UPDATE: NHL 09 Demo Out on PSN, Xbox Live Early Sept

[ernie]

On one hands on not too long ago it was metioned that in Be A Pro Mode if you aren't on the ice you can choose to watch the game or choose to take control of another player until you are back on the ice again.

I suppose it's hard to sim a hockey game the same way they do in madden when you aren't on the field, so they needed to allow people the ability to take control of another player for the 45 minutes of the game you are on the bench.

[Pokerface]

I'm sorry I don't want to sound stupid but are you guys playing features of be a pro in the demo version????

[Russic]

Originally Posted by Pokerface

I'm sorry I don't want to sound stupid but are you guys playing features of be a pro in the demo version????

Yes, the demo features a single period that you can either play as a full team or as a single individual (in the demo you are restricted to either Crosby or Zetterberg). In the full game you can play the be a pro mode with either a pre-existing nhl player or you can create your own.

[stuckinchuck]

Anyone figure out how to do one handed dekes?

[Russic]

Originally Posted by stuckinchuck

Anyone figure out how to do one handed dekes?

If you're asking how to do them the answer is yes. If you're asking how to do them successfully then the answer is no.

To do a one handed deke just "roll back" on the back hand. For instance, with iginla you would push the stick to the 9 o'clock position (his backhand) and then roll the stick downwards toward the 6 o'clock position. This will cause the player to release one hand from the stick.

How you score from this bloody angle I haven't been able to figure out. Looks like it will act as it should ... a once in a while, every now and then jaw-dropper.

[czure32]

Originally Posted by Russic

If you're asking how to do them the answer is yes. If you're asking how to do them successfully then the answer is no.

To do a one handed deke just "roll back" on the back hand. For instance, with iginla you would push the stick to the 9 o'clock position (his backhand) and then roll the stick downwards toward the 6 o'clock position. This will cause the player to release one hand from the stick.

How you score from this bloody angle I haven't been able to figure out. Looks like it will act as it should ... a once in a while, every now and then jaw-dropper.

Ive scored all of once with a one handed deke
and it was done during the tutorial, and completely by accident
It wasnt the true "Forsberg" one handed deke where the goalie was out of position and it was just a simple tuck into the open side of the net...no mine barely squeaked through the 5-hole. I have since tried to duplicate this probably atleast a hundred times, and have never come close

[Russic]

IGN Review is up if anybody is interested:

9.0

[Staypuft]

From the review:

NHL 09 isn’t just a great hockey game, it’s one of the best sports games to be released in the last decade.

This does nothing to curb my excitement.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by fredr123

This is very interesting to me. Let me try and put the pieces together here.
1. You can create your own player.
2. You can choose to be a goalie, defenceman or forward.
3. You can further choose a roll for your player (stay at home defenceman, sniper, playmaker, grinder, etc.).
4. You can select a mode that permits you to play as only your character (either created or pre-existing).
5. You have to sit in the bench and watch when your player is not on the ice for a shift.
6. You can play in a mode where you start in the minors and attempt to prove yourself through performance on the ice such that you can make the Big Club and get minutes in the NHL.
7. Therefore, if you are destined to be a third or fourth line mucker you could spend most of your EA Sports NHL 09 experience sitting on the bench watching a simulated game going on around you.

from the ign review:

Of course, you can't be on the ice all the time. That just wouldn't be realistic. Instead, you'll have to also manage when to come off and back on to the ice. It adds a big strategy element that is usually missing from a standard game where line changes are set to be handled by the AI by default. If you call for a line change to come off the ice when your opponent is attacking you're leaving your defense wide open for a goal. You'll need to dump the puck deep into their zone and then make the swap, and the same goes for coming back on to the ice.

Be a pro online is when you never come off the ice.

[Jayems]

the other interesting thing is that be a pro is separated between online and offline. I thought I could take my guy to practice offline and build his points up so i don't have to rely on teammates being online to do so... apparently not.