NHL 20 Ratings: Best Snipers

Scoring goals is what the NHL is all about. The modern game continues to gradually move away from a focus on the physical side of hockey to speed, finesse, and goals.

In NHL 20, there certainly isn’t a shortage of talented goalscorers, particularly those with the designated role of sniper. In each forward position, there’s a great player that boasts tremendous shooting attributes and other lofty complementary ratings.

So, here are the best snipers in NHL 20. All of the figures are taken from within Franchise Mode on the 10 October 2019 Online Roster.

Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

Overall: 92
Age: 26-years-old
Position: Right Wing
Shooting Attributes: Five-Star
Shoots: Left
Nationality: Russian

Nikita Kucherov may have got off to a rather tepid start in the NHL with nine goals in his 52 games of 2013/14, but now he’s one of the league’s premier snipers. The Russian sharpshooter has at least 30 goals in each of the last four seasons, scoring 29 in his sophomore campaign of 2014/15.

Through the opening 30 games of this season, Kucherov knocked in ten goals and 34 points despite the Tampa Bay Lighting struggling to string wins together.

Kucherov is a tremendous all-around player in NHL 20, but his greatest talents lie in his shooting ability and puck skills. Kucherov boasts mighty ratings of 96 offensive awareness 95 passing, 95 puck control, 95 wrist shot accuracy, 95 poise, 94 deking, and 94 hand-eye.

Regarding overall rating, Kucherov is the joint-best sniper in NHL 20, but his shooting attributes average of 92 across all four is dwarfed by one other skater.

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Overall: 92
Age: 33-years-old
Position: Left Wing
Shooting Attributes: Five-Star
Shoots: Right
Nationality: Russian

Alex Ovechkin has been considered as one of, if not the best snipers in the NHL for many years now. The media has long-hyped a rivalry between Ovi and Sidney Crosby. While the Penguins captain has suffered many injuries and played fewer games, Ovechkin is ahead in the goals column with over 200 more scores.

Now 33-years-old, the Caps captain is still on the top goalscorers list, notching 21 through the first 34 games to sit third overall. Ovechkin is simply an unstoppable goal-scoring machine.

Alex Ovechkin boasts an unreal set of attributes in shooting, with 95 slap shot accuracy, 95 slap shot power, 94 wrist shot accuracy, and 94 wrist shot power to average a rating of 94.5 across the set. If the Russian has the puck on his stick, it’s harder to not score.

Sniping isn’t Ovechkin’s only strength, however, as he boasts lofty numbers of 96 for hand-eye, 95 for puck control, 95 for balance, 94 for strength, and a 91 for body checking. He’s big, he’s physical, and he’s an expert at finding the twine.

Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Overall: 91
Age: 30-years-old
Position: Right Wing
Shooting Attributes: Five-Star
Shoots: Left
Nationality: American

Breaking up the dominance of Russian-born scorers, Patrick Kane lands in third on the list of NHL 20’s best snipers and has been warranting his lofty rating on NHL ice this season.

The Chicago Blackhawks may be basement-dwelling, but that won’t stop Kane from doing what he does best. By the 33-game mark, the tricky winger has already nailed 15 goals and 37 points, with his -3 rating showing the team’s current state.

Kane boasts mighty stats in skating, puck skills, and shooting, with the highlight numbers being 97 deking, 97 hand-eye, 96 passing, 95 puck control, 96 offensive awareness, 95 poise, 95 wrist shot accuracy, 94 slap shot accuracy, 94 acceleration, 94 agility, and 90 speed.

Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

Overall: 90
Age: 21-years-old
Position: Center
Shooting Attributes: Five-Star
Shoots: Left
Nationality: American

Even though he’s only been in the NHL for a few seasons, it’s hard to deny that Auston Matthews is one of the star attractions. The American center, who spent his draft season in Switzerland, has 130 NHL goals by his 34^th game of the 2019/20 campaign.

Matthews’ strengths as a sniper are very well complimented by his lofty ratings in senses and puck skills. His 93 in puck control, 92 in deking, 91 in hand-eye, 92 in offensive awareness, and 95 in poise make the center a threat for the Buds at all times.

