King Of The E-Rink

The video game cover to the left hid inside the one game that literally gets played at HBIC Headquarters at least once per week. NHL '94 by EASports is still, in my view, the greatest game ever produced for anything and I will fight you if you try to argue that fact. Ok, I won't fight you, but you have to admit that it's quite iconic. There was so much to love about NHL '94, and I'm not any game ever came close in my childhood to replacing NHL '94. It might be, in this writer's view, the perfect game from top to bottom. Lemieux, Gretzky, Roy, Hasek, Bourque, Lidstrom, Roenick, Selanne, Yzerman, Messier - all the hockey greats from my era were in this game!

If you know anything about me, you know that I love this game. I usually bring my Sega Genesis and copy of NHL '94 into the radio station during the week-long fundraiser we do, and radio DJs will battle out their differences over the classic sports game. I've been known to take the woefully bad Ottawa Senators and somehow still pull out victory over All-Star squads, so I have a bit of a reputation when it comes to my gameplay and most aim to knock me off the tower of NHL '94 power I seem to hold.

Why am I writing about this today? Well, I think I may have found my brethren.

How cool is it that NHL '94 is getting its own documentary?!? For those that love this game, this documentary will hopefully speak to the little kid inside them that chose the Jets to play with Selanne, that chose the Blackhawks to see if Roenick and Larmer could be Lemieux and Jagr, that chose the Kings to see Gretzky win one more Stanley Cup. I can't guarantee this documentary will win an Oscar, but for those of use who love EASports' NHL '94, this is a documentary for the ages!

Here's the catch if you think you have what it takes to be the King of NHL '94: they're holding a tournament in Las Vegas on September 30 that will allow competitors to see the NHL '94 documentary! And it features a cash prize of $10,000! How cool is that? I won't be in attendance due to work and life obligations, but if they were ever to bring something like this to my neck of the woods, I'd consider it. How cool would it be to be called the King of NHL '94?

If you loved the game of NHL '94 as much as I do, you'll have this documentary on your must-see list this fall. I'm excited to see what some of the best gamers do in the game, and I think it's cool that so many people have held onto their games and continued to play them despite advances in technology and gaming that have changed the gaming experience. I have always been a retro gaming guy, and NHL '94 is my go-to retro game that I love.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!