PBE +3

1:

It was Alex's second season in the SHL and one that came with a bit of team turmoil. Despite all the distractions with management changes, Alex did what he set out to do: steadily improve from last season. He did his part to make his team better, particularly on the power play where he got three of his five goals on the year. This is an area where he really shined as part of the Anaheim Outlaws so it was good to see the team play to his strengths. He also was able to show his skills as a passer and a shot blocker, a true two way threat. Alex will, as he always does, work as hard as he can to keep improving and do whatever the team asks him to. The next couple of seasons will be true rebuilding years and could be tough to swallow, but Alex hopes to be one of the bright spots for Pride fans. (161 words.)

2: 

From the perspective of the San Francisco Pride, the expansion draft won't hurt us as much as some simply because we have fewer players that we have a strong desire to keep. There will be some assets for the expansion teams to take away from us for sure, but we'll still have the beginnings of a strong core in place. I am a bit surprised that we chose to keep aging goalie Geezus Kryyst over a very promising prospect like Kriss Darzins. I guess the hope is we'll finally put the old guy in the net for a few games next seasons, but Kriss has been a steady updater that an expansion team will be more than happy to scoop up. Perhaps we were otherwise too stacked at his position or something. I know very little about the inner workings of these things, which is why I'm not a GM. Regardless, the Pride isn't presently in great shape and it seems that the expansion draft won't impact that by much. It's quite likely these expansion teams will be better than the Pride next year, but I'm hopeful we'll make up some ground in the next few seasons. Despite all the turmoil, I have faith in this team. (207 words.)

13:

a. There is a lot of defensive talent on both sides of the puck, but I have to give the nod to Buffalo here. With a guy like Poopity Scoop who is one of the premier defenders in the league leading the way, it's going to be tough for NOLA on the offensive end. This will be a hard fought battle for sure.

b. I think home ice advantage will be extremely important in this series. The fans for both teams are very loud and fiercely loyal, and that atmosphere is going to be very tough for the opposing teams. Each team is going to have to get things done on their home ice if they want any chance of taking home the cup. 

d. I already mentioned Poopity Scoop. I should be a mature human being and not enjoy a name that is meant to make young children giggle. However, it seems that I am a child at heart who enjoys the occasional poop joke. So the name makes me giggle, and I need things to giggle about in These Times. So Poopity Scoop it is. 

e. I feel that of the animals listed the monkey is probably the coolest because of how primates are so similar to humans yet not. Like, imagine if we were that hairy and just walked around swinging on things and eating bananas and stuff. I feel like being more like monkeys might be good for our society in some ways, but occasionally I feel depressed and feel like we couldn't possibly do any worse so anything would be an improvement. OK, this is getting dark for a championship week response so I apologize. Basically, I think monkeys are cool and on the rare occasion I go to the zoo I find them fascinating to watch. 

16: boom