NHL 13 News Post

NHL 13 Cover Athlete Voting Starts Today

10:30 AM - March 29, 2012 by 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.�

Game: NHL 13Reader Score: 8/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Xbox 360Votes for game: 23 - View All

NHL 13 Videos

Member Comments

# 1 hogfanhw81 @ 03/29/12 11:07 AM

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.

# 2 kelvinmak @ 03/29/12 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_OS


	Blues T.J. Oshie vs. David Perron

Yeesh, no Backes? Criminal.

# 3 jyoung @ 03/29/12 01:44 PM

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.

# 4 FBeaule04 @ 03/29/12 01:59 PM

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."

# 5 BurghFan @ 03/29/12 02:32 PM

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

# 6 bigbob @ 03/29/12 02:35 PM

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

# 7 KidShowtime @ 03/29/12 02:57 PM

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

LOL

# 8 SWEAT DOGG @ 03/29/12 03:56 PM

No Tim Thomas Dam you EA!

# 9 mpt54 @ 03/29/12 04:04 PM

I'm hoping a Goalie get the cover

# 10 Tomba @ 03/29/12 04:34 PM

BROADCAST CAMERA

# 11 garyjr33 @ 03/29/12 08:21 PM

A goalie should get the cover this year...Lundy, Fleury or Rinne are the logical choices. Lundy is the best goalie in the NHL right now. It would nice to see him on the cover. Malkin, Seguin, Landeskog, Datsyuk would be good choices as well.

# 12 eds133 @ 03/29/12 08:26 PM

Man the way Elliot is playing it would be hard not to choose him... 3 shut outs in a row.. hasn't let a goal in for over 180 min.. I don't know how anyone could go against that..

Too bad they can't do something like madden.. do a rising prospect on the cover with an aged all star veteran... something like Pietrangelo and Lidstrom... i think something like that would be great...

Elliot would be great as would oshie.. kessel too, great player just on a below average team. Datsyuk is one of the best in the game.. doesn't put up the points like a malkin or stamkos every year but easily could if he was not such an unselfish player.

# 13 Beeks @ 03/29/12 10:10 PM

I hate the Red Wings, but it's time to give Datsyuk the recognition he deserves. He never seems to be included in discussion of the top players in the game, but he is, in my opinion, the most skilled hockey player in the world. The guy deserves it. And this is coming from a Flames fan.

# 14 Beeks @ 03/29/12 10:13 PM

Oh, and seriously??? Backlund and Stajan??? Who decided on THAT?? Maybe Kipper vs. Jokinen. Or Tanguay vs. Bouwmeester.... but Backlund has had a terrible year, and up until a month ago, so has Stajan.

Almost looks like they just wanna make sure no Flames get on the cover. What a terrible match-up. Hell, I'd choose Baertschi over both!

# 15 jyoung @ 03/29/12 10:24 PM

Well, Iginla was on the cover not too long ago (09 I think?), so it's time for another team to get the spotlight.

# 16 andayaman @ 03/29/12 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beeks


	I hate the Red Wings, but it's time to give Datsyuk the recognition he deserves. He never seems to be included in discussion of the top players in the game, but he is, in my opinion, the most skilled hockey player in the world. The guy deserves it. And this is coming from a Flames fan.

I'm a Sharks fan, and not a fan of the Wings by any means, but I agree with you on Datsyuk. Simply awesome. I wouldn't mind Lidstrom on the the cover either. He's about pure class and a true professional. My Red Wings buddy will never hear those words come out of my mouth

.

http://youtu.be/Kj3E0ve6rl0

# 17 Perceptor @ 03/30/12 12:00 AM

The choices for the Flames are laughable. Stajan and Backlund over the likes of Kiprusoff, Jokinen, Tanguay etc.??

# 18 eds133 @ 03/30/12 12:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andayaman


	I'm a Sharks fan, and not a fan of the Wings by any means, but I agree with you on Datsyuk. Simply awesome. I wouldn't mind Lidstrom on the the cover either. He's about pure class and a true professional. My Red Wings buddy will never hear those words come out of my mouth. http://youtu.be/Kj3E0ve6rl0

Im a Blues fan and i think he would be a great pick for the cover... pretty rough to say but you can't argue what he does for that team. But being a Blues fan I would rather see Oshie on the cover.

# 19 savoie2006 @ 03/30/12 12:49 AM

Some of you apparently don't understand they have to 1. Have the player agree to be on the cover 2. Have the money to pay that player. They can't just throw any player on the cover. Not that the cover really matters.

# 20 mercalnd @ 03/30/12 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wEEman33


	Well, Iginla was on the cover not too long ago (09 I think?), so it's time for another team to get the spotlight.

Iginla was 2003.

09 was Phaneuf as a Flame.

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