‘I'm Going To Make Sure I've Got All The Powers’: Ottawa Charge Reacts To PWHL In NHL 25

On Dec. 5, hockey fans will be able to play as all six PWHL teams and their players in EA Sports’ NHL 25 video game. That news came in a Nov. 13 multi-year partnership announcement, which will ensure the PWHL stays in future EA Sports NHL iterations.

The news has received widespread excitement from hockey fans around the world, and especially so for members of the Ottawa Charge as they enter training camp.

Head coach Carla MacLeod said she’s never picked up a gaming controller in her life, but that didn’t stop the former Team Canada defender from joking about what she’d do in NHL 25.

“I'm going to make myself a player and I'm going to make sure I've got all the powers,” MacLeod said sarcastically. “Best career of my life is going to be in my EA Sports career.”

Teasing aside, MacLeod described the announcement as “really important.”

“I look back when I was growing up and my passion for the game and I didn't have the chance to not only see women playing the game, but certainly no electronic version of us, nothing being celebrated, there were no hockey cards for us to be at this level and for it to be seen as a real sport.

“It's been a long journey to get here, but those little moments, I tease at the start, but those little moments are really important for us and really important that it's reflected in society the right way.”

When the December update comes to NHL 25, PWHL teams, players, and uniforms will all be available in the Play Now, Online Versus, Shootout and Season modes. Women’s players were first introduced to the EA Sports series in NHL 22 through an agreement with the IIHF, but the inclusion of the PWHL is a massive step forward.

The cultural impact of the NHL series in the hockey community can’t be overstated. Finnish defender Ronja Savolainen revealed she was no stranger to the NHL series growing up.

“It's cool because back then I couldn't have a women's team,” she said. “And now you can have PWHL, so it's amazing that you can see your own face too there.

"So I hope they're going to put good numbers on me,” she said of her overall rating, laughing.

Emily Clark said the game was important to her growing up, especially in a male-dominated household.

“Coming from someone who has four older brothers that grew up playing Chel almost nightly, I know my brothers are pretty excited for us and you know, little Clarky's pretty pumped to think that that's a reality now, never could have dreamed of that,” Clark said.

“To know that gamers, no matter how old they are, especially young boys and young girls, they don't know any different, it's pretty cool.”

Even goaltender Logan Angers, who said she isn’t much of a gamer, wants to give it a whirl.

“I'm not someone who really plays, but I think I might have to play just to, you know, play us in the game,” she said. “I think it's such a great opportunity for women's sports for all the kids who play the game can be us out there, it's awesome.”

The PWHL’s press release stated the NHL 25 update will include “advanced body skeletons through SAPIEN technology integration” to create authentic body types and movements. It’s not confirmed what technology will be employed for player likenesses in the game, but Clark is hoping the developers pay close attention to her hair bun.

“It would be nice to have the nice detail of my hair,” she said. “I'm not going to speak on my rating, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Take notes, EA.