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.

Bennet Jones from Manhattan Rage. He has so far in 18 games 2+5 points, that might not sound like much, but those 7 points have come while playing on the third line with 13,28 minutes per game on average and with basically no special teams minutes. Being able to get secondary scoring outside your scoring lines is absolutely massive in the playoffs. Quite interestingly Bennet´s linemates, Colt and Razin have five points together between them, so Jones has been the carrying force in that line.

Even if Jones has been the one who is been on the scoreboard more often, the whole third line has been playing really well overall so far, all three have +/- rating of +5, so Manhattan has been able to give some much needed rest for their top line players, but still the players who are out there during those moments can get the job done on both ends!

(154)

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.

I believe Roman Augustus from Calgary is the only rookie in the SHL finals who has been playing, Evgeny Yakikov from Manhattan has so far played average of 0 minutes, so focus on this task will be on Roman!

Augustus plays on the second pairing in Calgarys defense, on average bit under 22 minutes per game, 15 games so far in the playoffs this year and in those 15 games, Augustus has collected really solid 0+9! That is with 1 minute on the PP, so even more impressive, with PP role those numbers could be higher.

Roman does get nice role on the PK though, so when you think about the fact that a rookie is out there in the 2nd pairing and also on the PK, tells you that we are talking about a really promising player and he has played like that so far.

Just so this wont be purely positive, need to mention his shot number - 13 shots in 15 games! That is not a lot, even without PP minutes you would expect bit more shots coming from the blueline and from Roman, only matter of time before the opposite teams catch up to the fact that Augustus rarely shoots.

(150+)


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.

So far the series in the finals is pretty close, both teams have been able to win and the fact that both teams are in the finals already means tactical and other parts of their game have been working pretty well, but I could still try something out!

Starting from Calgary, I would put Roman Augustus on the PP, he has shown he has what it takes to be part of the PP setup, Gagner and Kurczewski are currently playing most of the PP on the blue line, both are forwards, so could the results be even more impressive for Calgary if at least one of Gagner or Kurczewski is closer to the net and Augustus is on the blueline on pp instead?

From Manhattan, I would probaply try to find a way to get even more out of Allen and especially from Atmey, both have been firing away in solid rate, but Atmey has two more goals than Allen, Atmey is on the second line and Allen on the first, what comes down to playing time and special teams roles, Atmey plays over 2 minutes less on average. Atmey has Kennedy as his center on the second and Jesus on the other side in the wing, Allen has Redding as his center and Hans as winger

Now, Kennedy has 9 points and Jesus has 6 points so far in 18 games, Redding has 15 and Hans has 9.

Would Atmey be even more dangerous if Redding played on the 2nd line and Kennedy on the first? That is what I would like to try, try to fool Calgary little bit and put Atmey and Redding together into the 2nd and hope they put all the effort defensively on stopping first and 2nd line gets bit more freedom.

(150+)