EA Sports dropped the NHL 27 cover reveal Monday morning, and it’s a 20-year-old kid from the San Jose Sharks who just made history. Macklin Celebrini is officially the youngest player ever to grace the cover of an EA NHL game.
The Sharks center beat out Trevor Zegras for that record. Zegras was 21 when he landed on the NHL 23 cover. Celebrini’s got him by a full year.
It’s not exactly a shock based on how last season went. Celebrini put up 115 points, which broke a Sharks franchise record. That also placed him fourth in the entire league in scoring. He was a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award too, though Connor McDavid ended up taking that trophy home.
EA Sports announced the news on social media Thursday with a teaser. The full NHL 27 reveal trailer drops July 16 at 11 AM ET. That’s when we’ll actually get to see the cover art and presumably hear about gameplay changes and a release date.
The Sharks didn’t make the playoffs last year. But it was their best season since 2018 and their first winning record in that span. So there’s real momentum. If Celebrini keeps producing like this and the team makes a few smart moves around him, San Jose could be looking at a postseason return sooner than a lot of people expected.
For reference, Matthew Tkachuk was last year’s standard edition cover guy. The Deluxe Edition featured Matthew alongside his brother Brady and their dad Keith. That was a nice family touch. Celebrini gets the solo spotlight this time.
This is also a big moment for the franchise itself. The Sharks haven’t had a ton of national buzz in recent years. Having their young star on the cover changes that a little. It puts a spotlight on the rebuild and gives fans something to feel good about heading into training camp.
We’ll get more NHL 27 details soon, including the full feature list and a confirmed release date. But for now, the cover athlete news is enough to get people talking. Celebrini earned it on the ice. And he just made history doing it.
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