With NHL 19';s official release right around the corner, it seems appropriate
to start looking through each team';s roster and seeing which teams appear to
be the strongest and which appear to be the weakest in the newest installment
of this legendary video game franchise.Related: NHL 19 - A Refreshing Twist on
 the Classic Game

Now that the Atlantic, Metropolitan and Central Divisions are complete, it';s
time to close out the Western Conference and the NHL with the Pacific Division.
 All of the ratings included are from the Aug. 31 2018 update of the
game.Anaheim Ducks:

Ryan Getzlaf - 88Rickard Rakell - 86Hampus Lindholm - 85Corey Perry - 85John
Gibson - 85Adam Henrique - 84Jakob Silfverberg - 83Josh Manson - 83Cam Fowler -
 83Ryan Kesler - 83

The Anaheim Ducks roster remains among the best in the NHL and that will be
reflected in NHL 19. A team that features multiple players in the mid-80s
range, the well-rounded nature of the Ducks'; top-10 in NHL 19 accurately
depicts their real-life situation.Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks, Oct. 24, 2017
(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

A team that promises to get most of its production from established players,
the absence of a prospect on this list isn';t surprising.Arizona Coyotes:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson - 88Antti Raanta - 84Alex Galchenyuk - 84Niklas
Hjalmarsson - 84Derek Stepan - 84Clayton Keller - 84Alex Goligoski - 82Jason
Demers - 82Christian Dvorak - 82Brandon Perlini - 81

On paper, the Arizona Coyotes top-1o in NHL 19 isn';t the worst. That said,
there are far better rosters to choose from and the second-highest player on
their team is Raanta with an 84 overall rating.Coyotes defenseman Oliver
Ekman-Larsson (Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)

The well-rounded nature of the list is fine but the lack of high-end talent
behind Ekman-Larsson is concerning. With that in mind, both Galchenyuk and
Keller could see significant increases in their overalls in NHL 19 if they have
 good seasons in real life.Calgary Flames:

Johnny Gaudreau - 90Sean Monahan - 87Mark Giordano - 86Mike Smith - 86Noah
Hanifin - 84Mikael Granlund - 84James Neal - 84T.J. Brodie - 84Matthew Tkachuk
- 83Elias Lindholm - 83

The Flames have one of the most well-rounded top-10s in NHL 19 with a nice mix
of high-end ratings on top and a higher floor than most teams. Considering that
 Tkachuk and Lindholm could both see their ratings increased even higher
throughout the season, it would appear the Flames are in good shape.Johnny
Gaudreau #13 of the Calgary Flames (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

With a nice combination of skill and grit, the Flames should be a fun team to
play with the new technology introduced in NHL 19.Edmonton Oilers:

Connor McDavid - 94Leon Draisaitl - 87Oscar Klefbom - 84Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -
84Adam Larsson - 83Cam Talbot - 83Andrej Sekera - 82Darnell Nurse - 82Milan
Lucic - 82Matt Benning - 80

The Edmonton Oilers have the highest-rated player heading into NHL 19';s
launch. That shouldn';t be too surprising considering how successful Connor
McDavid has been on a personal level since debuting in the NHL. With that said,
 the Oilers do see a steep drop-off in terms of ratings from player No. 3 on
this list and beyond.Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, Oct. 21, 2017 (Amy Irvin
/ The Hockey Writers)

The Oilers are hopeful that they can bounce back in 2018-19 and make a run for
a playoff spot. Whether or not they manage to do so is unknown right now but
the NHL 19 version of the team will benefit from the services of Sekera. The
real team will not.Los Angeles Kings:

Drew Doughty - 92Anze Kopitar - 90Jonathan Quick - 89Ilya Kovalchuk - 86Jeff
Carter - 86Jake Muzzin - 85Tyler Toffoli - 83Alec Martinez - 83Tanner Pearson -
 82Dion Phaneuf - 81

The Los Angeles Kings made a big splash this offseason by signing Kovalchuk out
 of the KHL. The Kings were a very solid team in 2017-18 and with the addition
of one of the best scorers of a generation, the team should find its way into
the postseason once again next season.Drew Doughty #8, Los Angeles Kings -
December 18, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

While Kovalchuk hasn';t played in the NHL since 2012-13, his performance in the
 KHL kept his rating stellar in NHL 19 at 86 overall. Combining that with an
already impressive set of ratings like Doughty and Kopitar (both over 90
overall) and Quick (89 overall) and the Kings look to be in good shape in the
video game and in reality.San Jose Sharks:

Erik Karlsson - 90Brent Burns - 89Joe Pavelski - 87Martin Jones -
87Marc-Edouard Vlasic - 86Logan Couture - 85Evander Kane - 84Joe Thornton -
84Tomas Hertl - 83Justin Braun - 83

The San Jose Sharks just got a whole lot better with Erik Karlsson in the mix.
While he may not officially be on the Sharks roster right now in NHL 19, he
will be soon. Because of this, he was removed from the Ottawa player list and
included in San Jose';s.Burns missed out on the Lindsay award, but was awarded
the Norris. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The Sharks were able to get this trade done without including anybody on their
own top-10 list and even managed to get it done without taking on the contract
of Bobby Ryan. The Sharks will be good in the NHL in 2018-19 and will be just
as good in NHL 19.Vancouver Canucks:

Bo Horvat - 85Brock Boeser - 85Chris Tanev - 84Alex Edler - 82Loui Eriksson -
82Jacob Markstrom - 82Sven Baertschi - 82Sam Gagner - 80Ben Hutton - 80Michael
Del Zotto - 79

The Vancouver Canucks are the only team in the  NHL to feature a player below
80 overall in their top-10 players. The team also only has two players ranked
at 85 overall or higher which isn';t a great sign heading into the season. If
both Horvat and Boeser can have good seasons once again in 2018-19, however, it
 wouldn';t be surprising to see their ratings climb as the NHL 19 cycle
continues.Vegas Golden Knights:

Marc-Andre Fleury - 87Max Pacioretty - 87Jonathan Marchessault - 86William
Karlsson - 85Reilly Smith - 84Paul Stastny - 83Brayden McNabb - 83Nate Schmidt
- 83Shea Theodore - 83Eric Haula - 82

Full disclosure on the Vegas Golden Knights - Max Pacioretty isn';t actually on
 the roster as of the latest update on Aug. 31 2018 but his rating of an
87-overall would rank him second on the team.

The Golden Knights are looking to make even more noise in their second season
after competing in the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. The
additions of Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny should help them on that journey.

 

 

The post NHL 19: Top 10 Player Ratings By Team - Pacific Division appeared
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