My player's preparation before the finals included repetition of practice drills, rest and deep meditations. Terrance Nova took his first finals appearance seriously, no distractions, lots of patience, lots of perseverance. Each day he would wake up, meditate, eat breakfast, go do drills at the practice facility, meditate some more etc. Nova had been waiting all his life for this moment; the SHL Finals. He was ready, more than ready but also anxious to be prepared and not just complacent to have made it this far. Neither nervous or overly excited, he was content as ever and grateful for the golden opportunity in hand. His only feeling was hope. He wanted to prove what he can do in the highest level, a rank that most barely get a chance to get to. It was his calling to execute what he's been training for beyond his career. He knew he needed to be emotionless, glarry eyed and sharply conditoned for the most competitive round of the SHL and responded with extreme discipline.


I have 2 choices for the unsung hero, they are defenseman Eero Hämäläinen and winger Pedro Sarantez. Pedro Sarantez finished out the last playoffs of his career on a strong note, posting 6 assists, 9 points, 34 shots in 15 games, playing just over 17 and a half minutes per game. After hitting the dark side of regression, Pedro ended his SHL tenure with an SHL cup and an effective run. He provided much needed depth to a Chiefs team that needed it, getting the highest amount of points out of all his linemates on the 3rd line. Eero Hämäläinen might not be considered an "unsung hero" in this playoffs since his dominance was well in show, but his performance was beyond what people expected and that what made him so special. Without him stepping up with a point per game (15 points) 22 shots blocked and just under 20 minutes per games playing on the 3rd line, Chiefs would have not have won the cup so easily. Minnesota had trouble in the past with the depth not showing up in the playoffs and these two guys delivered for the squad big time this time around.


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My choices for series MVPs would be between Timo Haas and my player, Terrance Nova. Obviously I cannot make a prediction at this point because the series is over with but if I could turn back time, those two players would be my choice for potential MVPs. Since the Chiefs are a better well rounded team than the Panthers, Haas will have to show out hard for this series, which we all know he's capable of doing. Hes been phenomenal between the pipes for LA all playoffs, outperforming every goalie he has faced so far, and will be the main guy, the MVP, depended on to execute in the final stretch against a hot Chiefs team that can overwhelm any type of defense. If someone asked who the best center in the league is at this very moment, I'd reply Terrance Nova. I don't like to brag but I do not think there is any defense that can stop Nova from putting the puck in the net in game breaking situations. He will definitely have to be himself, fully locked in if he wants a cup. So he will also be someone to watch out for when talking about finals MVP, as he leads the Chiefs in points going into the final round.