EA FAILED THIS YEAR - NHL 15 Hype Train

Just after the Madden hype train is leaving the station, EA is bringing out info on NHL 15. Must be a move to try and overshadow MLB 14 The Show a bit. #GoBlackhawks

Announcement
EA Sports Official Website
PS4 Features only (PS3 will see limited updates)

• 12 Player NHL Collision Physics
  
• Real Puck Physics
  
• Authentic Player and Equipment Models
  
• Unprecedented Player Likeness
  
• Superstar Skill Stick
  
• Authentic Arenas
  
• New Commentary Team
  
• NBC Sports Gameday Presentation
  
• Living Crowds
  
• Vision AI
  

Polygon
Joystiq

Cover Vote
Link
Runs until June 1st in a 3 round tourney. Underwhelming options, but at least EA narrowed it down.

Pre-Orders
GameStop (or EB Games)
>> $25 in Gold Packs for Hockey Ultimate Team.

Anyone else
>> $15 in Gold Packs for Hockey Ultimate Team.

And that's it. Oh and the Gold Packs are spread out once per week, so if you skip a week, you're likely SOL.

Gameplay
Stick Skills are easier to use on the right stick, but still deep to master. Player AI is now better to find shooting spots and anticipate passing lanes.

New announcers
The best update to the game is the inclusion of the best sportscaster in all of sports, Doc Emrick and his partner Eddie Olczyk.

Authentic Arenas and Living Crowds
There are said to be 9,000 different fan models in the game.

Physics
All 12 players on the ice will have their own physics calculations. So collisions will be realistic, and huddles along the boards for pucks will be natural. The puck physics were completely redone to be more unpredictable.

Graphics
The hockey players are made up of 3 separate models. The player, their equipment layer, and then their jersey.  Player details will use the UFC graphics engine to reproduce high quality scans of each player.

SB Nation - The NHL 15 cover vote is probably rigged

Because of course it is...

Release date announced to be September 9th. And like Madden, there will be an "Ultimate Edition" boosting Ultimate Team packs to $40 worth of content.

Polygon - Preview event
Touches on puck physics, the broadcast duo, and player design.

Joystiq | No NHL 94 Anniversary Mode in the PS4 version of the game. PS3 version will keep what they added last year.

EASports.com | Player design

Operation Sports | Gamescom EA Presentation

The mounting evidence of no EASHL in next-gen NHL 15 is almost definitive. EA has to be on thin ice with this game now, and if this expands to include no Connected GM mode as well, they're losing a good number of purchases, including mine.

PastaPadre | Back of Box; PS4 and XBone

In the latest development of whether NHL 15 on PS4 will have all the features or not, it is hypothesized that Career modes might be all rolled up into one mega mode.  EA Sports is expected to reveal the game modes this week. They better bring it...

The PS4/XBone achievement lists have been leaked by someone seeing the game show up in the XBone Dashboard.
>> Twitch archive of achievements
The list makes no mention of EASHL and GM Connected mode at all. Pretty sad when you consider the extra development time they had for this year by not releasing a PS4 version last year.

Looks like the NHL Franchise is over before it began. :/