Edmonton Oilers star center Connor McDavid was named the cover athlete for the upcoming NHL 18, EA Sports announced at the 2017 NHL Awards show on Wednesday night.
This is the first time that McDavid has ever graced the cover of a video game. It’s already been an active night for the star center, who has won the Ted Lindsay Award in Las Vegas.
The most recent edition of the hockey game, NHL 17, featured St. Louis Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko on the cover. NHL 16 was supposed to feature both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, but the latter was removed at last minute while he was in the midst of legal concerns.
EA also released a trailer for the game concurrently with the McDavid announcement:
#NHL18. Built for the new NHL. Young Stars Edition https://t.co/x3Iwl52oZV pic.twitter.com/Y36reNNfzK
— #NHL18 (@EASPORTSNHL) June 22, 2017
One of the big themes for the new NHL video game is pushing it to feel more like the modern sport. They’re also focusing on great young players, which makes McDavid a logical choice to cover the game since there’s no better young player than him.
NHL 18 is set to be released worldwide on Sept. 15 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.