EA Sports’ NHL 22 Tease Leaves Fans Convinced Artemi Panarin Will Be The Cover Athlete

EA Sports released a video on social media that has many New York Rangers fans convinced that they know the cover athlete will be Artemi Panarin.

Check out the tease:

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Two more days #NHL22 ⛸ 🎮

Don't miss the premiere 📺👇https://t.co/T2zNOxKDAG pic.twitter.com/Zfj1leemhT

— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) August 17, 2021

While EA Sports made it clear that the cover athlete will be a member of the New York Rangers, it’s not necessarily obvious that it’ll be Artemi Panarin.

Another logical cover athlete could be defenseman Adam Fox, who won the Norris Trophy last season.

Here’s what fans had to say:

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How sick is it gonna be if Panarin does the leg kick on the cover photo pic.twitter.com/EWOw6su3kZ

— Slippy (@SlippyNYR) August 17, 2021

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Panarin cover?????????????????

(also would be fine with Fox) https://t.co/JyNMWpfrYB

— Ryan Mead (@OhRyanMead) August 17, 2021

https://twitter.com/HockeyHoundShow/status/1427664743192481797

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Confirmed by me this is a ccm stick which Panarin uses @NYRangers #NYR pic.twitter.com/0S26hbjUbv

— BlueLineBlueShirts (@BLBlueShirts26) August 17, 2021

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Panarin cover athlete confirmed?

Also, that ice looks CLEAN.

pic.twitter.com/t2NqtvxHqV

— Bones (@BonesOnDemand) August 17, 2021

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It feels like the safest bet would be that the NHL 22 cover athlete would be Artemi Panarin.

While Adam Fox is slowly becoming one of the most likable athletes in the NHL, Panarin is the more electric player, who remains a superstar.

Last season, Panarin took some time away from the Rangers after he was accused of domestic abuse during his time in the KHL by a Russian newspaper.

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Artemi Panarin Taking Leave Of Absence After Russian Newspaper Claims He Got Into A Physical Altercation With A Woman In 2011https://t.co/Xcv0v1Xrcu

— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) February 22, 2021

Artemi Panarin has been outspoken against Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in the past. And it would appear that some form of payback was going on in the story that surfaced during last season.

Now, Panarin is back with the Rangers, who will look to take the next step with an up-and-coming Rangers team that surprisingly fired their head coach and GM last season.

We’ll find out in a couple of days if Artemi Panarin is, indeed, the NHL 22 cover athlete.

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