When Toronto Sceptres goalie Carly Jackson isn’t stopping pucks, they’re playing Baldur’s Gate 3

It was a large woody erstwhile Electronic Arts added the Professional Women’s Hockey League to NHL 25. Though the crippled launched without the recently formed women’s hockey league, EA added the league and its players to NHL 25 successful November 2024, coinciding with the commencement of the PWHL’s 2nd season. Though women’s teams person been playable successful the franchise since NHL 22, erstwhile EA added nationalist squads from the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship tournaments, NHL 25 is the archetypal clip galore of the PWHL’s players person seen themselves successful a video game. It’s a surreal infinitesimal for a batch of them, including Toronto Sceptres goalie Carly “CJ” Jackson, who said arsenic overmuch successful an Instagram video posted successful November. “NHL adding america to the crippled is lit and awesome and a imagination travel true,” Jackson said. “I’ve dreamt astir this since I was a kid.”

Though Jackson hasn’t played the NHL video games successful immoderate time, they grew up playing the games — and plentifulness of different games, too. When they’re not betwixt the pipes connected the ice, Jackson is playing video games; the existent rotation is Fortnite, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, and Baldur’s Gate 3. Polygon spoke to Jackson successful January astir everything gaming — from presently played games and being successful NHL 25 to thoughts connected Dragon Age: The Veilguard and gathering a PC.

Polygon: Are you a large NHL 25 player?

Carly Jackson: I was precise heavy into it successful precocious school, truthful that was… dating myself, but 10 years ago. And then, I remember, I played Chel — like, I had NHL 07 for my PSP. And I retrieve driving to my hockey crippled successful the backmost region successful Nova Scotia, and I’d beryllium playing with my person and we’d spell crippled for game. That’s the memories I person of playing Chel increasing up. So erstwhile I recovered retired that we were really successful the game, I deliberation my interior kid — and my big aforesaid — was beauteous excited to beryllium successful a video game. That’s a pretty, beauteous chill happening to say, particularly among my societal circles. My brother’s a large gamer, and I play video games each day, truthful it’s a immense woody to me. [Being able] to really play arsenic myself successful a crippled was conscionable a truly peculiar infinitesimal successful presumption of having a passionateness for hockey and besides gaming. It’s conscionable a puerility imagination that has been achieved, and it feels conscionable arsenic bully arsenic I thought it would.

What was the archetypal happening you did successful NHL 25 after the PWHL update?

Oh, I enactment myself successful nett — I enactment maine successful some nets. Same squad against the aforesaid team, but I enactment myself successful some nets. I was a small spot disappointed successful my gaming performance, due to the fact that I haven’t played Chel successful a while. But I was truly blessed with my video crippled aforesaid performance. I thought I was beauteous competitive, and I made immoderate bully saves. I was frustrated but besides blessed with myself, due to the fact that I was besides shooting connected myself [while] making saves for my location squad arsenic the aforesaid time.

What bash you deliberation astir your stats in-game? Do you person a consciousness for however the developer comes up with that?

I was ever funny — like, I wonderment what my stat enactment would be, successful presumption of, arsenic players, your speed, your wide score, that benignant of stuff. I don’t cognize however they find it. I don’t cognize the down the scenes connected that, but I similar wherever I’m sitting. I deliberation 1 of the coolest things is that I’ve had truthful galore radical from implicit the people of my beingness who person messaged maine and been like, Hey man, I conscionable got an Xbox oregon a PlayStation truthful I could play arsenic you, and it’s truthful fun. Or, they’ve pulled maine retired of the paper packs. People support sending maine pictures of it, and it’s so, truthful cool. So I’ve been reconnecting with a batch of aged friends due to the fact that they’re seeing maine successful this game. It’s truthful fun.

I haven’t played online yet. I’ve been doing the PWHL vocation [mode] to triumph the Walter Cup with the Sceptres. And past I’ve done a mates Play Now [games] against friends. But I haven’t played online against random radical yet.

Beyond NHL 25, what are you playing? Do you play connected the road?

I definite do. I play each day. I’ve ever utilized Fortnite arsenic a societal platform, due to the fact that I person a batch of assemblage friends who play it. A batch of radical play that game, truthful it’s ever successful the rotation. But lately I’ve been playing Black Ops 6, mostly the Zombies [mode], and my member got maine Baldur’s Gate 3 for Christmas, and that has been my No. 1. When I person a fewer hours to play, I’m playing Baldur’s Gate. It’s 1 of his all-time favorites, truthful helium got it for me, and present I’m obsessed with it. I’d accidental that’s been my main rotation.

I besides conscionable finished Squirrel With a Gun successful astir 1 day. And past I’ve been playing The Forest, and the sequel [that] conscionable came out, Sons of the Forest — it’s a fearfulness game. I’ve been playing that with my member arsenic well. That’s what I play erstwhile I’m home. And past ast year, erstwhile I made the team, the Toronto PWHL — that was what it was called astatine the time, it’s the Sceptres present — I bought myself a Nintendo Switch arsenic a dainty truthful that I could play connected the road. When we’re connected the road, I volition play my Switch. I conscionable finished Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and mostly this year, I’ve been playing Pokémon [Legends:] Arceus. I conscionable finished the archetypal ending, and present I’m playing the existent oregon the existent ending.

What bash you play connected erstwhile you’re home?

I got a PC setup this summer. I ever wanted one. When I was a kid, I was connected Xbox 360. Then I made the power implicit to PlayStation. But past this summer, I got ace obsessed with machine building, truthful I ended up getting a full setup, it being a full idiosyncratic project. I’m perfectly hooked. I emotion my PC. It’s similar my baby.

Do you person a favourite crippled of each time?

My archetypal emotion was astir apt Legend of Zelda, due to the fact that it was the archetypal large crippled I played. But a idiosyncratic favourite done my full gaming career… I emotion the Fallout series. Fallout is conscionable truthful epic. All the lore, each the storytelling, and telling it successful a lighthearted mode wherever you tin astir beryllium silly, but the storytelling is really rather dark. That oregon the Dragon Age bid is besides precise good. I conscionable finished playing Veilguard astir a period ago.

I’ve been playing Veilguard too. What are your thoughts arsenic a large Dragon Age fan?

I enjoyed it. It wasn’t everything I hoped it would be, conscionable due to the fact that it took — it was successful improvement for truthful long, and I cognize determination was immoderate hiccups on the mode and things similar that, which is wholly reasonable. But I missed the prime selection. I’ll astir apt bash a mates of playthroughs, due to the fact that I conscionable emotion the bid truthful much. But it didn’t consciousness arsenic connected arsenic the different games. I’d accidental the archetypal and the 3rd — Dragon Age: Origins and Inquisition — were my favorites. I’m gladsome I played Veilguard, but it wouldn’t beryllium astatine the apical of the database of each the Dragon Age games for me.

Are you the biggest gamer connected your team? Do immoderate of you play unneurotic astatine all?

Yeah, I would accidental I’m the biggest gamer connected the team. But yes, we bash person girls that play. Sometimes erstwhile we’re driving connected the bus, we’ll hotspot somebody’s Wi-Fi, and we’ll each play Fortnite connected our Switches. There are a fewer girls who person a Switch that we’ll rotate around. When I’m home, [Toronto Sceptres forward] Izzy Daniel and [Toronto Sceptres defenseman] Allie Munroe… we’ve been playing Call of Duty mostly, but we premix successful immoderate Fortnite too.