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*Evil_AllBran* · 08-07-2021, 11:31 PM

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4. Written, 3 TPE (60 words min.)

 Ugh, poetry is so 17th century, we're ditching that prompt. Earlier in the season I had you flex your songwriting in an SHL style parody, but this time you don't have a song to lean on. You're writing your very own diss track about something SHL related. A player, A team, A GM, anything. You can write a diss track about CW if you want.

Out on our longboat we sail in search of glory,
With our axes sharp and blood lust rising,
We spy on the horizon an act that makes us angry,
A boat of weak chinned cowards who are whaling.

TO THE AID OF OUR DEEP SEA FRIENDS WE GO-OOOO!
IT’S TIME TO SAVE SOME WHALES!
HOW MANY OF THESE COWARDS WILL DIE I DO NOT KNOW-OOOO!
IT’S TIME TO SAVE SOME WHALES!

The battle was quick, the scene violent and gory,
The seas stained red return to calm,
Less you wish to feel the ‘Zerker’s fury,
Let no man bring the whales to harm.

[103 words]

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5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

 We're adding 2 teams to the SMJHL this season. Do you think we should keep the current SMJHL playoff format of everyone makes it? Or is it time to just take the best 8 or 12 teams and let em duke it out? Defend your stance.

I am in two minds about this one, on one hand it is pretty cool everyone gets to participate in the playoffs but on the other hand it does take away from the special feeling of actually making the playoffs. Sim hockey being what it is there have also been instances where teams that would not have made the playoffs, in a top 8 only system, advance to the second round over teams that would have made it. Of course you could then argue that maybe that team did not deserve to make the cut. Hard one to solve this, do you increase reward teams that have a good regular season or do you make the J league an inclusive experience for new comers?
[124 words]

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16. slash's secret bonus prompt SHHHHHH. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

 Luke let you keep the money you stole from him in the heist, and won't tell the authorities. But you have to take him on a wonderful date using the money. How does your evening go? What dining and activities do you have in store for good ol' Lukey boy?

Wow I am glad the reports of Luke being shady af are true! To celebrate this auspicious occasion I would first pick Luke up from his, what I assume to be, lovely home in my sweet two seater go-kart. In a petrol fume fuelled haze (sorry I forgot to mention this go-kart has an enclosed cab with poor ventilation) we would zip over to a local kebab trailer set up in a gas station car park for some charred meat and more petrol fumes. Once we have eaten too much and feel sick from our Halal Snack Packs it is time to go home, only by this time out bodies have been overcome by the petrol fumes and garlic sauce so we end up falling unconscious. Another perfect date.

[129 words]

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9. Graphic, 3 TPE

 Create a magazine cover that highlights either a player in the finals or a standout player from the regular season.

Link

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10. Graphic, 3 TPE

 Design a Challenge Cup/Four Star Cup Championship banner for one of the teams in the finals, like those which appear on the side of the site.

Link

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17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

 Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

 MILESTONES TBD (check back later)

+3 TPE please

Total 16 TPE

spooked · 08-07-2021, 11:49 PM

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1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)

So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?

This season was a rough one from start to finish, but had it’s moments. Despite all the horrible off ice issues that happened over the course of the long long season, Minnesota was able to put together a fairly respectable performance in the regular season this year and due to some timely rule changes were also able to make a first playoff appearance in something like a decade. The team has had a rough go for a while and this one playoff berth certainly was helpful in giving the team something to look forward to as well as play for. In addition, this season was the best to date for arsene leclarc, who put in a solid performance in what is still very early in a players career, especially on the blue line where so much of your game needs to be good to really improve. Something like nearly 30 points in 60 plus games is an achievement for a young defender and putting in big minutes, top two for the team, shows that despite being a young player Leclarc is and will be a big part of the team going forward. 192w

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2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Pokemon! Everyone loves em, and if you don't, you didn't have a childhood. Or adulthood. Anyways, let's imagine all SHL and SMJHL players are now pokemon. Assemble your team! On top of that, what is your strategy to navigate the POKESHL? Try to get the strongest pokemon and become champion? Catch all of the possible players and complete your pokedex? UwU Breed them? Catch low level juniors players and train them? Or become a gym leader, helping others on their path to greatness? I'd love to hear your approach.

POKESHL is the most degenerate and toxic version in the franchise, so there is only one way to play. You need to just go for the strongest pokemon in existence or you will be at a disadvantage right out of the gate. The marquee feature of this version of the game is of course the long awaited ability to capture and lose pokemon to other trainers and gym leaders, and that has some unforeseen consequences in that all the strongest pokemon just end up belonging to the same few people who like to battle once a year for the championship. When that happens it just means that you MUST have the strongest group of pokemon you can right out of the gate. It doesn’t matter if they are slightly dumb, ugly or slow, as long as they got that bulk and power you are good to go and should be able to slowly build up your team taking out other less optimal trainers. 163w

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3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Freaky Friday.. or Monday. Tuesday? Anyhow, I think the finals will be over by Friday barring some kind of Re-sim :grimace: Anyways, I forgot the plot of the movie but there's something about a fortune cookie and now you're in your mom's body! But actually, it's the body of an SHL player, one from Chicago or Buffalo! (If you are on Buffalo or Chicago, you can't be yourself, pick a teammate or opponent). Now that you are them and they are you, what do you do during the big game? Play amazing and turn a scrub into a superstar? Play like a bum and try to help the other team win? Oggle yourself in the mirror? The world is so exciting in a new body...

Martijn Westbroek is the target of my freaky Friday experience as they are a bonafide stud player and is a key performer in Minnesota’s division rivals hopes to win the cup. As the finals are now over you can see I did my job well, preventing the Chicago cup win through my own scrub play. As much as I want to see someone out of the great lakes area win a cup regularly, we all know Chicago are only one season removed aren’t a REAL western conference team yet. And they ARE in the same division as my Minnesota Monarchs, how could I just sit by and watch them win the cup without getting involved myself. I don’t know if I really had to do much, just play like normal and I will be a let down for what the Syndicate fans would expect from Westbroek, so really no trouble at all being the steel anchor on the hopes of Chicago. Buffalo owes me some thanks for the game 7 win, as I could only hold back Chicago so much being the total liability that I am. 187w

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7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

We're at a point in the SHL where a good chunk of the playerbase played back in the STHS era, and a good chunk has known nothing but FHM. If you're in the latter part of the league you must have heard the horror stories... so: Let's make a hypothetical. 

Players who played in both eras: What would have happened if we just had one sim engine? Posture how your career would have gone if we stayed in STHS (sans exploits). Or what if you had created in FHM the whole time? Would things have gone better or worse? 

For you FHM babies: What if we were still in Simon T land? Would your career be where it is now? Or would randomness have stunted the dynasties you may or may not have been part of?

