Quote: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.

Being honored as a hometown hero was a nice touch for sure, but I am also aware that it was more of a friendly gesture more than an actual achievement because let's face it, my hometown of Buffalo isn't exactly small and has produced a bunch of great hockey players along the way. Patrick Kane, Nick Foligno, Todd Marchant from the NHL as well as a couple of great SHL players all hail from the city in the state of New York and although he is described as a bright young talent, so far Winter hasn't achieved anything close to what those guys have. Still, it was nice to meet up with some old friends and family who still live in the area, shake hands with city officials and even check in with some people from the Stampede, a team that my father played for for a long time until sadly they separated on not too great terms - maybe I can help bridge that divide some day.

Quote: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.

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?

This is a tough one for sure, you won't find a a manager with more experience and pedigree than Esa and he is assissted by a very underrated trustee in c00kies, but on the other side you have two people with incredible STHS knowledge and a recent record of success that speaks for itself. Ultimately I would've given the slight edge to CGY in the GM department, but it wouldn't have been enough to overcome the gap in roster quality.

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?

Is there any way the other to this won't be Beaujeaux Biscuit? People love the mischievous little thing and he backed it up with some fantastic performances in these playoffs. On a team that didn't have a lot of inidividual standouts this postseason, it was the goalie who carried them all the way to the finals and, eventually, the Championship.

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. Saying that they are in a "major rebuild" was an overstatement, but I still wouldn't have expected them to be back near the top that fast. This Dragons roster still isn't particularly good compared to what they had in the last, but if you have a GM like Esa then you don't need an all-star roster full of superstars to win - even if you somehow managed to build one seaspm after season in the past.

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)

Nicky Pedersen Jr., drafted in S43 and coming from a great hockey background with his father being ond of the greates Dragons ever, truly broke out in these playoffs, almost scoring at a point per game pace and leading not just his team, but all player in plus-minus. Given that neither his shooting-percentage nor his TOI were particularly high, this is unlikely to have been a fluke and just shows how good of a player the young Pedersen has become. @mstuk41

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.

No surprise. Truth be told I didn't follow the league too much this season, but there were a handful of teams that I expected to have a really good shot at contending for the cup, and West Kendall was one of the. Regression can be a bitch but I would argue that its importance is overstated at times, players who have been great can stay great for a long time if they keep working hard and dedicated players along with competent GMs can fight off the effects of regression for a long time, which I think happened here as well.

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?

Kind of an easy one to answer now that everything is said and done, but Beaujeaux Biscuit. He was absolutely phenomenal in the playoffs and should win the Razov for it and while Vilder played a good season, it was Biscuit who absolutely carried the team on his back at times, especially during the finals.

Quote: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.

I gotta admit, this whole national anthem thing is still kinda weird for me, having it before every game even during the regular season when two neighbouring cities play each other and such. Sure, I get it for international competitions where players respresent their country, but in a national league it can feel kinda out of place for that old world part of me. But hey, these Challenge Cup finals are at least one of the instances where it makes a bit more sense than elsewhere, as you have an Canadian team going up against an American team so you could indeed argue that these players respresent their countries to an extent, plus it's the finals we are talking about so being a bit lofty and dramatic feels a bit more fitting here than during some mid-day game on a grey Wednesday afternoon in November. Being one of the leagues most storied franchises and maybe even THE most successful ones, I would bring in a bunch of old Dragons great to sing the anthem along with the professionals to remind the players of the great tradition that they themselves could soon be a part of. For the Platoon, also quite a successful franchise, I would take a slightly different approach as there are certain events in the teams history that we should rather not talk about. So for them I'd focus on the present an in contrast to the Dragons choir, rely on a single singer with a strong voice, a spot on him and little to no props.

Quote: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 would say that the Los Angeles Panters fall into this category, at least their version from the start of the season. Going into the season most observers expected the Panthers to make the playoffs and be a decent contender for the cup, but then they fell so flat that they decided to settle for a rebuild just halfway through the season. A team that had one of the biggest stars in the league in Sophia Bennett as well as a good supporting cast decided to sell off a lot of their silverware in order to stack up on young players and picks, which was understandable given that the team seemes to have failed to made significant progress over the last few seasons, but it was disappointing nontheless for fans and players alike. Ultimately, I'd say one of the main reason while this generation of the Panthers failed to make the impact that they hoped they'd make was that they weren't actually a generation. The team combined some great young talents such as Max Mauldin and Philipp Winter as well as bluechip prospects who are still in juniors such as Borromini Cannellini and Theo Morgan, with seasoned veterans who had entered the league over a decade ago. The problem was that their wasn't a whole lot in between, the team had the youth and it had the veterans, what it was missing was a significant core of players in their prime, as well as a proven SHL-caliber goalie. With the rebuild they just entered, they should have a good chance of finding both.