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2K Sports reveals Rick Nash to be NHL 2K9 cover athlete

5:25 PM on 05.15.2008, Samit Sarkar 26 comments

2K Sports reveals Rick Nash to be NHL 2K9 cover athlete photo
     2K Sports

Hockey is a sport that, sadly, has completely fallen off the radar of most Americans. Out of the four major sports in America, it was already the least popular one, but losing the entire 2004-05 season due to that damn lockout dealt the sport a terrible blow. And when ESPN decided not to renew its broadcasting contract at the start of the 2005-06 season, hockey became hard to find on TV.

But it’s still the top dog in Canada — I’m sure our Canadian readers, such as DJDuffy and The GHost, can attest to that. And plenty of gamers around the world certainly enjoy the hockey videogames that come out each year. So tear yourself away from the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a moment and check this out: 2K Sports has just announced that Rick Nash of the Columbus Blue Jackets will grace the cover of NHL 2K9.

Nash is one of the NHL’s brightest young stars. At the NHL All-Star Game this January, he scored the quickest goal in All-Star history (just twelve seconds into the game), and finished the game with a hat trick (for those of you not hip to the hockey lingo, that means that he scored three goals in the game). Pretty impressive, no?

You’re going to have to wait a while to get your hands on the game, though; NHL 2K9 will be out this fall for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 2. For more info, hit up the press release after the jump.

2K Sports Signs NHL® All-Star Rick Nash of Columbus Blue Jackets® to be Cover Athlete for NHL 2K9

Visual Concepts to bring the fun and excitement back to hockey video games

New York, NY – May 15, 2008 – Millions of hockey fans continue to enjoy intense Stanley Cup Playoffs action, but it’s never too early to start looking forward to next year’s NHL season. 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), today announced that three-time NHL All-Star and captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Rick Nash, will be featured as the cover athlete and spokesman for this year’s highly anticipated hockey video game, NHL 2K9. Visual Concepts has taken over the development duties for NHL 2K9 and are building a brand new experience from the ground up with the ultimate goal of creating an addictively fun sport simulation of the NHL that will be available this fall.

“I’ve been a longtime fan of the hockey games from 2K Sports. My idols have all been on the covers of video games as I was growing up, so to be on the cover of NHL 2K9 myself is truly incredible,” said Nash, who scored an impressive three goals in the 2008 NHL All-Star Game. “The set of new features they’re adding is really going to make this game special for hockey fans - I’m hoping they give me a couple extra points to my player rating this year!”

Nash was selected first overall in the 2002 NHL Draft and is one of the most exciting and dynamic young players in the NHL. In only his second season, at the age of 19, Nash became the youngest player in NHL history to win the “Rocket” Richard Trophy by co-leading the League with 41 goals scored. Now an established superstar in the NHL, Nash was also a member of Team Canada at the 2006 Olympics, and was named MVP of the 2007 World Championships. His deep level of involvement and work with Visual Concepts, alongside his background as an experienced gamer, provides an invaluable contribution and influence to the overall development process for creating the most fun hockey experience available.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have Rick Nash be part of the 2K Sports family,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Nash is one of the marquee names in the NHL today. He is a true gamer and there is no player more fitting to represent NHL 2K9 as we bring high quality fun to hockey video games for another year.”

NHL 2K9 is being developed by Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio, and is not yet rated by the ESRB. NHL 2K9 will be available this fall for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. For more information, please visit www.2ksports.com.


Next page: More Xbox 360 stories




king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 05/15/2008 17:33
2 sports posts in one day? ZOMG

Except this, I care about. Sort of. I love hockey, Im a huge hockey fan (GO OILERS!) Personally, I like the EA NHL games better, though.
Vlambo's Avatar
Vlambo at 05/15/2008 17:37
It's shame that NHL 08 suffered from a weird glitch that halfway through a game, the camera will become wacked out and stop following the puck.

But being the foolish Canadian I am, I'll most likely buy NHL 09
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 05/15/2008 17:40
Yeah, I agree, guys. I still have the PSN demo of NHL 08 on my hard drive because I enjoyed it so much.
CSampson's Avatar
CSampson at 05/15/2008 17:45
Thank you for posting this. I did not expect this and it has brought a tear to my Canadian eye, even if I don't play the 2K games. AS already stated, EA has made THE hockey game in NHL 08.

Fuck Americans and their lack of interest towards the quickest and best sport on the planet. Bring your franchises up north you puckered holes.
CountingConflict's Avatar
CountingConflict at 05/15/2008 17:52
Wow... I can't believe that you guys would like NHL 08. The last good EA hockey game was 2004, and its best ever was 01.

