EA Sports And NHL.COM Launch NHL 14 Cover Vote

Guildford, UK. – April 22, 2013 – Electronic Arts Inc. The National Hockey League (NHL^®) and the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA^®) announced today that fans can once again shape the face of the world’s hockey video game franchise with the launch of the 2^nd annual EA SPORTS NHL^® Cover Vote Campaign on NHL.com/CoverVote.

“After last year’s record setting campaign where more than 25 million votes were cast, this is another tremendous opportunity for our fans to once again show their support for their team and selected players by voting in this second installment of the EA SPORTS NHL Cover Vote Campaign,” Dave McCarthy, NHL Vice President Consumer Products Marketing. “We look forward to our fans’ creativity and incomparable passion in driving another record setting vote count and ultimately determining who will grace the cover of NHL^®14 worldwide.”

“These 60 NHL stars are excited to be finalists in the vote campaign that will see the fans ultimately select the EA SPORTS NHL 14 cover athlete. Following an impressive level of fan and player engagement shown in the cover vote last year, we are looking forward to seeing how the bar will be raised this year,” said Adam Larry, NHLPA Director of Licensing.

“Players who have graced the EA SPORTS NHL cover in the past have historically had banner years in the season that followed,” said Dean Richards, General Manager, EA SPORTS NHL. “Patrick Kane scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in 2010, Steven Stamkos notched a league-leading 60 goals in 2012 and Claude Giroux becoming the Captain of the Philadelphia Flyers this season. We’re looking forward to see which fans step up to get their player on the cover of NHL 14.”

The voting process will consist of two preliminary rounds, followed by a 16-player bracket as a field of 60 NHL players is narrowed down to one. The winning player will be revealed as the EA SPORTS NHL 14 Cover Athlete during the 2013 Stanley Cup^® Final*. Fans worldwide are encouraged to vote as often as possible at NHL.com/CoverVote to ensure their favorite player advances through the rounds.

This year fans can double their voting power by using these player specific hashtags on “Twitter Vote Thursdays.” Each player specific hashtag used on Twitter on Thursdays will be counted as two official votes. Fans can join the conversation about the cover vote every day by using #NHL14CoverVote on Twitter and Instagram.

NHL 14 Cover Vote Schedule:

·         Round of 60 – April 22-28: Teammate vs. teammate. One representative from each team plus two wild card selections advance. **

·         32-Player Leaderboard – April 29-May 5: Fans vote for their favorite 16 candidates; top 16 vote-getters advance.

·         16-player Bracket – May 6 – May 26: Weekly round-by-round, single-elimination playoff bracket decides finalists.

·         The Finals – May 27- June 2: Winner takes the NHL 14 Cover.

NHL 14 Cover Athlete Candidates