ISFL Affiliate - 3 TPE
ISFL Affiliate - 3 TPE

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

This season for Liam Slate was a bit up and down. My goal was to hit a point per game pace as I was in my first season as a 425 and one of the best players on the team. Unfortunately, Liam Slate fell short of that with 41 points, but he was tied for first on the team. Liam Slate bounced around from first and second line, but at the end of the day the team did well. One place where Liam Slate unexpectedly improved was in his own end. He put up way better defensive numbers this season and showed he is capable of playing a two-way game. He tripled his shots blocked and takeaways. Next season Liam Slate will be counted upon to be one of the best if not the best offensive player on the Newfoundland Berserkers so I would hope to improve offensively next season. Liam Slate’s goal is to be a point per game player next season.


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

I am going to split this into two for East and West. For the East I think Buffalo provides the best city for a hub due to the distance to most of the teams in the east. For one, no one wants to be there so it should be easy to book accommodations of SHL’s size and its distance to the border. Although if we are being realistic the border would be closed, if that is the case then I would pick Winnipeg as a Canadian Hub city if the SHL had to split it for similar reasons to Buffalo. For the West I am picking a different city in Salt Lake City, Utah. Salt Lake provides a relatively central location for the West although the Canadians teams get the shaft a bit.  I am thinking in similar to Buffalo, that no one would want to be there right? In the bubble I would think SHL players would be gaming. Many play video games on consoles or pc’s. I would bet there would be lobbies of among us, LOL, and many others in the hotel.

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

What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?
I am biased, but I think Great Britain is going to take the gold because they have excellent management and a group of great players. I think their management group has some of the best strategic people in the game which includes Atlanta Co-General Manager who turned an expansion team into a playoff team. I believe Japan is another who is going to do extremely well which was shown last season, but I believe they pop off even more this season. They have a group of veteran players which are now supplemented by younger players.  I would expect Latvia not to do well again and I have a feeling Finland is going to be bad again just because they blew up last season. I am not convinced they are capable of fighting with the top teams at the moment. In terms of players, I feel like this is a cop-out answer but Monkey D. Luffy Is one of the best players in the SHL world and plays for one of the best nations in Japan. If I have to pick someone else, I think I will go with Slothface of Great Britain as he showed last season he was great.


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.

a. Both of these teams have an impressive set of skaters - without factoring in any coaching or tactical strategies, which team do you think has the better roster of skaters on paper?
I think Hamilton honestly. I think their depth is better overall although Buffalo has the better goalie likely. Hamilton’s team is kind of insane honestly, like Clapper, Wilson, Morgan and Scarn at forward alone is insane. Although, Buffalo has Luffy who is probably the best player overall arguably.  I think Buffalo’s defense might have a slight advantage, but I pick Hamilton based on what I said before. (67 Words)

b. Do you foresee the teams making any strategic adjustments during the course of the series? Should the teams be quick to switch tactics or stick with what they've been using?
I believe these two teams will be in a chess match. Strategies will be tweaked after each game and I expect the games to be close whether they’re high scoring games or low scoring tense games. I think tweaking strategies is important if you lose, but if you win why change anything. I expect this series to go back and forth and be fun to watch with all the talent in the Champion Cup Finals.  (75 words)

c. These two teams hail from the Great Lakes Division. Which of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) do you think is the Greatest and why?
I would say Lake Ontario because it is Canadian. Canada is better than the United States of America so that is enough.  Also its coastline is along New York which is one of the best states in my professional opinion. Honestly, I haven’t even seen the great lakes in person nor could name them if someone asked me.  (58 words)

d. If, once it is safe to do so, you had to go hang out in person with one of the users on Buffalo/Hamilton, who would you hang out with and what would you do? (if you pick gabe you get -1 tpe)
I would hang out with Bird because he is very sweet and he has bought me gifts before because he is my sugar daddy. We would go out and have noodles at a local joint in Newfoundland and talk about when my next batch of gifts is coming. Bird has been a good friend for many years and is a lovely human. (62 Words)