I think STHS was ultimately more interesting in terms of results and performance. I think honestly FHM has a lot going for it in terms of league engagement having the stream and more expanded player stats being a big driver for some options, but ultimately, I was more interested in the STHS version of the league. The player builds in STHS were “solved” in that people knew what was good or not, but the strengths and weaknesses could have been modified to encourage more build variety. I think FHM is facing similar issue STHS did in this regard (and we can do a lot of help this, but it gets tricky with the amount of control we have given GMs in this version of the league). Ultimately the nail in the coffin of FHM is just how consistently TPE wins. STHS had some extremely frustrating moments where you would win 6 or 7 times out of 10 and would lose in the real sim, but with FHM the lack of upsets has been a real hindrance I feel and I don’t know how much we can really do to influence FHM to provide more upsets without further degrading the experience of established player stats more and more to help balance out teams aggressively. 213w

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15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

banana

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16. slash's secret bonus prompt SHHHHHH. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Luke let you keep the money you stole from him in the heist, and won't tell the authorities. But you have to take him on a wonderful date using the money. How does your evening go? What dining and activities do you have in store for good ol' Lukey boy?

Just in case I mess up in the questions task I will put 100 words into this prompt too. Luke had millions upon millions of cash that now belongs to me, but if I spend it all on him what is the point of taking it in the first place? I don't know what kind of standards Luke has, but seeing as he is sitting on a mountain of money and not spending much of it, I think it is pretty straight forward that I can just take him to his local mcDs and give him a couple junior chickens. He should be good with that right? I don't think he would need much more than that to have a good night out with me. 125w

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17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

MILESTONES TBD (check back later)

HERE +1

16/16

gordieboom · 08-08-2021, 04:12 AM

15. CW Trivia
Ayeaye

17. Milestones
https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3083459

jRuutu · 08-08-2021, 04:27 AM

1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)
So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?

Those were the worst. Especially the PR chaos regarding a specific product endorsement caused a lot of trouble for me personally. I believed in the product, but sometimes you just get it wrong. I had to twist and turn to make things right. Luckily it's in the past now.

Outside of hockey, some good things have happened. I'm in the best shape of my life. That might not mean much as I'm still a young man, but I have been able to practice a lot without any injuries. That has not always been the case with me. It's not fun to exercise and go hard when something is hurting.

In other news. I finally got a bigger apartment in Latvia! I spend a lot of time here during the off-season as the IIHF coaches like to organize the first training camp in Latvia. I joined early this year. Not having to live in a hotel is massive. This apartment feels like home to me now. (165)

3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Freaky Friday.. or Monday. Tuesday? Anyhow, I think the finals will be over by Friday barring some kind of Re-sim :grimace: Anyways, I forgot the plot of the movie but there's something about a fortune cookie and now you're in your mom's body! But actually, it's the body of an SHL player, one from Chicago or Buffalo! (If you are on Buffalo or Chicago, you can't be yourself, pick a teammate or opponent). Now that you are them and they are you, what do you do during the big game? Play amazing and turn a scrub into a superstar? Play like a bum and try to help the other team win? Oggle yourself in the mirror? The world is so exciting in a new body...

I would like to be Boris Poroshenko from Chicago. He is a beast in the hitting game. He is a physical player and he plays the game hard, I have always enjoyed players like that. I would keep doing more or less the same things as Boris does. I would keep hitting everything and anything that moves. I would target the Buffalo star players and hopefully get them off their comfort zone. I would take a run at them every single shift. If that does not work and/or Chicago is losing, I would pick a wildcard from my book of tricks. Late in the game that is already lost, I would run Buffalo's goalie over.

That will hopefully cause chaos that will carry on to the next game. That is a cheap move, but in my opinion, you need to do everything that it takes to win. I have never played in the finals, so getting to do something like that as Poroshenko would be a great experience, and I would get some valuable information on what happens. (178)

6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

I'm expecting Team USA to have a solid tournament again. Last time they won ten out of twelve round-robin games. They scored the most goals in those games as well, so they have the firepower and quality to do something similar again. Switzerland also won ten games out of twelve, but they did not have an as flashy offensive game, but they also let in only 28 goals. That was the shared lowest with Team USA. Would not surprise me if those two meet in the finals.

What comes to players, van der Heijden scored 48 goals and 99 points in the SHL this year. I'm predicting him to have a strong tournament for Team Switzerland. In defense, Nicholas Owens had the most goals with 23. He was one of three defenders who broke the magical 20 goal mark this year. He will without a doubt want to impress with Team Japan. Elizabeth Doyle had the most wins with 40, can she carry Team Ireland to more wins than two? I think so. (173)

7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
We're at a point in the SHL where a good chunk of the playerbase played back in the STHS era, and a good chunk has known nothing but FHM. If you're in the latter part of the league you must have heard the horror stories... so: Let's make a hypothetical.

Players who played in both eras: What would have happened if we just had one sim engine? Posture how your career would have gone if we stayed in STHS (sans exploits). Or what if you had created in FHM the whole time? Would things have gone better or worse?

For you FHM babies: What if we were still in Simon T land? Would your career be where it is now? Or would randomness have stunted the dynasties you may or may not have been part of?

I can't remember if my glorious S56 player played in STHS or not, but if STHS was still a thing - not much would change in terms of where I'm at now.

On the ice, I would, of course, focus on different things. I would not have as many aspects and points into my game as I have now. In STHS, the game was rather simple and strict. The players did not have that much room to try different things, and what seemed to bring in the success was well established, or there were strong believes at least, so there was no real need to go outside of those lines.

In my opinion, randomness belongs to sports. If we look at the teams that succeed in the league now, more or less the same teams year after year, right? Or feels like it. Of course, it was the ''same'' in STHS as the better teams had the betters players. Despite the good builds and everything else, you still needed to have enough quality players in your team to be up there year after year.

In other words, I would still be a free agent. I'm not good enough to play in SHL yet. The sim engine would not change that, but I would be a different player depending on the sim engine. That much is true. (220)

12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. The salt special: Do these teams deserve to be here? Or were they gifted a trip to the finals through puck luck and bullshittery?
Buffalo is the luckiest team not only in SHL but in the whole world of sports. It's a crime against humanity that someone so lucky wastes their luck on sports instead of doing something good for humanity. We should send Buffalo to space to find a new planet with more resources that we could use. Buffalo would land on the new planet almost immediately. They are that lucky. Chicago on the other hand deserves their spot in the finals as they fought hard for it. Buffalo just showed up and relied on their luck. (90)

b. Buffalo has been here many times in the past 20 seasons, this is only the second (I think I'm too lazy to check) time for Chicago. Which is more impressive? The continued dominance of Buffalo? Or the solid couple of runs Chicago has made despite the team only being 15 seasons old?
Continued dominance, because teams go through rebuilds and players get older. You need to keep finding solid players with later picks and from free agency in order to keep dominating. I don't know how well Buffalo has drafted or has it been mostly with trades that they have kept their dominance level up for so long, but someone should stop them. I hope Chicago can do that. (67)

c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor. I don't like the Chicago Syndicate brand. The guy in the suit and hat reminds me about the mafia, which can't be ideal for marketing purposes as those mafia organizations caused a lot of harm. Part of the history, sure, but if you want to follow the history route - why not pick the ''other side''? Chicago Brave or Chicago Behind The Bars? Give some love to those who fought against the mafia. (73)

15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

Verification word: Tree

16. slash's secret bonus prompt SHHHHHH. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Luke let you keep the money you stole from him in the heist, and won't tell the authorities. But you have to take him on a wonderful date using the money. How does your evening go? What dining and activities do you have in store for good ol' Lukey boy?