Considering that Matthews is only 21-years-old at the start of NHL 20 with Elite high potential, it’s clear to see that his current base stats of 91 slap shot accuracy, 90 slap shot power, 92 wrist shot accuracy, and 90 wrist shot power become nearly unplayable as the sniper develops.

Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche

Overall: 90
Age: 22-years-old
Position: Right Wing
Shooting Attributes: Five-Star
Shoots: Left
Nationality: Finnish

Even though an injury has hindered him this season, the big Finnish right winger is still hitting the pace of scoring a goal in every other game. Having featured in 16 games after Colorado had tallied 32 contests, Mikko Rantanen had still scored eight goals and 21 points.

While Rantanen has only breached the 30-goal trademark tally of an elite-level sniper once – scoring 31 goals last season – the Avs winger has put up over 80 points in each of the last two seasons.

Being one of the best NHL 20 snipers, you perhaps wouldn’t expect Rantanen to be so sound in defence as well. The Finn boasts 89 defensive awareness, 91 stick checking, and 85 shot blocking.

Of course, the offensive end of the ice is where Rantanen flourishes, aided in NHL 20 by his 92 wrist shot accuracy, 92 deking, 92 hand-eye, 92 passing, 93 offensive awareness, and 93 puck control.

Those skaters shown above are the very best snipers in NHL 20, but the following players are also very highly-rated snipers in the game:

Name	Overall	Age	Position	Team	Best Attributes
Johnny Gaudreau	90	26	Left Wing	Calgary Flames	95 Puck Control, Offensive Awareness. 92 Wrist Shot Accuracy, Deking, Hand-Eye, Passing
John Tavares	90	28	Center	Toronto Maple Leafs	94 Wrist Shot Accuracy, Deking, Hand-Eye, Offensive Awareness, Passing, Puck Control
Artemi Panarin	89	27	Left Wing	New York Rangers	94 Deking, Puck Control. 93 Hand-Eye, Passing, Offensive Awareness
Leon Draisaitl	89	23	Center	Edmonton Oilers	92 Slap Shot Accuracy, Wrist Shot Accuracy, Offensive Awareness, Passing, Puck Control
Taylor Hall	89	27	Left Wing	New Jersey Devils	95 Acceleration, Speed. 93 Puck Control, Wrist Shot Accuracy
Vladimir Tarasenko	89	27	Right Wing	St. Louis Blues	94 Wrist Shot Accuracy, Deking. 93 Offensive Awareness, Hand-Eye, Passing, Puck Control
Phil Kessel	88	31	Right Wing	Arizona Coyotes	94 Hand-Eye, Wrist Shot Accuracy. 93 Deking, Passing, Puck Control, Slap Shot Power
Patrik Laine	87	21	Right Wing	Winnipeg Jets	95 Hand-Eye. 94 Wrist Shot Accuracy. 93 Slap Shot Accuracy, Slap Shot Power, Wrist Shot Power
Alex DeBrincat	86	21	Center	Chicago Blackhawks	95 Discipline. 93 Deking. 92 Passing, Puck Control, Acceleration, Speed, Wrist Shot Accuracy
Cam Atkinson	86	30	Right Wing	Columbus Blue Jackets	93 Deking. 92 Acceleration, Agility
Jake Guentzel	86	24	Left Wing	Pittsburgh Penguins	90 Durability, Offensive Awareness. 89 Puck Control, Wrist Shot Accuracy, Speed
Evgenii Dadonov	86	30	Right Wing	Florida Panthers	91 Deking, Hand-Eye. 90 Passing, Puck Control, Discipline, Durability
Mike Hoffman	85	29	Left Wing	Florida Panthers	90 Speed, Durability. 89 Slap Shot Accuracy, Wrist Shot Accuracy, Deking, Hand-Eye, Agility, Offensive Awareness
Jeff Skinner	85	27	Left Wing	Buffalo Sabres	92 Agility. 91 Acceleration. 90 Wrist Shot Accuracy, Deking, Puck Control, Durability
Tomas Hertl	85	25	Center	San Jose Sharks	90 Deking. 89 Puck Control, Agility, Offensive Awareness, Slap Shot Power