Task One:
This might be a little on the obvious side, but I was pulling for the LA Panthers in the finals.  Self-aggrandizement is one thing, so yes, of course I wanted LA to win the cup so I could win the cup, and I don’t think there’s any shame in that – we all want to win, that’s why we’re here.
But, LA has been intertwined in my young SHL experience from the very beginning.  Shane, LA’s GM, was a founder of my SMJHL team, the Raiders, and he was an active presence in that locker room.  Even before he drafted me, he was a mentor.  After the drafted that continued, and it’s hard not to appreciate the work he puts into making the LA locker room a fun and inviting place, and inviting it is.  The second I joined the team Copenhagen had a signature render for me.  Everyone in there has been great and fun, and even though we didn’t win the cup, they were great to make this journey with.
That’s why I wish they could’ve won the cup – we could’ve won the cup.

Task Two:
I’ve been ranting and raving about how good Evgueni “Marmy” Marmeladov has been these playoffs, so I think he’s sung enough.
You know who had a great post-season, but didn’t see much reward for it?  Angelo Odjick.  Odjick played his heart out for the Hamilton Steelhawks, leading his team in both points and goals, with seven goals and sixteen points, an impressive 1.33 points per game over twelve games.  Hamilton really leaned on him, and he was on the ice for over twenty three minutes per game, which is a ton for a forward.  I haven’t heard anyone talk about Odjick, though, because people only recognize greatness if it reaches the finals.  That’s really not fair though.  This guy shot 17.50% in the playoffs, a real feat.  He did everything, power play, penalty kill, even-strength.  Angelo Odjick really embodied what it means to be a playoff performer.  I hope his team can reward him more next season.
 
Task Four: See PM

Task Six:
It’s game one of the Challenge Cup Finals.  The Los Angeles Panthers are hosting the West Kendall Platoon.  The lights go down.  The air grows warm and humid, as the scents of the jungle are vented into the stands.  Earth, peat, exotic plants, exotic animals – all these odors fill the nostrils of the tense fans.  Slowly, first barely a whisper, but louder and louder, the sounds of the jungle fill the arena.  Birds from far away lands are released into the air.  In what would be slammed as “highly insensitive” and “inappropriate for a family event,” a Zamboni pulls a stage of loincloth-clad drummers onto the ice.
Suddenly, silence.  The drummer scatter and take refuge behind the benches, fleeing to the locker rooms.  A moment of hush, when, from the ramp comes a real panther.  The majestic beast bounds out onto the ice, terrible and fantastic, its sinewy muscles rippling as it slides across the surface.
The team president was forced to make an apology to PETA after the game.

Task Nine: See PM