2K Sports announced the cover athlete for NHL 2K11, and it’s a bit of a head-scratcher. The choice of Ryan Kesler, a forward with the Vancouver Canucks and the US Olympic Team, represents a decent selection, but if you were going to name the top 20-30 players in the NHL (a.k.a. the guys who merit the cover of a game), I don’t imagine Kesler’s name even shows up the list. He is, at best, the second or third best forward on his team (behind the Sedin twins) and while he does have good numbers and a Selke Trophy nomination, he’s not exactly Crosby. Or Ovechkin. Or Stamkos. Or Getzlaf. Or Thornton. Or Malkin. Or Zetterberg. Or Toews. Or Perry. Or, well, you get the picture.

“Having the opportunity to participate in the Olympics and play in front of my home crowd was one of the best experiences of my life.  To now be chosen as the next cover athlete for NHL 2K11 is another dream come true,” said Kesler, alternate captain for the Vancouver Canucks.  “It was awesome to work with 2K Sports last year on the NHL 2K10 commercial shoot and the outdoor motion capture session on the Las Vegas strip was incredible to be a part of.  I’m looking forward to having just as much fun again, and helping them make another great hockey game this year.”

“Ryan is one of the most talented and exciting players to watch in the NHL today and his popularity has grown exponentially since the recent success of Team USA at the Winter Olympics,” said Greg Thomas, senior vice president of sports development for 2K. “We’re thrilled to have him represent NHL 2K11 and wish him the best of luck through the rest of this season.”

NHL 2K11 is being developed by Visual Concepts, and will be available for the Wii this fall.