I will have a car get Luke and bring him into my place. I have made Luke lovely meat and pasta dinner. When I say I made it - some guy I hired made it. We will eat that. I will ask Luke about his day and in return, I will tell him about my day. Or when I say will tell about my day - some guy I hired will tell Luke about my day. After we have eaten, we will watch a movie of some sort. I know Luke is a big fan of romantic comedies, so we will watch whatever Luke wants. When I say we will watch - some guy I hired will watch a movie with Luke. After the movie is over, the car will take Luke back to his place.

Pretty normal date, but obviously the money brings some unique elements. (140)

= 16 TPE

Renomitsu · 08-08-2021, 09:12 AM

1. Okay well, first off, that wasn't any minor identity fraud! Some random old guy took my financial information and tried to spend all of my salary money on random training camps! I'm thankful, however, that nothing 'unimaginably horrible' happened. This season started with a pretty awful series of events that I felt I didn't have much control over. I'm primarily thankful that my team, the Buffalo Stampede, continued to perform admirably this season even though it feels like I've regressed a little bit, particularly from a statistical perspective. We managed to finish with 107 points as a team – best in the league – and a +140 differential, right next to Hamilton. It's peculiar that we win just as many games away as we do at home, but I'm going to leave that up to extra preparation whenever we need to leave the arena in Buffalo. I'm pleased to say that my performance on the ice this season was still good, as I managed 53 points (my highest by a huge margin!) and a +66, which was also the best in the league. Do I wish I'd gotten some recognition for the giant leaps I'd made in my gameplay? Of course. But there are so many players in the league I wouldn't be surprised if I was just overlooked. (217, +3)

3. Knowing my luck, I'd swap bodies with Liz (Doyle, Buffalo netminder). I think she's awesome and thankfully one of the only other women on the team, but let's be honest: if I had to play goalie we'd be doomed from the get-go, no matter how much coaching up she would try to do for me. I suspect she would do a fantastic job as a defender personally – because she's talented enough to make just about anything work – but it's ridiculous to think anyone would be able to make the transition to goalie in a few nights. I certainly wouldn't make any attempt to help Chicago win, but I think she and I are built very differently and it's really a no-win scenario. Unless her muscle memory somehow works perfectly despite a new person inhabiting her body, our save rate is gonna be way lower than 90%. And while she could try to fit my clunky body into the goalie pads, very different muscles are used when you're occupying the net as opposed to skating around the ice. It's really a no-win scenario, which is precisely why it's the one that would happen to me! (194, +3; running total +6)

6. This season's IIHF tournament is one of the most fractious and contested in a while. There was a bit of an uprising in Sweden's locker room because some people were upset with how the team was constructed, as well as the fact that we were still taking transfers despite a very, very, very full team! While we are an extremely talented team, I suspect at best we're looking at a bronze medal; teams like USA and Switzerland are absurdly talented (and as much as I hate to say it, so is Norway); I suspect we'll have some growing pains as we try to figure out exactly what we're going to do with our burgeoning roster. Plus, we're still young at a couple of positions (heck, even our 1500+ TPE members aren't really too far into regression) so I suspect it will become increasingly difficult to find a spot on the team going forward. (153, +3, running total +9)

12. a. Uh, duh. Chicago and Buffalo are both teams that have been in the finals recently, and I would hope that other teams aren't salty because finally Hamilton is not in the running for yet another title. I understand there are some differences between individual members of teams and (at times) how Buffalo conducts itself, so I fully expect Chicago to be the fan favorite. (64)
b. I'd like to think Buffalo's presence in the finals is more impressive because of sustained success – we're second (I think) to Hamilton in number of Finals appearances. But it's worth noting that Chicago's won a title more recently than we have. I would have to go back and check which roster has changed more over the last five seasons, because really transactions would be the determinant for who's made a larger effort to overhaul the roster to supplement these recent successes. (81)
c. Well normally, I'd treat team logos like flags: a small child should be able to approximate something vaguely resembling the logo given some time and effort. I don't think that's the case for either logo. Buffalo has this crazy circle business and negative space… thing… going on with their logo, and I would probably be scared of the Syndicate logo as a small child.
d. I honestly have no idea how to answer this question whatsoever because I did not follow the league prior to season 52-ish. So let's take the highest point scorer on either team – Martjin Westbroek and Aron Hernadivic. As the equivalent of a Gen Z user/player in this league, that's who I'm going to say is the best player to ever play for either team. (64)
(+4, total +13)

17. Milestones +3 (total +16)

charlieconway · 08-08-2021, 09:20 AM

Quote:1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)
So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?

Well, it was a pretty poor season for Adam overall. Despite finishing sorta well in the points category, there's been a noticeable falloff in terms of top-level play and I'm starting to feel like his best seasons are behind him. Oh, and then there's the whole being swept by Hamilton in the first round thing. That sucked. On the other hand, it's another season spent on a team I really like in Toronto, and there's the opportunity to adjust and go again for next season with the same group of people since the roster is mostly young and not in regression yet.
I think Barron is getting closer and closer to making the switch from an Offense-first defenseman to one that plays hard on the puck, which means me focusing on getting some of those defensive attributes up this offseason. I knew it would happen eventually, since it’s much easier for an aging defenseman to focus on that part of their game, but I’ll admit I didn’t think I’d want to do it so soon, especially with how Adam’s production was a couple of seasons ago, and the monstrous season he had where he won the Stevens and got the MVP/Playoff-MVP noms.

Quote:2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Pokemon! Everyone loves em, and if you don't, you didn't have a childhood. Or adulthood. Anyways, let's imagine all SHL and SMJHL players are now pokemon. Assemble your team! On top of that, what is your strategy to navigate the POKESHL? Try to get the strongest pokemon and become champion? Catch all of the possible players and complete your pokedex? UwU Breed them? Catch low level juniors players and train them? Or become a gym leader, helping others on their path to greatness? I'd love to hear your approach.

