On Friday morning, EA Sports announced the eight finalists for their fan-based vote for the cover athlete of the latest installment in their NHL gaming franchise, the forthcoming NHL 13. Included amongst the likes of Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Evgeni Malkin and Philadelphia Flyers burgeoning star Claude Giroux was the Detroit Red Wings' elder statesman, Pavel Datsyuk.
↵Datsyuk is matched up against John Tavares of the New York Islanders in the quarterfinals after defeating T.J. Oshie of the St. Louis Blues in the first round. Red Wings fans can start voting for Datsyuk on May 18 and voting will extend all the way to May 23.
↵You can place your vote at EA Sports' Official "NHL 13 Cover Vote" website.
↵Datsyuk finished the 2011-12 season with 19 goals and 48 assists for 67 points in 70 games played. Datsyuk was also the first overall selection at the 2012 NHL All-Star Game Draft in Ottawa.
↵If he wins the Cover Vote, he will be the first Red Wings player to appear on the cover of the EA NHL franchise since Steve Yzerman did so with Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils on the cover of NHL '96.