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A few weeks ago we learned that NHL 20 will feature Auston Matthews as the cover athlete. Now the cover athletes for the Nordics have been presented, as Patrick Laine and Elias Petterson will be the gentlemen starring on the respective covers of NHL 20 on the store shelves and in the online marketplaces in Finland and Sweden. Laine also appeared on the cover of NHL 19 in Finland and that makes him the first athlete in EA SPORTS NHL history to be featured on the cover for two years in a row. - It was great to hear that EA SPORTS wanted me on the cover again. The new cover is even cooler than the previous one! This sort of recognition brings me the drive to prove on ice that I'm really worth all of the hype, says Patrik Laine. - I'm sure everyone knows that I've been a passionate EA SPORTS NHL fan since I was a kid. A season in the NHL is very tough and playing the new NHL game on the Playstation with my friends is a great way to relax, Laine continues. Laine was picked as one of the superstars that have a NHL 20 Signature Shot in the game. The Signature Shots are - you guessed it - recognizable shooting styles that have been carefully modelled after the biggest stars in the NHL. If you'd like to read more about the features in NHL 20, you can read our previous Full Reveal article and Gameplay Article. Both players got their own short trailers and you can watch them below: Screenshots of both players in-game likeness were also released: Patrik Laine, Winnipeg Jets Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks Don't forget to send us your NHL 20 Beta feedback! Do you think these players were the right call for the cover? Who would you have picked? Discuss in the comments below. Source: EA SPORTS press release

Floor17- Northern Stars (NOS) ECL Hidden Gems is a concept that was created by @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun (patovic). The idea evolved out of discussions concerning what type of content patovic himself would like to see more of at NHLGamer.com and what kind of texts he'd be most interested in writing. Hidden Gems, for the purposes of this feature, means players that the author feels haven't quite gotten their time to shine at NHLGamer or players that aren't getting full credit for the skill they bring to the table. This is the first edition in a six-part series that patovic has written so do enjoy the witty writing of "pato" and leave a comment with your thoughts on the piece. I might find myself out on thin ice over some pretty deep waters right about now, but the fact is that Northern Stars veteran Daniel Anderzon aka @Floor17 doesn't quite get the recognition he deserves in the ECL community. This is a player who is a 5-time ECL veteran (and lord knows how many 6v6 tournaments before that!) that routinely manages to control all aspects off the game, in all zones off the ice. Not only that, he is a beast at the Versus portion of the game as well, having won one Swedish championship and making it far in various other tournaments. As the great coach Marc Crawford once said: "If you want him to shut down the opponents best player, he will get it done. You want him to score goals? He will get it done. You want him to be a playmaker? He'll get it done. You need him to be physical? He'll get it done. He is so gifted and the list just goes on and on". You can trace the origins of the so-called "floorbandyking" back to the old Xbox team "Swedish Tigers" that featured such legends as ivve83 and unbroken-anders (man, where did those guys go?). Floor17 was truly a dominating force in those early Xbox years and have continued to build his legacy in EASHL ever since. At the beginning of his virtual career, he was considered by many to be more of a pure offensive weapon. This went on for years and especially once he found himself playing with @cHIIMEERa on the Swedish powerhouse Northern Stars. The last few seasons, Floor17 has managed to enhance his repertoire to include an ability to play both wing and defenseman at a very high level, as well as the occasional stint at goaltender. Flash forward to today where NOS had Finnish superstars @tbnantti and @plee999 join the team for ECL 5, it has been quite interesting to see how the old "curveshot master" has adapted to the situation and found an integral two-way role on the roster where he has been a big contributor to the teams' success. To summarize: Floor is awesome at videogame hockey and wins stuff, that is just what he does. It ain't easy winning all the time - if it were, everyone would be doing it! PS. Mean rumours back in the day said that the King of Floorbandy used the "99 overall glitch" in EASHL... and that it was possibly @eyebiz (the old rascal!) who had the hackset to hook him up - but if you ask me? Nah, Floor17 didn't need it then and he doesn't need it now - this man is nothing but skill and determination Floor17 Fact Box [Player profile] Daniel Anderzon, Sweden ECL All-Time Stats: 86GP, 60G, 92A, 152P, +85 Participated in all 5 ECL tournaments at NHLGamer: all five for Northern Stars Favors the RW position in EASHL Swedish Champion of NHL 11 Versus Runner-up (Finalist vs. NHLGamer member @Kribba) in NHL 12 & NHL 13 Versus Text by: @pnordetun Intro and editing by: @The_Alpha_Furyan Art by: @OxtreeLAT