My goal would be to catch all those old, wasted, discarded SHLmon and try and become champion with a team of old hats that were deemed too worn out to compete. Alternatively, I would try and help more green trainers learn the ins and outs of SHLmon battling and training. Things like type effectiveness, the most efficient movesets (NO! Don't feed your SHLmon that Carbon, Aggressiveness is a dump stat!), and their evolution trees and types .

As for my team…

Harrycarpet: A Rock-type. Uses moves like Harden, Agility, and Magnitude to ensure it’s a veritable wall in battle.
Adambarron: Ghost-type. High special attack means it’s great offensively, though it has underwhelming defensive stats.
Gabrieljohnson: Water-type. This SHLmon does a great job of being important to the team, though you get the feeling that it should have been better than it is. Its power curve also falls off the higher its level gets.
Mikakandinsky: Steel-type. Comes out of the gate quick, with solid defensive typing and lethal attacking moves. A bit tired right now though as I had to rely on it heavily at early levels.
Jimmyslothface: Normal/Fairy-type. Universally loved, opposing SHLmon can rarely even stomach attacking it, possibly because it has Cute Charm as an ability.
Karlkrashwagen: Fighting-type. A bruiser, this SHLmon is just as likely to use Seismic Toss as it is to use Mach Punch or Low Kick. All around stalwart attacker with lethal physical ability.

Quote:12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor.
d. Who is the best player to play for either team? Is is a current player? Retired? Traded? Make your case.

c. The Buffalo Stampede have a nice and unique color combination, and I think Stampede works well as a mascot, but I'm just not a fan of a team having two colors only in the logo. I think there needs to be some white or another color in there, as it just seems kind of plain. Also, the text on the logo is a bit too thin for my liking. I wish it was thicker.

d. I'm gonna go with players that are currently on these teams, out of laziness: For the Stampede, it's Elizabeth Doyle, who seems like the perennial best goalie in the league. Fantastic career for her, one that has been played entirely in Buffalo. For Chicago, it's Martijn Westbroek. An insanely talented player with a record of putting up huge point totals and is still a top 5 forward in the league despite being several seasons into regression.

Quote:15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

verification: conditional

Quote:16. slash's secret bonus prompt SHHHHHH. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Luke let you keep the money you stole from him in the heist, and won't tell the authorities. But you have to take him on a wonderful date using the money. How does your evening go? What dining and activities do you have in store for good ol' Lukey boy?

Let's see... First, I go to Luke's apartment/house in style with a rented limousine that has a whole slew of different amenities for the people riding along: food, video games, a hot tub in the back, etc. I bring flowers, Luke's favorite. We go to a restaurant that serves nothing but gold-coated items. I have the golden steak with a side of golden linguini. Luke has the golden salad because he's watching his figure. We leave and head to a dance club, where we tear it up to some dance anthems and get fucked up on LSD. Then we somehow manage to find our way to either mine or his, where we proceed to watch nature documentaries into the wee hours of the morning.

But I don't know Luke personally, so this is all spitballing.

Quote:17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
MILESTONES TBD (check back later)

Link to Milestone claim HERE.

Matteo · 08-08-2021, 09:44 AM

2. Pokemon - 3 TPE
If the SHL was a Pokemon league, I would have to be a traininer, and to start out, any other trainer worth their salt who doesn't include legendary Pokemon Mew Two on their team is just insane, buddy has mind control so we'll need him. Next we'll need Boris Poroshenko, the evolution of Boris Petrov and a fighting type, just a strong all-around mon to have on your team. After this we're gonna take Jean-Uhtred Ragnarsson-Tremblay and his counterpart, Ragnar-Alexandre Ragnarsson-Tremblay. JURT is a ground/water type with high defense and HP, and RART is a rock/water type with high special defense and defense, so both will be useful to the team. Another good addition to the team will be Martijn Westbroek, a dark/electric type who's high special attack stat adds greatly to any team he's on. To round out the team we're gonna add Zdenko Beranek, a dragon/flying type who has both a high special attack and special defense. I think this would be a very well rounded team (with four forwards and no defensemen) that would have the best chance possible to become a Pokemon champion.

3. Freaky Friday - 3 TPE
If I had to switch bodies with one player in Buffalo I'd have to go with their goalie, Elizabeth Doyle. This would allow me to play poorly as her on purpose, giving my team a better chance to win. Of course this means that Doyle would also become me, Mat Smith, but I'm hoping that she hates losing so much that she actually plays better than I would play. Even if she doesn't, and both of us play awful on purpose, eventually both the backup goalies would just be playing, and since Doyle is better at being a goalie than me, this evens out the playing field anyways since Buffalo won't have that advantage between the pipes anymore. And as a bonus, Doyle and I are good friends when we're not on the ice together, so we can just hang out and have some drinks or something when we're both inevitably pulled from our games.

12a. Deserving - 1 TPE
Well considering that both teams have made it this far a good amount of times in recent years, I'd say that they both deserve to be here. Plus the Curse of the Great Lakes says that both teams are destined to meet each other, along with Hamilton and Toronto, in the playoffs at least once in the final two rounds if they make it that far. Chicago thought that they escaped this curse when they moved to the West but there is no escape from the Great Lakes.

12b. More impressive - 1 TPE
Both teams' achievements over the years of course are incredibly impressive, but I gotta rep my home team here, Chicago is more impressive. Why you ask? Well for starter they're my kind of town which has to count for something. Next, they were thrown into this impossible Great Lakes division for most of their existence and not only did well, but they thrived. And now when faced with new challenges and unfamiliar teams in the West, they still thrive and push through both Texas and Calgary to make it to the finals.

12c. Nit pick - 1 TPE
To be 100% honest, I'm not a fan of Buffalo's colours, I've never been one for green and yellow going together. It doesn't look bad, I just think there's much better colour combos. On the flip side, Chicago's goal horn is a great song but they really added that "ha ha." Can't believe they did that to my girl Olivia.

12d. Best player - 1 TPE
For Buffalo, they have had many great players in their long history, so I'm not gonna do a deep dive on their team's history, so among their current players I'd have to say the best is legendary goalie Elizabeth Doyle. She had a down season but this is a goalie that can carry Buffalo to new heights, just look at her playoff numbers. For Chicago, their best player right now is also their best of all time, Martijn Westbroek, an offensive dynamo who has been invaluable to every single run that the Syndicate has gone on so far in their short history.

