EA Sports has announced that after weeks of voting on the NHL web site Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux has been declared the winner of the cover of NHL 13, after besting Nashville Predators goalie, Pekka Rinne, to be awarded the honor.

This was the first time that a cover vote was held for the NHL series and over 26 million hockey and video game fans took part to crown Giroux the winner. The NHL itself hosted the vote and supported the contest by which it gained significant media exposure for the EA Sports franchise.

NHL 13 is still scheduled for release on September 11th in North America and September 14th in Europe for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. No additional versions of the game have been announced for other platforms.

In addition, the NHL 13 Stanley Cup Collector’s Edition is apparently still on tap for release the same day as the regular version in both North America and Europe, despite EA not talking about this edition with the confirmation of the Giroux cover announcement.

Little is actually known about the NHL 13 Stanley Cup Collector’s Edition, but it is rumored to include a collectable metal case that is embossed with the Stanley Cup image, 2 Stanley Cup Themed Hockey Ultimate Team packs with randomized player items from both the East and West conference champions, Gold Jumbo Ultimate Team Pack with 24 randomized items that will include an exclusive Wayne Gretzky Ultimate Team Legend with six other rare items, CCM Boost Pack with new CCM RBZ stacks that can be used in Be a Pro and EA Sports Hockey League modes, a 10% merchandise one time discount on purchases from the shop at NHL.com, and, of course, a copy of the NHL 13 game. Official confirmation of all that will be included in NHL 13 Stanley Cup Collector’s Edition is still being finalized by EA, but sources tell us this is pretty close to what those getting the Collector’s Edition are likely to get.