EA Sports went live with a trailer for its latest NHL franchise game, NHL 22, on Thursday. The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews is the cover boy for the second time in three seasons (a questionable decision, but perhaps the mustache made them think he is a different person?).
The game is set to be released on October 15, 2021, and will be available on PS5 & PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One consoles. It can be purchased for preorder now.
Alex Ovechkin was the NHL’s cover athlete last year.
Trailer
The trailer features several of the biggest stars in the game, including Digi Alex Ovechkin skating up the ice against the Vegas Golden Knights. Ovechkin levels Digi Alex Pietrangelo with a huge counter hit. The clip then goes into an epic slomo that shows the VGK defenseman visibly express pain in his face – eyes closed and everything. The snippet begins at the 48-second mark.
The video also features a first glimpse inside Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.
The EA Sports cover is a bit of a jinx as, according to @JFreshHockey, only two athletes over the last 25 years have made it past the second round of the playoffs.
Bad news for the Leafs: only two of the past 25 EA NHL cover athletes have made it to the second round of the playoffs the year they featured on the cover. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/t8SDl7JX8t
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) August 19, 2021
If you take it a step further, only one EA NHL cover athlete in the past 25 years has seen his team improve its standing in the year he appeared on the cover.
(0 means miss playoffs, 5 means wins Cup) pic.twitter.com/TBoI3lRR7U
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) August 19, 2021
NHL 22 marks the first full year designers and developers have had a chance to begin tailoring their games to the newest consoles, the PS5 and Xbox One.
Will you be buying?
The legendary @AM34 is on the cover of #NHL22. Who’s ready to play? 👀🎮 pic.twitter.com/ZboTRgKYUG
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 19, 2021
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