Going back to my hometown of Vienna was great, I go there every offseason, but showing up and having the day be about me was amazing. The day started out with a big surprise as fellow Dragon teammate and honorary Austrian, Mike Izzy, was waiting for me at the airport as I touched down. It was great bringing him around and introducing him to my friends and family. We walked down to the city centre where the events were being held. Some of the people from the city presented us with a chicken parm, which was amazing by the way. The crowd roared as we took the stage and thanked them for their hospitatlity and told them not only did we plan on bringing the cup back, but also promised them a gold medal as well. The day went into the night as bands were playing, food and beers was consumed, and not enough sleep was had by anyone.


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)

I can see this series going the distance, with either team able to pull out a win. I think the stars are going to be both of the netminders, Kata Vilde and Beaujeaux Biscuit. Either one of them can steal a game or two, and both have been very impressive on their teams respective playoff runs. @nimblerod , @.bojo

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?

Ithink the tactical advantage has to go to the Dragons duo of Steelhead77and c00kies. The history speaks for itself as the Dragons track record alone proves why anyone would be foolish to think these two couldn't pull it off. Nothing against JR95 and Wongy, but I feel like having one of the greatest gm's of all time, the Dragons can never be counted out.

3. Which player in the finals should be considered their teams playoff MVP and which should be considered their teams unsung hero thus far and why?

I think each teams MVP thus far would be both of the goalies, Beauxjeaux Biscuit and Kata Vilde. The series will come down to which one of these two breaks first. For an unsung hero, I think Chico Smeb has got to be up there. He's been lighting it up this run, but doing so quietly.

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.

Mild surprise. I am a bit shocked to be honest to be where we are this early into the rebuild. Esa has a history of getting the most out of his players, so it is to be expected that was able to make this young up and coming team get into the position they are in now.

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)

I think this series could be the series that Chico Smeb and Brennan Kennedy Jr break out, Smeb has had a strong showing all playoffs, but could really put on a show. Kennedy Jr, has been held pointless in the first 2 rounds, but has played a strong defensive game. Look for this to change and see these 2 names all over the scoresheet in this series. @xDParK

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.

Mild surprise. I feel like this would be a bigger surprise if I was asked this at the beginning of the season, but as the season went on and West Kendall started loading up on players, it became obvious they thought the had the team to make a deep run in the playoffs and push for a cup.

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?




Clagary's anthem, I have to go with none other the great Canadian band, Rush with a surprise visit for the Tragically Hip. Having both bands together to perform the nation anthem would be clearly the most Canadian anthem possible and would be amazing. Both bands represent Canada very well and would be proud to play a Challenge Cup final game and try and push the momentum in the Dragons favor.

West Kendall would have Mr. 305, aka Mr. Worldwide, aka Pitbull. How could you have a team in Florida and possibly have anyone else be your anthem singer. He would bring a passion and energy to the crowd that would be nearly unmatchable by most people. The anthem wouldn't just be him singing, it would have to be a big elaborate spectacle as nothing Pitbull does is typically low key. Lights, pyro technics and of course beautiful girls all around him.





The Dragons faced some adversity through the season. Early on it wasn't clear if they would be in the playoff hunt as they weren't playing to their full potential. After some motivational speeches and a few tactical changes by captain of the ship @Steelhead77 , they started to gain some traction and get some hope. As the season went on, Calgary climbed there way up the standings and eventually finished 2nd in the divison. Good enough to get a bye from the first round of the playoffs. During the middle of this, Clgary also unveiled a new logo that was quickly found to be a logo that was quite common and cause quite a bit of outrage around the league. After scraping the plans for the logo change, the Dragons banded together even more then before and were able to play to their abilities and finish the season out very strong