TASK ONE: You’re the coach of one of the teams in the playoffs! At least you’d like to think you are. Come up with a new set of lines for one of the teams eliminated in the playoffs, and explain why you made the choices you did. Must be at least 150 words.

Fun PT!


Looking back at the Minnesota Chiefs' playoff run there are a few changes i think could have been made, despite the already solid lines put together by Baelor/management.

Last lines:

5 vs. 5 Forward:
Center-Left Wing-Right Wing -- Time % -- Phy -- Def -- Off
1. Flacko - Koroviev - Thorstein -- 40% -- 1 - 1 - 3
2. Glover - Starkonov - Nova -- 40% -- 0 - 0 - 5
3. Glover - O'Rourke - Thorstein -- 10% -- 0 - 2 - 3
4. Flacko - Koroviev - Nova -- 10% -- 0 - 2 - 3

5 vs. 5 Defense:
Defense-Defense -- Time % -- Phy -- Def -- Off
1. Garbanzo - Kaalinpaa -- 45% -- 1 - 2 -2
2. Hamalainen - Caelum -- 40% -- 0 - 4 - 1
3. Garbanzo - Crawford -- 10% -- 1 - 3 - 1
4. Hamalainen - Caelum -- 5% -- 0 - 4 - 1


New lines:

5 vs. 5 Forward:
Center-Left Wing-Right Wing -- Time % -- Phy -- Def -- Off
1. Flacko - Koroviev - Nova -- 35% -- 0 - 1 - 4
2. Glover - Starkonov - Nova -- 30% -- 0 - 0 - 5
3. Flacko - Koroviev - Thorstein -- 30% -- 1 - 1 - 3
4. Glover - O'Rourke - Thorstein -- 5% -- 0 - 2 - 3

I feel strat changes would have made the biggest difference with the already solid lines instead of player swapping.

1. There is no way the Flacko - Koro - Nova line should have been nerfed at any point of the playoffs. The Chiefs "live or die" with their stars and play them so much that it did not sense why reduce the time their 3 best forwards would be on the ice together to only 10%. It would had made sense to keep the same lines without breaking up chemistry, while allowing the best players on the roster to play together a lot more against a team with stacked lines like NEW.


2. The Flacko - Koro - Nova line strat probably could have been a lot more explosive at 0-1-4 or even a full 0-0-5. The Chiefs have a pretty underrated backend that could have handled it too. Against a team like NEW, you have to be aggressive and hold possession. The Chiefs best line on offense was their 3rd and I think it would have given Minnesota a slight advantage over NEW if their best line was set to more of an attack offense strat.

3. The Flacko - Koro - Nova line should have been swapped to the 1st line. The management should have definitely pondered abit more about the potential of Flacko - Koro - Nova playing together in the playoffs.

5 vs. 5 Defense:
Defense-Defense -- Time % -- Phy -- Def -- Off
1. Garbanzo - Kaalinpaa -- 45% -- 1 - 2 -2
2. Hamalainen - Caelum -- 40% -- 1 - 2 - 2
3. Garbanzo - Crawford -- 10% -- 1 - 3 - 1
4. Hamalainen - Caelum -- 5% -- 1 - 2 - 2

1. 1-2-2 on all the defensive pairings, it's safer to use in this era and could have given Chiefs a lot more possession time.

TASK TWO: Who is your choice for the unsung hero of the S36 playoffs up to this point? Must be at least 150 words and include at least two statistics in support.

My choice for the unsung hero would be Lord Vader. He logged in a team leading 29 minutes per game playing the depth role for the Texas Renegades' defense. Only the most reliable players are trusted with those minutes and Vader took on major responsibilities defensively and was a big part of Renes' success. In the 16 game run, he placed 2nd on the team in hits (46) and shots blocked (31). He scored 0 goals in 18 shots but a lot of his shot attempts resulted in dangerous scoring chances or a goal. His 11 assists were more than enough to show off his two-way skills in big minutes. People might turn heads on a guy that plays that many minutes but a coach will never shy away from getting the most out of their best players in times that count, especially from a guy that can maintain a solid +5 after all those MPGs.

TASK THREE: Who has the edge, New England or Texas? What (or who) will be the biggest factor for one team to triumph over the other? Must be at least 150 words.

Both teams are extremely solid on paper so it is hard to say who has the edge. To compare both team's performance in the last round, although, would help distinguish the parity of both teams. The New England Wolfpack would usually be the team to go with every season but after the Renes' sweep of the #1 regular season team, it is clear that momentum is a huge factor in the final round. The Chiefs had kind of a breakout run into the Eastern Conference Finals and gave the Wolfpack a run for their money. Texas looks like it's in a better form coming in and are as determined as ever. Getting eliminated season after season while their roster grows old, playoff window closing.. it is now or never for them. The Wolfpack have close out experience and are back where they have been so many times, so it will definitely be a matter of who adapts first as a team rather than a head-to-head skill battle.


TASK FOUR: The SHL is hosting a charity event including members of both teams from a series during this postseason. Describe how this teamwork event would go in a minimum of 150 words. Must include three player names from each team, the name of a charity and at least one activity.

The SHL will be holding a pick up road hockey charity event hosted by Eastern conference finals playoff teams Minnesota Chiefs and the New England Wolfpack. The Event will take place in the hotel parking where the Chiefs will be staying for their road games in New England. The charity event is for kids with cancer and a way to practice humility in times we might forget the less fortunate. The event will include 6 teams of kids between 12-19 years old (we will balance out a fair average age for each team. 3 of them coached by Chiefs players the other 3 managed by a Wolfpack players. There will be no road tilting despite the rivalry between both teams as all coaches have to sign an integrity oath. Rules include 2 line shifts so 11 players per team. Come down and sign up for the event to donate and give back to the community! What is better as a hockey fan than being coached by today's SHL stars? Toivo Kosonen, Patrikov Bure, Mikke Laukkanen of the Wolfpack, Eero Hämäläinen, Halfdan Thorstein and Chris Crutchfield of the Chiefs will all be there to manage the teams! Don't miss out on the chance to play with them!