New Nashville Predators EA SPORTS NHL 16 Ratings

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Mandatory Photo Credit: EA SPORTS NHL 16

Gnash is looking good in EA SPORTS NHL 16.

The Nashville Predators have been looking good so far in The EA Sports NHL 16 ratings.  They are being revealed a little at a time and we showed the top Predators in this article.  We even have a great shot of Gnash getting ready to root the Preds to victory as you can see above.

Now however, a number of YouTube accounts have now revealed all player ratings of the game.  We have accumulated the ratings for you and matched them up against last years ratings and our own take on how they shake out.  There are some surprises and some interesting moves in ratings for the Preds players.  We think you will enjoy them as much as we have.

Next: A Top Goaltender

Mandatory Photo Credit to EASPORTS.com

Pekka Rinne ready to make the save.

EA SPORTS NHL 16 Nashville Predator Goalies

Pekka Rinne: 92 (NHL 15: 91)
Pekka had already been announced as a Top Five goaltender in an earlier release. He moved up one rating point as he had a Vezina caliber season.  No disagreement on our end, in fact, we believe he is a Top three goalie.

Carter Hutton: 79 (NHL 15: 80)
We are a little surprised that he didn’t move to a 78 as his stats and playing time really slid last season.  He is one of the worries this season as it sure would help Pekka if he didn’t have to play every game.

No doubt that if you were going to build an EA SPORTS NHL 16 team you would have to consider Pekka as one of your choices.

Next: Is There a Better Group of D-Men Anywhere?

Mandatory Photo Credit to EASPORTS.com

Roman Josi moving up the rankings.

EA SPORTS NHL 16 Nashville Predators Defensemen

Seth Jones: 86 (NHL 15: 83)
Seth Jones is improving game by game and it shows in his rating. Three points is a pretty good jump and this could be a real breakout season for the youngster playing alongside Jackman.

Barret Jackman: 82 (NHL 15: 82)
A brand new team for Jackman but the same rating.  I thought it might drop one point, but he could actually put up better numbers this season on a more offensive defense system.

Ryan Ellis: 84 (NHL 15: 83)
A little surprised that Seth Jones jumped over him the way that he did as Ellis had the same stats in 24 fewer games.  Jones name is much more popular though and accounts for it.  Ellis is the fourth ranked D-Man on the team and is a good one.

Mattias Ekholm: 82 (NHL 15: 78)
A nice bump for the young Swede. The second biggest on the team behind Josi. He moved up nicely in the ratings and may have a breakout season for the Predators.

Victor Bartley: 79 (NHL 15: 79)
Actually a 79 is a pretty solid rating for a seventh defenseman on a team. Nothing to complain about.

Roman Josi: 90 (NHL 15: 85)
Josi took a big jump after a big year. He is now rated as the ninth best defenseman in EA Sports.  A five-point swing was expected after being in the conversation for the Norris Trophy.

Shea Weber: 94 (NHL 15: 93)
Weber leads not only the Preds but the entire league on defense with an impressive 94 rating. It doesn’t look as if the gaming world believes any talk that his skills might be declining.

Next: The Predators Centers

Nashville Predators center Mike Ribeiro (63). Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Ribeiro with his magic passes.

EA SPORTS NHL 16 Nashville Predators Centers

Paul Gaustad: 82 (NHL 15: 84)
With only 14 points for the team last season, Gaustad took a two point dump in the ratings. It was probably about time.

Mike Ribeiro: 84 (NHL 15: 83)
Okay, this one surprised me a little.  I guess that a one point bump is nice but do you really thing he should be rated below Fisher?

Mike Fisher: 85 (NHL 15: 86)
I can at least live with this. He actually had better stats last season for the number of games he played, but he isn’t getting any younger and might be slowing down one point.

Calle Jarnkrok: 79 (NHL 15: 78)
Even though he didn’t score as much as expected, EA decided to give Calle Jarnkrok an upgrade. It was really his first full season and he did play a bunch.

EA Sports listed Cody Hodgson as a Right Wing and we will see him soon.

Next: A Surprise at Left Wing

Nashville Predators James Neal (18) after hitting Boston Bruins Zdeno Chara (33). Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

James Neal is still a top rated Left Wing.

EA SPORTS NHL 16 Nashville Predators Left Wings

Kevin Fiala: 74 (NHL 15: 70)
Well, this is a bit of a surprise.  We weren’t sure which of the youngsters was going to make the team and play on that third line, but EA SPORTS decided it will be Fiala.  I hope they are right, I saw the kid play in the prospect camp and he was electric.

Gabriel Bourque: 81 (NHL 15: 81)
Gabby stayed the same as last year with only three goals.  I hope he doesn’t stay the same for either the team or for his rating for the coming season.

James Neal: 87 (NHL 15: 88)
Neal got nicked one in a downgrade which is probably understandable. He is still the top-rated Preds forward which may not be the case when these ratings come out next year.  There is a young Prince that may soon overtake the King.

Eric Nystrom: 81 (NHL 15: 81)
No change for Nystrom and it remains to be seen what his role will be for this season.  There are a multitude of young forwards chomping at the bit for playing time on this team and we will see how that plays out.

On to Right Wings and the most interesting group of Predators.

Next: Right Wingers Looking Good

Nashville Predators Filip Forsberg (9). Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Filip Forsberg getting ready to score.

EA SPORTS NHL 16 Nashville Predator Right Wings

Cody Hodgson: 81(NHL 15: 84)
The first thing is that Hodgson is definitely going to play a Center role for this team and not Right Wing. He took a huge three-point drop which may have been warranted but could turn right around this year.

Craig Smith: 86 (NHL 15: 85)
Smith jumped up one and is tied for the second highest winger on the Predators.  That sounds about right to me. We are hoping for bigger and better things from this young man this season.

Colin Wilson: 85 (NHL 15: 84)
Like I said the Right Winger category here is interesting.  Wilson mostly plays LW and Center for the Preds, but they needed to squeeze another Right Winger in. He got a one point bump and 85 sounds about right to me.

Filip Forsberg: 86 (NHL 15: 86)
Prince Filip was a late addition last season and came in as an 86 and he starts out this season the same way.  Tied with Smith and one behind Neal as the top Preds forward, it is possible that he blows them all away this season.  We are definitely rooting for that!

Next we wrap it all up for you.

Next: Some Interesting Points

Nashville Predators players take the ice prior to the game. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

EA SPORTS NHL 16 Wrap Up

All in all, I thought the Nashville Predators ratings were pretty fair this year.  It wouldn’t be any fun if you agreed with all of them.  A couple of things we noticed:

  • There are now three players on the Predators with 90+ ratings. That is pretty impressive and shows how strong we are on the defensive end. Very few teams are in that rarefied air. A lot don’t even have one.
  • Twelve players increased and only five decreased and one of those was Cody Hodgson who did it on a different team. EA SPORTS is taking notice of the Predators.
  • We need someone out there who is more stats oriented than we are to see if there is another team that has a rating even close to the Preds top six defensemen. They have an average rating of 86.3. Add in Victor Bartley and it only drops to an 85.3. Whew!
  • These ratings are all in the game and not on the ice, but it sure makes it look like it’s going to be a great season in Smashville!

Next: Will Kevin Fiala Make the Team?

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