1. Written, 3 TPE - This season was an interesting one for Karlstraße Scholz. At a quick look you could easily argue it was a strong season for the veteran defender who just entered his first season of regression. His 42 points was a step back from last season, but he still led all Edmonton defenders and finished inside the top 5 league wide. Outside of offensive production however he was less than stellar. 23 takeaways is decent, but the 65 giveaways put him in the top 3 in that category, a place you never want to be. His 123 hits is a career high, but his +11 and -0.2 relative CF% and downright average given the number of opportunities he sees on the man advantage, not to mention the amount of minutes he plays each game. While not disappointed I'd like to see him return to the form we saw in S55 where he earned nominations for the Steven's and Bojo awards.

2. Written, 3 TPE - Buffalo coming back to defeat New Orleans in S55 was certainly a treat, but for me personally it has to be the S49 finals between Edmonton and New England. Edmonton has made 3 appearances in the last decade (4 if you include S45) and the win in S49 was easily the most enjoyable. Enroute to that title they managed to eliminate the Jets, Specters and Wolfpack. The Jets were a longtime rival of the Blizzard dating back to the early S40's as the two would constantly match up in the playoffs and the Jets would always get the better of them. and not like in 4 or 5 games, but 7 games every time. It was a huge sigh of relief to not repeat the past. Next was NOLA. Since their inception the Specters and Blizzard had a bit of an axe to grind because a number of Edmonton's players from their S45 cup run would ultimately end up on New Orleans via draft and free agency. Winning a 7 game series against your former teammates always tastes a little better. Lastly the finals against New England proved especially interesting as both GM's were former co-GM's on Edmonton. One left, the other stepped in and eventually became head GM once I stepped down. While perhaps not quite as meaningful for the players this was a huge series for the two front offices and it was nice to be on the winning side yet again.

7. Written, 3 TPE - Quick shoutout to my current team Norway. The last few seasons have been tough, but we've managed to pick up some quality names as of late. While we'll be hard pressed to get in to the medal round, let alone win a medal, I think we'll improve on our 15 points and -1 goal differential this time around. Now for my winner I'm going to go off the board a bit and say Sweden. They had a deep run last year and while not in the same realm as USA, Canada, Great Britain and Japan they have some nice pieces and decent depth to get it done this year. The most notable of which has to be Ola Wagstrom who led the round robin last season with an insane 24 points in just 12 games, including 13 goals. If he can repeat a similar performance and some other names like Passamus and Gallagher can step up they could surprise yet again in S56.

13. Written, up to 4 TPE -
a. Going to give the edge to Hamilton on this one. Luffy is on another level for Buffalo, but Morgan has been playing out of his mind this season and hasn't slowed down much in the playoffs. Add in the likes of Clapper, Scarn and last seasons MVP Aaron Wilson and they are beyond formidable.
b. I'll be honest I have little to zero knowledge on how FHM strategies work. Based on their previous performances these playoffs and most notably the regular season I have to imagine Hamilton will make very few changes to what appears to be a solid strategy. Buffalo on the other hand is fresh off a reverse sweep and may be more susceptible to making changes on the fly. They've had to overcome a few more adversities along the way.
c. What is this a trick question? Superior is obviously the greatest lake. Not only does the name imply it, but it's the largest and deepest of the 5 lakes. No other lake achieves a depth of 300m, but Superior has a depth of just over 400. It's volume of 12k km3 is more than double any of the other lakes, in fact it's actually more than the other 4 lakes combined!
d. Gabe seems like a cool dude. I was going to pick him until a saw the note. Jokes aside this one is super easy. I'd definitely go down to the states to visit Mr. ErM (Tor Tuck) if the borders weren't closed and this damn COVID wasn't a thing. Dude still owes me a football game @ErM

16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE: Karl