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.

At the airport, ready to fly back to Colorado for offseason training.. being honored as a home town hero was weird.
When I first got to the rink where the Celebration was taking place I was greeted with applause and cheers from a large croud. I was overwhelmed by people that wanted to shake my hand and say some encouraging words "great season" " Colorado is my favorite team" and stuff like that. It was nice to visit my hometown after three seasons over in America and the small town feel was really relaxing. Entering the rink I got in the locker room with the local youth team, they were excited to play some hockey and I got to sign some autographs and answer questions. They put my jersey in the rafter and then we had fun playing some hockey in front of a sold out arena. After the game we grilled some burgers and people came up to say hello and take pictures.





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)

Knute Knurtsson had a down year in s47 only putting up 30 points in 50 games matching his goal total from s46 but the assists were not there. With season 47 being his third year in the SMJHL much was expected from him after exceeding all expectations in season 46 when he out up 44 points and tied for 2nd in league scoring. Questions has been raised if he truly is ready to take the step to the next level or if he need more time in the minors. Is Knute the victim of playing on a bad Colorado team or does he lack the skill to be a difference maker? Can he drive a line or will he need to play with more skilled players? In the playoffs he put up 2 goals and 4 assists when cooorado got swept in 4 games, showing of tenacity and skill but the question remains if he has what it takes to play in the SHL.





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)

The finals will be a hard fought match up and I give the edge to West Kendall Platoon, with crazy goaltending from Beaujeaux Biscuit it is hard to argue against them and when you look at their offense they have 2 potentil first lines. Calgary has the future ahead of them but the Platoon is in it to win it and I think they will.


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?

Beaujeaux Biscuit is the clear playoff MVP at this point and could very well be the MVP even if Calgary wins. With a 95% save percentage and 1.45 goals against avarage West Kendall barely have to score to win games.
Unsung hero: Brennan Kennedy Jr. He has no point going in to the finals but he plays important minutes for the Dragons in a kind of a filler role and he does it great.

4. Which player do you believe will be the differance maker in their franchise winning the title here in S47?

The question is if Calgary can shut down a very potent West Kendall Platoon offence. They will need Mike Izzy to play an important role in taking on and exceeding one of West Kendalls two top lines. This will be a hard match up for Calgary and they will need Kate Vilde to stand on his head to fend of all the pucks coming from both forward and defensmen.


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.

No surprise, Calgary did the right thing and sold of roster players for future players but they manged to keep a strong core lead by Mike Izzy and with players like Pedersen and Choybuk already in the pipeline the future was looking great, add in the trade for Dash and a great s46 draft where they picked up their future 1 pairing in Smeb and Kennedy Jr. And a Center in Batsbak and you have a team that will only get stronger.

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)

Obvious answer is Chico Smeb, and that is what I'm going with. Chico is a dynamic defensman that can both pass and shoot the puck, a great skater for his size. Smeb is goin to be a star in the league and a pillar on the blue line for Calgary for many seasons to come. After a strong performance in the playoffs I belive people around the legue will start to take more notice of him, Chico hype train is about to leave the station!



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)

The biggest disappointment has the be the New Orleans Specters that got all the way to the finals in their first year and now they got bounced in the Conference semifinals against Texas Renegades. Many people were on the Specters hype train but that crashed pretty quick when
Aleister Cain got bombarded with shots and couldn't keep them out of his net. The Specters went bold at the expansion draft picking up a win now team, for them this must be a huge disappointment and their window is starting to close. With a underwhelming performance from Roman Augustus they might have to look ahead at their upcoming prospects to take a big step next season and complement a ageing core. Cain is still a young goalie and is a huge part of this teams future success and with some good drafting and a couple of trades this team has the potential to stay a contender for a long time but luck is always needed to win a Championship.

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!

PM sent!