As we gear up for the NHL playoffs, EA Sports is beginning to roll out new info and videos for next year’s hockey simulation, NHL 14. This year, much like they’ve already done with the Madden and NCAA franchises, they’re putting the cover athlete up for a vote.
The voting begins with a field of 60 players, two from each team. Fans have a week to decide who each team’s representatives should be, and then we’ll go from there. The folks at EA Sports have determined that the two choices for Sabres cover athlete should be Ryan Miller and Thomas Vanek.
What, no Chad Ruhwedel?
I’ll let the folks from EA Sports explain how this is going to work:
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.
· 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.
So, Sabres fans, who should get the honor of representing the blue and gold in this competition, Miller or Vanek? Cast your vote here, and let us know in the comments who you’ve chosen, or if you thnk someone else should have been picked.