Oilers’ Connor McDavid named top rated center in EA Sports NHL 26

The final positional top 10 list for the player ratings in EA Sports’ NHL 26 is out, with Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid being named the top center in the game.

This is the eighth straight game that McDavid has been in sole position of the top center of the game, having done so since NHL 19, and it’s the ninth straight being in the top altogether, as he was tied with Pittsburgh Penguins‘ captain Sidney Crosby in NHL 18. It’s also the second straight season that McDavid has a 97 overall rating.

This comes after a slightly more human season from Connor McDavid by his lofty standards, as he had 26 goals and 74 assists for 100 points, albeit with 67 games played while dealing with injuries. However, health was not an issue come playoff time, as he had seven goals and 26 assists for 33 points in 22 playoff games.

McDavid’s 97 overall also means that he’s the top-rated player in the game. However, after the Colorado Avalanche‘s Nathan MacKinnon was the sole player in second with a 96 overall rating in NHL 25, several players have caught up to him, including the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl and the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s Nikita Kucherov.

After McDavid, MacKinnon and Draisaitl, Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov sits in fourth place at 95 overall after back-to-back Stanley Cup victories. Crosby, the Vegas Golden Knights‘ Jack Eichel and the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Auston Matthews are tied for fifth at 94 overall, the New Jersey Devils‘ Jack Hughes is eighth at 93, and the Lightning’s Brayden Point is ninth at 92 overall. The Winnipeg Jets‘ Mark Scheifele is the final center named in the top 10 at 91 overall, but there may also be other centers with the same rating not in the top 10.

EA Sports player ratings help determine the quality of each player in the league, which in turn effects both their skillset during on-ice gameplay as well as how well they simulate during modes like Season, Franchise and Be a Pro.

NHL 26 will be released on September 12th, 2025 on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.