EA NHL 2026 is coming on September 12, 2025, ahead of the rapidly approaching league season and is already making waves across the fanbase.
The ever-important OVRs for players have also been released ahead of the game’s drop, which directly affects how a player performs in-game. Those with a higher rating will feel more dominant on the ice, and the OVRs are often looked at as a measure of how EA views a player’s real-world talent.
It also fuels debate on when a league player is looked at as underrated or when a player receives a surprisingly accurate rating.
Is Maple Leafs’ Winger Finally Getting Deserved Respect?
Maple Leafs left-winger Matthew Knies was given an overall rating of 87. This puts him just outside of the EA NHL 2026’s top 10 left wingers, as Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel rounded out No. 10 with an 89 OVR.
According to EA.com, Knies’ puck-handling scores ranged from 84-85, defending 81-86, offense 87-90, skating 85-91, physicality 86-92 (the 92 was for strength and marked his highest rating), and general 62-86 (the 62 was for faceoffs and marked his lowest rating).
Matthew Knies clocks in at an 87 OVR heading into the 25/26 season👀🔥
Is the Leafs’ young star getting underrated… or is this just the beginning?
Presented by @EASPORTSNHL #NHL26 pic.twitter.com/gQJe6xDRUL
— TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) August 27, 2025
As discussed by Zack Phillips and former Maple Leafs’ enforcer Jay Rosehill on Wednesday’s edition of Leafs Morning Take, Rosehill further emphasized that 87 is an incredibly impressive OVR number for a 22-year-old player.
“I didn’t know if people were going to be mad that he was at 87 or something. I’m like, ‘God damn, that’s high,’ man. Like, what does make McDavid like 97 or something like that? So you think of the guys as the pecking order goes, he’s a little bit younger,” Rosehill said of Knies.
“You probably have to pay your dues. You probably have to win a couple of trophies on the mantle before you start cresting up in that higher echelon of the ’90s for this game. But I think that’s a hell of a good rating.”
He added, “I think that EA recognized the things this kid [Knies] has done in a short amount of time, the impact he can have on a game, and the potential where he could go. I could see him after this season being a 90 player for next year. So no qualms about it with me. Cool to see that and that he gets recognized. In my opinion, that’s him getting recognized as a pretty premier player.”
Knies, standing at 6’3″ and weighing 227 pounds, has been with Toronto ever since he was drafted as the No. 25 overall pick back in 2021. The Arizona native has 94 points (44 goals, 50 assists) on his career so far, including his career-high of 58 points he tallied during the 2024-25 season.
He signed a six-year extension worth $46.5 million back in June with the Toronto franchise, meaning Knies’ OVR should only be expected to hopefully continue to grow in the future.
