For the first time in the history of EA's NHL series, women's teams are fully playable. The women's teams come to the professional hockey game through a partnership with the International Ice Hockey Federation, and some of the playable athletes include Marie-Philip Poulin and Natalie Spooner of Team Canada, as well as Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne-Schofield of Team USA.

　　Poulin said in a statement, "Representation matters, and I'm thrilled that every young girl who picks up a controller to play NHL 22 can feel like hockey is a sport for her, too." She added: "It has been such a privilege to lace up my digital skates for the very first time in NHL 22, and to get to do so while playing for my country makes it all the more surreal."

　　Sixteen international men's teams and 10 international women's teams are now in NHL 22 as part of the IIHF content. All players are available across Play Now, Online Vs. Threes Now, and Shootout.

　　EA Sports GM Sean Ramjagsingh said, "The introduction of this latest IIHF content to NHL 22 continues the franchise's evolution to reflect the growing diversity of its fanbase."

　　This is just the latest new content for NHL 22, following the IIHF World Junior Championship that was added in December.

　　The full patch notes for today's NHL 22 are available here. NHL 22 is available now across Xbox and PlayStation consoles. The series is expected to return later this year, though it has yet to be officially announced.