TASK ONE: Pick either of the teams currently in the finals. Which player had to overcome the most adversity to get where they are at now? What did they have to endure before finally getting their crack at the Cup? Must be 150 words and include two specific situations that player experienced en-route to the Cup finals, whether this season or at some point during their career.

Manhattan Rage player Geoffrey Allen had to overcome a lot to get to where he is at this point. He may have won a cup with Texas a few years ago, but as he has been his whole career, he was carried there and didn't really contribute all that much. It's been a sore spot for Allen his entire life, constantly overlooked and basically picked up by the strongest member of the team and carried to the finish line. The first few years in the league he tried to fight this hardship, but as he got used to being the 9th wheel he decided to just accept it and let it happen. However, the blow to his ego, never made him the same person again.

Allen gave his life to the Texas organization, well as much as they would allow him to give. He couldn't imagine himself anywhere else, so in his final year of competitive play Allen decided he would take drastic measures to show his team how good he was. The endowment reduction surgery went very well, and Allen was excited to be a lighter and more aerodynamic player on the ice.

Then he was traded, to the Rage.

Allen was distraught, beside himself, didn't know what to do. He now was leaving the only team he ever knew and was a short about five inches of his pride.

In the end, it all worked out as Allen was carried to another championship and ended his career on a much shorter but still very effective high note. The many struggles of Geoffrey Allen are an inspirational story to any player out there who might not have the skills, but has the length of character where it counts.

<a href='index.php?showuser=1770' rel='nofollow' alt='profile link' class='user-tagged mgroup-3'>Allen</a>

TASK TWO: Who is your choice for the unsung hero of the S38 playoffs up to this point? Must be at least 150 words and include at least two statistics in support.

Unsung hero in my view is someone who didn't play a lot but provided an extremely powerful impact on their team. So, my unsung hero is Bennett Jones, forward for the Manhattan Rage. Jones didn't play a lot of minutes, 265 or 13.27 per game, but did play in all 20 of the teams games. He scored eight points in those games, with three goals and five assists, giving him the seventh best points per twenty on the squad.

With these points and the small amount of time on the ice, he was clearly a net positive for the team, registering a +/- of 5. He did take a lot of shots at 42, and his shooting percentage of 7.14% is not good, however this overlooks his contributions on the defensive end to get the puck up on the other half and shoot it. He only had two PIMs, so he was never a liability for the squad, and for a forward he had a strong amount of blocked shots with 6.

Bennett Jones is the Rage's unsung hero.

TASK FOUR: What rookies or young players are looking to make a name for themselves during the Finals? How have they contributed to the team on the way to the Finals? Must be at least 150 words, and include two statistics.

Roman Augustus had a lot placed on his shoulders this season for a rookie. He came fresh faced into the Calgary lineup and was immediately put to work. He averaged 21.50 minutes per game, sixth most on the team and was a top 4 DMan from the word go. That's a lot of pressure, even for a veteran playmaker. Augustus did well, scoring 18 points and leading the team with 78 blocked shots. He was also a key contributor on special teams.

So what more is there to prove? Well, Augustus took more hits than he gave, and even with his extremely low shot volume, he was one of the worst shots on the team, only hitting home on 5.26% of shots taken. As a defenseman you would hope he would at least hit more than was being hit and as a two-way defenseman you would hope he converted more than that.

The finals will be an opportunity for Augustus to prove himself to his peers as the type of player with no weaknesses to his game.

TASK SIX: You’re the coach of a team in the finals. What changes would you make to the roster, lines or strategies of the team to give the team a better chance at winning the series? Must be at least 150 words.

Give Mike Izzy more minutes! How can you keep a guy like this on the bench? He has a 94 in scoring and an 88 in skating, he's a bit of a wild card with his 78 checking, but hey he's the prototypical power forward and needs more minutes.

Speaking of centers, I don't think Shane Gagner should be your 2nd line center. The dude has a poor score/pass split for a center. In my opinion centers need to be distributors. Get Alex Mack in there. He's got great Passing, Skating, Scoring splits and has an 87 in faceoffs. Plenty of faceoff skill to win a lot of exchanges.

That pushes Gagner down to the 3rd line but you can double shift him on to the 4th line for minutes. I actually like all of the wing pairings from a theoretical standpoint, but maybe play Izzy on some special teams. The defense is ok as well in their synergy.

Here are my redone lines:

Center Left Wing Right Wing
1 Joe Kurczewski Nicholas Pedersen Randy Randleman
2 Alex Mack Schnitinfritz Jagr Dani Forsberg
3 Shane Gagner Mike Izzy Esa Anrikkanen
4 Shane Gagner Joe Jurczewski Randy Randleman