NHL Goalie Cam Ward Loves Xbox 360
At A Glance
- NHL goalie Cam Ward talks about the NHL and Xbox 360.
A Cinderella story unfolded in the NHL during the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Twenty-two year old rookie goalie Cam Ward came in to relieve starting goalie Martin Gerber in Game Two of the Carolina Hurricanes' first round of the NHL playoffs.
Ward went on to win his first seven starts in net, tying a record that was etched in NHL lore back in 1930. After winning 14 of his 28 starts during the regular season, Ward back-stopped Carolina to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, winning 11 of his 16 starts in the post-season.
Cam Ward, starting goalie for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Ward, who grew up outside of Edmonton, Alberta, had the chance to go head-to-head with his boyhood idol, New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. Ward earned his first NHL postseason shutout against Brodeur in Game One of the second round. After Carolina emerged victorious in five games, Brodeur passed the torch to Ward and told him, "Go all the way."
Ward did just that, winning the Eastern Conference Championship in seven grueling games against the Buffalo Sabres. Ward is the youngest goalie to start in a Stanley Cup Finals game since Montreal's Patrick Roy guarded the net in 1986.
"Hockey video games are great promotion.
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of fans learn
the rules and the fundamentals of
hockey from the games."
Before the Stanley Cup Finals began, 2K Games ran a simulation of the Carolina versus Edmonton series with its upcoming NHL 2K7 game. According to the results, the Hurricanes beat the Oilers in a seven game series.
Healthy Competition
Although he's been busy of late, what with the NHL playoff action and all, Ward has been called the best videogame player on the Hurricanes by 22 year-old teammate Eric Staal, who leads the NHL in post-season points. Throughout the season, Staal spends a lot of time at Ward's house playing Xbox 360™ games like 2K Sports' NHL® 2K6. Most of the time, Ward says he emerges as the winning gamer against Staal.
"Sometimes we play as the Hurricanes because it's fun to joke around," said Ward. "If Eric Staal makes a bad play in the game I'll give it to him because he's sitting right beside me. It's kind of fun in that sense."
When asked what team he plays the most, Ward admitted that he sticks with Canadian teams like the Oilers. The same Oilers he watched as a kid. The same team he hopes to beat to take home Lord Stanley's Cup.
Ward makes a save in the virtual Stanley Cup Finals.
The Next Best Thing to Real Hockey
Ward has been gaming since he was a little kid. When he wasn't laced up with a pair of skates, he was playing hockey video games and sports games. Now he's in the hockey video games he plays on Xbox 360.
"I think it's amazing how realistic hockey games have become," said Ward. "When you look at the old Nintendo games you played when you were a young kid, and then look at Xbox 360, it's come so far. You can actually play the game and pick out each player by looking at their appearance."
Hockey videogames give Ward the chance to live out an experience he can't get in the NHL. He said NHL 2K6 gives him the best of both worlds.
"You're an NHL goaltender now, but you always think about what it would have been like to score some goals," said Ward. "Now I get the privilege of doing so on Xbox 360."
Ward's a big believer in the importance of hockey video games in growing the Canadian sport south of the border.
"Hockey video games are great promotion for the hockey industry," said Ward. "They allow people to have the opportunity to play the sport through the games. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of fans learn the rules and the fundamentals of hockey from the games."
The view from the goal in the NHL playoffs.
Cam's Games of Choice
Throughout the season, Ward says he turns to video games to get his mind off of his work. "I do like to turn on a videogame and let a few hours fly by," said Ward. His favorite go-to game on Xbox 360 is Activision's Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. Ward said he never gets tired of that game. He'd love to meet Tony Hawk in real life one day.
Another game that impressed Ward is Ubisoft's Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter™, which happens to be made in Raleigh, home of the Hurricanes. "It's unbelievable how realistic that game is," said Ward, who also likes to play other sports games like 2K Sports' Major League Baseball® 2K6.
Whether gamers buy Electronic Arts' NHL 07 or 2K Games' NHL 2K7, Ward will be the starting goalie for the default setting of both games. His Carolina Hurricanes, which moved to Raleigh from Hartford in 1997, have managed to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in four seasons. Ward's teammate, and fellow Xbox 360 gamer Mike Commodore will also be featured in the new games, along with Staal.
Article by John Gaudiosi
