Most six-year-olds have dreams. Those dreams consist of being a police officer, fire fighter or even a professional athlete. But unfortunately for most children, those dreams are farfetched. But for a six-year-old Steven Stamkos, those dreams have become a reality.

Stamkos, a fan of EA’s NHL series for 15 years, was named the NHL 12 cover athlete this past June and has been relishing the excitement ever since.

“It’s an honor, it’s almost surreal,” said Stamkos. “NHL is a game I’ve played since I was six. When I was first approached (to be on the cover) I was flattered, honored and excited to be on the cover of my all-time favorite video game.”
 

Stamkos, the starting center for the Tampa Bay Lightning, is about as thrilled as anyone to play NHL 12. One feature he is looking forward to is the implementation of the legends such as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Gordie Howe being at the finger tips of our generation.

“You’ve got some of the best players from the past couple decades,” said Stamkos. “With Howe, Lemieux and Gretzky, you can play with and against players from the best generations. I’m ready to play on the same line as the players I watched growing up.

It’s amazing, for the kids who play now that have heard the stories about Wayne. Now they get a chance to see him on the ice. His strides, his passing ability … it’s all realistic. And the older fans will love it as well.”

One of those older fans, Dean Richards, a former NHL producer and now current General Manager of Team and Action Sports, is indeed getting pumped to play with his favorite players from the days of old.

“I grew up watching Gretzky and Lemieux, so to play with those guys on my team is awesome,” he said. I’ve played hockey all my life and I loved the Gretzky Titan sticks. It’s one of those sticks that never broke, but they needed to be replaced every ten or so games. The (NHL 12 legends) will bring back those memories.”

Stamkos experienced his first season of success last year, helping take the Lightning to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. His team lost to the eventual champion Boston Bruins, and he even broke his nose in the process. But with a video game cover, a new five-year deal and an entire offseason to improve, Stamkos is ready to take his team even further than before.

If his ratings in NHL 12 have any impact on his real life skating, he can expect that success sooner than later.

“I’m rated 91 overall, so that’s about right,” said Stamkos. “EA got the correlation with the jersey number and the ratings down pat. If there is one thing I need to work on, it’s my face offs. I lost a lot of those (in NHL 12).”

Stamkos was referring to his low face off rating of 75.
Despite the excitement from NHL 12 releasing nationwide on Tuesday (available now for EA Season Ticket holders), Stamkos is focusing on the upcoming hockey season.

“We now have that experience,” he said. “We were one goal away from the Stanley Cup Finals so we can’t surprise anyone this year. We have a motivated attitude going into the season.”

But even with the season being his primary focus, the 21-year-old still can’t get over the fact that he is in a video game.

“When I was a rookie I tried myself out (in NHL 09), I was really excited,” said Stamkos. “It’s out of this world, but I’m used to it now. I still get text messages from my buddies saying ‘Hey man, I just scored two goals with you tonight.’ How cool is that?”