PH

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Task 03: (Written, 3 TPE)
If you are in the SMJHL then you have been there for at least a few seasons and its likely that a promotion to the SHL is coming soon. The question is.. are you ready?..  what areas of your game do you believe are SHL ready and what areas are you concerned about?  what things are you sad to leave behind and what things are you excited about when moving to your parent club. (Must be 150 words or more)

I believe Nick Brain is ready for the show and has been since the start of his sophomore year. For Nick it was just a matter of getting more ice-time, getting experience being a team leader, and a chance to play top 6 minutes in the SMJHL and progress as a scorer, as opposed to getting bottom 6 minutes and minimal special teams time for a Winnipeg Jets squad deep in the rebuild.

However, I don't think Nick is ready for a franchise-carrying role right away, and will need a few more seasons before he can reach that level, if he can at all. Nick will need to work on his defense to get it up to top SHL standard, will need to work to overcome his weak playmaking abilities, and will need to learn to make better decisions with the puck. Any team would be fine with Nick on the roster, but obviously not for a featured role in a contender.

Nick's a bit sad to leave behind some new friends in Detroit, and theres a feeling that his line with Espen Knutsen Jr. and Raino Kyllonen could've done more with time. That being said he is excited for the callup to share the same ice with a legend in Jason Visser, and reunite with a former SMJHL teammate in Michael Scarn. Nick's also eager to start proving the fans wrong that doubted him as an 11th overall pick.

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Task 05: (Written, up to 6 TPE)
Pick up to 6 challenge cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth '1' TPE. Each answer must be '50' words or more.

1. Breakdown this finals matchup for us, how will it play out? who will be the stars of this series, what will the outcome be? (*tag anyone involved)
2. A major managerial showdown is about to take place Between WKP's (Jr95, Wongy) and Calgarys (Steelhead77, C00kies) which set of GM's have the tactical/managerial advantage in this series and why?
3. Which player in the finals should considered their teams playoff MVP and which should be considered their teams unsung hero thus far and why?
4. Which player do you believe will be the differance maker in their franchise winning the title here in S47?
5. After trading off there best players and declaring themselves in a full rebuild back in S45, The Calgary Dragons have made it to the S47 finals.. just 2 seasons later.  Choose: ('No surprise', 'mild surprise', 'major surprise' or 'in shock') and explain why.
6. Which young players in this series (S42-S47) have a chance to break out and make a name for themselves here in the Challenge Cup Finals? (*Tag that player)
7. The West Kendall Platoon are back in the finals after a season out of the playoffs and a team that was in serious regression Choose: ('No surprise', 'mild surprise', 'major surprise' or 'in shock') and explain why.
8. Star netminders Kata Vilde and Beaujeaux Biscuit have both carried there teams into the finals. Which franchise goalie has a better chance to carry their franchise to a title?

1. Dragons have surprised a lot of people getting here, but ultimately I think this is West Kendall's series. The goaltending and top talent is comparable but the depth favours West Kendall too much, in particular the third line of Dayymo Ralchanikov centering Trevor Wilson and Joshua Woodcroft will be too much for the depth skaters for Calgary to handle and will cause huge matchups problems for the Dragons.
2. I keep hearing that Steelhead has the better reputation, with one totally unbiased source whos name rhymes with "Pike Fizzy" describing him as a Bill Belichick type who gets the most out of his team in terms of strategy. Hes been around the game since people saw in black and white, and might hold an edge over even the championship regulars in West Kendall.
4. As mentioned above I believe its the West Kendall third line as a whole that will make the difference.If the Izzy line and Wong line cancel each other out, if the top d-pairs cancel each other out, and if Vilde and Biscuit both summon their elite-ness, it'll come down to depth, and thats where West Kendall have the advantage. If Ralchanikov, Wilson, and Woodcroft get good shifts on bad matchups or even against the scratch line its curtains for the Dragons.
5. Big Shock. Calgary was said to be a couple years away despite an encouraging playoff push last seasons. A lot of people bet on the New Orleans Specters to take the West in pre-season, before they got burned by the Texas Renegades actually living up to their promise for once. I do not think the Dragons would've beaten the Specters and as it is they got lucky to beat the Renegades. Calgary will probably be more legitimate contenders in a few years, instead of what are presumably a bunch of PDO aces backed by great goaltending, Otis Driftwood, and Mike Izzy.
7. Mild surprise. Theres still a couple young-ish pieces with guys like Rex Kirkby so West Kendall wasn't going TOTALLY downhill, and as I've mentioned for what feels like the 8th time the Platoon's depth is impressive. The core talent is all acceptable SHL standard and the goaltending is elite. Last year's playoff miss may have just been puck luck or goaltender Beaujeaux Biscuit having a subpar year. West Kendall is absolutely running out of chances with this current core though and will have to rebuild..... probably year after next?
8. Undecided. I feel Vilde is the better goalie in terms of overall talent, due to his edge to edge mobility in the crease being superior to Biscuit's, and Biscuit's primary advantage of being a puckhandler and penalty shot stopper meaning a lot less in today's game. On the other hand, Biscuit plays for probably the better team and has the better defense in front of him, meaning he'll probably have better numbers due to having fewer high-quality shots to face. On the other OTHER hand, since Biscuit has the better team in front of him he can afford to make fewer mistakes than Vilde, and thus doesn't need to carry his franchise to a title in order for his franchise to win a title. A merely decent performance could bring the cup home for the Platoon if Vilde falters.

