Breaking the (Digital) Ice

EA Sports NHL23 cover athletes, reveal trailer released

This past week, hockey fans were treated to the annual release of EA Sports’ NHL video game athlete cover and reveal trailer. Most of the “Chel” community was looking forward to the new updates of the game and to see who will don the cover of the game. The last two cover athletes (Auston Matthews and Alexander Ovechkin) were both repeat cover athletes.

NHL 23 fans were treated to a duo of new cover athletes – Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks, and Team Canada’s Sarah Nurse. Nurse will make history as the first woman to appear on the cover (and Zegras also marks the first Duck to be on the cover). The goal of the cover was to reflect “hockey’s expanding fanbase and [emphasize] that it is a sport best experienced together”, as explained by Mike Inglehart – EA Vancouver’s Creative Director.

The “X-Factor Edition” cover gives a much more casual vibe to the game – with Nurse and Zegras wearing some of their gear with palm trees behind them. Some fans were critical of the cover design, although the standard edition has the athletes in their full gear. This was also seen in the reveal trailer, which had a stream-based theme to it – introducing some new elements to the game and featuring both Nurse and Zegras playing the game (as themselves).

You do not have to look far to find criticism from fans and players of the game. Some were unimpressed with EA’s lack of innovation in adding new features and bringing back some fan favourites. Others took to social media to express their disappointment in the choice of cover athletes – which brings the marketability of the athletes to question. It is no secret that NHL athletes have a smaller social media following in comparison to the other leagues that make up the Big 4 in North America (MLB, NBA, NFL). Zegras may not be the biggest star in the NHL, but his highlight reel plays in his rookie season were probably more memorable to the average viewer than any individual player’s name.

Sarah Nurse’s inclusion should also be seen as a big (and long overdue) win for EA. Those who are displeased with the introduction of IIHF women’s hockey players are unable to look past the need for diversity and inclusion in the game – and EA is making a strong push to promote those aspects of the game above all. With limited competition in the hockey gaming world, EA is certainly able to leverage their efforts towards targeting new fans knowing that big fans of the game will buy their copy in October.

August 29, 2022 - Issue 53 of The Sport Marketeer