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Oilers Star Connor McDavid Named NHL 18 Cover Athlete
EA Sports has no shortage of spectacular young stars to choose from when it comes to cover athletes. Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Jack Eichel, Matt Murray, and many other skaters under 25 years old would be ideal cover candidates. But for this year's high-flying edition of the game, EA went for the best.
The NHL 18 cover athlete honors go to Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, arguably the most talented player in the game. Last year, at just 19 years old, he became the youngest captain in NHL history. He took on the responsibility in legendary fashion, ending the Oilers' 10-year playoff drought and winning the Art Ross Trophy (led the NHL in scoring) and the Ted Lindsay Award (voted the most outstanding player in the regular season) in just his second season. Only two players in NHL history were younger than McDavid when they won the prestigious Art Ross Trophy. Their names? Wayne Gretzky and Sidney Crosby.
“Representing NHL 18 as the cover athlete is an incredible honor,” McDavid said in a press statement. “I’ve played EA Sports NHL every year since I was a kid. To appear on the cover, something that has been done previously by so many players that I respect and admire is very exciting.”
NHL 18 comes to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 15. If you want to check out the game before it comes out, EA once again plans to offer a public beta starting July 25. You can register for the beta here.
You can also read all about the new features coming to the game this year in my all-encompassing preview.
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