EA Sports has announced that Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (pronounced tayvz) is the cover athlete for NHL 11, the latest entry in a franchise that has won 22 ‘sports game of the year’ awards over the last three years. Toews’ line-mate, right winger Patrick Kane, was the NHL 10 coverboy; this is the first time that the NHL series has featured players from the same team on the covers of consecutive games. But unlike the past two years, NHL 11 won’t have separate cover athletes for different regions — Toews will appear on the cover of every copy of the game.
Toews, whom EA hails as “one of the best centers in the NHL today,” led the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup win in 49 years earlier this month; he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the NHL playoffs. At the age of 22, he’s the youngest captain in the NHL. Check out the video above for a new NHL 11 trailer featuring Toews.
EA Sports is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its NHL franchise by going all-out with a host of exciting improvements and additions, including all-new physics and face-off systems; broken sticks; and the Canadian Hockey League. I can’t wait to get my hands on the game — unfortunately, it won’t be out until September for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. You can find the cover artwork in the gallery below.
