NHL 2003 is the eleventh edition of the popular EA Sports NHL series, a hockey video game. NHL 2003 introduced a new feature, the GameBreaker. It is activated once a player performs enough "dekes" and it is used to help change the momentum of the game, such as scoring a big goal, delivering a big hit or winning a big fight. The commentary in NHL 2003 is voiced by Jim Hughson and Don Taylor. Hughson has been the NHL series announcer since NHL '97, while Taylor first appeared in the previous year's version.

There are over 180 cards in the game. There are three types of cards: celebration cards, cheat cards and most of the pro NHL players. The regular cards for the game include most of the players of the 02-03 NHL season. They show most players in action, while some show still pictures of their face. They are used for and extra skill boost in 1, 2, or 3 periods depending on the color of the border of the card. (Bronze for 1 period, silver for 2, gold for 3.) Some decrease the opponent's skills for 1, 2 or 3 periods, like the player cards.

Unlockables

Unlockable Players
Please do the following to unlock the secret characters:

Unlock Ivan Huml - Go to the Create a Player option and enter Ivan Huml as the name.

Unlock Kay Whitmore - Go to the Create a Player option and enter Kay Whitmore as the name.

Unlock Larry Murphy - Go to the Create a Player option and enter Larry Murphy as the name.

Unlock Players whose names begin with A - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Adam Hall, Alfie Michaud

Unlock Players whose names begin with B - Go to Create a Player option and enter: Barry Richter, Ben Simon, Blake Bellefeuille, Brad Moran, Brian Sutherby

Unlock Players whose names begin with C - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Chris Ferraro, Corey Hirsch

Unlock Players whose names begin with D - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Dave Morisset, David Nemirovsky, Derek Mackenzie

Unlock Players whose names begin with E - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Eric Fichaud, Evgeny Konstantinov

Unlock Players whose names begin with G - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Greg Crozier, Greg Pankewicz, Guy Hebert

Unlock Players whose names begin with J - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Jakub Cutta, Jason LaBarbera, Jason Zent, Johan Witehall

Unlock Players whose names begin with M - At Create a Player option enter: Mark Fitzpatrick, Marquis Mathieu, Martin Brochu, Matt Herr, Matt Higgins, Michel Larocque

Unlock Players whose names begin with R - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Raffi Torres, Rene Corbet, Rich Parent, Rick Tabaracci

Unlock Players whose names begin with S - Go to the Create a Player option and enter: Sascha Goc, Scott Fankhouser

Unlock Ty Jones - Go to the Create a Player option and enter Ty Jones as the name.

Unlock Xavier Delisle - Go to the Create a Player option and enter Xavier Delisle as the name.

Here's some neat gameplay footage from this great hockey title (Xbox version):