One of the concerns that some gamers might have had when they heard that 2K Sports wasn’t going to release a hockey game this year was that, without direct competition, Electronic Arts would essentially just phone in NHL 11. This is understandable given the relatively slow progression of EA’s Madden franchise over the past few years as a result of having zero competitors on the field. Luckily for hockey fans, this doesn’t seem to be the case as our own Kevin Kelly recently discovered during his first look at NHL 11. Here’s one element that caught his attention (and chin):

“The development team at EA Canada was inspired by the realistic punching in Fight Night Round 4 and decided to adopt a similar approach. Speaking of punching, fighting will still be in the game, although according to producer Sean Ramjagsingh, it will be authentic to the sport. Which, according to my informal office poll, is the number one reason to watch hockey.”

To find out more about what’s new and improved this year, be sure to “check” out Kevin’s full NHL 11 first look preview.