1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
This reality is just one of infinite realities existing alongside this one in parallel. Take us over to one of those realities in which everything is the same but these S53 playoffs have unfolded differently. What happened in that reality's playoffs and who's in the Challenge Cup over there?

The biggest "what if" scenarios probably involve Los Angeles. Momentum is huge in FHM, and one has to wonder what might have happened had New Orleans not been exposed for cheating the lines, or if Charlie Serpe hadn't been playing with an illegal build for the entire season. And even though the team got through the Specters in a dramatic seven-game series, they were promptly kicked in the face in the second round against the Edmonton Blizzard, losing in double overtime, overtime, triple overtime, and overtime in that order to be swept. If those bounces go the other way and if Tommy Tuck didn't perform as wonderfully as he did in relief, things could have been much different. Hamilton was just a juggernaut these playoffs, so I don't think too much would've changed on the Eastern end. As for the finals, LAP has a better front three of GOD McZehrl, Max Mauldin than Hamilton's players, though the Steelhawks have the better defense and a higher-TPE goalie, so it would be a tossup honestly.

2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

With everyone getting a free redistribution this offseason, S54 is quite wide open at the moment. Before those redistributions take place, who would you anticipate being the top team(s) for next season?

This could be a really really long piece if I really wanted to get into it, so I'll focus on the final four teams from this year. Honestly, I don't really see any of them dropping off too much this year. Starting in the Western Conference, Los Angeles, even through they were screwed first by New Orleans' shenanigans and then by FHM itself in the second round, their defense is still quite young and developing, and players like GOD McZehrl, Max Mauldin and their best player Philipp Winter are still playing at a very high level, bolstered by rising stars Theo Morgan, Elijah Jones and others up front. Los Angeles also still has two young, skilled goalies in Knox Booth and Nolan McMahon to bail them out of tight spots. Edmonton also boasts a pretty young team led by Tony Pepperoni up front, cagey vets in Hercules Rockefeller, Tor Tuck and Brady McIntyre, up-and-coming contributors like Julio Tokolosh and Jon Forty-One among others, and a solid goaltender in Emiko Spector, who will be taking over the full-time starting job with Tommy Tuck retiring. This could create a bit of a setback as these past playoffs showed that Tuck can still shine when the chips are down, but she'll be behind a strong defense to ease the transition. Moving over to the Eastern Conference, the New England Wolfpack are quite interesting for me. Still smarting from being upset in the playoffs by Hamilton in a shockingly quick five-game series, the Wolfpack opted to retool, bringing in Benjamin Blue for an upgrade in goal over Johannes Leitner. Blue brings about 200 extra TPE, which could go a long way in the playoffs. Hamilton should be fairly consistent in my view, as they likely won't shake up much in the offseason after winning the Challenge Cup, but the only question for me is how the increasing declines of Robert Phelps and Sophia Bennett will impact them.

4. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

With new tools at our disposal in FHM, we may eventually see some new awards enter the fold. Create a suggestion for a new SHL award. What kind of achievement is the award given for? Who's the award named after? Who would've won the award this season?

While the Turd Ferguson award exists to recognize the king of the sin bin, there's not really an award for toughness other than pure penalty minutes. I'm gonna go ahead and suggest the Geoff Moore Trophy, after who I think its inaugural winner would have been. This trophy would focus on hits, blocked shots, time on ice (especially on the power play and penalty kill), and penalty minutes. The first winner, in my opinion, would be Geoff Moore, who split time between the Minnesota Chiefs and West Kendall/Baltimore Platoon this season. Moore was a physical force, with 185 hits, 194 blocked shots, and 84 penalty minutes. Even with the time in the box, Moore still chewed up over 25 minutes a game, including averaging three and a half minutes a game killing penalties and putting up a defensive game rating of 83. An honourable mention goes to Jets defenseman Slip McScruff, who threw 261 hits and blocked 177 shots, but only played 23:45 of ice time with 38 penalty minutes.

6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Come up with a program of intermission entertainment for one of the games of the finals. What's the between-period on-ice entertainment the fans will enjoy? The goofier the better, go crazy.

Well, given that Edmonton's best player's last name is Pepperoni, and the restaurant chain Pizza 73 is headquartered in Edmonton, it's just natural that they'd sponsor a promo. For Games 3, 4, and potentially 6 of the Challenge Cup Finals, there will be the Tony Pepperoni Pizza Run at the second intermission! Two contestants selected from the stands will race to pick up 20 empty pizza boxes each that have been scattered around the faceoff circles near the Zamboni entrance, and carry them to centre ice to win. The kicker? They'll have to wear oven mitts the whole time, because those pizzas need to be delivered hot and fresh! It's a promotion that will surely feature plenty of slipping and sliding while the contestants try to deliver the pizzas! Both contestants will receive vouchers for free pizza, which will be a great help through this quarantine period, or when people really just don't feel like cooking. The winner will get the best prize of all: an Edmonton Blizzard jersey signed by Tony Pepperoni!

13. Written, up to 4 TPE Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words to qualify.
d. Blizzard... snow... ok debate time - do you like snow? yes or no? why or why not?

D: I grew up in Alberta, so I'm well-used to snow. I quite enjoy it, as it's just something I've grown up with and am quite used to at this point. When I don't like it is at times when it becomes a blizzard, as it did in my university city in 2019 and 2020. It's just not fun to have to slog through it to get to places. On the bright side, I do get to cackle at my friends who complain about the snow, as they seem to have less experience with it than I do.

16: Trivia verification word: grapefruit

CW cap: 14 + the potential 2 for trivia/16

Will add to this as I go.