Task #1 - Come root for Jimmy Wagner, Velveteen Dream, Frans Eller, Vitek Vitecek, and the rest of your Carolina Kraken in the first round of the SMJHL playoffs in S53! For both of the home games in the series against the Detroit Falcons, the Kraken will be giving away a pair of tentacle-shaped thunder sticks to the first 1,000 fans to enter the arena. Make sure to make some noise for your hometown team by banging the tentacles together! The underdog Kraken will be the hosts of Games 3 and 4, and it’ll be a chance to show the Falcons you mean business. Let’s go Kraken!

Task #2 - For the Eastern Conference, whether or not the results change would depend on what teams get switched. If the Falcons and Scarecrows are still in separate matchups I think they’d still both make the next round. The Scarecrows would be facing off against a worse team in the Kraken, and the Berserkers probably wouldn’t be able to take Detroit to seven games like they did St. Louis. If the Falcons and Scarecrows met in the first round, it would be much more evenly matched but I assume Detroit would probably take the victory like they did in the conference finals. Newfoundland vs. Carolina would be a very entertaining series between two young and hungry teams but I believe the Berserkers would come out on top.
For the West, it’s hard to image Colorado not losing their series in an uneven fashion to whoever they match up with (maybe Anchorage could’ve gone to five games). Based on their 4-1 handling of the Outlaws in the conference finals, it seems like the Knights would’ve beaten anyone to come up against them in the first round, too. The only thing different would probably be Anchorage making the second round if they came up against the Raptors.

Task #3 - Graphic


Task #4 - I’d give it to the Knight, personally. Falcons are cool, don’t get me wrong. They’re fast, they can fly, their talons are sharp. But they’re fighting against a human who is far more intelligent and has a size advantage. And sure, that intelligence and size may not work 100% of the time, but this isn’t just any human, this is a knight. A knight has a suit of armor, which would easily protect the knight from any possible attack by the falcon, they have a sword which could probably cut a falcon in half, and they’re combat trained so even if they’ve never fought a bird before they still know how to handle themselves.

Task #5 - Getting swept by the Falcons was a tough pill to swallow. It was a nice surprise to sneak into the playoffs in my first season, but I’ll admit I had a slightly tough time in a new environment. I took some time to relax and get my mind off of hockey after the series, but that’s over now. I’ve been working hard both in the gym and on the practice rink since then, trying to get ready for next season so I can take the next step with the Kraken. My agent and I have been talking about the draft a good amount too, so I’ve been watching the tape on some of my competition and prepping for some interviews with teams. Hopefully I can prove to some GMs that I have a good understanding of the game and can be a part of the future of their franchise. I have no idea where I’m going to go, so I’m excited to see where the next step in my career will be!