The Boston Bruins aren\u2019t expected to be a particularly strong team this season, whether that be in the physical realm or digital.<\/p>\n
EA Sports NHL 26 is set to release on September 12. Based on the game\u2019s initial player ratings<\/a>, it doesn\u2019t paint a particularly pretty picture of the B\u2019s.<\/p>\n David Pastrnak: 94<\/p>\n The good news is that at 94 overall, David Pastrnak is the ninth-best player in the game, coming in behind the likes of Cale Makar, Aleksander Barkov, and Sindey Crosby, and ahead of Connor Hellebuyck, Jack Eichel, and Auston Matthews. The bad news is that he\u2019s the only member of the Bruins who falls within the top 50.<\/p>\n That indeed makes sense, though. After all, Pastrnak essentially carried the Bruins on his back last season<\/a>, somehow managing to record his third-straight 100 point season while the team ranked 27th in the league in goals per game.<\/p>\n Clearly, the developers at EA feel this year will follow a similar script.<\/p>\n Charlie McAvoy: 89<\/p>\n Charlie McAvoy<\/a> is a prototypical two-way defenseman. But in a league that continues to place more and more emphasis on speed and skill with each passing year, more traditional blue liners, such as him, aren\u2019t as appreciated as they used to be.<\/p>\n McAvoy is the 15th ranked defensemen in the game. Other players in this range are Noah Hanifin and MacKenzie Weegar, which makes sense, as they\u2019re sturdy, 200-foot players who are equally adept at both ends of the ice.<\/p>\n However, the highest rated players at his position, most notably, Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, are the ones who are most effective in the attacking zone.\u00a0McAvoy is by no means a liability on offense, but it\u2019s just not the emphasis of his game, either.<\/p>\n Jeremy Swayman: 85<\/p>\n Prior to last season, there was a legitimate argument to be made that Jeremy Swayman was a top 10 goalie in the NHL, or was at least on the fringes of being one anyway.<\/p>\n But after posting a horrendous .892 save percentage and a 3.11 goals against average in his first full season as a starter, Swayman\u2019s stock took a precipitous fall.<\/p>\n With an overall rating of 85, Swayman is the 20th-ranked goalie in the game, coming in behind other netminders such as Cam Talbot, Mackenzie Blackwood, and his former tandem mate, Linus Ullmark.<\/p>\n Mason Lohrei: 84<\/p>\n As much as McAvoy\u2019s rating his hindered by his offensive abilities, Mason Lohrei\u2019s got a heavy boost.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no secret that the 24-year-old struggled mightily last season, finishing with the worst plus\/minus rating (-43) of any player in the league after being forced to take on a larger role for the Bruins following the injuries of McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, and later the trade of Brandon Carlo.<\/p>\n Still, Lohrei earns a respectable rating of 84 overall thanks to his fluid skating and prowess as a puck mover. As much as that feels a tad generous, it goes to show what Lohrei could potentially be if he ever rounds that defensive side of this game.<\/p>\n Morgan Geekie: 83<\/p>\n One of the biggest questions facing the Bruins entering the season is whether or not Morgan Geekie<\/a> is a legitimate top-six goalscorer.<\/p>\n EA doesn\u2019t appear to think so. Even after posting a career-high 33 goals last season, Geekie\u2019s overall in the game is only 83, far below other players who typically play in the role he\u2019s expected to this year.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the Bruins believe that Geekie is more than just a one hit wonder after signing him to a six-year, $33 million contract extension<\/a> this summer. Hopefully, they\u2019re better evaluators than the developers at EA.<\/p>\n Other Notable Bruins Ratings:<\/p>\n Hampus Lindholm: 86<\/p>\n Nikita Zadorov: 85<\/p>\n Elias Lindholm: 85<\/p>\n Casey Mittelstadt: 85<\/p>\n Pavel Zacha: 84<\/p>\n FOLLOW ANDREW FANTUCCHIO ON\u00a0\ud835\udd4f: @A_FANTUCCHIO<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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