FLOU ❤️ As many of you already know our beloved friend and teammate, 
Daniel Anderzon - @Floor17, got hospitalized earlier this year after doctors through an MRI discovered a tumour in his brain. Prior to the discovery Daniel had been struggling with major seizures of migraine over the course of a month, forcing him to take a step back from gaming, NHL and the community. As doctors found out the tumour Wouldn't be operable, they put him on radiation therapy earlier this spring. Since then his body has been fighting off the cancer bravely - at times seeing progress with the tumour shrinking in size, at times being near collapse due to the tumour and treatment itself. This took its toll on Daniel. Earlier this week his body simply couldn't take anymore and we received the news that Daniel has passed away, surrounded by his family. As someone who's been around the community from day one, being one of the most well known players around, a pioneer for the entire scene for almost decade and a friend to so many, we would like to highlight who Daniel really was as a person. Having the opportunity to not only see the gamertag Floorbandy king or PSN-ID Floor17, but to really see the person behind it, is something we'll always treasure and the true value of being a part of Northern Stars through all these years. Gaming was what brought us together and what held us together. Ever since day one, 10 years ago, Daniel never really changed that much. Daniel were always Daniel, regardless if you got to know him at 16 or 26. Always humble, always a team player. Always the one wanting to play the support roles when the rest of us fooled around in other games, always the one taking a step back to help someone else taking three steps forward. Always ready to praise an opponent when beaten fair and square. It really defined him as a person. He always held his composure, both when playing and arguing, and has always been one of the major cornerstones in our team. Not only as a player, but as a leader in his own way and most importantly a friend to literally everyone who has ever come and gone throughout the years. The answer to how a team with cHIIMEERa and ma0niii as captains can last for a decade is as simple as Floor17. The youngest one of us, but yet the one who always kept our feet on the ground. We've always laughed at how he's always been like the grumpy but wise old man we've always needed. It's admirable how much he knew about players and people in our community. If anyone ever would deserve one of those top fan badges for anything, it'd be Daniel for our NHL-community. He always loved to see and hear about people's opinions, with or without joining the discussion, and always loved to keep track on players in every team at NHLGamer and loved to watch all of the hardcore VS-players take it out on each other in tournaments and GWC. It's probably pretty common to easily get a bit salty and grow tired of a scene once you've been on top of that stage yourself, but for Daniel it was always a pleasure to watch others succeed just as much as being a part of it himself. It feels surreal to write this text, as we're still in shock as it haven't really been able to sunk in yet. The constant in form of Daniel that's always been there for us when it comes down to NHL and Northern Stars is no more, it feels like we've lost our younger brother and this community has surely lost one of their brightest stars. We're thankful for every moment spent playing, talking and hanging out with you IRL throughout the years. You're a proof that anyone who says video games isn't a social thing and that video games can't be as fulfilling and connective as sports is wrong. You're missed and will never be forgotten. We love you. @ma0niii & @cHIIMEERa - - - A word from @Kenu, NHLGamer: On behalf of NHLGamer, I would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and teammates of Daniel in this tragic loss. Daniel was a beloved member of the community since day one and participated in all of our ECL seasons to date, racking up 199 games as a skater (123+163=286) and 2 games between the pipes (2W, 88,88%, 0,99 GAA, 1 SO). He was featured in one of our Hidden Gems articles during the ECL 5 season - you can read it here. Daniel will be forever missed, but not forgotten. In memoriam, we want to share with you a video highlighting some nice plays during Daniel's career with Northern Stars: ❤️ UPDATE: We set up a fundraiser with @cHIIMEERa for Daniel's family to help with the expenses related to his passing and the funeral. You can access it here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/qbnw2n-for-the-family-of-daniel-quotfloor17quot-anderzon