Minor League Players
Some players now in the NHL spent the past year in the minors or as a free agent. EA Sports didn't overlook this aspect of the league. There are some players that aren't on any roster that will have stats available if you create them. Some of them may have an incorrect jersey number, handedness, or position on the game, which you can easily fix in the Create Player menu. Here are some of the players found:

Dale Purinton, New York Rangers defenseman, #5, left-handed
Garth Snow, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie
Johan Witehall, New York Rangers/Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) right winger
Jean-Francois Labbe, New York Rangers/Hartford Wolf Pack goalie, #31
Terry Virtue, New York Rangers/Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman

No Goalie
During a game, press the Start Button to pause the game. Select Controller Setup, now move your controller over to the other team. Return to the previous menu and select your opposing teams options. Next, select Team Options. Where it says Goalie Status, you can elect to pull the goalie. Return to the Previous menu again and go back into Controller Setup and move your Controller back over to your original team. When you return to the game the other team will have no Goalie. If you want to restore the goalie to the other team, simply repeat all of these steps and elect to return the Goalie to the Net.

Super Defensive Players
Enter the create-a-player screen and enter:

"Sandis Ozolinsh" or "Chris Pronger"
as a name. Answer "Yes" to use his ratings, then adjust them as needed. You can also use NHL Challenge bonus points to boost their attributes. Return to the previous screen and change his name to your choice, but do not change any other setting.

Super Forwards
Enter the create-a-player screen and enter one of the following names:

"Peter Forsberg"
"Jaromir Jagr"
"Keith Tkachuk"
"Pavel Bure"
"Steve Yzerman"
"Owen Nolan"
"Rob Blake"
"Nicklas Lidstrom"
"Olaf Kolzig"
Answer "Yes" to use his ratings, then adjust them as needed. You can also use NHL Challenge bonus points to boost their attributes. Return to the previous screen and change his name to your choice, but do not change any other setting.

Super Goalies
Enter the create-a-player screen and enter:

"Patrick Roy"
"Dominik Hasek" or
"Ed Belfour"
as a name. Answer "Yes" to use his ratings, then adjust them as needed. You can also use NHL Challenge bonus points to boost their attributes. Return to the previous screen and change his name to your choice, but do not change any other setting.