(Click to enlarge)
(Stick-tap to @ScottJohnson48 for his great work on the infographic.)
Looking at EA Sports “NHL” series over the years (infographic)
Posted by Justin Bourne under Infographics, NHL 13 on Sep 11, 2012
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The cover of the original NHL Hockey game featured Glenn Healy, not Kelly Hrudey.
Hey Billy, that’s Kelly Hrudey on the cover. Here’s the box art: http://i.imgur.com/RrbrX.jpg
That is definitely Healy. Hrudey always wore that god awful Jofa helmet and cage.
Healy was part of the package sent back to the Isles for Hrudey, so unless the picture is from two years before the game, it’s not him. And I’m guessing it sure as shooting isn’t Daniel Berthiaume.
Scott, that’s Glenn Healy. It’s definitely not Kelly Hrudey.
Guys, guys, its neither. This is a staged photo, EA did not have an nhlpa license for this game. There are not even numbers on the jerseys.
That’s why there are no numbers or names to go by, and why the ID is so hard. But staging the shot – with a ref, with a chewed-up ice surface, and with a guy getting cross-checked onto the top of a goalie – would be even more unlikely.
I mean, it looks a lot more like Heals than Hrudey, but that would peg the photo very specifically to Gretzky’s first season with LA, 1988-89, because after that Healy signed with the Isles and before that he was in purple and gold. This means that the photo above would have been from New Jersey’s two visits to LA (yup, two of them), 29 Nov 88 (Kings 9, Devils 3) or 2 Feb 89 (Kings 6, Devils 6). John MacLean had 4g and 3a in the two games.
Why EA would only have a two-year-old photo to promote a 1991 hockey game is unfathomable now, but consider the time period. Finding usable photos would have been a lot harder without an internet Images search.
This is awesome! Well done!
Sweet article! Thank you.
Amazing. Well done Scott!
(Please indulge this goalie nerd with too much time on his hands.)
The game was released in August 1991, so the pic had to have been taken during the 1989-90 season or earlier. The Los Angeles Kings’ goalies that season were Kelly Hrudey, Mario Gosselin, Ron Scott, and Robb Stauber. In the pic, the Kings are wearing white which tells us that it’s very likely a home game for them.
Using the awesome HockeyGoalies.org site:
- Gosselin, as a King, never played the Devils at home.
- Scott, as a King, never played the Devils at home.
- Stauber, as a King, never played the Devils at home.
- Well, it’s clearly not Hrudey. Just look at the pic.
In the 1988-89 season, the Kings’ goalies were Glenn Healy, Kelly Hrudey, Mark Fitzpatrick, Roland Melanson, and Bob Janecyk.
- Janecyk, as a King, never played the Devils at home.
- Melanson, as a King, last played the Devils at home on 11/29/87. However, the Kings still wore yellow and purple. The 1987-88 season was their last in yellow and purple before switching to black and silver. The cover pic HAD to have been taken in the 1988-89 season.
Here’s where we narrow it down:
- Fitzpatrick, as a King, played the Devils at home only once – on 02/02/89. He replaced Glenn Healy, who also played the Devils at home earlier in that season – on 11/29/88.
Although Healy and Fitzpatrick both wore similar black Cooper SK2000 helmet/white Cooper HM30 cage combos, Fitzpatrick’s lid had a very noticeable white bib-like throat guard. He also wore black and white Vaughn gear during his brief stop in Los Angeles. That leaves us with Glenn Healy, whom the goalie in the cover he completely resembles.
Ah. Nice. This is what I get for not scrolling down! Well-researched. Your fellow goalie nerd salutes you.
Haven’t played since ea nhl since 06, but its definitely a great. 02 with lemieux I played for 3 years. Also wasn’t Manon rheaume in ea nhl back in the 90s?
NHL 2002 and their incredible fast and cheap wrap around goals, and the weird giant player games amazing.
Also of interest, the original game in 1991 was also released in Europe as EA Hockey and featured only international teams (but real players – no names though)
http://retrosportsgamer.com/2011/12/01/twenty-years-of-eas-nhl-hockey-a-look-back-at-the-original/
I should clarify – the original game was released as EA Hockey in Europe. There was not a Mega Drive version of NHL Hockey.