The Toronto Maple Leafs star has been chosen as the newest face of the NHL’s popular video game. For the marketability of the league it was a great decision.
While the NHL Awards are meant to honor the regular seasons best, they also become an unofficial celebration of all things hockey at the season’s end. With the annual NHL Awards show also comes the annual unveiling of the latest player to grace the NHL video game cover. Last night, NHL ’19 cover athlete and Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban was on hand to pass the torch to Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews.
As one of the game’s best and youngest stars, Matthews selection was a perfect fit, and few players come with the repertoire that he has amassed in his short NHL career.
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He joins the likes of Connor McDavid, Jonathan Toews, and Steven Stamkos on the league’s prominent digital platform and in the world of gaming. Marketing wise, putting Matthews on the cover may be an even better move than anyone thought.
Matthews is in a unique position, as he’s an American and mostly homegrown player, but plays professional on one of Canada’s most storied franchises. American hockey fans and Toronto fans alike can claim him as their own.
He is the first American player to make the cover since Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks was given the honor in 2010, and only the third overall after John Vanbiesbrouck . For a league that fights for market presence stateside compared to their northern neighbors where hockey reigns supreme, Matthews rise to fame can do wonders for marketing.
Matthews would be the perfect candidate to be the face of American hockey, but his team being in Toronto puts him just a level below Patrick Kane in marketability. One unique claim to fame that Matthews brings with him is his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona.
Yes, he plays for a Canadian team but Matthews has always made it fully known that his roots lie in the desert, a place where the NHL fights for the survival of their Arizona Coyotes franchise. Matthews has been very vocal about the fact that he was a fan of the Coyotes and that inspired him to pursue hockey.
He even alluded to the ironic nature of playing hockey growing up in Arizona in his introduction video during the awards ceremony. While Matthews reminiscing about growing up as an Arizona hockey player doesn’t immediately make Phoenix a hockey town like his current home base Toronto, it doesn’t hurt either.
Also underrated is Matthews presence on an international stage. In addition to being an American player playing for a Canadian team, his first venture into the world of professional hockey was in Switzerland, playing for ZSC Lions, playing in their top league. With experience in three of the largest markets for hockey, the United States, Canada, and Europe, Matthews brings entire fan bases together. The seemingly only place Matthews hasn’t played at this point is Russia.
When it comes to the NHL, one of their main focuses is on marketability. In regards to the other professional sports leagues, especially in the NBA, NHL players lack the star power and celebrity status that comes with being an athlete outside of hockey-crazed locales such as Montreal and Toronto.
Former cover athletes like Kane and Subban have been able to begin to buck that trend, but the sport still has a lot to do before the name Auston Matthews is as recognizable as Lebron James or Steph Curry. Putting their face and likeness on a top-selling video game is a nice start, however.
Matthews may be the face of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he’s also going to be the face of the NHL’s top-selling video game. The Leafs will have their star player gracing millions of games worldwide. For a player whose career has literally spanned the globe, the NHL couldn’t have picked someone better for their marketability.