It has been 19 years since the Penguins player recognized the cover of the EA Sports NHL video game when Mario Lemieux was chosen to cover the NHL 2002. Penguins fans hope every year that this is one of their stars chosen in their hometown, but hopeful every time they get disappointed.

In recent years, EA Sports has used the NHL Awards to reveal the sports cover of the latest edition of the long-running annual NHL simulation game series. Generally, the awards ceremony will take place on the third Thursday in June (which is June 18), but for obvious reasons there will be no party this season, which means EA has to announce its NHL 21 Sports Cover.

While everyone waits patiently for EA to announce the NHL 21 cover star, fans can speculate on what the video game giant might choose to decorate the cover of the leading video game hockey series.

From the Penguins perspective, there are a number of options for EA Sports decision makers to choose from. Sydney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin and Chris Letang stand out as clear options, but there is one more option people can ignore.

Before sustaining another injury in January, Jake Gentzl toured strongly and took steps to cross the 40th Plateau for the second time in many seasons. In addition, he caused a lot of damage without the help of Sydney Crosby as his center and was just chosen in the first NHL All-Star Game.

In what should only be his full third season with the NHL, it became clear that Guentzel was not only lucky as a player and was more than just a producer for Sidney Crosby. Jake has become a superstar in the National Hockey League and deserves huge recognition in his league.

How can you get the best of the praise it deserves by turning it into a sporty cover for the game's most prominent video game? Sure, Gentzel may not have earned all the prizes by former casino athletes like Matthews or Connor MacDavid, but he soon showed up in the National Hockey League to be an elite player to be praised.

While there are no individual awards on his shelf, Guentzel has a Stanley Cup under his belt and his performance is coming to the playoffs and has already earned him legendary status among Penguin fans.

Playing in one of the world's largest hockey markets along with some of the biggest names in the game helped Guentzel lift the hockey world. Although sometimes overwhelmed by him as Crosby and Malkin, Guentzel has cut his own legacy and received awards from fans, players and media.

It may have been quite a long shot for Guentzel to be chosen as the NHL 21 sports cover, for one of them there are many other worthy players, including some on his team. However, given the condition of the rising star and what he accomplished during his short NHL stay, Guentzel makes sense if the EA chose this trend.