15. Trivia - 1-3 TPE
Verification word: CW

16. First date - 2 TPE
Well it was a lot of money that I ended up with even after NETMAN took his cut of the profits, so I'm thinking that this is gonna be a full evening of activities. First I'll pick him up at his house in a horse-drawn carriage, which will take us the scenic route to the airport. Next we'll hop on a private jet, where we will find Gordon Ramsay cooking us our very own private fancy feast, and pouring us some champagne. The jet will take us across the ocean to Paris, where I will have rented out the top of the Eiffel Tower so it's just the two of us up there. Up there we'll enjoy some dessert packed for us by Chef Ramsay. At this point I'm thinking this is actually gonna be too expensive and I'm not gonna have any of Luke's money by the end of it so I change my mind, I'll just take him to a Denny's or something.

17. Milestones - 3 TPE
Milestones here

Total TPE: 3+3+1+1+1+1+1(minimum)+2+3=16

steveoiscool · 08-08-2021, 10:16 AM

PT pass

***bluesfan55*** · 08-08-2021, 10:27 AM

1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)
So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?

Outside of the chaos in my personal life, I had a pretty good season. Nothing really bad happened outside of my twitter being hacked, the ph pr controversy, and the troll situation if I'm being honest. I had my best season on the ice, scoring 99 points and setting the new all-time record for goals in a season with 49. It's something I never expected to do as a player; I always thought I'd be a star but not almost 100 points and 50 goals star. While the early playoff eliminaton to Buffalo, where I played jackshit, stung a lot, it didn't dampen the great season I, and we as a team, had this past year. Off the ice, I spent more time with my family, which was nice. I deleted all social medias for a bit to just relax and focus on both family and hockey, and I'd say it worked wonders for me over the past season.

Code:
4. Written, 3 TPE (60 words min.)
Ugh, poetry is so 17th century, we're ditching that prompt. Earlier in the season I had you flex your songwriting in an SHL style parody, but this time you don't have a song to lean on. You're writing your very own diss track about something SHL related. A player, A team, A GM, anything. You can write a diss track about CW if you want.
Here are the rules: At least 12 lines (and at least 60 words total) but if you wanna do more go for it. I'm not laying out a specific rhyme scheme but there has to be rhyme in it. Be creative! This prompt is not for everyone, if you have a problem with it there are like 15 other prompts I made for ya. NOTE: THIS IS ALL IN JEST; ANYTHING OVERLY MEAN OR MALICIOUS WILL NOT BE GRADED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

imagine making me do all of this work
and yes i think you're a major jerk
cw is a massive waste of time
that is why i spit this rhyme
sure i want my tpe
but don't make me work just give it for free
cw is bad
it makes me mad
that i spend like two hours
for tpe that i want but don't want to work two hours for
so this was my diss about cw
i think it's bad

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6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

After last season's semifinal appearance (and 4th place finish) for my beloved Switzerland last year, I'm incredibly excited to see us hopefully make another deep run. We've been consistently good in the group stages which earns us preferential quarterfinal matches; of course the main goal is to just make it out of the group this season but it would be a pleasant surprise to win the group again. I of course anticipate the big two of the USA and Canada to bounce back from bad tournaments last year, while Japan and Norway have established themselves as top teams as well. The United Kingdom is in IIHF purgatory it seems and I don't back them to do much after missing the medal rounds like Canada last season. I also believe that we will see Ireland, Austria, and Latvia at the bottom again as I feel they're the weakest teams in the IIHF. Germany can play sleeper again as their bronze squads remain mostly intact.

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7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
We're at a point in the SHL where a good chunk of the playerbase played back in the STHS era, and a good chunk has known nothing but FHM. If you're in the latter part of the league you must have heard the horror stories... so: Let's make a hypothetical.
Players who played in both eras: What would have happened if we just had one sim engine? Posture how your career would have gone if we stayed in STHS (sans exploits). Or what if you had created in FHM the whole time? Would things have gone better or worse?
For you FHM babies: What if we were still in Simon T land? Would your career be where it is now? Or would randomness have stunted the dynasties you may or may not have been part of?

I think my career in STHS would have been far worse than it's been in FHM. The only good thing about Simon T was the randomness of it all (Toronto making it over New England in S51 I believe was the funniest thing I've ever seen on this site) and while I could exploit the meta to be a sim league god, it just would not be fun. I think my career (or at least my junior career) would have been worse on FHM too; it's hard for J players to be a consistent PPG and I considered myself lucky to even be a ppg player in S53. So while I would consider my SHL career to have gone the same in the FHM era, my junior career probably would have been much worse than it was in the STHS-FHM hybrid era (S50 to S53). On the other hand, my first player would've had a far better career in FHM. No 13 point seasons on a stacked Minnesota team in the S40s and no ending my career with consecutive 26 point seasons for me if FHM was the actual engine back in the S40s and early S50s. Simon T was too random at times to just be a good consistent engine.

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12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. The salt special: Do these teams deserve to be here? Or were they gifted a trip to the finals through puck luck and bullshittery?
the series against buffalo, for us, could have gone either way. that's probably their only instance of bullshittery these yoffs (even if it's incredibly biased). chicago had to beat texas so i'd say their trip to the finals was less lucky since the renegades just won the cup, but buffalo had to beat atlanta in the finals (no offence fire bois but it's not a close match).
b. Buffalo has been here many times in the past 20 seasons, this is only the second (I think I'm too lazy to check) time for Chicago. Which is more impressive? The continued dominance of Buffalo? Or the solid couple of runs Chicago has made despite the team only being 15 seasons old?
i'd say buffalo being that good for like twenty seasons is impressive but considering that the syndicate have been a playoff fixture for almost their entire existence, and being a dominant team at that for the most part, deserves much more plaudits as this team was basically built from scratch and has stayed together for a hell of a long time
c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor.
chicago still has a tacky logo. not as bad as their first one but still not a good one. the logo isn't scary, it isn't intimidating, it's just a guy. in black and white. basically a worse version of the old columbus crew logo, and i hated that columbus crew logo.
d. Who is the best player to play for either team? Is is a current player? Retired? Traded? Make your case.
the best player to ever play for the buffalo stampede is @Ragnar aka Chimkin Wing. no shl player EVER had a shutout on his debut then scored forty points in the shl as a forward. until chimkin wing came to town and did just that. he is the greatest player in buffalo history. as for chicago i guess it's westbroek cause i think he has the most points in syndicate history. if he doesn't, i don't care it's still him

ty to @High Stick King @EvilAllBran and @Ragnar for the sigs

*Wally* · 08-08-2021, 10:51 AM

PH

Also @Leafs4ever is a jerk due to 2a.

*Count Chocula* · 08-08-2021, 11:29 AM

Code:
15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

JNH

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3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Freaky Friday.. or Monday. Tuesday? Anyhow, I think the finals will be over by Friday barring some kind of Re-sim :grimace: Anyways, I forgot the plot of the movie but there's something about a fortune cookie and now you're in your mom's body! But actually, it's the body of an SHL player, one from Chicago or Buffalo! (If you are on Buffalo or Chicago, you can't be yourself, pick a teammate or opponent). Now that you are them and they are you, what do you do during the big game? Play amazing and turn a scrub into a superstar? Play like a bum and try to help the other team win? Oggle yourself in the mirror? The world is so exciting in a new body...

