eww


Overall, I am relatively pleased with my player's performance on the ice. For the team as a whole, I was obviously disappointed. My final season in Detroit and we struggled the whole way, falling out in the first round of playoffs... not ideal! But for my player, it was my second best point return in my four years in the SMJHL, second to one of the greatest individual seasons in recent SMJHL history. Finishing with 14 goals and 23 assists is certainly nothing to scoff at. I think the issues came from our team just getting unraveled these past few seasons, losing the big players that won us the Four Star Cup. Next season in the SHL, playing with more regular linemates year after year should really help Williams. Point production will always be tough my first year in the majors, but as a rookie if I can put up 20 points I'll be pleased. As long as I continue to find the right passes and worry less about scoring, I should be fine.


To be honest I forgot about the other expansion team, the Atlanto Inferno, but if their season goes anything like their branding they will do well. I love the new logo and I think that alone (combined with a decent GM, hotdog...) should allow them to snag a lot of good players and get some good interest. I can see them struggling at first in the East, with some big teams such as Buffalo, Chicago, Hamilton, Manhattan, and New England that have grand histories. But, we all know that @ml002 is a fraud so there are a few guaranteed wins right off the bat. Combine that with Tampa Bay... and we're looking at a team that's pushing for playoffs in just a few seasons. Now, we also have Tig's Seattle Argonauts, which could really be a force to be reckoned with. Tig is a great guy and I imagine many players will want to play for him, and we KNOW he knows how to draft (S52 class represent). I think we are all looking forward to how things shake out for these two teams.


I think Great Britain were robbed last year of the gold. No one expected us to make it to the final, but through pure heart and determination we wound up walking away with a silver medal. This year we come back with a vengeance and we will not come up short. We still have many classic favorites, such as the United States and Canada, as they have a large player pool. So we always have to be worried about those two teams, but Great Britain certainly rounds out the top 3 of favorites. For dark horses, Czechia, Austria, and Sweden are known to cause some trouble. Latvia has struggled lately, but maybe they will have some redemption this tournament. Ireland and Switzerland are going to be competitive, but will not be winning any medals, in my opinion. I think it could also come down to the best players again, and Japan certainly has some of those in Smeb, Westbroek, and Luffy. We could see a Cinderella story from them to earn a medal. 


a. From a purely defensive standpoint, NOLA takes the advantage in pure defense. They lead Buffalo in shots blocked in the regular season and might have the strength advantage in the defense. Points output from their defenses are relatively similar. New Orleans will hope to shut down Buffalo's forwards -- they need to if they want to stand a chance in this series. 

b. Absolutely. I could easily see this as a 6 or 7 game series, where the deciding game comes from winning away from home. We have already seen Buffalo take the first game at home, and we should be seeing a similar pattern. Fans always plays a huge role; NOLA's fans are hyped for trying to win back-to-back Champions Cups for the first time in about 25 seasons. Buffalo haven't won a Cup in 8 seasons and their fans want it more than ever.

d. Buffalo has some awesome player names. Poopity Scoop is absolutely hilarious and you feel like a 5 year old for laughing, but you can't help it. Michael Scarn is also a classic and as a fan of The Office, I have massive respect for the former FBI agent. NOLA's are good, but don't have the same level as Buffalo in my opinion. My favorite from the Spectres is Nicholas Williams -- maybe he's a long lost cousin of Edward. 

e. If I had to rank them, I would say in 6th is kirby. That's not really an animal... sorry Rex. In 5th we have the fox. It's clever and smart and all, but doesn't seem as interesting or unique as the others. In 4th is the monkey. Just like the fox, it's not super unique. In 3rd I would put the hippo. It's a cool animal and a cool name. Second place goes to sloth, so in first we have the otter! Congrats Eko van Otter for having the coolest animal in your name.


Verification: elbow