Canada's Sarah Nurse named a cover athlete for NHL 23
Olympic champion becomes the first woman to grace the cover, appears alongside Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks
The cover athletes for NHL 23, the latest edition of the popular EA Sports hockey video game, were revealed on Wednesday, and featured is Canadian star Sarah Nurse.
The 27-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario is the first woman on the cover in the history of the video game franchise, with women’s national teams only added to the game for the first time in the prior edition of the game, NHL 22.
Nurse is also the first Canadian on the cover of an NHL game since P.K. Subban graced the cover of NHL 19.
She was a key contributor for Canada at the Beijing 2022 Olympics earlier this year, as they returned to the top of the podium with a victory over the United States, who beat them in the 2018 final that Nurse was also a part of. In Beijing she picked up a remarkable 18 points in seven games, setting a new Olympic record for most in a single women’s tournament. Her 13 assists were an Olympic record as well.
READ MORE: Beijing 2022 Olympics Day 13 recap: Canada win women's hockey gold, Thompson earns ski cross silver
She will share the cover with Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. Zegras, 21, picked up 61 points in 75 games during the 2021-22 NHL season, and finished as a runner-up for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the league’s top rookie. He also won gold with the United States at the 2021 World Juniors, and was tournament’s MVP.
More about the new NHL game will be revealed on Thursday.
Nurse, who also has a 2021 World Championships gold and 2019 bronze to her name, is currently with the Canada squad in Denmark ahead of the 2022 edition of the tournament.
With Canada and the United States the favourites as always, a second high-stakes meeting in the same year as the Olympic gold medal game is an exciting, and rare, opportunity.
That tournament is set to begin on Thursday with the first Preliminary Round group games, including Canada taking on the Olympic bronze medalists from Finland. After four round robin games, all five Group A teams will advance to the quarterfinals, along with the top three teams from Group B.
From there, the knockout round will continue until the medal-deciding gold and bronze medal matches on September 4.
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