OMG I just swapped bodies with Martijn Westbroek, the league's biggest heart throb. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I would spend the next couple hours just ogling myself in the mirror. I would be checking out every sculpted muscle from head to tow in my new body, as it is truly a piece of art. After enjoying my new Westbroek body, I think it would only be fair to share this muscular masterpiece with the rest of the world. I would create an Only Fans account so all of the Martijn Westbroek fans all over the world could talk to me directly and I could share this new handsome hunk of man meat with everyone. When you are a wonder of the world it would be a travesty to keep it all to myself. Then eventually I would get a phone call telling me I'm winning a Nobel Peace Prize as the entire world has come together to Worship my immaculate physique.

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6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

I feel like one of the players to watch in the upcoming IIHF tournament is going to be Martijn Westbroek. He had an All-star season leading the Chicago Syndicate this season. He has been on fire all year, an a big reason for Chicago's dominance. With a strong team surrounding him on Japan he should be able to elevate his game. He will likely be paired with Ryuuji Minamino and Jack Klompus, which are two superstars in their own right. As the man in the middle , Westbroek, will have more offensive weapons to dominate the other teams. With his help, Japan could see another Gold medal around their necks. As a Team, I expect the Swiss to have even more success this tournament. Their younger depth players have also continue to show significant improvement over the past few seasons, which will improve their bottom six. Guys like Keirkegaard stepped up last year and I am expected big this from the Swiss roster heading into this tournament. I feel like anything less than a medal would be a disappointment.

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12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

a. The salt special: Do these teams deserve to be here? Or were they gifted a trip to the finals through puck luck and bullshittery?

b. Buffalo has been here many times in the past 20 seasons, this is only the second (I think I'm too lazy to check) time for Chicago. Which is more impressive? The continued dominance of Buffalo? Or the solid couple of runs Chicago has made despite the team only being 15 seasons old?

c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor.

d. Who is the best player to play for either team? Is it a current player? Retired? Traded? Make your case.

a. I would say both of these teams deserve to be here. They were the obvious picks to make it to the finals before the season started, so there are no surprises. I am sure I saw multiple people say since Chicago was moving West it was a guaranteed cup final appearance. Buffalo I'm only surprised beat the Hamilton Stealcheats.

b. It's Impressive that Chicago has already built such a team that has been in contention for a cup the past 8 seasons. They would have a lot more final appearances had they been in the Western conference the entire time. They have been a top 3 team for the better part of an SHL decade and show no signs of slowing down.

c. I say this ever off season it seems like. Buffalo's logo and colors are trash. The logo wouldn't be bad if they were the Buffalo Buffalos, but they aren't. Their logo does not depict a stampede, and every other team from Buffalo always has a Buffalo in their logo instead of the team name. It makes no damn sense. And those awful Packer's colors my god.

d. hands down the best player for Chicago past, present, and future is Martijn Westbroek. Not only is he the world's beacon of peace and prosperity, but he is a sensational hockey player. His skill on the ice is matched only by his beauty. For Buffalo their greatest player is Steve Harrington, lol jk Steve Harrington is trash.

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17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

+3 TPE S60 Milestone

Eynhallow · 08-08-2021, 12:35 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)

So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?

I have to admit that Rinky McDangle certainly had an "interestingly challenging" season. The events now referred to as "The Waterford Crystal Jock Deception" and the "Hardened Fibre Fiasco" would be enough to drive a lesser being to drink.... or worse. Rinky was fortunate enough, and had the mental and physical fortitude to overcome these bumps along the road of life and, actually, put together a relatively good year in his second season with the Colorado Raptors . Rinky maxed out on TPE for a second year player. He was able to contribute 28 points to his team's offence, a nicely balanced 13 Goals and 15 Assists. He was able to amass 3 points before the Raptors were eliminated by Anchorage in a hard fought 7 game series. Anchorage has since moved on to the Finals. Not being selected to an IIHF teams was another disappointment that Rinky handled gracefully, vowing to return next year bigger, faster and just better. He has returned to his summer residence in Swords to begin his off=season training regime.

3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Freaky Friday.. or Monday. Tuesday? Anyhow, I think the finals will be over by Friday barring some kind of Re-sim :grimace: Anyways, I forgot the plot of the movie but there's something about a fortune cookie and now you're in your mom's body! But actually, it's the body of an SHL player, one from Chicago or Buffalo! (If you are on Buffalo or Chicago, you can't be yourself, pick a teammate or opponent). Now that you are them and they are you, what do you do during the big game? Play amazing and turn a scrub into a superstar? Play like a bum and try to help the other team win? Oggle yourself in the mirror? The world is so exciting in a new body...

With a sudden flash and a loud bang, there I was..... transmuted into the body of Hippo Passamus. Now, I realized that Hippo (a.k.a. Sir Passalot" has aged since his prime, but he still has something to contribute to Buffalo's run for the Cup. I look around the room and I am humbled by the talent which which I am surrounded. I begin my routine of dressing, everything goes on left to right. I tie my skates twice. I adjust the equipment bits and pieces for maximum comfort and flexibility. I make sure that I have sufficient sticks to get me through the game and that all my lumber is taped in my own special fashion. Led by our goalie, Elizabeth Doyle, we file out onto the ice surface. The crowd roars on our taking the ice and my emotions soar. After a brief warm-up we get to our respective spots on the ice (or bench) and remove our helmets for the National Anthem. The referee approaches center ice and drops the puck............................

5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

We're adding 2 teams to the SMJHL this season. Do you think we should keep the current SMJHL playoff format of everyone makes it? Or is it time to just take the best 8 or 12 teams and let em duke it out? Defend your stance.

I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this issue. Firstly, with regard to all teams making the playoffs, I have issue with that. I mean why should a team that has played exceptionally poorly all season be rewarded with a playoff spot. Conversely, it makes for a long period on inactivity for those players whose teams are not included. This is a period of time where we could lose some players who would otherwise remain active. So, from the point of view of retention, perhaps we should continue to include all teams in the playoff tournament. So, in conclusion, I have one foot uncomfortably on each side of the proverbial fence.

7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

We're at a point in the SHL where a good chunk of the playerbase played back in the STHS era, and a good chunk has known nothing but FHM. If you're in the latter part of the league you must have heard the horror stories... so: Let's make a hypothetical.

Players who played in both eras: What would have happened if we just had one sim engine? Posture how your career would have gone if we stayed in STHS (sans exploits). Or what if you had created in FHM the whole time? Would things have gone better or worse?

For you FHM babies: What if we were still in Simon T land? Would your career be where it is now? Or would randomness have stunted the dynasties you may or may not have been part of?

