Task 01: (Written, 3 TPE)
You are at the airport awaiting a flight to meet back up with your team after spending the day being honoured as a 'Hometown Hero' in the place where you grew up! Tell us about your day... what did they have planned for you? Who did you see there? What were you given? How did it turn out? ... In 150 words or more, tell us all about this big moment as hometown hero.

On the trip out to Collin Gibbles first SMJHL Four-Star Cup Finals Game, he first took some time to stop home for a day. The flights from Anaheim in California to Montreal in Quebec were longer than Gibbles wanted to deal with so it seemed like the perfect time to make a pit stop. Gibbles arrived mid morning with his partner, Anna Kendrick in tow. Gibbles took Kendrick out on the town to see all Grand Rapids had to offer. They stopped by Gibble's old team rink and he was met with a suprise. Anna had arranged a day with fans and family starting with a suprise party filled with friends and family. Gibbles was constantly being swarmed by local peewee players wishing to get an autograph or a picture with the GR native. Gibbles gladly regaled the young skaters with the on ice experience he just had against the St. Louis Scarecrows. Gibbles then left with Kendrick to go enjoy a tour of a local brewery that had named a new beer in his honor(The Gibrew). After a long day of walking around downtown and talking with fans, the couple sadly retreated to their plane to continue on towards Montreal and the SMJHL Finals. Gibbles was glad to take time to reconnect with his roots. He even got to sneak a quick excursion to a local business for a secret gift he had been preparing for a while.

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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)

As the 3rd season of Collin Gibbles SMJHL Career is nearing a close, he has been preparing to his impending jump from the Anaheim Outlaws to the Minnesota Chiefs. Gibbles had a brief stint in the SHL playoffs last year after Anaheim was eliminated. He joined the Chiefs playoff race for a limited role. Now with another year of fantastic play, Gibbles is looking primed to make the leap to the next level. It won't be an easy transition as Gibbles has been a prominent fixture of the Outlaws team since it's creation 3 seasons ago. He has been one of the top point scorers for his junior team during his tenure. The big leagues are much tougher and he will likely have a harder time making as big of an impact in the SHL right away. He is several steps down the depth chart for starters and will not likely see the special teams time he is used to in Anaheim. Gibbles will be sad to leave all the great teammates he has developed, but he will have his Outlaw teammate Mathias Seger to help lessen the blow. He will still get to help his junior team in his role of Co-GM, but not having a direct impact on their success will be something he has to get used to. He is looking forward to the new teammates he will get to play with and hopes he will carve out a legacy in Minnesota.

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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)

I think it is a shock to no one that the biggest upset in the SMJHL playoffs was the 5th seed Anaheim Outlaws eliminating the 1st seed St. Louis Scarecrows. Many had the Scarecrows as heavy favorites to win the Four Star Cup this season after their dominating play throughout the season. The Scarecrows have a team full of talent that many would say should have bested the Outlaws in their 7 game series. This was also the stop gap to St. Louis's goal of winning their 4th straight championship. The Scarecrows/Outlaw series was a tight race with all but 1 game being decided by a single goal. I think the only thing the team lacked was luck during the series. They played great hockey and just met a hot team.  The future is not dark for St. Louis, as they have a great core that will allow them to bounce back next season at another chance for post-season success. They should still be a contender next playoffs and will likely be hungry for more success.

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TASK 13: (*CASUAL MEMBER SPECIAL* Send answer in PM, up to 3 TPE)
Its trivia time with 4 questions related to our Challenge Cup participants!

Sent

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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)


For The Calgary Dragons, I think they best choice to improve their teams going into the finals would be to bolster their D core with another Top Pairing Defenseman. I would choose for them to take Liam O'Callaghan(@Dangles13) from the Texas Renegades after they won the Western Conference Finals. I would put O'Callaghan on the top pair, replacing Chico Smeb who would cause a cascade of players moving down a line. O'Callaghan's regular season and post season play show that they are a hard-hitting, defensive force on the ice. Calgary has more than enough forward talent, but taking the Texas Defensive star would shore up a lot of worry on the back end. I chose O'Callaghan over other players in their position with more points because they seem to be more of a complete player that can cover whatever weakness's the team has. They would also likely pump up the scoring numbers for Calgary with their impressive assist totals.

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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.

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)

Calgary is a team that has been lead to the finals by their strong youth movement. They have an impressive 9 players from S42 and younger on their team heading into the finals. Notable standouts include; Nicky Pedersen Jr.(@mstuk41 ), Rainbow Dash(@Eggy216), and Maxime Bouchard(@Weretarantula ). These players have been putting points on the board and look to prove their worth in the final round. Edit: Even after their disappointing exit, expect this strong core to lead the Dragons on many future playoff pushes.



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