NHL 2k has been head and shoulders above EA for 4-5 years now. The only thing I hated about the 2k series is that stupid penthouse mode, or whatever that crap was.
sluxi's Avatar
sluxi at 05/15/2008 17:55
So... The world championships seem to be pretty huge here in Europe, the post kinda makes it seem like they're nothing in North America, seeing that Rick Nash himself is part of Canada's roster in the currently ongoing tournament this year. Do people follow it there? Why/why not?
Vlambo's Avatar
Vlambo at 05/15/2008 18:01
I follow the WHC quite a bit. Canada is most likely gonna win this year. I'm taking them to beat Sweden, then beat Russia in the Final.

There are 3 things you can guarantee in life...
1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Canada winning a hockey championship

Also, It's great to see a fair bit of Hockey fans on here. I'm a Anaheim Ducks fan myself. And king, an Oilers fan?
Grapefruit Juice's Avatar
Grapefruit Juice at 05/15/2008 18:05
who?
JohnnyWadd's Avatar
JohnnyWadd at 05/15/2008 18:07
I can't help but think how much more informative this post would have been if it actually had a picture of Nash.
DaTgUy's Avatar
DaTgUy at 05/15/2008 18:09
here you go Johnny

ElfShotTheFood's Avatar
ElfShotTheFood at 05/15/2008 18:10
"Do people follow it there? Why/why not?"

Right now the NHL playoffs are in full swing, so the World Championships don't get as much coverage here.

People do watch/follow it though.
CountingConflict's Avatar
CountingConflict at 05/15/2008 18:17
I hate to sound like a bandwagoneer, but I grew up in Joe Louis Arena back in the days when the Wings had a Chicago Cubs like drought for championships. I was wearing Paul Coffee jerseys at 4yrs old. Always loved the wings, and I still love the wings.

I've also lived in Nashville and Texas though, so I can bear watching a couple of Preds or Stars games whenever my Wings aren't crushing them.
Sharpless's Avatar
Sharpless at 05/15/2008 18:18
Hey, don't forget me when mentioning people who might care about hockey! I'm not Canadian, but I wish I was. Honestly though, I have a hard time justifying buying new sports games. I find that my copy of NHL 2K6 still serves me well enough.
ridley80's Avatar
ridley80 at 05/15/2008 19:55
Rick Nash you ask? He scored the goal of the year. Just look and be amazed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRml-Rl2Mj8
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 05/15/2008 20:26
@Ridley80: And that is why hockey is awesome. Nash just embarrassed the entire Coyotes team there!
NightDehumidifier's Avatar
NightDehumidifier at 05/15/2008 21:02
Yeah, let's give it to a prick. There's another awesome player more deserving, a Mr. Ovechkin?
Cloud09's Avatar
Cloud09 at 05/15/2008 21:38
@Nightdehumidifier

Cloud09's Avatar
Cloud09 at 05/15/2008 21:43
also, the coyotes are used to being embarrassed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqCgwpkOpUo
NihonTiger90's Avatar
NihonTiger90 at 05/15/2008 23:03
Datsuyk, Franzen and Zetterberg deserved the cover this year. And they'll prove it once they win the Stanley Cup. :D
CelicaCrazed's Avatar
CelicaCrazed at 05/15/2008 23:09
While I would like to join this discussion, I'm a Leaf fan so that generally means my opinion doesn't matter :P.
liqideos's Avatar
liqideos at 05/15/2008 23:51
Too late 2k. EA won me back two years ago.

But...I am curious...will they call it 2k10? or 2010 for EA? Or just go to 10?
Brilliam's Avatar
Brilliam at 05/16/2008 09:31
That Rick Nash goal is awesome, but I'm sorry, Jonathan Toews scored the goal of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obp8G2JFgkM

But AWESOME news on Nash making the cover, the guy is one of the league's total stars, even though he isn't top 10 points per year. Oce he has the right team around him, and the right coach, he'll be a star.

But there's no chance in hell that him and Leclaire will win the cup next year. I'd sooner give it to the Hawks. If Khabibulin can pick up his game.

ARGH HOCKEY IS SO GOOD. Better than basketball and football for sure! Baseball... maybe maybe not.
Brilliam's Avatar
Brilliam at 05/16/2008 09:34
Also, that's five Canadians in a row for 2K series, nice! (Nash, Spezza, Thornton, Turco, St. Louis)
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 05/16/2008 13:45
@Brilliam: That goal was also awesome.
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