The athletes featured on EA Sports’ NHL 23 were officially announced on Wednesday as Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras and Team Canada forward Sarah Nurse.
The selection of Zegras was met with many surprises as the youth center is about to experience a very hot year with the Ducks.
Picked 9th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Zegras finally made his league debut in the 2020-21 season, appearing in 24 games and collecting 13 points. Entering the 2021-22 season as a rookie, Zegras has scored 23 goals and 38 assists for 61 points after 75 games played. His performance earned him the Ducks’ all-time rookie title of the latest season, surpassing Bobby Ryan’s previous record of 57 points, in addition to second place in the polls. Calder Trophy in 2022.
However, Zegras’ achievements are not limited to his ability to get on the scoreboard. The 21-year-old also happened to attract attention across the league several times over the course of the past year, due to his ability to make outstanding batting and score ‘Michigan’ style goals. His famous lane assist on Sonny Milano’s goal back in December went viral and was reported by EA Sports to have been added to NHL 23.
The selection of Nurse to appear on the cover alongside Zegras marks the first time a female hockey player has appeared on the front lines of EA Sports’ NHL video game.
Only in their most recent release (NHL 22) did female players even become part of the game, after EA Sports added the national team from the IIHF world championship. Though long overdue, these additions solidify the undeniable talent in women’s hockey.
And who better to represent that than Nurse, 27, who recently showed off her exceptional skills on the world stage. Winning a gold medal with Team Canada in Beijing at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Nurse scored five goals and 13 assists, scoring 18 points in just seven games.
Nurse has had an incredible overall career to date, from her college days to playing at the professional level to representing her country (and winning medals in doing so). ). She will compete for Canada in the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Denmark, which begins qualifying on Thursday.
NHL 23 will be released on October 14, with more details and features on the latest edition set to be announced later this week.
