NHL 17 Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning Team and Player Ratings

The recently released beta of NHL 17 gives us our first look at the team and player rankings of the Tampa Bay Lightning

On the 27th, EA Sports sent out the first codes to download the Beta of NHL 17. I was given my code early with the NHL Insiders and, as you can imagine, I downloaded my copy of the beta as soon as I could.

In this preview of the NHL 17 Beta, I’ll go over the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s rating overall as a team, and the ratings of their individual players. As a note, I used the ratings available in the online multiplayer mode instead of the individual Hockey Ultimate Team cards for the sake of continuity as not every player on the roster of the Lightning was available.

Both the team and its players are rated on a scale from 0-100. The players receive their rating based on their ratings in 5 categories, skating, shooting, hands, checking, and defense. The team as a whole gets its rating based on the overall score of its players.

Now, let’s take a closer look at the players and how they match up against one another.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Centers:

Steven Stamkos: 93

Tyler Johnson: 87

Valtteri Filppula: 86

Brian Boyle: 83

Right Wings:

Nikita Kucherov: 86

Ryan Callahan: 85

Jonathan Drouin: 82

Cedric Paquette: 79

Left Wings:

Ondrej Palat: 86

Alex Killorn: 83

Vladislav Namestnikov: 80

J.T. Brown: 77

Defenders:

Victor Hedman: 91

Anton Stralman: 86

Braydon Coburn: 85

Jason Garrison: 84

Goaltenders:

Ben Bishop: 88

Andrei Vasilevskiy: 81

Tampa Bay Lightning Overall:

Offense: 93

Defense: 92

Goaltending: 90

The rest of the Lightning’s roster that is missing from this list were listed as scratches and weren’t played in the demo. I also omitted Matt Carle and his ranking as he is no longer with the organization but was a starter in the beta.

For the most part, these ratings are pretty accurate. Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos’s ratings are spot on as they are two of the most talented players in the league at their positions. However, some ratings just aren’t right. Here’s my take on who’s overrated and who is underrated in the beta and why.

Overrated Players: Valtteri Filppula and Braydon Coburn

While both of these players had great seasons last year and played key roles for the Bolts, I think their ratings are just a little high. Filppula’s 86 puts him even with Nikita Kucherov and Anton Stralman and I don’t agree that those players are on the same level.

While he did have the best faceoff percentage on the team, he wasn’t as versatile as Stralman or Kucherov and didn’t generate anywhere near as much offense as Nikita Kucherov. That being said, Filppula seems closer to an 84 than his current 86.

And while Braydon Coburn was a solid blueline presence throughout the season his impact wasn’t quite deserving of an 85. His score puts him one point below Anton Stralman and one point above Jason Garrison. Looking back at last season, I would say he is closer to equal with Garrison at an 84 than above him.

Underrated: Ben Bishop and Nikita Kucherov

Two of the most important pieces of the Lightning roster, both Nikita Kucherov and Ben Bishop deserve a stat boost. After a historic season and being named a finalist for the Vezina trophy, Ben Bishop has the same rating he had in NHL 16.

Being a finalist for the goaltender of the year award alone should merit a higher overall rating. He should be an 89 at least or even closer to a 90 in keeping with the other top goaltenders. Coming off of his best season in the NHL, Kucherov has established himself as not only a key part of the Bolt’s offense but one of the league’s more dangerous shooters. I believe he should at least be equal with Tyler Johnson at 87 if not higher at an 88.

Next: Ben Bishop Proves To Be One of the League's Best

Let us know in the comments below what you think of NHL 17’s first ratings, do you agree or disagree? Make sure to stay tuned to Bolts By The Bay for more exclusive information about the NHL 17 Beta coming soon.