Ex-Wolverines named cover athletes of new EA Sports NHL video game

Brothers Quinn and Luke Hughes never played on the same team during their hockey careers at Michigan, but they will be featured together in the new EA Sports NHL video game.

The duo, along with middle brother Jack Hughes, were named this year’s cover athletes for NHL 25 on Thursday, making them the first siblings to appear on an EA Sports NHL video game cover together.

All three are former top-10 picks – Quinn of the Vancouver Canucks in 2018 and Jack and Luke of the New Jersey Devils in 2019 and 2021, respectively – and all have established themselves on the NHL stage.

The trio will be featured on the deluxe version of this year’s cover, sitting beside each other in a locker room wearing their respective jerseys. Quinn, the captain of the Canucks and the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenseman, will be featured solely on the cover on the game’s cover in Canada and international versions, while Jack, the former No. 1 overall pick who did not take the college hockey route before reaching the NHL, is on the cover in the United States.

The game will be released Oct. 4.

“We feel incredibly honored to be on the cover of NHL 25 ,” Quinn, who led all NHL defenseman with 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) last season, said in an EA Sports news release. “Being featured alongside my brothers is the sort of thing you dream about as a kid but could never imagine happening in real life.”

Luke finished third last season in voting for the Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the rookie of the year. The former fourth overall pick finished tied for 22nd among NHL blue liners with 47 points (nine goals, 38 assists).

“Being on the cover with my brothers is incredibly exciting,” Luke said in the news release. “We have a one-of-a-kind hockey story growing up together and now a one-of-a-kind cover. We can’t wait for fans to experience NHL 25 .”

Both Quinn and Luke played two years for the Wolverines before turning pro. Quinn totaled 10 goals and 52 assists in 69 games, helping the team reach a national semifinal in 2018. The Wolverines reached the Frozen Four in 2021 and 22 with Luke on the team. He led all freshman in scoring with 39 points and was a first-team All-American as a sophomore, registering 10 goals and 38 assists in 39 games.

According to EA Sports, NHL 25 will feature an all-new logic-driven animation system.

“The new ICE-Q gameplay system represents a foundational shift in how players will experience the game, with its deep intelligence giving them complete control of the ice,” senior game design director at EA Vancouver Mike Inglehart said in a release. “Hockey is built different, with NHL 25 delivering greater authenticity, bigger team rivalries and inspired by the sport’s next-generation superstars who continue to redefine the game.”