It’s that time again folks, a new year, the playoffs are well on their way, so let’s get the gamers into the action with a first look at NHL 11 by EA Sports. On May 19th 2010, I took part in the NHL 11 Community event hosted by Electronic Arts at their magnificent Burnaby location. For any of our readers who have not been there, I highly recommend coming to Vancouver to at least get a glance of the building. For three days we graced the EA campus, joined in on tours, took part in some game play trails as well as taking our own hockey lessons.

For day one, we spent the time getting acquainted with each other, learning about each and every member of our community team. We had people fly in from all over North America, all hoping for the same thing: to get the goods on NHL 11. Starting bright and early on Thursday morning, we headed to EA and were shown around by our gracious host Alain Quinto. The building is magnificent with coffee stands and arcades everywhere! We were taken to a large theater where we were shown slide shows, movies, and live action demos of what to expect from the newest game in the NHL franchise, and let me say to all those eager fans out there, you won’t be disappointed to see what is in store for you.

The latest annoucement that we have been allowed to share with the world is that fact that NHL 11 will be host to the CHL (Canadian Hockey League). You will now have access to hundreds more players to try out in your rosters. According to the press release:

“The Canadian Hockey League (CHL) in association with Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced a four year agreement that will see the league included in EA SPORTS™ NHL® products. The three regional leagues that make up the CHL, including the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), will all have their teams and players represented in EA SPORTS NHL 11 when it becomes available in retail stores this September.” (Brandon, MB. – May 21, 2010 )

So here’s a tidbit to keep those mouths watering, two exclusive screenshots released just for the community event and now I share them with you.