Quote:Task 1: How has your player kicked off their offseason? Are they traveling? Meeting up with friends and partying? Following the games? Write at least 150 words about the beginning of your player’s offseason. Must include at least one other player.

After a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Scarecrows, I was pretty devastated as I was really hoping to get to another final and have a chance to go back to back, but it just wasn't in the cards and we lost to a great team. The next day, I got the call that I was getting the chance to represent my home of Austria and had to get on a plane to join practice before the warm up tour started. Probably the best part is that we practice in my home city of Vienna, so I get to visit my family for the first time in a while. Some of my teammates are already here as they too were eliminated, and we got some awesome news from Coach Izzy. Richard Physt, a good friend and teammate in Toronto, would be joining the Austrian team and to say I was excited would be an understatement. Physt will be a great addition for the future and Austria is really starting to look like it could be a powerhouse in the coming tournaments.

Quote:TASK FOUR: Unscramble the names of these four players who will be competing in the Challenge Cup Finals. Send the answers to me by forum PM. Please make the subject of the message “CW Word Scramble” or something along those lines. [Grading: 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer]

Pm'd

Quote:TASK SIX: Finals series always show surprises. Who will have to stand out the most from each team in order to win it? Make a prediction for potential series MVPs. Must be at least 150 words and mention at least one player from each team.

For Los Angeles, the player that will need to play the best will be Timo Haas. This is his swan song and he'll want to go out on top, and when you have a chance to end it as a champion you have to seize it. Plus, this isn't a super high scoring LA team, and Minnesota has some of the most dangerous forwards in the game. Haas will have to be the best player for LA to get the Challenge Cup. For Minnesota, they will need the best from their talisman in Lord Pretty Flacko, and he has been special so far in the playoffs. Arguably the best player in the league, Flacko needs to prove it now that he has the stage set for greatness. If I had to pick one to end up being the series MVP, it would be Flacko, because I think Minny have the firepower to overload LA and take this series to Haas.

Quote:TASK TWO: Who is your choice for the unsung hero of the S39 playoffs up to this point? Must be at least 150 words and include at least two statistics in support.

I think unsung hero for the playoffs would be the former Fin and current Irish goaltender Olli Koivu for Minnesota. This is a tough call as there are so many players having great playoffs, but I think the goaltenders can be underrepresented in things like this. He is playing behind a great attack, but his ability in goal allows his teammates the freedom to take risks and can save them if caught out on the break. He has been near the top of all of the goaltending stats so far in the playoffs, and really is showing how great he can be for Minnesota. Goalies are usually not given the right amount of credit for their contributions in the SHL, but I think Koivu has been shining behind a stunning attack for Minnesota and his play will cement their place at the top of the SHL for this season at the very least.