As the latest cover model for the NHL 26 video game, it’s safe to say that Matthew Tkachuk has officially entered superstar status.
But when it comes to his skill set, he doesn’t necessarily have a whole lot in common with the likes of Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews.
Tkachuk is not the fastest player. He doesn’t have the hardest shot. And he won’t necessarily wow you with his stick handling ability.
Where he differentiates himself from the rest of the league is through his intangibles.
He’s a pest. A grinder. A guy who is willing to do anything — and everything — to help his team win a game and a championship.
It is a unique character trait that, at first, gave the developers at EA Sports a bit of trouble in translating Tkachuk from the rink to the video game. But after watching Tkachuk lead the Florida Panthers to back-to-back championships — and three straight appearances in the Stanley Cup final — the developers realized they were looking at it all wrong.
Rather than focus on Tkachuk, they shifted their attention to his teammates.
“He’s a natural-born leader,” said NHL 26 Creative Director Mike Inglehart. “We tried to design that around the way he plays and what he brings on the ice with his play and being able to inspire others around him by leading by example. He has a level of charisma that is very unique when it comes to the NHL.”
What does charisma look like?
In a real-life hockey game, it’s one of those non-quantifiable intangibles that leads to wins. Tkachuk, who had eight goals and 23 points in the playoffs despite battling a laundry list of injuries, drags his team into the fight by encouraging his teammates to go outside their comfort zone and fight for every square inch on the ice.
In NHL 26, Tkachuk’s X-Factor provides his teammates with a boost of energy. Or as Inglehart said, he gets everyone “gunned up”.
“The NHL is known for its soft-spoken personalities,” said Inglehart, “but him and his brother and his dad back in the day approach the game with a head-on charismatic appeal.”
When it comes to bringing the realism of the rink to the video game, EA Sports continues to strive for more. NHL 26 has partnered with the NHL and NHLPA to bring an improved ICE-Q 2.0 gameplay system, powered by NHL Edge positional data (NHL Puck and Player Tracking).
Specific attributes, like shot power and accuracy, as well as individual tendencies of where players do their offensive damage, are all part of the game. But there is a balance, said Inglehart, in keeping the the action loose and fun, while at the same time realistic.
“We try to find the best representative moments that translate well in a video game world,” he said. “So as you can imagine, there’s a lot of liberty with that. You still want to make sure that it is connected to the NHL as best as possible. But then it needs to have an outcome that makes for a good video game experience.
“You also want to make sure players feel in control of outcomes. Sometimes, if sports games lean too heavily into the sim side, there may be many outcomes where you feel like the controller is being taken out of your hands.”
As such, you’ll see Tkachuk chewing on his mouth guard in the game and sliding on his knees and stretching his arms out following a big-time goal. But you won’t be see him chirp players or face-wash opponents after a whistle.
At least, not yet.
“Poking the bear and trying to get a reaction is definitely a part of hockey culture and something he does embody,” said Ingelhart. “As we go forward, it’s an area we’re looking into. I know a lot of players are trying to gaining gameplay significance from post-whistle scrums.”
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