Jeff Finley D 26 Michael Handzus C 17 Jochen Hecht C 36 Bryan Helmer D 23 Sean Hill D 5 Dan Keczmer D 12 Derek King L 2 Al McInnis D 7 Jamal Mayers C 35 Chris Murray R 47 Ladislav Nagy C 9 Tyson Nash L 8 Rudy Poeschek D 44 Chris Pronger D 15 Marty Reasoner C 28 Todd Reirden D 25 Pascal Rheaume C 19 Stephane Richer R 77 Pierre Turgeon C 48 Scott Young R 30 Dwayne Roloson G 1 Roman Turek G NORTHWEST CALGARY FLAMES Scoring: 69 Defense: 79 Checking: 82 Goaltending: 87 Overall: 78 Three Stars: 1. Phil Housley 2. Jarome Iginla 3. Mike Vernon ROSTERS Number Player Position 5 Tommy Albelin D 26 Steve Begin C 3 Wade Belak D 20 Jason Botterill L 8 Valeri Bure R 7 Marc Bureau C 13 Eric Charron D 17 Chris Clark R 38 Jeff Cowan L 4 Bobby Dollas D 10 Steve Dubinsky C 44 Rico Fata R 18 Denis Gauthier D 39 Benoit Gratton L 6 Phil Housley D 12 Jarome Iginla R 21 Andreas Johansson C 22 Bill Lindsay L 25 Dave Lowry L 53 Derek Morris D 62 Andrei Nazarov R 28 Robyn Regehr D 42 David Roche C 19 Oleg Saprykin C 27 Marc Savard C 2 Darryl Shannon D 11 Jeff Shantz C 55 Steve Smith D 15 Martin St. Louis C 16 Cory Stillman L 37 Sergei Varlamov L 33 Brad Werenka D 24 Jason Wiemer C 23 Clarke Wilm C 40 Fred Brathwaite G 31 Grant Fuhr G 29 Mike Vernon G COLORADO AVALANCHE Scoring: 86 Defense: 93 Checking: 79 Goaltending: 85 Overall: 86 Three Stars: 1. Patrick Roy 2. Ray Bourque 3. Peter Forsberg ROSTERS Number Player Position 49 Serge Aubin C 77 Ray Bourque D 7 Greg de Vries D 18 Adam Deadmarsh R 11 Chris Dingman L 37 Chris Drury C 52 Adam Foote D 21 Peter Forsberg C 5 Alexei Gusarov D 23 Milan Hejduk R 41 Dan Hinote R 24 Jon Klemm D 29 Eric Messier D 3 Aaron Miller D 39 Ville Nieminen L 25 Shon Podein L 4 Nolan Pratt D 14 David Reid L 19 Joe Sakic C 55 Martin Skoula D 43 Dan Smith D 40 Alex Tanguay C 50 Brian Willsie R 26 Stephan Yelle C 67 Goalie Backup G 33 Patrick Roy G EDMONTON OILERS Scoring: 77 Defense: 76 Checking: 83 Goaltending: 83 Overall: 77 Three Stars: 1. Doug Weight 2. Bill Guerin 3. Tommy Salo MINNESOTA WILD Scoring: 43 Defense: 67 Checking: 76 Goaltending: 82 Overall: 63 Three Stars: 1. J.J. Daigneault 2. Scott Pellerin 3. Manny Fernandez ROSTERS Number Player Position 6 Brad Bombardir D 3 J.J. Daigneault D 34 Jim Dowd C 44 Aaron Gavey C 14 Darby Hendrickson C 56 Ian Herbers D 25 Sergei Krivokrasov R 33 Filip Kuba D 57 Antti Laaksonen L 21 Darryl Laplante C 8 Curtis Leschyshyn D 17 Christian Matte R 5 Steve McKenna L 19 Jeff Nielsen R 2 Sean O'Donnell D 36 Jeff Odgers R 7 Pavel Patera L 41 Scott Pellerin L 23 Stacy Roest C 18 Cam Stewart L 42 Andy Sutton D 1 Zac Bierk G 30 Manny Fernandez G 29 Jamie McLennan G VANOUVER CANUCKS Scoring: 72 Defense: 81 Checking: 97 Goaltending: 77 Overall: 79 Three Stars: 1. Markus Naslund 2. Mattias Ohlund 3. Todd Bertuzzi ROSTERS Number Player Position 6 Adrian Aucoin D 23 Murray Baron D 44 Todd Bertuzzi L 3 Ryan Bonni D 8 Donald Brashear L 25 Andrew Cassels C 13 Artem Chubarov C 24 Matt Cooke L 15 Harold Druken C 4 Greg Hawgood D 21 Josh Holden C 55 Ed Jovanovski D 18 Steve Kariya L 26 Trent Klatt R 5 Zenith Komarniski D 38 Brad Leeb R 7 Brendan Morrison C 19 Markus Naslund R 2 Mattias Ohlund D 10 Denis Pederson C 37 Jarkko Ruutu L 72 Peter Schaefer L 17 Vadim Sharifijanov R 9 Brent Sopel D 34 Jason Strudwick D 31 Lubomir Vaic C 27 Harry York C 30 Bob Essensa G 29 Felix Potvin G 32 Corey Schwab G PACIFIC ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS Scoring: 82 Defense: 73 Checking: 70 Goaltending: 84 Overall: 79 Three Stars: 1. Paul Kariya 2. Teemu Selanne 3. Guy Hebert ROSTERS Number Player Position 14 Antii Aalto C 18 Maxim Balmochnykh L 25 Frank Banham R 42 Dan Bylsma L 11 Matt Cullen C 17 Jim Cummins R 21 Ted Donato L 28 Niclas Havelid D 15 Tony Hrkac C 22 Jorgen Jonsson L 9 Paul Kariya L 39 Ladislav Kohn R 12 Mike Leclerc L 23 Jason