Players try to rally EA Sports NHL '13 cover support

Unfortunately for David Perron and T.J. Oshie, they were too good at hockey to become teachers. They probably don't mind that they've wound up in the NHL, but if one of them should wind up on the cover of EA SPORTS' NHL 13, that player will get a taste of what it's like to be giving lessons.

EA SPORTS announced this week that for the first time in the history of its NHL video game franchise, fans will get to determine which player is featured on the cover after whittling the selections from 60 to one. Those 60 players in the initial round of voting are comprised of two players from each team, with each set of teammates going head to head to make the round of 32 (which includes a pair of wild cards).

Perron and Oshie have been selected as the two representatives from St. Louis, and each made it clear Thursday he wants to be the winner -- and they're prepared to add some incentive for their constituents. Perron announced Thursday that if he winds up as the cover athlete for NHL 13, one randomly selected fan will win a 60-minute private skating lesson with him, in addition to various items of equipment that Perron has used, such as a jersey and a stick. Oshie quickly matched the ante.

"It's only an hour of my time and a few pieces of equipment," Perron told NHL.com's Louie Korac on Thursday. "The point is to give back to the fans who are going to vote on you to maybe be on there. It's having fun with it more than anything. I talked with my agent [Allan Walsh] about it and we thought it was a good way to be maybe be a little different from the other guys."

Perron and Oshie aren't the only players taking their case to the fans in hopes of winning the honor. Brad Richards, Victor Hedman, Scott Hartnell and Henrik Lundqvist are just a handful of the players who have been tweeting from their accounts to try and rally voter support. Players are also having a fair bit of fun with each other in the process. Richards' and Lundqvist's teammate Brandon Prust made it apparent that his support could be bought, tweeting, "I'll vote 4 whoever has me over for dinner tonite".

When Lundqvist admitted his cooking might not be up to par with his teammate's, he offered Prust the chance to ride in his Lambourghini for a week. Richards responded to Prust, "you eat at my place every second day. That not worth anything?" As the three went back and forth for several hours Thursday afternoon, Richards ultimately pulled out the trump card that he is attending Prust's charity golf tournament -- and is a far better golfer than Lundqvist.

"@BrandonPrust8 @BRichards_1991, I quit golf years ago because I'm terrible..#thetruth But I'll make a comeback for you Prusty.." Lundqvist later tweeted in response.

The Rangers aren't the only team that has players ribbing one another even if they aren't in the competition. In Chicago, the camaraderie has even taken hold between teammates who have already gotten EA's cover treatment, as Patrick Sharp, who is facing off with teammate Duncan Keith in the contest, told the media Thursday, "I used to play a lot of games with my older brother and my friends, but ever since they put [Patrick] Kane on the cover I stopped being a fan."

Teammates will continue to be pitted against one another for the duration of the opening round of voting which opened Thursday and runs until April 11. Fans are allowed to vote an unlimited number of times at NHL.com/CoverVote, as well as support their picks on Twitter using the hashtag #NHL13Cover.

The voting is open to fans worldwide. If all goes according to plan for Perron, one of those fans will be getting some on-ice pointers when the winner is announced this June.