Who is the NHL 24 cover athlete? One of the most exciting parts of every new NHL release cycle is the reveal of the cover star, highlighting one of the most impressive athletes to grace the front cover and promotional art. After a lot of waiting, EA Sports has revealed the NHL 24 cover athlete star taking center-stage.
With over 20 years of games, there’s been lots of different faces claiming the position, but who could take the NHL 24 cover athlete spot next? Well, EA has officially revealed the star of the show ahead of the NHL 24 release date.
Who is the NHL 24 cover athlete ?
The NHL 24 cover athlete is Cale Makar, a defencemen for Colorado Avalanche who has won the Calder Trophy and the Norris Trophy, as well as a Stanley Cup champion. This was officially confirmed by EA Sports in a reveal post.
Despite his young age, Cale Makar has absolutely made a name for himself in the NHL, having an excellent record and many awards under his belt. In fact, Makar even set a record for points by a defenceman, with a landmark 83 points. This overthrew Steve Duchesne’s historic 82 points achieved during Colorado’s 1992-93 season.
In the very same 2021-22 season, Makar won both the Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy. This also makes Makar the first player to win the Hobey Baker, Norris Trophy, and the Conn Smythe Trophy in history. Who could argue with that kind of track record?
All in all, it’s safe to say that EA Sports picked one of the best players they could for the NHL 24 cover athlete, as Cale Makar has consistently delivered a stellar performance. Not only has he played incredibly well to keep up the more established and veteran players, but Makar has broke new ground with his accomplishments.
Check out the NHL 24 ratings to see where Cale Makar ranks among the other players, especially given his status as the cover athlete. Being the cover athlete doesn’t necessarily make you the highest rated player…
While Cale Makar may have won the prestigious spot as the NHL 24 cover star, there were plenty of great candidates for this year’s cover. Here were our predictions for the position prior to the official announcement:
- Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
- Hillary Knight – Boston Pride
- Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
- Auston Matthew – Toronto Maple Leafs
- Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
- Erik Karlsson – Pittsburgh Penguins
Connor McDavid was our first prediction largely because of his superb performance for the Edmonton Oilers this season, arguably being the best player in the NHL right now. With EA often opting to highlight the best athletes in the sport, Connor McDavid was a likely candidate. What’s more, McDavid has even featured on the cover before with NHL 18. If he were to feature again, he’d have been alongside Alexander Ovechkin and Auston Matthews for having multiple cover athlete appearances.
With the great push for more women’s hockey since NHL 23, Hillary Knight – forward for the Boston Pride team – was another strong pick. Changing the game with female hockey players over recent years, with Knight being the first female skater to practice with the NHL and having earned the IIHF Female Player of the Year award, she is certainly deserving of the spot as well.
In fact, if EA Sports opted to continue the cover style from NHL 23, then we suspected that both Connor McDavid and Hilary Knight could have been the cover athletes. NHL 23 featured both Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse as the cover stars of the previous title, highlighting a male and female player, so our prediction had solid groundwork, but ultimately Cale Makar won out.
Another potential cover star athlete was Sidney Crosby. As a three-time Stanley Cup champion for the Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s hard to argue against the raw talent of Crosby. Being one of the greatest and most iconic ice hockey players, it’s strange that he hasn’t ever been a cover star for the series and that hasn’t changed with NHL 24. However, it’s possible that Sidney Crosby simply doesn’t want to be featured as the cover star in the series, as it’s hard to imagine that EA hasn’t attempted to do so before given his significance.
Well, that covers the NHL 24 cover athlete position, which was rightfully earned by Cale Makar. With so many amazing players to choose from, we doubt EA Sports has had an easy time deciding. If you just can’t wait for the next entry in the historic series, find out all about NHL 24 early access and NHL 24 Game Pass release details to get ahead.