NHL 18 Rookie Watch: McAvoy living up to expectations with Bruins

Expectations entering this season may have been greater than usual for Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy after making his debut in the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs look so easy.But the frenetic pace of playoff hockey never seemed to rattle the 19-year-old.

McAvoy (6-foot 208 pounds) was the No. 14 pick and the fourth defenseman taken in the 2016 NHL Draft. He Mikhail Sergachev (No. 9) and Jakob Chychrun (No. 16) are in the NHL though Chychrun had knee surgery on Aug. 4 and didn’t resume skating with the Arizona Coyotes until Saturday.

McAvoy is still learning and he’s the first to admit the true test is enduring and surviving the NHL’s 82-game regular season.

McAvoy finished with three assists and five shots on goal in six playoff games and averaged 26:12 in ice time playing mostly with Boston captain Zdeno Chara. He’s gotten off to a productive start through seven games this season with seven points (one goal six assists) and nine shots on goal. He’s second on the Bruins in average ice time (21:03).

The Bruins control 53.85 percent of shot attempts with McAvoy on the ice best among Boston defensemen who’ve played at least two games including 53.19 percent when the Bruins lead. McAvoy has been paired with Kevan Miller for much of the season.

Despite his early success he’s not thinking about winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.

NHL Central Scouting had McAvoy ranked No. 6 on its final list of North American skaters eligible for the 2016 draft. At the time he was listed as a player who not only would soon be starring in the NHL but one with the potential to be a perennial all star.

“I was fortunate to get some experience in the playoffs even when they had older guys and still gave it to me,” McAvoy said. “It’s awesome because the organization drafts guys and they want to see these guys pan out and be successful. It feels as though we all want the same things. As players we want to play in the NHL and contribute and win a Stanley Cup and management wants to see that as well. So when you get this chance you have to make the most of it.”

Clayton Keller C Arizona Coyotes (2016 Draft No. 7): Keller (5-10 168) 19 is tied for second among rookies with eight points (six goals two assists) and has averaged 19:46 of ice time. He’s scored one power-play goal and nine of his 30 shots have come with the man-advantage.

“I’m not going to compare him to [Sidney] Crosby but he gets the puck in the corner and his heart rate goes down,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet told The Boston Globe. “He doesn’t throw pucks away. He can find the good ice and make a play or he can hold it.”

Jakub Vrana LW Washington Capitals (2014 Draft No. 13): He spent a majority of the past two seasons with Hershey of the American Hockey League and is beginning to refine his game without the puck. Coach Barry Trotz has given the 21-year-old a golden opportunity placing him on a line with center Evgeny Kuznetsov and right wing Alex Ovechkin and he has five points (two goals three assists) and 22 shots on goal in nine games. Vrana (6-foot 197 pounds) is averaging 13:54 of ice time.

Mikhail Sergachev D Tampa Bay Lightning (2016 Draft No. 9 Montreal Canadiens): Sergachev (6-3 215) has six points (three goals three assists) during a three-game point streak and eight points (three goals five assists) in nine games for the Lightning. The 19-year-old left-hand shot was acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens for forward Jonathan Drouin on June 15 and has averaged 12:36 in ice time.

“He’s got the size strength vision and shot,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “He just has to learn the NHL; you don’t just step into the League and play that position and say ‘I’ve arrived where’s the Norris Trophy.’ It takes 200 or 300 games to get a legitimate feel for the League but you can’t help but really be excited about his upside and what he can bring for us.”

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NHL 18,thrills on the ice or just another forgettable title?

It’s clear NHL 18 is an attempt to hold onto the core factors of the franchise while simultaneously opening up new facets of the game to entice a new generation of players.

Being an Australian, it’s always a tricky transition into American sports in the gaming arena, purely because most of us just aren’t exposed to the sports themselves and have pretty basic knowledge of what’s supposed to be happening.

I, like many, am normally pretty quick to hit the skip button and avoid tutorials in as many games as possible. But not this time.

