Salute To Superfans: "Nuge TV"
Interview with Michael Nugent , AKA "Nuge TV" to the EA SPORTS NHL Community
We all love video games, but some just love them more than others. Learn how one NHL fan has made life long friends through the game.
Michael Nugent (better known as “Nuge”) didn’t appreciate hockey until high school. He grew up in Boston, MA playing soccer, basketball and baseball, and as he got older he started watching hockey and playing hockey video games.
“I would have considered myself a Bruins fan my entire life, but it wasn't until I got into high school that I started to watch hockey more consistently.”
One of his most memorable hockey experiences was watching Game 7 between the Bruins and Maple Leafs in 2013.
“My friends and I had bought concert tickets for that night months before,” he says, “but we decided we’d rather watch the game. It turned out to be the right decision.”
After the Bruins rallied from down three goals in the 3rd period, they won in OT and eliminated the Maple Leafs from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Fast forward to today, Nuge goes by the handle “NugeTV”, and runs a successful Twitch channel where he streams himself playing games.
The first NHL video Nuge ever posted was in September 2013. “It was mostly just to show my teammates and perpetuate a few inside jokes we had, but I also enjoyed the process of making the video”.
Nuge relied on his community to help get the ball rolling on his channel.
“I draw a lot of my viewers from a community called League Gaming,” he says. “Of course, not everyone subscribed or followed from that community, but it helped me get a start on YouTube and Twitch.”
Like many who play games, Nuge has made lifelong friends through gaming.
“The main thing I find enjoyable about NHL is playing EASHL with my teammates that I’ve known for years,” he says. “Many of the same guys I’ve known for the past 5-6 years still play the game.”
Since EA first ran competitive year end tournaments for EASHL in NHL 09 and 10, Nuge has taken part in and even managed competitive leagues.
Nuge has been passionate about creating a league where players could bring their chosen teammates into the tournament.
“I started the LG Pro Series with the goal in mind of bringing back some more competitive games with your actual chosen teammates,” he says. “We started this in 2014 and have run six full seasons so far, each season with at least a $1500 prize pool, and with the current seventh season having a nearly $4000 prize pool.”
The current season of the LG Pro Series is one of Nuge's highlights in his experience with managing competitive leagues. There are now 33 teams participating, up from 20 teams last season.
“My goal is to grow the tournament to a point where we are able to bring in sponsors and help increase the prize pool,” he says.
In a little more than a year, Nuge has visited the EA NHL studios in Burnaby six times, with one trip including an event dedicated to content creators. “I got to meet some of the guys I talk to on nearly a daily basis on Twitch, Twitter, YouTube, etc.,” he says, “and I also met Eddie Lack!”
Nuge is a part of the Game Changers program, which has given him a chance to help bring the voice of the community to developers at EA.
“The program brings in community members to help influence the development of the game,” he says. “We give our input on things from gameplay, to game modes, to what the menus should look like in the game.”
Nuge is hoping to use his influence to get more interest in competitive EASHL.
“I think my involvement in Game Changers has helped people find me and League Gaming to start playing the game competitively,” he says.
As for his preferred playing style in the game, Nuge has been a defenseman on every team he's played since he first began.
“I've grown to enjoy the position over the years,” he says. “It's kind of helped shape my outlook on the game. My motivation to win is to see everyone else lose, to see an opposing winger go scoreless, rather than for my own personal gain or success.
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