New screens: McDavid and Eichel - how does FHM 2 view them?
 

Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel were no doubt the top prizes in tonight's NHL draft.

But how are these two young stars viewed in Franchise Hockey Manager 2?

Loading up a new game before starting the 2015 season, this is what you'd run into if you were taking a look at the 17-year-old version of first overall draft pick, Connor McDavid:

Please note: Screenshots have been modified (there's no random white box over the player picture section top left in game) I also have some pretty poor photo cropping skills, so some of the images look a bit wonky:

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...s/McDavid1.png

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...s/McDavid2.png

And here's a look at number 2 overall pick, Jack Eichel:


http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...ns/Eichel1.png

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...ns/Eichel2.png

Coming up... (Next update to come before Monday): Do these young stars live up to the hype? What do their careers and ratings look like after a decade? Will they stay healthy? Will they bring a Stanley Cup to the Edmonton Oilers or Buffalo Sabres?

McDavid's potential is listed as 6.. so can potential be higher than the threshhold like in OOTP? I know its true for stats there (contact, power etc) but I've never seen it for stars.

Very cool.

Curious, how does the game view Dylan Strome? (Yotes fan here)

He's seen as a 2.5 current, 5.5 potential player.. Highest ratings are shooting accuracy (16) and Offensive read (16). Most physical ratings in the 12 to 13 range... Defensive rating of 17 for faceoffs is his highest overall rating.

All this being said, I know Jeff said he was going to be tweaking some of the recent draft picks still before release... so, subject to change :)

Ootp cuts it off for overall rating. Fhm does not but it's rare to have players higher than 5

McDavid and Eichel Screenshots Part 2:

So you've got one of these generational talents on your team, now it's time to see how they develop.

After a decade of first overall pick Conor McDavid, you may be looking at a player like this come 2025:

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/../...idrprofile.jpg

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/../...vidratings.jpg

Of course, those are some pretty ratings, but what good are they if he can't stay on the ice? So, how did McDavid do injury wise over the first decade of his NHL career?

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/../...avidinjury.jpg

That coccyx dislocation sounds painful, but hey, it only sidelined him for two weeks... pretty tough kid! Overall, he's stayed pretty healthy, so there must have been some good production, right?

Check out McDavid's career stats for the first 10 years:

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/../...davidstats.jpg

Not too shabby .. He hasn't quite reached the 100-point per season plateau yet, but McDavid has no doubt established himself as a dominant and consistent offensive weapon.

But of course, this is a team sport ... The Oilers drafted Conor with the hopes of bringing Stanley Cup glory back to Edmonton - were they successful in this conquest?

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/../...ershistory.jpg

It's not quite the dynasty of the Wayne Gretzky era, but things have certainly turned around in Edmonton. After missing the playoffs the first year of the McDavid era, it was a drastic turnaround from there, as the club then made 8 consecutive playoffs appearances (en route to a 9th) and even hoisted Lord Stanley's mug in 2020/2021.

With the likes of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and resurgence of Marek Mazanec in goal (someone asked earlier if 6th or 7th round draft picks can flourish - there you have it!), the Oilers have returned a great deal of respectability to the franchise and still appear to have a strong club moving forward.

Coming up: We've seen how McDavid has performed, but what about Jack Eichel? Next update to come before Tuesday morning.

Is anyone scoring in the 100 pts/season? In FHM 1, I've noticed that it's rare and that even the best rated players in the game have a hard time getting 1ppg.

Thanks Cole :) Great screenies

That definitely answered my question about later round draft picks.

Scoring is mimicking current NHL levels, so 100-point performances are quite rare.

Luckily, you're able to tweak this in the options if you so choose.

Devil's advocate - I'd just like to mention that Mazanec isn't a newgen player and he's been rated by researchers after he was drafted, so this doesn't necessarily mean that a player who is drafted in 6th/7th round and his rating/development is managed by the game only since, can flourish as well.

True enough. But in talking with one of our producers Jeff he said there can be instances of late round draft picks turning into prominent players in the league. It's something I'll be keeping an eye on more closely in future tests.

Hey Cole any chance you can post the screen shots for Mitch Marner Toronto Maple Leafs, that would be kindly appreciated!

Hi,

I'm going to pass on that for now, as when he got drafted, I was curious, so I checked him out in game.. And he was fairly low rated (2.5 potential, as I recall) .. So I joked with Jeff about it and that's when he told me some of the new draft picks needed some work and ratings adjustments and he was going to take a look at them over the weekend. So I assume that will start to look better in a future build.

And the best part, if someone doesn't agree with our team's ratings, of course they can just change them to whatever suits them!

If we do change player ratings and move players, will there be any way to share those roster files with others? As well as a way to start a game with them?

You could set up rosters and then save your league and share the league file with others, yes. Same idea as online league, where the commissioner sets up all the rosters and then the league file is downloaded/shared with others.

McDavid and Eichel Screenshots Part 3:

Here's a look at how Jack Eichel pans out in our 10-year sim.

First, a look at his ratings and development.

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...helprofile.jpg

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...helratings.jpg

Now, did he stay healthy? You can see he was an ironman for the first part of his career, until a fairly serious injury:

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...elinjuries.jpg

And how was he production wise? Definitely a step down from McDavid, but he has become a solid, albeit unspectacular offensive contributor. Perhaps the best years are still to come for the Mr. Eichel:

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...ichelstats.jpg

And lastly, the Sabres have no doubt drafted Eichel with the hope of getting the franchise's first Stanley Cup. So how did that turn out for them?

http://misc.ootpdevelopments.com/FHM...alohistory.jpg

Can players gain/lose weight?

I just noticed the age column has been moved away from the actual stats. Hooray!

Hi Cole,

Quick question for you. Now I know we are trying to evaluate the individual players but have the rest of the rosters been updated for these two teams? I mean pre-draft Edmonton already looked like it can one day be a cup contender with their up and coming roster. Buffalo looked like a pee-wee team en route to a disaster. I am thinking that even if both players were par, McDavid would fair better with Hall and Eberle. Who did Eichel start with, Moulson and Gionta? That makes a difference from Kane and O'Reilly being on the team. Those teams with the better tenders they just acquired will no doubt be better.