Cale Makar Revealed As NHL 24 Cover Athlete

EA Sports has revealed Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche as the cover athlete for the upcoming title, NHL 24. For Oilers fans, there was a little bit of hope that Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid would grace the cover.

McDavid was last on the cover for NHL 18, just after his first playoff run with the Edmonton Oilers and his first 100-point season in the league. Makar isn’t a huge surprise as many hockey fans wanted him on last year’s cover as well after the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup and he was voted MVP of the playoffs earning him the Conn Smythe Trophy.

So far it’s been a positive reception on social media compared to last year. When Trevor Zegras and Sarah Nurse were announced as the faces of NHL 23 there were mixed opinions due to the style of the cover. Fans were confused as to why it was outside and palm trees in the background, it simply wasn’t the traditional cover they were used to.

Makar’s is much more simplistic and involves him playing inside an NHL arena and spraying the ice as he stops skating. Even the X-Factor Edition has fans impressed with the cover.

Cale Makar becomes the first player on the cover from Alberta since Dion Phaneuf on NHL 09.

Some Oilers fans might actually feel relieved that neither McDavid nor Draisaitl landed on the cover as it’s believed the cover could be a curse for that player’s team. Patrick Kane is the last player to be a cover athlete and win the Stanley Cup the following season back in 2010 for NHL 10.

Besides Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko is the only other player to make it passed the second round of the playoffs while on the cover. Other than that it’s been first-round exits or missing the playoffs for anyone else on it, including Connor McDavid for NHL 18 and the Oilers not qualifying for the post-season in 2018.

Personally, I was hoping for Leon Draisaitl as the cover athlete but it’s hard to hate Cale Makar unless he’s playing against the Oilers.

One thing’s for sure, it’s very unlikely we’ll ever see the days of midnight releases like with NHL 13 where fans were able to get autographed and special alternative covers at EB Games inside Kingsway Mall, if you own that Jordan Eberle cover, I have to say I’m very jealous of you.