To throw a bit of a curveball out here, I'm gonna name a team that did not even manage to qualify for the S52 playoffs as the team that wins in this alternate reality: the New England Wolfpack. An article was posted outlining the TPE of teams, and with New England impressively topping that chart, it's ludicrous that they even missed out on the playoffs at all. In this alternate reality, Ola Wagstrom contends for the MVP award as expected, and Johannes Leitner goes back from his awful play the past couple seasons more towards the great form that won him MVP a few seasons ago. In the finals, they play current finalist San Francisco, and take it in 6 games. It is pretty clear that New England only missed out in the first place because of 'bad luck' (also known as the sim engine being bad), and in a reality where good management is rewarded with the deserved results, New England would have been my favourites for the S52 cup. (171 words)



I will give out two teams for the best and worst odds:

Best:

1. New England Wolfpack: They made a massive move by acquiring one of the league's best defencemen in Rex Kirkby, who will be a fantastic addition to their squad as they really push to compete after a lackluster few seasons now, and very few of their core players are regressing.

2. Manhattan Rage: Manhattan is in a great spot at the moment, hence why they made the finals, and with their oldest player being from S41, their squad is right in its window to compete heavily again next season.

Worst:

1. Toronto North Stars: In the middle of a tank, Toronto is building its team to acquire prospects in order to build the team from the bottom-up. They will not be competitive at all next season.

2. West Kendall Platoon: Having sold Rex Kirkby, there is not much left in terms of pieces to make WKP a competitive side at all, and they are quite close to Toronto now in terms of overall ability, likely tanking as well. (181 words)



I am aiming to build a defenseman that is very swift at going end-to-end, and can be a big offensive contributor while also not being a liability at the other end. Acceleration and Speed are two main attributes I've looked at as I look to make Johnson a great Mobile Defenseman or Rushing Defenseman. As I am soon going to be entering the elite bracket for TPE for defensemen, now is the time to try and build myself into a big-game offense player who can solidify a historic career in Hamilton. Having wanted to make a fast-skating defenseman since I joined the league, actually having that opportunity in FHM is exciting. (111 words)


Gabe Johnson has found his career home in Hamilton, hence why he signed a 9-year contract with the team last offseason. He considered the possibility of branching out and testing free agency, but knows that it would be impossible to play for anyone else. After winning the Challenge Cup in S51, Johnson wanted to get a repeat trophy pretty badly in S52, but ultimately the team was trounced in the first round in 5 games by Buffalo. Johnson was devastated by this result, especially so considering he was quite poor on both ends of the ice throughout the series. He's going to take the time in the off-season to train very hard, and work out the weaker aspects of his game to compensate for performing overall worse in S52 than he did in S51. He feels confident he can improve greatly next season and be one of the better blueliners in the league if he puts in the adequate training in the off-season. (165 words)


Leopold Lockhart has had a fantastic season for San Francisco, and after many seasons failing to really hit his stride, the S45 first overall pick has really come into his own playing on a line with Dominic Montgomery. Lockhart had 12 goals on the man-advantage, which puts him among the best in that category in the SHL's history. With 15 goals and 41 points on the season, Lockhart broke out massively as an offensive defenseman, and with him still a couple seasons off regression while Charlie Schieck himself is getting on with age, look for him to be in contention for the Scott Stevens trophy in the near future, perhaps even as soon as next season. (116 words)



Answers PM'd

Total TPE: 16 (CW Complete)