
Players are able to select from three different control schemes, called " NHL '94 controls", "Skill Stick" and "Hybrid" NHL '94 controls are very simplistic as they strictly use the controller's buttons for actions, aside from moving the player, which the left stick does Skill Stick controls utilize the controller's right stick in order to both shoot and deke Hybrid controls are similar to NHL '94 controls but have some more action options. The game can be played on five different difficulties "Rookie", the lowest, "Semi-Pro", "Pro", "All-Star", and "Superstar", the highest. It features game presentation in the style of the NHL on NBC, with commentary being provided by Mike Emrick ( play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk ( color) and Ray Ferraro (ice-side reporter), with the network's score bug appearing on-screen as well.

NHL 17 is an ice hockey simulation video game powered by the Ignite engine, created by Electronic Arts. The gameplay improvements and new additions to the game mainly received praise, while criticism was aimed at some lack of depth and general innovation. Upon full release, NHL 17 received generally positive reviews from critics. Critics who played the beta wrote generally positive reviews and noted it as a good precursor to the full game. A public beta for the game was initiated prior to the game's release for testing. Prior to the game's release, there were several trailers were released to promote it. Similar to the past two NHL titles, NHL 17 features presentation in the style of the NHL on NBC. Modes from its predecessor saw a return as well, including the trading card-based team building mode Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT), the online co-operative play mode known as EA Sports Hockey League, and Be a Pro, a career mode. A newer Creation Zone was also added, featuring an expansive team builder as well as an arena creator.

They introduced gameplay improvements in terms of artificial intelligence and physics as well as new mode such as the World Cup of Hockey tournament mode and a revamped version of "Be a GM", a simulation mode where the player acts as a team's general manager, titled "Franchise Mode", which now features team owners and team relocation. They utilized Electronic Arts' Ignite engine and built the game off of that, attempting to generally improve on the series' previous installment. The development team focused solely on eighth generation console versions for NHL 17, citing an increased player base on those consoles over seventh generation ones. It is the 26th installment in the NHL game series and was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles in September 2016. NHL 17 is an ice hockey simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports.
