Coming home to Malmö, Sweden is a treat in itself; the air is fresh with the smells and feel of the coastline, the people are laid-back yet sharp-witted, and the city's rustic skyline appears to ripped out of a magazine. While I always return to his birthplace in the summer, this year was special; the Jets organized a special beach vacation in my home city for me and my family, with a few parties intermingled with the relaxation. The weather was perfect as I loaded my suitcase into the cozy cottage, my parents and siblings close behind. A few tourists stared at me, recognizing me from the hockey headlines, and approached asking for autographs. I obliged them, and after a bit of time on the beach, I headed to a party. The local Swedish Hockey League team, the Malmö Redhawks, had sent a few players to attend, and they gave me some autographed gear; fame or not, it was still special to see my hometown team. I had an amazing time in the midst of the celebration, and am thankful to the Jets organization for pulling this off.

1. You have two teams with a lot of veterans and history behind them, both backed by extraordinary defense and clutch offensive guys. Ultimately, it will be the goalies making the difference, and that's why I think that Beaujeaux Biscuit @.bojo will be a shoo-in for the star of the series. Knowing what I know now, it's tough to think that West Kendall Platoon doesn't come out and win this series, they have so much momentum and have looked dominant on the ice all playoffs.
2. I think @JR95 and @Wongy really know what they are too and have tons of advantages managerially, with lots of championships the S40s, they know what it takes to win and aren't afraid to shuffle lines and mix up their gameplay. They have a way of inspiring confidence with their players and a way of countering all tactics attempted by the other side, I believe they have the mettle to out-strategize Calgary.
4. Other than goaltending, skater-wise you have to say the player making the difference for West Kendall is Dani Forsberg. Forsberg can score like few others and has been one of the most consistent offensive forwards for many seasons. Forsberg would be the one to score at the right time to put the game away, and to not fade away from tiredness in the final few games of the S47 season.
5. There's "no surprise" here; they still have some of the most talented veterans like @Mike Izzy Mike Izzy, who is still over 2000 TPE, and some of the best young players from the last few draft classes, including the first overall pick from my draft class, Rainbow Dash @Eggy216 , and rookie of the year candidate @Weretarantula Maxime Bouchard. To top this up, they have an elite up-and-coming goalie in Kata Vilde @BarnabasCollins who is entering the prime years of their career and should be a leader from the net for years to come. The Dragons rebuild was never going to last with names like these already hitting the ice.
6. Ethan Ross @JR95 has a chance to show that he is West Kendall's #1 defender in the near future and to show that he can make an impact sooner than many would have thought. He can back a scoring punch from the blue line, indicating power play potential, and shore up the penalty killing units as well with added depth defensively. Every team needs a responsible two-way blueliner, and Ross has a perfect opportunity to showcase his skills.
8. I think Beaujeaux Biscuit @.bojo has the better chance to lead his team to victory simply because he has more years of experience under his belt; as a S37 player, he has seen 10 seasons come and go, and that gives him experience and nerves of steel under the bright lights. He also has excellent rebound control, style control, and hand speed; since he's maxed out the most essential attributes for a netminder, he should be capable at stopping all sorts of shots.
Coming into the season, the New Orleans Specters would have been my favorites to win it all, so I would say that they were the biggest disappointment among playoff teams. Perhaps the expectations being too lofty were the cause of their elimination this year. One would have been accepting of them losing to a powerhouse team, like say the Dragons or the Blizzard, but losing to Texas, who were viewed as one of the weaker playoff teams, delivered an extra sting to the Specters fan base. They simply didn't perform under pressure and were outworked; on paper, New Orleans has a ton of young budding stars, but their youth may have backfired. I believe that of all these reasons, the youth was the biggest reason for their defeat; they didn't have the experience to know how to navigate the playoffs and the pressure overwhelmed these youngsters as they were knew to the scene.
The Calgary Dragons could use some help defensively to stop West Kendall from edging them out on the scoreboard, and that would be where they would bring in Brady McIntyre @caltroit_red_flames from the Edmonton Blizzard. The Blizzard may have fallen to Calgary early, but they were magnificent in the regular season, with McIntyre having a breakout season where he not only set a personal career high in points, but was third in the league for defensemen points, one of only three defensemen in the whole league to surpass the 50 point mark. Pairing him with Otis B. Driftwood @Slappydoodle on the top power play unit would be the ideal combination to rack up tons of shot attempts on the power play and have some great passing leverage on the man advantage; he could slot in with Driftwood at even strength too. He would help both scoring and limiting defensive chances, as his defense is top-notch too. McIntyre plays the same type of hockey as Calgary, and that's why he was selected and is a perfect fit for the team.
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