Simulation Hockey League

With Sir Devoir being a goalie, he at first did not know what to do for the Breakaway challenge or even why he was chosen. It wasn't until it was mentioned that he was chosen due to being a Pokémon that he started to realize what exactly they wanted from him, and he got to work on a plan. When he was called up to do the challenge, he powered up a couple of Shadow Balls and proceeded to use them as a replacement for the skates, somehow managing to float just enough so as not to break the ice. He then used some psychic illusion to make it look like there were tons of pucks coming at the goalies, who tried to block all of them.

 Then Devoir used telekinesis to lift up the actual puck amd fire it off with his hockey stick like a baseball bat. The pick goes in, and Devoir finishes it off by doing a backfilp of of the Shadow Balls before landing perfectly on skates that were hidden by the Balls to the applause of the fans.

Announcer:  "And representing Tampa Bay in this season's breakaway challenge...Strom Chamberlain!"

Record Scratch...

Hi, that's me.  You may be wondering why the record scratch.  Well you see, I'm a goalie.  Traditionally we are the ones stopping a breakaway, not creating it.  I have no idea how or what to do to put the biscuit in the basket.  Well, I do have one thing, and its pretty cliche to be quite honest.  There's always the razzle dazzle that could be done since we goalies have bigger sticks than our forward and defenseman counterparts.  I could try to deke the other goalie out of his skates...but more than likely I would be screwing myself up.   There's always the pool shot attempt in which I take the hardest slapshot I can off the boards and try to bank it in like I'm sinking the 8-ball in a game of billiards.  Wait, I got it.

Timeline, resumes.

Ready or not.  Its knucklepuck time!

Hockey Prompt:

I think shootouts are fine because some games will just never end and you need to have a regular end time especially with regular season games. I would amend NHL's format, though, to be more exciting. I was watching the 3vs3 league on tv the other day and they have a really smart way to do penalty shots - like soccer - where the second the player touches the puck at center ice, the play is live. They get to start from center ice, and all the other p-layers line up on the blue line behind them. This essentially creates a breakaway opportunity, and keeps things high-stakes so they don't meander down the ice unnaturally. This gives players with skill the opportunity to score, but it also gives and opportunity to be in the play for hard-working players without the hands. If they can catch up to them, they may be able to steal the point. In the 3vs3 league, they actually do this for every penalty, which is a super cool idea too. 

(WC 172)

Hockey Prompt:

I think I was in the majority that shootouts were a bad idea when they were introduced. It was just too radical of an idea so I think it was a reactionary thing to immediately hate it. Over the years, I've warmed to the idea of them. I do think it's better to get a winner than ending in a tie so it works in that regard. Also, it's the regular season, it's not a big deal to have shootouts end them.

There is still a sense of excitement in seeing a classic 1-on-1 between skater and goalie. It's definitely more exciting in person than watching on TV, but it does the job. As long as we never see shootouts in the playoffs, they are fine for the regular season. What I do think will make everything more exciting is changing the points system. Too many teams are just fine getting to OT/SO and collecting their point. Make winning in regulation worth more and you'll see way more exciting finishes and avoid more shootouts.

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creative prompt: Lias generally focuses on being a hard hitting player who likes to knock people off the puck and make the gritty plays, and he doesn't usually find himself in a breakaway position in the game, so when he gets the chance to do it in the skills competition he tries to make the most of it. He has a few ideas about how to do this; despite his power forward tendencies he is actually not large, and might try to get another player to carry him down the ice for maximum entertainment value. That also might be kind of embarrassing though, so some other things he has thought of include paying homage to his Las Vegas juniors experience by dressing up as Elvis and doing some pelvic thrusts, or maybe dressing up as a sandwich to honor his moms' sandwich shop back at home in Sweden. In the end, he settles on verbal intimidation, skating directly down the middle of the ice and yelling at the top of his lungs "I'M GONNA CRASH THE NET" to scare the goalie off their game.

