Task #1 - Pick a player from an eliminated team and slot them into a finals lineup. Who do they replace, why, how do their playoff stats look?
Let's put Jerry Mander on the Detroit Falcons first line, replacing Franz Cooper. In a word, this line needs to be a little more physical. In 18 playoff games, the combination of Passamus/Cooper/Kyllonen dished out 59 hits while taking 67. Although effectively cancelling out your hit total is good, the first line of Detroit needed to be great in order to have a chance against a physical St Louis Scarecrows squad. Thus, if you leave the rookie center in there, as well as the top scorer on the team, and exchange Cooper for a physical presence who has proven he can score in Jerry Mander ... you'd have a great first line that probably could have taken advantage of some mismatches as well! I'm thinking in 18 games, Mander would have had at least 40 hits by himself, and he would have scored at least 8 goals from Passamus' primo passes. -152 words

Task #2 - With the SHL draft looming in the shadow of playoffs, tell us how you're going to distinguish yourself to SHL GMs during your cup run.
As a rookie, it's pretty remarkable what I managed to do in 5 games against a Halifax Raiders team that just had more depth than us. I scored 2 goals and 3 assists while recording 15 hits. I had a +4 rating playing with Hiro Fujikawa, a very capable SMJHL veteran, and having two different centers. We knew as a team that going in we might not have had the most ideal personnel matchups, but we fought hard. I did all I could, playing 20 minutes a game. That's eventually what I want to be for an SHL team - a workhorse who can open up opportunities for high-scoring teammates. Whether that means I have 23 points in 50 games, like my regular season, or can take over a series like in this one against the Raiders, GMs should know that I'm ready to take on an important role. This was a real coming out party for me. My stats and presence speak for themselves; I don't think I need to show SHL management much more than that to be taken in the first two rounds of the draft. -187 words

Task #3 - Create a program cover for one of the games in any playoff series.


Task #4 -  Pick a round 1 series. What was the turning point in the series that eventually led to victory for the winning team? Could the opposing team have done anything to turn it around?
In the Round 1 series between the Halifax Raiders and the Anaheim Outlaws, things looked as though they were going to be close throughout the series. Anaheim won game 1 in double overtime, and Halifax won game 2 in another very close game. Game 3 was one for the ages -- and not in the good way for the Outlaws. They held a 5-2 lead halfway through the 3rd period, and then all hell broke loose. Aaron Freakin Rome was sent to the box, and seconds later, Halifax scored to make it a 2-goal game. Four minutes later, it was Mathias Seger's turn to go to the box, and Halifax scored again within in the first 20 seconds of the power play. Just two minutes later, it was Osbert Whacker's turn -- and on the ensuing faceoff Halifax managed to tie it up. All hope was lost right then -- everyone knew who was scoring the next goal, and it wasn't the team that got 6 shots all period and didn't register a shot in the final few minutes of the game. It was a heartbreaker and not a game that the city of Anaheim (or Halifax, for that matter) will soon forget. -200 words

Task #5 - Come up with 3 yearbook style superlatives for 3 different players around the league (players don't have to be from your team). Example: Most Likely to Retire Early, etc. OR make a yearbook style photo of any player from the league and include a player quote and superlative.
Most Athletic: Derek Bohne - He has the greatest combination of size, speed, and strength on our Outlaws squad. He can skate circles around all of us in practice, too - there's really no stopping him. Fortunately for all of us this season, his athleticism translated into putting up a lot of  points for us.
Most Likely to Get Arrested: Yoshimitsu McCloud - It's not so much that Yoshi's a bad dude, by any means - just don't piss him off. But aside from that, I mean, have you seen the guy? He carries around a gigantic katana almost everywhere he goes. Even if he nicks someone with it by accident, local law enforcement might not take too kindly to his attempts to explain that away.
Most Likely to Succeed: Colin Gibbles - This guy didn't talk or come to practice so much in the beginning of the season, but he's really come on strong the last few weeks. I have a lot of confidence that he'll come back next season ready to go, and he'll probably join me on the 1st line before the season is over!! -183 words