NHL 13 Cover Athlete Voting Starts Today

[Steve_OS]

EA SPORTS and NHL.com Launch NHL 13 Cover Vote

Sponsored by BlackBerry, Cover Athlete Decided By Fan Vote
for the First Time Ever in the History of the EA SPORTS NHL Series

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) announced that starting today, fans around the world have the opportunity to shape the face of the EA SPORTS™ NHL® franchise, by participating in the first ever EA SPORTS NHL® Cover Vote Campaign – sponsored by BlackBerry® and hosted on NHL.com. The voting process will consist of two preliminary rounds, followed by a 16-player bracket as a field of 60 NHL players is narrowed down to one. The winning player will be unveiled as the EA SPORTS NHL® 13 Cover Athlete at the 2012 NHL Awards™ on June 20 at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas.

The first round of competition pits teammate against teammate and starts today and runs until April 11, the first day of the 2012 Stanley Cup® Playoffs. Fans can vote for their favorite player to represent their team in the next round.

NHL 13 Cover Athlete Voting Schedule:

• March 29 – April 11: Round of 60: one representative from each team plus two wild card selections advance*
• April 12 – April 22: 32-Player Leaderboard: fans vote for their favorite 16 candidates; top 16 vote-getters advance
• April 24 – June 4: Round of 16: single-elimination playoff bracket decides NHL 13 cover athlete

Fans worldwide are able to vote an unlimited number of times and are encouraged to vote as often as possible at NHL.com/CoverVote to ensure their favorite player advances through the rounds. Fans can also show their support by tweeting their picks using #NHL13Cover on Twitter. Visit the EA SPORTS NHL Facebook page for insider updates and additional content.

“The EA SPORTS NHL Franchise has had a rich tradition of outstanding cover athletes including Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup Winners, NHL All-Stars and Hall of Fame Members,” said David Le, Marketing Director, EA SPORTS. “With fans selecting the cover athlete for NHL 13 they now control who gets to join that prestigious club.”

“Being the EA SPORTS NHL cover athlete is an honor that is coveted by many NHL players,” said Adam Larry, NHLPA Director of Licensing. “With the EA SPORTS NHL 13 cover athlete being selected by the fans, the honor is now even greater. This vote campaign will be exciting for both the players and the fans, as they will be engaging online, and through social media, while the bracket narrows towards the fans’ selection for the cover of NHL 13.”

The star-studded list of candidates participating in the campaign features NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin, 2011 Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry, NHL All-Stars and some of the most popular players in the NHL. The complete list of matchups can be found below:

Eastern Conference

• Bruins Tuukka Rask vs. Tyler Seguin
• Lightning Steven Stamkos vs. Victor Hedman
• Canadiens P.K. Subban vs. Tomas Plekanec
• Maple Leafs Phil Kessel vs. Tyler Bozak
• Capitals John Carlson vs. Brooks Laich
• Panthers Stephen Weiss vs. Tomas Fleischmann
• Devils Ilya Kovalchuk vs. Adam Larsson
• Penguins Evgeni Malkin vs. Marc-Andre Fleury
• Flyers Claude Giroux vs. Scott Hartnell
• Rangers Henrik Lundqvist vs. Brad Richards
• Hurricanes Eric Staal vs. Jeff Skinner
• Sabres Derek Roy vs. Thomas Vanek
• Islanders John Tavares vs. Michael Grabner
• Senators Erik Karlsson vs. Jason Spezza
• Jets Evander Kane vs. Andrew Ladd

Western Conference

• Avalanche Matt Duchene vs. Gabriel Landeskog Kings Anze Kopitar vs. Drew Doughty
• Blackhawks Patrick Sharp vs. Duncan Keith
• Oilers Jordan Eberle vs. Taylor Hall
• Blue Jackets R.J. Umberger vs. Ryan Johansen Predators David Legwand vs. Pekka Rinne
• Blues T.J. Oshie vs. David Perron
• Red Wings Pavel Datsyuk vs. Jimmy Howard
• Canucks Henrik Sedin vs. Alex Burrows
• Sharks Logan Couture vs. Brent Burns
• Coyotes Shane Doan vs. Keith Yandle
• Stars Loui Eriksson vs. Jamie Benn
• Ducks Corey Perry vs. Jonas Hiller
• Wild Mikko Koivu vs. Niklas Backstrom
• Flames Mikael Backlund vs. Matt Stajan

“The announcement of the cover athlete has become an event unto itself, and every year we look to grow the platform and innovate around the launch,” said Keith Wachtel, Senior Vice President Integrated Sales, NHL. “The creation of the NHL 13 Cover Vote campaign, sponsored by BlackBerry, does just that by building an exciting new platform for players to connect with fans while bringing together two of our valued partners.”

[hogfanhw81]

There are some questionable pairings here. I understand that you have to eliminate people like Kane, Toews, Phaneuf, etc. because they have previously appeared on the cover. And I guess they are eliminating the recent NHL 2k cover athletes as well, so that would take out people like Rick Nash. But then you leave out stars or budding stars such as Gaborik, Neal, Weber, etc.

[kelvinmak]

Quote: Originally Posted by Steve_OS

Blues T.J. Oshie vs. David Perron

Yeesh, no Backes? Criminal.

[jyoung]

Legwand over Weber or Suter is an interesting decision for the Predators, but I guess EA didn't want to take the chance that Weber or Suter would be with a different team by the time NHL 13 ships.

Someone from Toronto/Montreal/Vancouver will probably take this, anyway. They seem to be the most-represented teams online in NHL 12.

[FBeaule04]

Is the cover guy on a video game really makes a difference? I mean, would anyone skip on a game because it's Hal Gill on the cover?

I guess maybe some people would think that the guy on the cover represent the quality of the game in the box, but that's a long shot here.

Why don't look at a guy like Malkin who's leading the league, a guy like Miller who's been stellar after the all-star break of Erik Karlsson, the best defenseman this year in the league and just make us vote for one of the three.

Seriously, is there any chance we got Michael Backlund, Tomas Plekanec, Tyler Bozak, Taylor Hall or Alex Burrows on the cover? Not after reading what David Le said few lines into the OP post :
“The EA SPORTS NHL Franchise has had a rich tradition of outstanding cover athletes including Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup Winners, NHL All-Stars and Hall of Fame Members,” said David Le, Marketing Director, EA SPORTS. “With fans selecting the cover athlete for NHL 13 they now control who gets to join that prestigious club."

[BurghFan]

What, no Crosby?? I guess because he has missed so much time do concussion/neck injury the past 2 seasons.

[bigbob]

Extremely disappointed that it's Jimmy Howard over Nicklas Lidstrom. I mean, Howard is one of the most overrated Goalies in the league.

[KidShowtime]

what are the odds on the one of the Jets making the cover?

LOL