Player Prompt:

This season’s all star break has a unique challenge and Videl is participating in it. Videl decides to show off her multi sport athlete abilities for national audiences, her outfit consists of an old Austin Copperheads helmet, with a Kashima Foxes jersey (that has Emi’s number on the back, Rest In Peace Emi), and then her own saiyaman 2 superhero outfit mixed in to make the most unusual outfit for a competition like this. But that is only half of the challenge, the other part is how you preform the breakaway itself. Videl strangely uses a katana blade borrowed from Ryosuke Sato as her hockey stick but to make it more crazier, she takes out a torch and lights the katana on fire. She first taunts the goaltender with a couple of poses from her supe days, and then speeds at the goaltender, and then pulls a lacrosse/baseball style swing to burry the puck into the net.
(160 words)

PT Pass

Hockey Prompt:

Ugh. Shootouts. Where do I even start? The entire position of goaltending is based on proper positioning and strong skating fundamentals. It relies on good communication with your defensemen, an awareness of all the players on the ice, an understanding and control of rebounds and, of course, the ability to quickly react to an incoming shot and make a save. In a shootout, all of that goes away in favor of a single flashy breakaway move. Sure, you have the chance to lead the shooter and take away some parts of the net, but with no defense to help there's no pressure on the shooter, no situation for the goalie to read, and ultimately it becomes a high stakes guessing game that, while a show of skill for certain on the part of the shooter, barely resembles the sport of hockey. As a goalie in real life and in the SHL, I enjoy the shootout for what it is and the excitement it generates, but I cringe at the way it affects standings and gets treated like a valid way to end a game. I hate ties as much as the next guy, but where overtime brings out the best of the sport, shootouts bring out the worst, in flashy, "made for TV" moments that put the emphasis on all the wrong parts of the game. @Valpix you may have finally convinced me: I think I'd rather tie.

Prompt 2

As a goalie, three-on-three overtime and shootouts are the most stressful situations to be in, especially at another team's barn, but as a fan I can't deny that overtime is damn entertaining to watch. Just two teams putting it all on the line for that next goal to end the game. Even as a fan though I don't like the shootout, it just feels like such an anticlimactic way to end an otherwise fast-paced and energetic game. It also doesn't help that for some reason I suck at shootouts, going all the way back to my rookie year in Quebec City I've never been good at them, and even now I know that after overtime ends there's like a 75% chance that we're only getting the one point. The only time I do like the shootout is during a skills competition, where players are having fun with it and trying to be as flashy as possible, and I can flop around the net trying to make ridiculous saves.

HOCKEY PROMPT

Ok so I completely understand where shootouts come from and why we do them. A game with finality is more meaningful and important than one that ends in a tie, as they did before the shootout. Not to mention, it's a long season, and if the league had infinite overtime in its stead, the season could be made all the more grueling. A short-overtime followed by a shootout only makes sense. The change to 3-on-3 made less sense to me, but nevertheless, if the league feels too many games were reaching the shootout, and this was an opportunity to curb that in addition to making the game more exciting, then I understand the logic.

In a perfect world, we'd just have infinite overtime with 5-on-5 in the regular season if we wanted a winner from a game.

THAT BEING SAID, an interesting alternative is practiced in tournaments. If excitement and finality is what you want, and you particularly want to avoid shootouts, then this format should interest you:

5-on-5 for 3-5 mins
4-on-4 for 3-5 mins
3-on-3 for 3-5 mins
2-on-2 for 3-5 mins
1-on-1 for 3-5 mins and then shootout, or unlimited

In addition, I'd expect overtime playstyle to change too. Some teams may see the benefit in killing overtime if they do not have the momentum in the current format, opting to take their chances in the shootout. Meanwhile, in this decreasing player format, teams must acknowledge that going on only increases the opportunity for mistakes. Playing on your heels to kill an overtime, even with momentum not in your favor, is thus a dangerous practice. Maybe I'm exaggerating this aspect, as perhaps some teams feel they have  better skaters than the other team, so may feel comfortable in surviving the first one or two overtimes, but nevertheless this format is the most nail-biting and nerve-wracking thing I know in the sport.

Liam Slate of the Seattle Argonauts of the Simulation Hockey League would be honored to be selected into the Simulation Hockey League Breakaway challenge, although Liam Slate of the Seattle Argonauts would have to go very big for this break away challenge as Liam Slate has not had much luck in the shootout thus far into his career. Now, what would Liam Slate of the Seattle Argonauts do. Well, that is tough.

First Liam Slate of the Seattle Argonauts would put on a costume for sure. It would be a costume of a Chihuahua along with a wig. Liam Slate would have an ice cream scoop has a stick along with carrying a tub of ice cream. Liam Slate would skate down the center of the ice. Liam Slate would try a little deke and go for the five-hole. Regardless of whether it goes in or no, Liam Slate would lay on the ice and begin eating out of the tub of ice cream with his scoop and wig on.

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