The first bit of information has been released for NHL 27 as the Stanley Cup Playoffs just wrapped up a few weeks ago. The cover athlete has been announced as there will be two different covers for each edition of NHL 27. Both the Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition will feature the same cover athlete, and only one player as opposed to multiple that have been seen in the past. NHL 27 will release for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, as there will be no hockey for PC fans. The game will release on September 11, with the Deluxe Edition coming a week prior for early access.
Add Another San Jose Shark to the NHL Cover
EA is going with Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks as the series puts another rising player, who isn’t a household name yet, on its cover. Celebrini will be entering his third NHL season as he comes off of a 115 point performance in 2025-26. He scored 45 goals and assisted on 70 goals and played every game last season. He nearly doubled his output of points from his rookie season, as the San Jose Sharks returned to a state of relevancy last year.
EA is going with Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks as the series puts another rising player, who isn’t a household name yet, on its cover.
Celebrini was taken with the number one pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and has quickly rose to prominence. His goal against St. Louis in his NHL debut was the second-fastest for a number one pick in NHL history only trailing Mario Lemieux. He was part of the Canadian National Team that scored a Silver Medal. With San Jose, the team scored 86 points this year and missed the playoffs by only four points. The Sharks only scored 52 points the year prior and had a goal differential of -105. They severely reduced that to -41 this year, so Celebrini has clearly made a difference in just one season.
Macklin Celebrini Hockey Accolades
- USHL All-Rookie Team (2023)
- USHL First All-Star Team (2023)
- USHL Player of the Year (2023)
- Hockey East All-Rookie Team (2024)
- Hockey East First All-Star Team (2024)
- Hockey East Player of the Year (2024)
- NCAA (East) First All-American Team (2024)
- Hobey Baker Memorial Award (Top U.S. Collegiate Player) (2024)
- NHL All-Rookie Team (2025)
Owen Nolan was on the cover of NHL 2001 for the North American version back in 2000. This would be the first version to hit the next generation consoles of that era. Celebrini joins the Tkachuk brothers, Hughes brother trio, Cale Makar, Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse, Auston Matthews and Alexander Ovechkin as the cover athlete dating back to NHL 20. Auston Matthews has been featured twice in three years with Ovechkin being in-between those. Matthews officially made a name for himself during the Olympic Games so that all hockey fans know who he is.
A Different Direction of Cover Athletes
The EA SPORTS NHL series has been banking on future names for about the last ten years as cover athletes. The likes of Madden and NBA will put its current stars that are household names on the cover. For the NHL series, the opportunity to include a Carolina Hurricane player, who had just won the cup and is a prominent team, was right there for the taking. The Florida Panthers feature star players and won two cups in a row while Conor McDavid was right there on the opposing front for Edmonton. McDavid was on the cover very early in his career. The Tkachuk brothers did make last year’s cover.
Outside of including Ovechkin on NHL 21, there hasn’t been a current face of the sport on the cover of the game since NHL 16 with Jonathan Toews. Cale Makar was on the cover of NHL 24 and while he’s a great player, he is often overshadowed by others on that team. A bonus to being on these covers is that fans who might not be able to watch these teams are aware of their presence, as this includes Trevor Zegras of the Ducks. Since the Hughes name was a big force in winning the Gold Medal for the United States this year, having them on the cover did really work out. This cover, which features Macklin Celebrini, is designed as a more traditional cover that may signal something about the game.
