"We wanted it to play like an actual hockey game. We went in and reworked it and made sure that the defense is playing properly and laying down sticks in
authentic Cincinnati Bengals jerseys passing lines. We felt like we really needed to focus on the Wii motion controls and we also made it look a lot better. We also added a new 'Road To The Cup' mode. It's a fun, multi-player game." Zajac, 25, is a proud owner of a Wii and is anxious to play the 2010-11 season as the Devils with hopes of winning a
authentic Cincinnati Bengals jersey Stanley Cup. He admitted to NHL.com how surreal it is to turn on a video game and have the opportunity to play as himself. "It's a pretty weird experience," Zajac said. "Growing up, I played hockey on Nintendo all the time. 'Blades Of Steel' was awesome. I got myself a Wii last year and got back into it. It's been a lot of fun."
Kesler and Zajac took turns playing some stiff competition Wednesday, and
authentic Bengals jerseys afterwards shook hands, signed autographs and took pictures with the opposition. Come next week, though, they'll be at training camp with dreams of winning the Stanley Cup for real. "I just want to improve on what I did last year and just continue with the success I had last year," said Kesler, who won a
authentic Bengals jersey silver medal for the United States at the Olympics before he and the Canucks fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. "Hopefully we can go further in the playoffs."
It would cap a special time in Kesler's life. The folks at 2K Sports certainly know what they have in the former first-round draft pick (No. 23 in 2003). "That was an easy choice for us, because we've been working with Ryan for years," Snyder said of putting Kesler on the cover. "He's very involved in video games. It's one of his passions besides hockey. We felt like Ryan definitely had a breakout year last year, especially his efforts in the Olympics. But we wanted somebody who was truly vested in the product, and that's Ryan for sure."
