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NHL 17 is coming this fall – vote now for the cover athlete

The Stanley Cup playoffs are in full gear right now, and what better time for EA to announce that their perennial hockey franchise, EA Sports NHL, is coming back to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this fall. This year you can help determine the next face of the franchise by voting on your favourite player from eight superstars chosen by EA. Here’s the lowdown on how this voting process works:

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Beginning now, you, the fans, can visit EA’s website and vote for your favourite player from a pool of eight superstars selected by EA. From there, over the course of three rounds, the field will be narrowed down to four, then two, and finally, the chosen winner. The round start and end times are listed below.

Round 1: April 26th at 12:00 pm EST – May 2nd at 3:00 pm EST.

Round 2: May 3rd at 12:00 pm EST – May 9th at 3:00 pm EST.

Round 3: May 10th at 12:00 pm EST – May 16th at 3:00 pm EST.

You can vote as many times as you want, so if you want to see your favourite player grace the cover of NHL 17, vote now and vote often. Furthermore, you can cast your vote on Twitter using hashtags found below each player on the EA’s website, and votes cast on Twitter Thursday counts as double.

The first round of voting sees the following players go head-to-head:

  • Joe Pavelski of the San Jose Sharks versus Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings
  • Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers versus Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars
  • Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers versus Jakub Voracek of the Philadelphia Flyers
  • Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues versus Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning

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To see who wins, tune in for the big reveal at the 2016 NHL Awards in Las Vegas on June 22, hosted by Will Arnett (a Canadian actor I might add). EA will also be premiering NHL 17 gameplay during the live event.

NHL 17 ‘Vision’ trailer

EA has not revealed many details about NHL 17, though they did convey their vision for the game in the game’s debut trailer, released on April 26:

Two general themes stand out in the video: creating your legacy, and experiencing the defining moments that only hockey can deliver. EA is striving to deliver its biggest and most exciting hockey game to date by offering deeper and more customizable experiences in all the game’s popular modes. In the video you can see a lot of attention is going into detailed motion capturing, with the goal of providing an even more realistic and immersive hockey experience. Specific areas EA is paying special attention to this year include momentum-altering clutch saves, and battling for that extra inch during the critical final seconds of the game. EA is also asking for fan feedback in all aspects of the game’s development, and one way you can do so is by signing up to be an EA Sports NHL Insider.

Want more NHL 17 news? Stay tuned here on the Plug-In Blog for more information in the months leading up to the game’s release!

Paul Hunter
Editor Video Gaming
I work out of Toronto, Ontario as the Editor of Gaming here on the Plug-in Blog and as Editor-in-Chief of NextGen Player. I am thankful for having a loving and patient wife who doesn’t mind my 40 hour a week obsession with gaming. See my latest gaming adventures on my Twitter channel.