Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images/EA Sports
Montreal Canadiens star Cole Caufield next to avatar in "NHL 27"
EA Sports has released a new NHL video game on an annual basis since 1991, and this week, the publisher dropped the 36th installment in the long-running franchise. A number of notable players are less than thrilled with how their digital counterparts look, and it doesn’t seem like there’s a single one who’s getting clowned on more than Cole Caufield.
The NHL series has not historically been a top priority for the folks at EA Sports. The company has earned a reputation for taking advantage of its exclusive licensing deals and a lack of competition to justify marginal improvements in annual releases like Madden and what used to be known as FIFA, and that’s certainly been the case with its hockey franchise in recent years.
September 11th marked the official release of NHL 27, which featured modest upgrades like the addition of real-life goal songs and celebrations, a “next gen crowd,” and a new broadcasting team that apparently got some help from artificial intelligence.
It also features the latest rosters and various cosmetic upgrades to players across the league, and while more than avatars have left a bit to be desired, it sounds like no one has become a bigger punching bag than Cole Caufield.
Cole Caufield says players won’t stop texting him about the look of his video game counterpart in NHL 27
EA Sports allowed gamers to pay extra for early access that opened up a week before NHL 27 was released to the general public, and there was already plenty of chatter concerning the lackluster rendition of certain players before it officially came out.
NHL 27 vypada paradne, to nemohu rict. Treba David Pastrnak to docela schytal. Zrzek dole ma byt patrne Mason Lohrei, ale v podani EA Sports tezko rict. :/ pic.twitter.com/hKBGLPPF3m
— Marek Beniac (@Marek_11) September 6, 2026
William Nylander and Sergei Bobrovsky’s NHL 27 headshots have been found
2x Cup champs and one of the most popular players in the league, btw 😭#leafsforever pic.twitter.com/jezMaNJcCr
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) September 7, 2026
Many fans sounded off, but ESPN decided to go straight to the source and talk to a number of players to see how they feel about their avatars.
Macklin Celebrini, Matt Boldy, and Jack and Quinn Hughes were among those who seemed satisfied with how theirs turned out, but there were more than a few guys who voiced some objections.
Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar walked back his initial assessment of “horrible” but took aim at the non-existent “butt chin” he received, and the Kraken’s Matty Benier objected to the amount of grey in his hair, saying, “They can’t do me dirty like that.”
Montreal Canadiens star Cole Caufield also aired some grievances, saying:
“I don’t know what happened there. I look a little lost. I look like I need some sleep or some water. I don’t know. It’s tough. Every time I open my phone, it’s there. Somebody will send it to me.”
“The hair doesn’t look bad. I’ll take the salad. Good jawline, too. But other than that it looks like I saw a ghost or something.”
pessoal da EA Sports esqueceu de hidratar o Cole Caufield durante a criação do NHL 27. pic.twitter.com/UjXd14C7gW
— Puck Brasil (@PuckBrasil1) September 5, 2026
Jack Hughes went out of his way to mention “Cole’s is not picture-perfect” when addressing his own likeness, and Trevor Zegras revealed he’s one of the people who’s tortured Caufield via text, saying, “It’s awful. I send it to him every day because it’s terrible.”
What a guy.