Fansided

5 athletes we’d love to see grace the cover of EA Sports’ NHL 19

By Bruin Belisle

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after his team defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals won the series four games to one. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 07: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with the Stanley Cup after his team defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in Game Five of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 7, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Capitals won the series four games to one. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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EA Sports is planning on releasing its NHL 19 cover athlete at the 2018 NHL Awards in Vegas later this month. Let’s help them make the right pick.

Electronic Arts puts time and effort into cursing choosing the right cover model for its creatively named NHL game, NHL. This month, NHL 18 cover athlete Connor McDavid will be passing the torch.

Coming off of one of the greatest NHL seasons in recent memory, EA Sports has no shortage of athletes to choose from for the coveted NHL 19 cover spot. While we could speculate that the NHL will go with a player like Nathan MacKinnon or Taylor Hall, the cover would be better suited for some of the more dark horse greats of the 2017-18 season.

With the help of FanSided NHL’s collective hivemind, I put together a shortlist of NHL players as deserving of the cover as anyone. These players defined what was an incredible season and it’s about time they were shown some respect for it.

5. Drunk Ovechkin

Let’s start with the most current potential cover model. Alex Ovechkin is on the bender of all benders right now after winning his, and Washington’s, first Stanley Cup in history.  Over the weekend, he and the Cup went from a Tiesto concert in Vegas to a Washington Nationals game to a BBQ dinner party and much more in between.

Ovechkin has not left the Cup since hoisting it last Thursday night and there is no sign that he’ll be giving it up anytime soon.

If you have the Internet, you’ve seen how much fun Ovi is having with the Stanley Cup. As he should. Ovechkin has been criticized in the past for not “showing up” in important playoff games and people questioned if he was ever going to get a Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin silenced the doubters this post season with 15 goals and 12 assists, including a beauty of a goal in Game 5 of the final. Most importantly, his stellar play was a reason as to why the Caps finally broke their Stanley Cup curse.

While you may not recognize him here, Ovechkin has graced the cover before, headlining NHL 2007. This game came out two Playstations ago. It’s about time we get Ovi on another cover.

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