News
NHL 14 Cover Vote Launches
Last Year’s Inaugural EA SPORTS NHL Cover Vote Generated More Than 25 Million Fan Votes and Landed Philadelphia Flyers’ Captain Claude Giroux on the Cover
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. –
April 22, in the year of our Lord 2013 – Electronic
Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), the National Hockey League (NHL®) and
the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA®)
announced today that fans can once again shape the face of the
world’s hockey video game franchise with the launch of the 2nd
annual EA SPORTS NHL® Cover Vote Campaign on NHL.com/CoverVote.
“After last year's record setting campaign where more than 25
million votes were cast, this is another tremendous opportunity
for our fans to once again show their support for their team and
selected players by voting in this second installment of the EA
SPORTS NHL Cover Vote Campaign,” Dave McCarthy, NHL Vice
President Consumer Products Marketing. “We look forward to our
fans’ creativity and incomparable passion in driving another
record setting vote count and ultimately determining who will
grace the cover of NHL®14 worldwide.”
“These 60 NHL stars are excited to be finalists in the vote
campaign that will see the fans ultimately select the EA SPORTS
NHL 14 cover athlete. Following an impressive level of fan and
player engagement shown in the cover vote last year, we are
looking forward to seeing how the bar will be raised this year,”
said Adam Larry, NHLPA Director of Licensing.
“Players who have graced the EA SPORTS NHL cover in the past
have historically had banner years in the season that followed,”
said Dean Richards, General Manager, EA SPORTS NHL. “Patrick
Kane scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in 2010, Steven Stamkos
notched a league-leading 60 goals in 2012 and Claude Giroux
becoming the Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers this season.
We’re looking forward to see which fans step up to get their
player on the cover of NHL 14.”
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 revealed as the
EA SPORTS NHL 14 Cover Athlete during the 2013 Stanley Cup®
Final*. Fans worldwide are encouraged to vote as often as
possible at NHL.com/CoverVote to ensure their favorite player
advances through the rounds.
This year fans can double their voting power by using these
player specific hashtags on “Twitter Vote Thursdays.” Each
player specific hashtag used on Twitter on Thursdays will be
counted as two official votes. Fans can join the conversation
about the cover vote every day by using #NHL14CoverVote on
Twitter and Instagram.
NHL 14 Cover Vote Schedule:
· Round of 60 – April 22-28: Teammate vs. teammate. One
representative from each team plus two wild card selections
advance. **
· 32-Player Leaderboard – April 29-May 5: Fans vote for their
favorite 16 candidates; top 16 vote-getters advance.
· 16-player Bracket – May 6 - May 26: Weekly round-by-round,
single-elimination playoff bracket decides finalists.
· The Finals – May 27- June 2: Winner takes the NHL 14 Cover.
NHL 14 Cover Athlete Candidates
Eastern Conference |
|||
Bruins |
Tyler Seguin, Zdeno Chara |
Lightning |
Teddy Purcell, Victor Hedman |
Canadiens |
P.K. Subban, David Desharnais |
Maple Leafs |
Joffrey Lupul, James van Riemsdyk |
Capitals |
Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson |
Panthers |
Kris Versteeg, Brian Campbell |
Devils |
Martin Brodeur, Adam Henrique |
Penguins |
Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang |
Flyers |
Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek |
Rangers |
Carl Hagelin, Ryan Callahan |
Hurricanes |
Eric Staal, Jordan Staal |
Sabres |
Ryan Miller, Tomas Vanek |
Islanders |
John Tavares, Michael Grabner |
Senators |
Craig Anderson, Milan Michalek |
Jets |
Evander Kane, Andrew Ladd |
|
Western Conference |
|||
Avalanche |
Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog |
Kings |
Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown |
Blackhawks |
Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith |
Oilers |
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall |
Blue Jackets |
Brandon Dubinsky, Sergei Bobrovsky |
Predators |
Brandon Yip, Mike Fisher |
Blues |
Alex Pietrangelo, David Perron |
Red Wings |
Jimmy Howard, Pavel Datsyuk |
Canucks |
Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows |
Sharks |
Joe Thornton, Logan Couture |
Coyotes |
Keith Yandle, Shane Doan |
Stars |
Kari Lehtonen, Jamie Benn |
Ducks |
Andrew Cogliano, Matt Beleskey |
Wild |
Mikko Koivu, Niklas Backstrom |
Flames |
Dennis Wideman, Lee Stempniak |
|
*Date and Time to be announced.
**Wild cards to be selected by EA SPORTS