The NHL announced Tuesday that San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini would grace the cover of NHL 27.
With this honor, Celebrini becomes the youngest player ever to be featured on the game’s cover. The 20-year-old is coming off his second season in the league, after the Sharks selected him with the first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
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The young center isn’t the first Sharks player to ever grace the cover of the game. Owen Nolan played for the Sharks from 1995 to 2003 and was on the cover of NHL 2001.
Celebrini became a household name during his first season at Boston University. He became the youngest player ever to win the Hobey Baker Award, which is given annually to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player.
As a rookie with the Sharks, the center played in 70 games. He finished with 63 points, 25 goals and 38 assists. Celebrini was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy — the NHL’s Rookie of the Year Award — but it went to Lane Hutson of the Montreal Canadiens instead.
Celebrini took a huge step forward in his second season last year. He played in all 82 games for San Jose and totaled 115 points, with 45 goals and 70 assists. The Sharks center finished fourth in voting for the league MVP Award.
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A reveal trailer for NHL 27 will be released on Thursday, July 16, at 11 a.m. ET. It can be found on the EA Sports NHL YouTube channel.
The game is expected to release sometime in September, but the reveal trailer could include an exact release date.
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