The way you worded that reminded me of something I read in a magazine from back when NHLPA 93 was new. A parent had written a letter complaining about how violent it was when players got injured and mentioned that he exchanged it for that year's Madden. Problem was, this was the year they had the ambulance that would run over players. Suffice to say, he didn't like that either.
I don't have that magazine anymore, though. Also I'm getting off the subject.
But yeah, I do feel like some version of Hockey Stars would fit 93's gameplay well, even if it doesn't have player portraits.