EA, not surprisingly, vows the 21-inch/53-cm stick peripheral that ships with each game will revolutionize video game hockey. But Nickolls makes the point that the stick is the first third-party controller peripheral that Nintendo has approved for inclusion with a game, and that EA’s NHL franchise is too valuable to sabotage with a gimmick that doesn’t live up to its promise.

Nickolls says that because the stick peripheral holds both the Nunchuk (in the butt end of the stick, with the analog stick used for moving your player) and the Wiimote (further down the shaft, with the trigger used as a modifier to execute certain moves), it’s more accurate than the Wiimote alone.

“Because you’re getting two signals sent to the Wii, it triangulates the signal. So it basically gives you more accuracy,” Nickolls says, adding that WiiMotion Plus won’t be supported by NHL Slapshot because it’s essentially not needed.

The stick peripheral will detect slap shots, wrist shots, body checks (done with a cross-check motion) and poke checks, with the Wiimote’s trigger used as a modifier to perform passes, dekes and other moves. The game can also be played with the Wiimote and Nunchuk alone, or even just the Wiimote.