So, I am kind of a hybrid. On this website I have only experienced FHM (Franchise Hockey Manager). However, in a different simulation league I have become all too familiar with STHS (Simon T Hockey Simulator). I really don't mind FHM, I like the online live sims. The only knock is that the system doesn't produce a box score for faster reference to individual and personal performance. STHS is another critter altogether. Its randomness leaves a lot to be desired. I was on a team that, in terms of individual stats, we should have made the playoffs easily. We didn't even come close..... This certainly sours the experience for a player and a team that have worked very hard to max TPE and not get rewarded for it. Another personal example of the vagaries of STHS is when I was assigned second line minutes and some power play time. My player was just not performing very well given his attributes and opportunity. When I finally looked at my Time On Ice, I discovered that in several instances I was actually on the ice for significantly less time than our FOUTH LINE center. That just wasn't right !!!
Thanks for allowing me to rant a bit about sim engines. One of my favorite topics !!!

9. Graphic, 3 TPE

Create a magazine cover that highlights either a player in the finals or a standout player from the regular season.

16. slash's secret bonus prompt SHHHHHH. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Luke let you keep the money you stole from him in the heist, and won't tell the authorities. But you have to take him on a wonderful date using the money. How does your evening go? What dining and activities do you have in store for good ol' Lukey boy?

The heist went extremely well and a large sum of cash was available for each of the heist gang, Because ol' Lukey was such a forgiving person I decided to invite him to my Northern Ontario Haven. He would be picked up at his door by limo which would deliver him to the nearest small airport where he would be bizjetted to an equally small airport in Northern Ontario. There I would pick him up in "Big Blue" (my rattletrap pick-up) and set out on a 2 1/2 hour drive to McDangle's Haven, located on a relatively remote lake. Here we would spend the day fishing and sipping cold beverages. Dinner would consist of freshly caught pickerel, double baked, stuffed potatoes, and a green salad. A chocolate and cherry pie piecaken would be our dessert. This repast would be followed by plenty of strong coffee (or stronger beverages of choice.) Campfire, tall tales and a good sleep before we leave the next day.

15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

panda

***Faelax*** · 08-08-2021, 12:38 PM

ISFL Affiliate Claim

Code:
6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

The IIHF had some big shake ups last season, with Japan, Czechia, and Norway taking home medals. The big mainstays of the tournament, such as Canada and the USA were absent from the podium for the first time in a long time. I do think that Canada and the USA will make a comeback this season, but the new update scale means some of the smaller federations are going to be a lot tougher than in years past. Switzerland, Japan, and Norway are all going to have great tournaments if I had to guess. Sweden just added star winger Jimmy Wagner and is going to be looking for a run at a medal this season as well. As for my team in Ireland, I’m expecting us to take a step forward this season. All of the players I added in early on are uncapped and ready to make a run at things. Sprinkle in a couple of the top defensemen in the league with Kennedy and Lee, and an elite goalie in Doyle, and you could see Ireland surprise some people this season.

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12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

a. The salt special: Do these teams deserve to be here? Or were they gifted a trip to the finals through puck luck and bullshittery?

b. Buffalo has been here many times in the past 20 seasons, this is only the second (I think I'm too lazy to check) time for Chicago. Which is more impressive? The continued dominance of Buffalo? Or the solid couple of runs Chicago has made despite the team only being 15 seasons old?

c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor.

d. Who is the best player to play for either team? Is is a current player? Retired? Traded? Make your case.

a. The Buffalo Stampede definitely deserves to be here. Sure, their series vs New England and Atlanta seemed easy, but the real challenge was beating their biggest rivals, the Hamilton Steelhawks. The two powerhouse teams of the last few seasons meeting in the second round crazy enough, but Buffalo walking away with a fairly convincing win should silence any doubters they may have had.

b. The Buffalo Stampede have been one of the top teams in the league ever since Chicago came into the league back in season 46. With three cup wins, four more finals appearances, and a couple of presidents trophies, it is truly impressive how dominant that the Stampede really have been over the entire existence of the Syndicate.

c. I cannot stand the Syndicate’s goal horn. They take Good 4 U, which is an absolute banger, and add the stupid Nelson haha on top of it. I really don’t get why Corey and JNH had to bring that here to Chicago, just leave it in Newfoundland and add some new flair to your franchise please.

d. The best player to ever play for either franchise has to be Stampede legend Alexis Metzler. Metzler currently sits at 5th all time in games played and 5th all time in assists, and forth all time in shots blocked. Alexis Metzler was the captain of Buffalo for a long time, and led the team to their first two cups in S46 and S48.

Code:
15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

Flex

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17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

MILESTONES TBD (check back later)

Milestones

SecondSucks22 · 08-08-2021, 02:32 PM

Code:
1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)

So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?

It was a long season to say the least, rebuilding teams, identity theft, deaths, but light can come out of the dark. Towards the end of the season Carrigan adopted a kitten. Now even this came with some good and bad, the drive home was heartbreaking as the kitten HATES CARS with a passion, the crying only stopped when "since u been gone" by kelly clarkson came on the radio. Once he got home it was easy going until the cat discovered its pointy bits, resulting in many soon to be scars. The kitten's name is Friday, and he has made some of the tough spots this season much easier, resulting in many laughs, and many more cuddles. He seems to love Criminal Minds as days off include naps while the show plays in the background. Pictures are available upon request on discord, or on his instagram: its_friday_night_ thanks for bearing with that shameless plug

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16. slash's secret bonus prompt SHHHHHH. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Luke let you keep the money you stole from him in the heist, and won't tell the authorities. But you have to take him on a wonderful date using the money. How does your evening go? What dining and activities do you have in store for good ol' Lukey boy?

Oh this is easy, to start the date, we're going to Barclay Prime. We're getting Royal Kaluga Caviar at $250 bucks, we're getting the Snow beef Japanese Wagyu at $165 per 8 ounces, and we're topping it off with the Barclay Prime Cheesesteak at $130 bucks a sammich. Then when we are good and stuffed we're going to a Flyers game, my man LOVES that shit team, we're buying out the fan shop, we're buying our entire section snacks. Then to top the night off, we're renting a truck and stealing the liberty bell, because we have millions of dollars, and we can.

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17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

MILESTONES TBD (check back later)

Milestones

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12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

a. The salt special: Do these teams deserve to be here? Or were they gifted a trip to the finals through puck luck and bullshittery?

b. Buffalo has been here many times in the past 20 seasons, this is only the second (I think I'm too lazy to check) time for Chicago. Which is more impressive? The continued dominance of Buffalo? Or the solid couple of runs Chicago has made despite the team only being 15 seasons old?

c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor.

d. Who is the best player to play for either team? Is it a current player? Retired? Traded? Make your case.