Having played games in the past where I’m much more eager to learn on the run than sit through the tedium of introductory passages, NHL 18 actually made me want to learn how to play the game properly.

With a tiered system of short, sharp and helpful levels, the tutorials teach you each facet of the game with ease. They weren’t just there to help me figure out the buttons – the levels were actually fun to get through.

There was a sense of achievement in ticking past each skill point… and I hadn’t even hit the homepage yet!

As a fan of FIFA’s Career Mode for years now, I was happy to jump straight into Franchise Mode.

It’s entertaining to pick your way through all the intricacies of not just playing an NHL season, but managing an entire franchise.

From the roster, the draft and the morale of your players through to finances, game days and even upgrading the stadium toilets (which isn’t as bad as it sounds), there’s a mountain of stuff to keep you busy if you want a break before or after hitting the ice.

The expansion of options centred around the arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights creates a whole new realm of customisation to your Franchise settings and experience.

Adding a mountain of time and effort into your pre and postseason isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but you can’t say the entire package isn’t there for the die-hards.

While certainly a strong suit of the game as it always has been, Franchise isn’t quite the mode I’ve been spending the most time on.

When I first saw NHL Threes, I wasn’t convinced.

It looked to be a bit of a hit and giggle game mode, just there for the sake of popping up something new.

Well, I was wrong.

The new 3-on-3 mode works perfectly for what it’s designed to be: an arena for the casual player or fan to knock the puck around and score more goals than they would in a normal game, while also being a serious game mode that incorporates single player, multiplayer and online gameplay.

The arcade-style set up of the new mode gives it a real energised feel, with the commentators constantly going ballistic. The fast-paced style of the game is based on entertainment, pace and excitement rather than strategy.

The hits are bigger and the goals come quicker, while the ‘money puck’ system adds further excitement and opportunity to win every single game.

You can even play as the mascots!

This is all well and good for the casual player, but it’s so much more in-depth than that.

It’s not just a one-game thing. There’s an entire season and national series built around it in the game where you can play by yourself or with and against anyone online.

The system of unlocking new teams and challenges, players to strengthen your team and even new jerseys to fit your bill works perfectly. It’s all based on which difficulty you’re playing on and how well you perform in the actual game as measured by a points system.

In terms of the overall gameplay, NHL 18 has introduced a fancy new skill stick that is in line with the skill moves set up in the FIFA franchise.

You can dip, dance and throw your hockey stick around all over the shop in any number of ways with the analog stick, allowing you to create and pull off some crazy new moves to get past the opponents defenders and goalie.

Or you can be like me and just twist the analog stick around feverishly and hope something comes off.

It also comes in handy in defence as well: instead of just trying to lay down bumper hits and checks all the time and miss by a mile, you can use the stick to win the puck in much less embarrassing fashion.

The reason most casual players get onto the game (me being one of them about five years ago) is the fact you can pretty much play a boxing game inside an ice hockey game.

Not much has changed in this regard. The fighting is still very much a big part of the game, but it doesn’t overshadow it, which is very good.

You can grab the jersey, duck punches, throw a few different kinds of punches in return. It’s pretty much as good as you’ll get for a non-fighting game with in-game fighting.

The lack of a story-driven career or journey mode, which has been tried with varying levels of success in NBA, FIFA and most recently NFL games, is a bit of a miss – simply because it’s a common and popular feature to include these days.

That said, it’s not enough of a downer to take anything away from the overall game – it’s merely something they should consider in the future, even if now isn’t the time.

Ultimate Team and online play have been the highlights of many recent EA Sports games, and this one is no different.

The depth is insane and there’s no limit on how much you can do in the online arena. It’s almost scary how addicting it can be to continue building your Ultimate Team.

The look, feel, gameplay and variation of modes makes this a winner for me, and while it’s not blindingly different from last year, there are some really, really strong changes that separate it from the past and keep the franchise rolling confidently towards future releases.