EA Sports has made a historic choice for the cover of NHL 25, selecting not one but three athletes from the same family. The Hughes brothers — Jack, Luke, and Quinn — were announced as the cover stars on Thursday morning, marking the first time siblings are featured on the NHL series cover.
Jack and Luke, who play together for the New Jersey Devils, and Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes are among the NHL’s most exciting players. Quinn is the reigning Norris Trophy winner as the league’s top defenceman, while Jack has risen to superstar status since being drafted first overall in 2019. Luke, the youngest, was a Calder Trophy nominee this past season.
Reflecting on the honour, Quinn Hughes expressed the brothers’ excitement, saying, “I think all of us are just honoured because it’s a hard thing to be on the cover, and there are so many great players in the league. For them to decide to attach their brand with the three of us was pretty cool.”
EA Sports also announced significant updates for NHL 25, focusing on gameplay enhancements and improvements to Franchise Mode and graphics. Franchise Mode will undergo a “revamp,” providing players with streamlined access to new, relevant, and easy-to-digest information. Graphics will see improvements in hair, cloth (fluid jersey movement), and player skeletons, similar to the advancements introduced in Madden NFL.
Here is the official trailer!
Among the new gameplay features is the Skill-Based One-Timers, which aim to create more authentic and thrilling scoring moments. Additionally, a new World of Chel (WOC) Live Events structure, Hockey Ultimate Team (HUT) Wildcard Mode, and simplified XP progression across HUT are included. The Grudge Match System, another new feature, tracks the history of matchups between teams and introduces special X-Factors earned in previous rival games.
Luke Hughes shared his excitement about being on the cover, reminiscing about his childhood with the video game. “I think we grew up on the game,” Luke said. “I don’t think our parents let us have it at too young an age. Our first few games were NHL 14, 15, 16. [Players such as] Patrice Bergeron and Marty Brodeur — I think that’s when we got into it, and we just played it together and had fun.”
NHL 25 will continue to reveal more details about these updates, including deep-dive videos, throughout September as the game prepares for its worldwide launch. This announcement follows a brief, accidental reveal earlier in the week when EA Sports published and quickly deleted the game’s trailer on their official YouTube channel. Despite the premature reveal, the Hughes brothers have already generated significant buzz as the latest faces of the NHL series.
NHL 25 is scheduled to release on Oct. 4th, the same day the NHL Global Series begins in Prague, Czechia.