Mitch Marner – 90 (NHL 20 Rating: 89)
Mitch Marner has been able to remain as one of the best playmakers in the league for the past three seasons, and despite missing 11 games due to injury, he still remains second on the Maple Leafs in scoring behind Auston Matthews.
Marner was fourth in the NHL last season in assists with 68 and put up 94 points, earning him an 89 overall rating in NHL 20. This past season, Marner finished off with 51 helpers, making it his fourth consecutive season leading the Maple Leafs in assists in his young career.
He is arguably my favourite player to use in the video game. His speed and creativity on the ice are portrayed pretty equally in the virtual version, and with his performance this season, he earns a plus one in my books.
Auston Matthews – 92 (NHL 20 Rating: 90)
The NHL 20 cover boy will definitely be getting an upgrade in this next game, because there are still so many attributes in this year’s virtual version of Auston Matthews that deserve an upgrade.
First, having his balance rated at an 88 is criminal. Matthews has been able to remain composed and transfer so much power in off-balance shots that compromise his original shooting position. In addition to this, I would also upgrade his strength (88) and aggressiveness (80) attributes by a significant amount. This season we saw Matthews use his body on a number of occasions in order to knock defenders off of the puck and hem them in the defensive zone to cause turnovers.
The highest player with a 92 overall rating in NHL 20 is Nikita Kucherov, and the highest 91 overall is Patrick Kane. Matthews finished 42nd in points last season and still finished top 20 in goals despite missing 14 games due to injury, and has taken a massive jump in offensive production, now ninth in the NHL in points behind guess who? Kane and Kucherov.
To think that Matthews could potentially be a 92 overall at just 22-years-old is insane. While it is yet to happen, if he keeps this torrid pace of improvement as his career progresses, everyone will be picking the Leafs as their team in their next game of Chel.