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Task 07: (Written, 3 TPE)

You have been given the responsibility of organizing the National Anthem(s) for both teams in the Challenge Cup Finals. With the entire world watching the league feels its imperative that who ever you choose really encapusates the persona of the team and their fanbase. In 150 words or more, let us know who you chose for both teams, why you believe they represent that franchise and anything notable about their performance,, IE outfits, accompaniment, etc.

Lets be honest, when it comes to a group of clueless suits trying to figure out what the fans want while being blinded by star power, theres only two obvious answers for National Anthem singers picked by the SHL brass.

For Calgary, the suits logic would be "Well Alberta's a country music kind of place, and Shania Twain is Canadian, and every Canadian has ties to every region of Canada regardless of which province they were actually born in, so Shania Twain perfectly represents Calgary despite being born in Ontario! Lets have her do the anthem!"

The Twain singing would probably have a few sprinkled boos when she was announced (because she was fun to pick on for a while for Air Farce gags), some decidedly average singing, and some ludicrously expensive dresses that would make even Mike Izzy's bank account shudder under the financial burden.

As for West Kendall, they'd probably march out Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit as lead singer, because hes from Florida and would presumably have no gigs booked that night. Or ever.

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Task 09: (Written, 3 TPE)
Which organization that didnt make it to the finals would you consider to be the biggest disappointment? What do you think are the main reasons why they fell short this season? (Must be 150 words or more)

Its the New Orleans Specters and its not even a debate in my eyes. They made aggressive moves early to build a strong roster that could contend right out of the gate, and they haven't come home with a Cup yet and are running out of time to do so. The main reasons they fell short against Texas and got eliminated seem to be:

-Aleister Cain had a subpar series, which could be his fault or could be the fault of the slightly underwhelming New Orleans defense core protecting him.
-If im reading Aaron Wilson's advanced metrics correctly, New Orleans had a very winnable Game 1 slip out of their hands, where they had puck control and more of the play but lost to a solid rearguard effort from Walter Hobbs.
-All four losses were by one goal, so maybe Texas got some puck luck to get them over the line.

I'm inclined to think the Game 1 loss was the real backbreaker. Metrics or not, the fact is New Orleans outshot their opponent 32-19 with one of the most potent offenses in the league and lost 3-2. Thats not gonna cut it in the postseason and it got Texas off on the right foot.

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Task 11: (Written, 3 TPE)
Writers on the internet have jokingly tossed around the following playoff roster idea: "when a team eliminates another team, they get to claim a player from that eliminated team to join their roster" Pretend the SHL has adopted this rule this postseason. Pick one of the teams in the Challenge Cup final and pick any player from a team that they've eliminated to add to their roster for the finals. Why did they choose that player? How will this player help out? Where will they play in the lineup? (must be 150 words or more, *tag all players)

Well Calgary would've done this twice, beating the Blizzard then the Renegades. From the Blizzard, Calgary would've been smart to claim defensemen Brady Macintyre or Tor Tuck, as they would be able to go right on the first pairing and ease some pressure off the youngsters in the Calgary defense core playing big minutes.

For Texas its a bit more interesting. Assuming Calgary was allowed to claim players that Texas claimed from their victories, theres a world of possbilities out there for the Dragons to pick up. The best options in my eyes would be Showstopper Jack Tanner from the San Francisco Pride (who would presumably be claimed by the Renegades from the wild card round), or the regular season leading scorer in Demaricus Smyth from the New Orleans Specters (who would also be a likely pickup for the Renegades after they beat the Specters). Tanner would be an automatic pick for the first pairing on any team, and Smyth could form a deadly partnership with Mike Izzy that could help the Dragons top line win their battle against the Platoon's top line.

If Calgary was only allowed to take players from Texas and no Texas claims allowed, then Calgary would probably shore up the defense core further with The Dude, who could go instantly onto the top 4 and offer added dimensions on special teams due to his powerful shooting.

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TASK 13: Answer Sent!