Play it loud, Swedish hockey fans: Elias Pettersson’s digital self is coming your way.
EA Sports announced Wednesday that the young Vancouver Canucks star will grace the cover of NHL 20 in Sweden.
“Winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year, Pettersson continues his rise as one of the biggest hockey talents in the world,” EA said in a statement.
Pettersson’s affinity for video games is well known; he said many times during his rookie season that he used to dream of playing in the NHL while playing the famous EA Sports game when he was young.
In a statement, he called being picked to be an NHL 20 cover athlete a “tremendous thrill.”
“Playing in the NHL has been a dream come true, and it feels great to follow up my rookie season with this huge honour,” he said.
”While I expect that being on the cover means that I will probably face more intense battles with my teammates this season, I want to let them know right now that when NHL 20 is launched, I will be ready for any and all competition.”
Pettersson follows in the footsteps of the Sedin twins, who were the cover athletes for the Swedish version of NHL 2011, and Markus Naslund, who was on the cover of the global version of NHL 2005.
An action shot from the 1994 Stanley Cup final was used for NHL 95; Canucks goalie Kirk McLean appeared in that one but wasn’t specifically chosen for the image.
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