EA Sports Brings NHL to the Wii with Slapshot

Back in March the news slipped out that EA Sports’ NHL franchise was headed to the Wii. It turns out it won’t be a version of NHL 11 that hits the Wii but instead it will be branded as NHL Slapshot and include a hockey stick controller attachment. The Toronto Sun has revealed the news and gone into some details of the game including that Wayne Gretzky will be the cover athlete, how the controls work, and the career mode.

It’s hard to say what the biggest news is here. That EA is finally doing their first NHL game for the Wii, challenging 2K Sports on their previously exclusive turf? That Gretzky is involved as the cover athlete and in-game playable character? Or that NHL Slapshot will use a minature hockey stick peripheral that ships with each copy of the game?

NHL Slapshot’s “Peewees to Pros” career mode starts you off as a 12-year-old of our own design (or you can step into the skates of a very young Gretzky, Sidney Crosby and the like) and lets you work your way from Peewee to Bantam to Junior to Pro, watching your player grow, age and acquire skills along the way.

NHL Slapshot is slated to release on September 7th the same day that NHL 11 hits stores for the 360 and PS3. A price has not been revealed but speculation is at $60 which would be $10 more than a standard Wii game. I’ve never felt motion control works well for team sports but in this case it just might. The option to play the game traditionally using the Wiimote along with the Nunchuk will be offered too. Any interest in playing an NHL game with a motion controlled hockey stick? Leave your thoughts in the comments!