Players Admit to Playing as Their Virtual Counterparts

While he spends most of his time in first-person shooters and real-time strategies, Jeremy Smith says that NHL 97 was one of his favorites when he was younger. (Sarah Fuqua) As much as they would like to and as much as their coaches would like them to, hockey players cannot train 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year. They need down time. Several players use that down time polishing up their video gaming skills, with a large number of players admittedly addicted to Call of Duty: Black Ops. Last week, EA Sports released it’s annual hockey installment, NHL 12, to much fanfare. The game features an upgraded physics engine, the Winter Classic, the ability to create a player and work your way up through a CHL career and more. While many fans spend their time playing these games and trying to make the in-game experiences as close to real life as possible, do any of the players actually play the games? “I have before,” Nashville Predators goaltending prospect Jer...