Alexander Ovechkin is the cover star for NHL 21, and EA Sports is going deep to hype up the athlete and promote the game with a new limited series focused on the Russian star.

EA Sports partnered with Sporstnet to producer a new series called "From Alex to Ovi: The Story of the Great Eight." The first episode is out now, and it focuses on Ovechkin's childhood in Russia and his early days of hockey stardom in Russia before moving to the US where he would dominate the NHL.

This is Ovechkin's second outing as an NHL video game cover star; the first was for NHL 07. EA chose Ovechkin for the cover this year in an effort to showcase a player who has helped grow the game of hockey with his excellent on-ice skills and also his off-ice personality and flair. "NHL 21 promotes creativity, personality and greatness--something that the game's cover star has been setting the standard for over the past 16+ years," EA said.