EA SPORTS announced today the 16 NHL players who have advanced to the next round of the EA SPORTS NHL^®13 Cover Votepresented by BlackBerry^®. Beginning today on NHL.com, the cover vote campaign shifts to a 16-player bracket format as players compete in head-to-head matchups for a spot in the quarterfinals. The winner of the cover vote campaign will be unveiled as the EA SPORTS NHL^®13 Cover Athlete at the 2012 NHL Awards™ on June 20 at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas.

NHL 13Cover Athlete Voting Schedule:

·         April 25 – May 2:Round of 16 – Bracket A matchups open for voting

·         May 3 –May 10: Round of 16 – Bracket B matchups open for voting

·         May 11 – May 23:  Quarterfinals

·         May 24 – May 28:Semifinals

·         May 29 – June 4:Finals

Fans worldwide are able to vote an unlimited number of times and are encouraged to vote as often as possible at http://www.nhl.com/covervote to ensure their favorite player advances through the rounds. Fans can also get involved and tweet their support by using #NHL13Cover on Twitter.