REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA), in partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL®) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA®), today announced that fans will determine the next face of the franchise through the EA SPORTS™ NHL® 17 Cover Vote. This year, eight hockey superstars -- one from each of the eight teams competing in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 -- have been selected to represent their NHL and national teams as they compete for the cover. Voting begins today on NHL.com and on Twitter, and fans are permitted to support their favorite player by voting as many times as they want, ensuring their pick advances to the final rounds.

The EA SPORTS NHL® 17 Cover Athlete Competitors are:

Country, Team, Player, Twitter Vote Hashtag

Team Canada, Dallas Stars, Jamie Benn, #NHL17Benn

Team USA, San Jose Sharks, Joe Pavelski, #NHL17Pavelski

Team Czech Republic, Philadelphia Flyers, Jakub Voracek, #NHL17Voracek

Team Sweden, Tampa Bay Lightning, Victor Hedman, #NHL17Hedman

Team Russia, St. Louis Blues, Vladimir Tarasenko, #NHL17Tarasenko

Team Finland, Florida Panthers, Aleksander Barkov, #NHL17Barkov

Team North America, Edmonton Oilers, Connor McDavid, #NHL17McDavid

Team Europe, Los Angeles Kings, Anze Kopitar, #NHL17Kopitar

To participate in the EA SPORTS NHL® 17 Cover Vote, visit NHL.com/covervote or Twitter, and Tweet your vote using your player's hashtag above. Fans will also be able to double their vote for their favorite picks when using the player-specific hashtags every Thursday for "Twitter Vote Thursdays." The winner of the Cover Vote* will be revealed as the EA SPORTS NHL® 17 Cover Athlete at the 2016 NHL AwardsTM.

For more information, including full player descriptions and dates, visit the NHL 17 Cover Vote Feature Page.

EA SPORTS also released the all-new NHL 17 Vision Trailer, an inside look at the development of NHL 17 and how the team is working directly with fans to build the biggest and most exciting hockey game to date. Whether you're challenging a friend on the couch or building a team to compete at the most elite level, see how NHL 17 gives you the power to shape your hockey legacy no matter how you play the game. Fans can also sign up to become an EA SPORTS NHL® 17 Insider and get early access to news, trailers, behind-the-scenes videos, exclusive content and more.

*While the fan vote will decide the cover, in the event of a draw, vote tampering or extenuating circumstances, EA reserves the right to select the athletes ultimately used for EA SPORTS NHL 17's cover.