Cale Makar, who was drafted in 2017, has become one of the NHL’s most skilled defensemen. Now, Makar can add cover athlete to his list of accomplishments as EA Sports announced that he will be featured on the cover of NHL 24.
Makar is only the second player from the Colorado Avalanche to be featured on the cover of this popular video game franchise. The first was Peter Forsberg in 1998.
EA Sports will release a trailer for NHL 24 on Wednesday.
Makar is the third defenseman in the past 20 years to be featured on the cover of this video game franchise. Dion Phaneuf appeared on the cover of NHL 09, and P.K. Subban was the cover athlete for NHL 19. NHL 23 featured Trevor Zegras, a forward for the Anaheim Ducks, and Sarah Nurse, a star on the Canadian women’s national team.
During the 2022-23 season, Makar had 66 points (17 goals and 49 assists). However, he dealt with a concussion and a lower-body injury, which limited him to just 60 regular-season games. Despite the limited time on the ice, Makar ranked sixth in goals and ninth in points among NHL defensemen.
At the age of 24, Makar was selected as the No. 4 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. In his four NHL seasons so far, he has accumulated 246 points (65 goals and 181 assists) and has earned numerous accolades.
Makar won the Norris Trophy for the league’s top defenseman in the 2021-22 season, where he achieved a career-high 86 points (28 goals and 58 assists). Additionally, he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in the 2019-20 season, the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP in 2022, and has been named an All-Star twice.
