In what has become a yearly spectacle now for EA and their highly vaunted NHL games, they are having a cover athlete contest again. This time they are doing a 60 man tournament. The first round of voting begins on March 29 and ends on April 11: Round of 60: one representative from each team plus two wild card selections advance. The next round begins on April 12 and goes to April 22: 32-Player Leaderboard: fans vote for their favorite 16 candidates; top 16 vote-getters advance. Finally from April 24 to June 4: Round of 16: single-elimination playoff bracket decides NHL 13 cover athlete.

“The EA Sports NHL Franchise has had a rich tradition of outstanding cover athletes including Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup Winners, NHL All-Stars and Hall of Fame Members,” said David Le, Marketing Director, EA SPORTS. “With fans selecting the cover athlete for NHL 13 they now control who gets to join that prestigious club.”

“Being the EA Sports NHL cover athlete is an honor that is coveted by many NHL players,” said Adam Larry, NHLPA Director of Licensing. “With the EA SPORTS NHL 13 cover athlete being selected by the fans, the honor is now even greater. This vote campaign will be exciting for both the players and the fans, as they will be engaging online, and through social media, while the bracket narrows towards the fans’ selection for the cover of NHL 13.”

Fans worldwide are able to vote an unlimited number of times and are encouraged to vote as often as possible at NHL.com/CoverVote to ensure their favorite player advances through the rounds. Fans can also show their support by tweeting their picks using #NHL13Cover on Twitter.

The players and teams are:

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins: Tuukka Rask vs. Tyler Seguin
Montreal Canadiens: P.K. Subban vs. Tomas Plekanec
Washington Capitals: John Carlson vs. Brooks Laich
New Jersey Devils: Ilya Kovalchuk vs. Adam Larsson
Philadelphia Flyers: Claude Giroux vs. Scott Hartnell
Carolina Hurricanes: Eric Staal vs. Jeff Skinner
New York Islanders: John Tavares vs. Michael Grabner
Winnipeg Jets: Evander Kane vs. Andrew Ladd
Tampa Bay Lightning: Steven Stamkos vs. Victor Hedman
Toronto Maple Leafs: Phil Kessel vs. Tyler Bozak
Florida Panthers: Stephen Weiss vs. Tomas Fleischmann
Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeni Malkin vs. Marc-Andre Fleury
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist vs. Brad Richards
Buffalo Sabres: Derek Roy vs. Thomas Vanek
Ottawa Senators: Erik Karlsson vs. Jason Spezza

Western Conference

Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene vs. Gabriel Landeskog
Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Sharp vs. Duncan Keith
Columbus Blue Jackets: R.J. Umberger vs. Ryan Johansen
St. Louis Blues: T.J. Oshie vs. David Perron
Vancouver Canucks: Henrik Sedin vs. Alex Burrows
Phoenix Coyotes: Shane Doan vs. Keith Yandle
Anaheim Ducks: Corey Perry vs. Jonas Hiller
Calgary Flames: Mikael Backlund vs. Matt Stajan
L.A. Kings: Anze Kopitar vs. Drew Doughty
Edmonton Oilers: Jordan Eberle vs. Taylor Hall
Nashville Predators: David Legwand vs. Pekka Rinne
Detroit Red Wings: Pavel Datsyuk vs. Jimmy Howard
San Jose Sharks: Logan Couture vs. Brent Burns
Dallas Stars: Loui Eriksson vs. Jamie Benn
Minnesota Wild: Mikko Koivu vs. Niklas Backstrom