Sarah Nurse was on vacation, having just helped Team Canada to Olympic gold in Beijing, when the call arrived.
It was EA Sports. They were wondering if Nurse was interested in making history.
“They asked me if I wanted to be on the cover of NHL 23 and I was like, ‘Sure, if you like me, I would love to be a part of that. I think that it would be super awesome,'” Nurse said.
According to EA Sports, Nurse is the first women’s hockey player to grace the cover of its NHL franchise. She’s one of two cover athletes for NHL 23, joining Anaheim Ducks sensation Trevor Zegras as the faces of the latest edition, which will be released Oct. 14.
“It’s a huge moment, both for EA and the NHL,” said Clem Kwong, lead producer for EA Sports NHL series.
Kwong said EA had considered putting a women’s player on the cover of the game in previous seasons. He said Nurse aligned with the game’s aims to push hockey forward into a more inclusive and accessible place.
“When we started going through the process and looking at the short list of athletes, we were looking for athletes that were on the biggest stage,” he said. “Sarah is a very skilled athlete. When you’re talking about speed and creativity, she’s proven that on the biggest stage. She’s a pioneer in inclusivity and diversity within the sport, too.”
Having a women’s player on the cover of NHL 23 seemed like more of a possibility when EA Sports added IIHF women’s championship tournament teams in an NHL 22 expansion pack last Christmas, marking the first time women’s players were included in the game. “So this was a planned progression in that sense,” Kwong said. “Get the women’s license in the game first and then expand on that.”
It’s a game-changing moment for EA Sports and comes at a time when Kwong sees interest in women’s hockey skyrocketing.
“The trend line for women’s hockey is just upward trajectory right now,” he said. “The professional women’s leagues haven’t quite figured out how to do it yet, but it’s just a matter of time. Sarah’s just right there and we’re so proud of our partnership with her.”
ESPN spoke with Nurse recently about appearing in the cover, Team Canada’s dominance, the strides women have made in the NHL and her stint as a judge on “Canada Drag Race.”
On the day of our interview, members of the Canadian women’s national team released an open letter to Hockey Canada to say they’ll be “part of the fight for the truth” into allegations of sexual assault made against men’s players, saying they would…
Click Here to Watch the Video from www.espn.com – NHL…