Marshall D 16 Marty McInnis L 37 Kip Miller C 19 Frederik Olausspn D 20 Steve Rucchin C 24 Ruslan Salei D 70 Kevin Sawyer L 8 Teemu Selanne R 26 Jeremy Stevenson L 13 German Titov L 3 Patrick Traverse D 27 Pascal Trepanier D 7 Pavel Trnka D 10 Oleg Tverdovsky D 6 Vitali Vishnevski D 2 Ed Ward R 47 Jean-Sebastian Giguere G 31 Guy Hebert G 30 Dominic Roussel G DALLAS STARS Scoring: 80 Defense: 88 Checking: 85 Goaltending: 88 Overall: 85 Three Stars: 1. Ed Belfour 2. Mike Modano 3. Derian Hatcher ROSTERS Number Player Position 41 Keith Aldridge R 42 Joel Bouchard D 27 Shawn Chambers D 50 Ryan Christie L 2 Derian Hatcher D 44 Sami Helenius D 16 Brett Hull R 28 Richard Jackman D 12 Mike Keane R 15 Jamie Langenbrunner C 26 Jere Lehtinen R 38 Alan Letang D 3 Warren Luhning R 37 Brad Lukowich D 36 Roman Lyashenko C 6 Dave Manson D 29 Grant Marshall R 24 Richard Matvichuk D 9 Mike Modano C 45 Brendon Morrow L 22 Kirk Muller L 25 Joe Nieuwendyk C 49 Jon Sim C 10 Brian Skrudland C 11 Blake Sloan R 5 Darryl Sydor D 21 Shaun Van Allen C 23 Chris Wells C 46 Jamie Wright L 56 Sergei Zubov D 20 Ed Belfour G 31 Rick Tabaracci G LOS ANGELES KINGS Scoring: 77 Defense: 73 Checking: 85 Goaltending: 82 Overall: 79 Three Stars: 1. Rob Blake 2. Jamie Storr 3. Mattias Norstrom ROSTERS Number Player Position 5 Aki Berg D 11 Jason Blake C 4 Rob Blake D 43 Phillipe Boucher D 9 Kelly Buchberger R 29 Brad Chartrand R 19 Bob Corkum C 17 Nelson Emerson R 3 Gary Galley D 32 Stu Grimson L 23 Craig Johnson L 8 Jere Karalahti D 22 Ian Laperriere C 44 Jaroslav Modry D 27 Glen Murray R 6 Jan Nemecek D 14 Mattias Norstrom D 33 Zigmund Palffy R 28 Steven Reinprecht C 20 Luc Robataille L 55 Pavel Rosa R 21 Bryan Smolinski C 15 Jozef Stumpel C 12 Marko Tuomainen R 34 Marcel Cousineau G 35 Stephane Fiset G 1 Jamie Storr G PHOENIX COYOTES Scoring: 77 Defense: 73 Checking: 85 Goaltending: 82 Overall: 79 Three Stars: 1. Rob Blake 2. Jamie Storr 3. Mattias Norstrom ROSTERS Number Player Position 5 Aki Berg D 11 Jason Blake C 4 Rob Blake D 43 Phillipe Boucher D 9 Kelly Buchberger R 29 Brad Chartrand R 19 Bob Corkum C 17 Nelson Emerson R 3 Gary Galley D 32 Stu Grimson L 23 Craig Johnson L 8 Jere Karalahti D 22 Ian Laperriere C 44 Jaroslav Modry D 27 Glen Murray R 6 Jan Nemecek D 14 Mattias Norstrom D 33 Zigmund Palffy R 28 Steven Reinprecht C 20 Luc Robataille L 55 Pavel Rosa R 21 Bryan Smolinski C 15 Jozef Stumpel C 12 Marko Tuomainen R 34 Marcel Cousineau G 35 Stephane Fiset G 1 Jamie Storr G SAN JOSE SHARKS Scoring: 82 Defense: 88 Checking: 76 Goaltending: 86 Overall: 82 Three Stars: 1. Owen Nolan 2. Steve Shields 3. Vincent Damphousse ROSTERS Number Player Position 34 Murray Craven L 25 Vincent Damphousse C 39 Jeff Friesen L 21 Tony Granato R 29 Scott Hannan D 9 Todd Harvey R 23 Shawn Heins D 15 Alexander Korolyuk R 27 Bryan Marchment D 14 Patrick Marleau C 32 Stephane Matteau L 3 Willie Mitchell D 33 Bryantt Myhres R 11 Owen Nolan R 5 Jeff Norton D 10 Marcus Ragnarsson D 40 Mike Rathje D 18 Mike Ricci C 8 Bob Rouse D 22 Ronnie Stern R 7 Brad Stuart D 19 Marco Sturm C 24 Niklas Sundstrom L 20 Gary Suter D 12 Ron Sutter C 17 Scott Thornton C 1 Evgeni Nabokov G 31 Steve Shields G SECRETS Play as "The Hammer" On the Create Player screen in the Rosters menu, create a new player and set his first name to Hammer. The announcers will refer to him as "The Hammer" during gameplay. Model your player after an existing superstar There is an easy way to boost your created skater's stats without going through all the hassle of tweaking their stats. Copy an existing player! On the Create Player screen, change the player's first and last name to that of your favorite superstar. Any name in the player database will work. These are some of my favorites: Pavel Bure Peter Forsberg Jaromir Jagr Curtis Joseph Paul Kariya Joe Sakic