With fall fast approaching, it means the start of the NFL, NHL and NBA seasons. It also means the launch of the new video games for each respective sport.

Yesterday the beta version of NHL 18 was released, giving some people a chance to give the game an early test-run before its official launch later this fall.

One of the great topics in video games, not just among the people buying them, but the players in them, in what those players are rated. We all think there are certain guys who are better or worse than the rating EA or 2K has given them, but regardless, they’re a fun way to get somewhat of an idea of who the best players in the world are in their respective sport.

And then there’s this shit from NHL 18, which is a screengrab of a TSN social media account:

I honestly believe these insane ratings from EA are what makes it so hard for a lot of NHL fans to evaluate talent pic.twitter.com/pBzJW6Sqwb

— Nick (@DogGilmour) July 26, 2017

That’s right. Connor McDavid, the guy who just won the NHL scoring title and was named MVP, is the 17th best player in hockey, at least according to EA Sports.

That’s insane. There is maybe one player who should be rated in the same galaxy as McDavid, and that’s Sidney Crosby, who, of course, is rated as the best player on the game. But the insanity doesn’t stop there! Crosby isn’t even the solo best player on the game, he’s tied with Patrick Kane!

Now, don’t get me wrong, Patrick Kane is an amazing player and one of the five best forwards in the NHL. Honestly, I think a 92 for him seems about right. But that means Crosby and McDavid are both way undervalued by NHL 18.

That list is of the top-22 players in the league, and then last season’s breakout rookies, Auston Matthews and Patrick Laine, both of whom are criminally  underrated at 83 overall.

Really quickly, here’s the list of names on that list that are way overrated: Jonathan Quick, Shea Weber, Jonathan Toews, and Ryan Suter are all probably five points better than they should be. While Crosby, McDavid, kKarlsson, Burns, and Subban are probably five points lower than they really should be. 10 points in the case of McDavid.

And this brings up the biggest issue I have with the NHL video game series: Every team is basically the same. Every team is some ranking between 85 and 90 overall, with almost no difference. If you simulated 100 different seasons, there would be no teams that standout. I haven’t bought an NHL game since NHL 16, and on that game they had the Detroit Red Wings rated higher than the Chicago Blackhawks, which is just laughable.

And it’s across the board. There are no truly awful players in the NHL games. Even some guy like Steve Ott, who is basically out there to be a road cone and throw fists, is like a 75 overall. Steve Ott is not a 75 overall in anything in hockey, except being an asshole.

Honestly, I don’t get how the people at EA Sports set these rankings, had Crosby tied with Kane as the best player, put the actual best player in the world at 17th and thought, “Oh yeah, nailed it.”

What a joke.