On Monday, Florida Panthers superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk was announced as the EA Sports NHL 26 cover athlete, becoming the first Panther to grace the cover since John Vanbiesbrouck on NHL 97.
Following the announcement, EA Sports revealed that a full preview of the game was to come out today, on Wednesday, Aug. 6. gameplay of the game, which is set to release on Sept. 13, was shown, but it was also revealed the deluxe version of the game would feature a cover of Tkachuk, alongside his brother Brady and his father Keith.
Brady is the captain of the Ottawa Senators, a division foe of the Panthers. The brothers have been wreaking havoc in the NHL and joined forces on Team USA's 4 Nations Face-Off roster. The 25-year-old Brady scored 29 goals and 55 points last season, but has a career high of 37 goals and 83 points.
Keith, the father of Matthew and Brady, never won a Stanley Cup, but if his sons want to catch him in all-time goals and points, they'll have a lot of work to do. Keith played 18 seasons in the NHL, scoring 538 goals and 1065 points in 1201 games. Currently, Matthew is trailing his father by 298 goals and 429 points, while playing 559 fewer games.
Last year's edition of the game featured the Hughes brothers, portraying Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes and New Jersey Devils stars Jack and Luke Hughes. While still following the theme, EA Sports came up with a clever switch in their marketing.
Matthew Tkachuk featured on cover of NHL 26, first Panthers player selected since John VanbiesbrouckIt’s been a long time since a Florida Panthers player graced the cover of a major NHL video game.
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