A) Yes, they are super well built and strong teams, I might not like some of the people involved personally, but anyone who says they were surprised by this final are fucking looney toons, especially after the trade deadline. Chicago might not have the most tpe in net, but they do in their forward group and D core, and buffalo is right up there with them, just higher goalie average.
B) I mean, they are relatively the same time frame, so to say that Chicago is more impressive with only 5 less seasons is silly. Do I think that in the long run Chicago has the chance to be the more impressive team? sure, they have a good farm, and a solid base that should carry them well into the future, but for the time being, Buffalo has been more impressive of the two.
C) Oh ill nitpick the fuck out of Buffalos general site demeanor. I want to preface this by saying there are people on buffalo I love, and would love to play with, but when you see someone acting out in a TD thread or someones media, and everything becomes more understandable when someone says "oh they play for buffalo" its not a great thing. I think we all know of recent issues that come to mind.
D) SDCore, SDCore is the best player to ever play for Chicago. Im not going to do any research, Im not going to get or give stats. Corey has given far more to this league than he should have for mental health reasons, and still kept coming back. Not to mention like the entire draft class is here because they love him, and he should be seen as their star defencemen. Corey is the only reason I even kinda want to play for Chicago.

Code:
13. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)

Welp, you waited until the last day to grind out your CW and the CC finals are longggggggg over by now. congrats to [TEAM], woo! Reflecting back on the series, who gets your vote for series MVP? Make the case why this player deserves it over any other

Elizabeth Doyle, hands down @Evok should be playoff MVP. Lets just look at the stat line. 22 games played, 1337 minutes, 16 wins, 4 losses, 2GAA, and a 0.926 save percentage. Thats MVP territory, if they lost ONE more game, they wouldnt have won the championship. She had THREE postseason shutouts thats as much or more than 22 goalies had IN THE REGULAR SEASON Including herself! When it comes down to games that matter, Doyle was there, and she is the biggest reason they won. If we're gonna do the weird thing where one of the losing players wins the MVP for some reason, then it has to go to Martijn Westbroek, 30 points in 23 games, too bad they didnt have anyone in net to help him out.

Tylar · 08-08-2021, 02:44 PM

Quote:1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)

So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?
In Season 60 Liam Slate had a fairly good season on the ice. Liam Slate saw improvements from last season and was able to score more goals, points and overall offensive improvements across the board. Liam Slate scored four more goals, 10 more assists and 14 more points in Season 60 compared to Season 59. Liam Slate scored a whopping 20 even strength goals which is pretty impressive. Liam Slate scored only 7 points on special teams which means Liam Slate scored majorly at even strength. Liam Slate also was more physical and was able to play a better overall complete game. Liam Slate was played in a more offensive oriented role compared to last season which was a positive. Overall Liam Slate’s Season 60 on the ice was very good. There is some room for improvements, but it was mostly a positive step forward for Liam Slate. Hopefully Liam Slate continues to improve in order to finally hit the point per game mark, although he was only 5 points short this season.

(173 Words)

Quote:6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

I expect Team USA to do well again. The team is full of already superstars as well as players who did extremely well this season. I would expect Japan to do well once again as usual. I am not sure how Great Britain will do this season as they have gone through some changes. They seem to be on a rollercoaster right now. In terms of players, I would expect Danny Marston from Team USA to continue his dominance. Marston broke out this season leading Toronto. Marston is a very good player and surrounded by even better players should be a top player this IIHF tournament. One player to follow as well will be Ryuuji Minamino who is a dominant young player insulated with veterans on team Japan. Japan is a contender a lot of the time so he should put up some big numbers as well. I want to say watch for Liam Slate but Slate has been disappointing in IIHF thus far.
(164 Words)

Quote:7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

We're at a point in the SHL where a good chunk of the playerbase played back in the STHS era, and a good chunk has known nothing but FHM. If you're in the latter part of the league you must have heard the horror stories... so: Let's make a hypothetical.

Players who played in both eras: What would have happened if we just had one sim engine? Posture how your career would have gone if we stayed in STHS (sans exploits). Or what if you had created in FHM the whole time? Would things have gone better or worse?

For you FHM babies: What if we were still in Simon T land? Would your career be where it is now? Or would randomness have stunted the dynasties you may or may not have been part of?[/b]

I think at my current TPE my player would be much better than currently on STHS than FHM although it would make everyone’s player better and we would have like half the league being extremely good most likely. We would likely see many 100 point scorers and a lot of records being broken every few seasons. I think we would just see a lot of teams being dominant for much longer and being able to just ride one or two star players compared to now where you need like 5 or 6 star type players to dominate. I think we would see a random team over perform every season and one of the top teams randomly underperform which would be interesting but also frustrating because STHS had a special mechanic to do this. I also think we would see no predictability in terms of who would be good so SHL Fantasy would be a gong show trying to pick at least in FHM we have a pretty decent idea.
(169 Words)

Quote:12. Written, up to 4 TPE - Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.[/b]

a. The salt special: Do these teams deserve to be here? Or were they gifted a trip to the finals through puck luck and bullshittery?
I think both teams deserve to be here. Both teams are built to win as seen through trading. Both of these teams have kept their teams competitive through trading picks. Both teams GM’s have been dominant in the league and I think both teams have an excellent core of young and old to keep them competitive for many seasons. I would not be surprised if these teams meet again in the seasons to follow. (74 Words)

b. Buffalo has been here many times in the past 20 seasons, this is only the second (I think I'm too lazy to check) time for Chicago. Which is more impressive? The continued dominance of Buffalo? Or the solid couple of runs Chicago has made despite the team only being 15 seasons old?
I think it is obvious to me that the run of the Buffalo Stampede lately is more impressive. They have been competitive for what seems like forever and have managed to keep a huge window of being a top team. It doesn’t feel like they are going to be rebuilding anytime soon. It will be interesting to see if the Buffalo Stampede ever find themselves in trouble, but they have proven they can lose a top talent and just replace them via trade easily.

c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor.
I think the Chicago Syndicate brand is kind of silly, I didn’t even know what it was when I came back to the site, also still don’t really know. It is kind of weird for a hockey team to me. I don’t really get it but then again I don’t understand a lot of things. I think it is the most out of place brand in the league but then again as I said what do I know, probably nothing. (80 Words)

d. Who is the best player to play for either team? Is is a current player? Retired? Traded? Make your case.
Steve Harrington is the best player currently for the Stampede. The playmaking machine has been a dominant force this season. His 59 assists and 81 points this season prove this. Martijn Westbroek has been a dominant force for many seasons. His 89 points this season is impressive and is over 15 points better than second highest on the Chicago Syndicate. Martijn Westbroek has been a staple for Chicago for many seasons and will be for a little bit longer. (79 Words)

Quote:15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

Verification Word: Sad

16/16 TPE Completed

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