A Women’s Hockey Fan’s Guide to NHL 26 — And Whether It’s Worth Your Money
In NHL 26, women’s hockey takes a step sideways, the PWHL remains playable but stagnant so far.
I’ve played every EA Sports NHL title at launch since NHL 14, back on my old PS3 when I was just ten years old. Even then, you could technically make a woman in “Be A Pro,” but it was barely more than a checkbox: the customization was minimal, nothing in the presentation changed, and the career itself treated you exactly like a male NHL prospect.
As a kid who dreamed of a league like the PWHL, I wanted more – a true women’s hockey experience where I could see myself on the ice.
Last year’s NHL 25 felt like the first real step toward that, with the addition of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). With NHL 26 now here, I hoped EA would finally build on that foundation.
The short answer: the PWHL is still in the game, but it hasn’t grown at all.
What’s New for Women’s Hockey in NHL 26
- Expansion teams added: The league’s original six teams return, plus Seattle and Vancouver, the 2025 expansion clubs.
- On-ice feel improved: EA’s new ICE-Q 2.0 engine, powered by NHL EDGE tracking data, refines skating, momentum, and puck physics. Goalie AI got smarter (and more human). These changes help PWHL games feel smoother and more authentic.
- Be A Pro gets a narrative refresh: Career mode now has more off-ice storytelling and brand-building moments, but still doesn’t let you create and develop a PWHL player.
How It Compares: Women in Other Sports Games
EA isn’t breaking new ground here, other sports franchises have moved further and faster:
| Game | Women’s Features | Why It’s Ahead of NHL 26 |
|---|---|---|
| EA Sports FC (FIFA) | FC 26 fully integrates women’s football across all modes—adding expanded leagues, a dedicated Women’s Career mode, and mixed-gender Ultimate Team squads. | Shows how parity can be added across all modes, not just quick play. |
| NBA 2K26 | WNBA fully playable; The W career path; WNBA stars now part of MyTeam alongside NBA players. | Offers a dedicated women’s career mode and cross-league rosters — true equal footing. |
| MLB The Show 24/25 | Added a fully playable women’s “Road to the Show” storyline — you can create and develop a female ballplayer with unique narrative beats. | Demonstrates how to build a women-specific career arc into the flagship single-player mode. |
| NHL 26 | PWHL teams in quick modes only; no updated rosters or deep career/franchise options. | Inclusion without evolution — feels stuck at year one. |
FIFA/FC integrated women into its flagship card mode (Ultimate Team). NBA 2K added a parallel career (“The W”) and mixed rosters in MyTeam. MLB The Show went a step further, adding a dedicated women’s storyline to its most popular single-player mode, Road to the Show.
By contrast, NHL 26’s Be A Pro still doesn’t allow you to start as a PWHL player or follow a women-specific career path, a missed opportunity when peers have proven it can be done.
The Good
- Representation still matters: Having the PWHL present in a mainstream hockey game is important, especially for new fans.
- Better core gameplay: ICE-Q 2.0 and goalie AI tweaks make games more realistic and fun.
- Casual discovery: New players browsing teams may stumble into the PWHL and learn about the league.
The Frustrating
- No true career or franchise play: The PWHL is locked out of the game’s deepest modes.
- Lack of updates: Year two of inclusion looks identical to year one.
- Annual-update fatigue: If you owned NHL 25, the leap might not justify full price.
- You can no longer play as the Canadian and American women's national teams.
Verdict — Should Women’s Hockey Fans Buy NHL 26?
If you skipped NHL 25 and want a way to play with the new PWHL teams and rosters, NHL 26 is worth it. The gameplay feels better, and just having the league in the game matters for visibility.
But if you already own NHL 25 and hoped for deeper women’s hockey integration, true career mode, franchise control, accurate rosters, meaningful expansion content – this year doesn’t deliver just yet.
NHL 26 keeps the door cracked open for women’s hockey but doesn’t walk through it. Compared to how FIFA and NBA 2K have evolved, this feels like a holding pattern. For the women’s game to truly feel in the game, EA needs to move beyond logos and quick play and give PWHL fans the depth other sports titles already offer.
Editor’s note: EA Sports told The Ice Garden that “the PWHL will not be in the game at launch, but we will keep you updated on plans for implementation.”
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