Vancouver Canucks forward Ryan Kesler will be the cover athlete and spokesperson for the video game NHL 2K11.

2K Sports announced today (March 9) that it has signed the “2010 Winter Olympics hero” to be face of the forthcoming Wii game.

“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,” Kesler said in a 2K press release. “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.”

NHL 2K11 is being developed by Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, for release in the fall.

Drafted by the Canucks in 2003, Kesler has so far spent his entire NHL career with the team.

Kesler was a member of the silver-medal U.S. team that lost the men’s hockey final to Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

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