TASK ONE: Line Changes

This one isn’t terribly hard to figure out. Calgary’s line-building has been in contention for a while now, but it’s a shame to see that Calgary brought up two solid TPE earners from juniors in Mike Izzy and Chuck Goody Jr. and didn’t make the best use of them that they possibly could. Guys like Randleman and O’Reilly were running 50% of the time during these games, where Izzy and Goody Jr. could have been making a difference as young talents and giving rest to an older group of players than most. If I’m running lines (structured as LW-C-RW)…

Nicholas Pedersen - Randy Randleman - Joe Kurczewski 35%
Pierre-Luc Laflamme - Shane Gagner - Esa Anrikkanen 30%
Mike Izzy - Alex Mack - Schnitinfritz Jagr 30%
Alex Mack - Randy Randleman - Joe Kurczewski 5%

Michael Boychuk - Connor O’Reilly 35%
Hunky Monkey - Fernando Pergher 35%
Chuck Goody Jr. - Jaime Hill 25%
Michael Boychuk - Jaime Hill 5%

It isn’t hard, I think, to see that this adds enough depth that Calgary may have been able to hold on longer than they did in this run. They had every opportunity to pull out lines that would make use of their call ups, and ultimately, it’s disappointing that they didn’t do as much with these kids as would’ve been nice.

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TASK TWO: Unsung Hero

Honestly, this one has to go to the Texas Renegades’ very own Zanarkand Abes. Averaging just over 13 minutes per game, the kid has gone wild for Texas and been one of the shining examples of just how important depth players can be. At 4-4-8 to close out the playoffs (none of which came on the power play) and sitting at just under an 18% shooting average, Abes was one of the stabilizers for the Texas third line, especially in a team that has heavy shooters in the top six. Having someone with the depth and hockey sense that Abes has in a bottom six role is an easy and effective way to not only push that particular player past his threshold but also to set a pacemaker for the rest of the bottom six. Between Horvat and Bent, who went 2-5-7 and 2-3-5 respectively, it isn’t hard to see Abes’ influence on the people around him. That pacemaking and stability that he offers is a huge part of the reason why he’s my unsung hero of the playoffs.

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TASK THREE: New England or Texas?

From a purely biased standpoint, I think New England has the edge, if only because I took them in my bracket. But, on paper, it definitely looks to be a fairly even matchup between two teams who seem to have opposite strengths. New England has one of the most solid back ends in the league--it’s no secret that their D corps is a force to be reckoned with and, as they’ve proven over the last few seasons, there’s very few teams that can match up to the sheer skill of New England’s defence.

On the other hand, Texas has shooters, and a lot of them. Jack Durden, Geoffrey Allen, Conklin Owen--and that’s only a few, there’s plenty more than could be mentioned. If anything is going to propel the Renegades past the Wolfpack, it’s going to their shooting ability. These guys just have a knack for putting the puck in the back of the net, and the only way to break down a solid defence is to make their job incredibly difficult. And Texas can do just that.

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TASK FOUR: Charity Event!

In an effort to help those affected by the recent string of hurricanes, the SHL is teaming up with the Texas Renegades and the New England Wolfpack for a charity game of golf. Golf is the number one pastime for players eliminated from contention as well as those who’ve just come off the ice from finals, and in the spirit of good competition, we’re doing a doubles tournament! Twelve players, six from Texas and six from New England, will split off into teams of two and compete for the best score across three days of blood-pumping golfing, with the first place prize each day being a million dollar donation to the Red Cross and Hurricane relief funds. Two days into the competition, two Wolfpack doubles have managed to win the days, and going into the third, it looks like the Renegades will take all top three places--a clean sweep during the final day of the tournament! Tickets are available through your preferred ticketing service for a low, low fifteen dollars per, with ticket sales being donated directly to Hurricane relief efforts.