For the past few years, EA has chosen to use the NHL Awards ceremony to reveal its new cover athlete, and that trend has continued this year.

NHL 19 cover athlete P.K. Subban took the stage in Vegas and talked about what being on the cover meant to him before revealing Toronto Maple Leafs player Auston Matthews as the new face of EA's franchise. Given how prevalent in hockey the Maple Leafs are, it might surprise you to know that technically, a Toronto player has never graced the cover of the publisher's hockey titles. Limited edition versions sold specifically in Toronto have featured James Van Riemsdyk before, and Sweden sold an edition of NHL 19 that featured William Nylander, but Matthews marks Toronto's first appearance as the primary cover athlete.

Additionally, EA has announced the release date for NHL 20 -- it's coming to PlayStation 4 on 13th September 2019.

Are you excited for NHL 20? We haven't actually seen any of the game yet, but if you've played the previous instalment, you probably already have the gist. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

[source youtube.com]