1. PBE CW

5.

Quote: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)

Late doing this, so I’ll comment on who I thought would have made a difference. From the Dragons, Izzy. One of the most iconic players to play for the Dragons, even in regression he’s still a thorn in the side of his opponents. For the Platoon, either Bennett or Schroder. Both had solid playoffs, but Crossfit Jesus was the star with his team leading 8 goals.

Quote: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?

JR and Wongy. JR has been around the sim forever and likely has insight into the sim that even some of the GMs don’t have (speculation). That, and working the trade to acquire Bennett was masterful in my opinion and really bolstered their Top 6 to an unstoppable level. Case in point, since they ended up winning the Cup.

Quote: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?

Seeing the results of the playoffs, Crossfit Jesus is the hands down MVP. Typically the leading scorer is most favoured to win the MVP, and that’s what I’m going with in this case. As for unsung hero, I’m going with Otis B. Driftwood of the Dragons. He lead the Dragons in scoring despite being a defense-man, which is really impressive considering how good the goalies are in SHL.

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

For the third time mentioning him now, Crossfit Jesus was the difference maker, in my opinion. He did have Wong and Bennett helping him, but you don’t get to be the playoff leading scorer without being sort of good. One could call him a “Dragon Slayer,” given the result of the series.

Quote:5. After trading off their 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.

Not a massive surprise, they did keep Vilde and Izzy after all. I would call the Dragons’ transactions over the past two seasons more of a retool more than anything, since if they were really throwing in the towel they would have moved the two players I mentioned earlier. They didn’t light up the West but they did make the finals, which definitely tells you something about their team.

Quote: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. I don’t know how deep in regression the Platoon is, but I’ll make a hot take for the sake of finishing CW - this will probably be one of, if not the last time, this group goes on a run to the finals. They might be in regression, but the team is obviously still super good and worthy of consideration for maybe one more season.

Quote: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?

I’m going with Biscuit, even though he did end up winning, but the Platoon did roll over the East and won the President’s Trophy this season. They were going to be the favourites no matter who they faced, which usually makes their starting goalie the better goalie in comparison. Both Vilde and Biscuit are elite, but I would have given the edge to Bojo.

Quote:12. Theres no path to the finals without a little bit of adversity. In 150 words or more, write about the adversity one of the teams faced on the road to the Challenge Cup Finals. (*tag anyone involed)

At first glance of the standings, I would say Calgary faced the most adversity heading into the playoffs. They were 3rd in the West, facing a tough Blizzard team in their opening round and getting a “break” in the conference finals against the Renegades. I say break in quotations since Texas did knock off the best regular season team in the West, the New Orleans Specters, in their opening round which definitely speaks to how good the Renegades actually are. The Platoon were probably going to make the finals no matter what given their record against teams in the East, so it’s hard to call them an underdog at any point. The Dragons were looking at a very difficult challenge against the Platoon and fell short. Both teams lost only 3 games before the finals, but the Platoon swept. A great season for a team that wasn’t expected to make the finals.

13. Pm sent