Quote:1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

The S56 season has been a rough one for the Big Wanger. After coming off a 39-point championship season, the bar was erected even further for Wang and the gang as they looked to repeat their magical playoff run. With star players such as Michael Scarn, Cassius Darrow, Eko van otter and Viktor Marius gone, Wang and the rest of the team looked to take on bigger roles to fill the void that was left by the many departures. Unfortunately, Wang was unable to replicate the offensive season, but this was honestly expected as the Buffalo Stampede welcomed lots of rookie talent who have a very bright future ahead of them with the team. On the bright side, the Big Wanger proved that he was a very capable and reliable defenseman through his improved defensive prowess. Augustus was often tasked to take on the difficult minutes against their opponents’ best players and he showed time and time again that he is able to keep up with some of the SHL’s most elite players. Only time will tell how much bigger and better Wang can get. Will he finally step into the top pairing? Will locker room cancer Aron Hernandivic finally be kicked out of the league? Only time will tell.

(210 Words)

3/16

Quote:2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Of the 10 most recent finals series, which do you think is the most memorable and why? Which will be remembered in history as the best/most important/most memorable series or victory? S46: BUF over NOLA, S47: WKP over CGY, S48: BUF over WPG, S49: EDM over NEW, S50: CGY over TBB, S51: HAM over EDM, S52: MAN over SFP, S53: HAM over EDM, S54: NOLA over HAM, S55: BUF over NOLA.

The S51 Challenge Cup finals, featuring the Hamilton Cheathawks Steelhawks against the Edmonton Blizzard, will always be the most memorable finals series in my mind. Prior to the S51 season, it was leaked that performance enhancing drugs were making their rounds to various SHL teams. With the league being so competitive and the stakes being so high, it was obvious that teams, such as the Cheathawks Steelhawks, would be willing to jeopardize their integrity for the sake of winning, and they did just that. Many pros around the league took note that almost all of their players had gotten faster, strong and more accurate, while bragging about how little they worked out during the off-season. This is why their S51 Challenge Cup victory will always be tainted. The media and many prominent members of the public have openly expressed their distaste for the Cheathawks’ Steelhawks’ win. They believe that Hamilton was able to game the system and blamed the SHL Head Office and the Commissioner for not punishing the Cheathawks Steelhawks for ruining the integrity of the league.

(178 Words)

6/16

Quote:3. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
FHM's 12-team playoff bracket setup has received a fair bit of scrutiny. It re-seeds after the play-in round and for some reason puts the #1 seed and #2 seed on the same side of the bracket. I challenge you to come up with a different playoff format - can you come up with a format that's dumber/worse than this? be creative! Come up with the worst possible format for a 12-team playoff.

Ever since the Hamilton Cheathawks’ Steelhawks’ tainted S51 Challenge Cup win, the league has been in constant disarray with teams willing to game the system in order to improve their odds of winning. This is why the league should shift away from awarding winning to awarding the biggest loser(s) of the season by automatically placing the 2 worst teams of the regular season into the Challenge Cup finals. For example, this season would have featured the Baltimore Platoon from the Eastern conference against the San Francisco Pride of the Western conference. By placing the worst teams in the league against each other, it eliminates the desire to cheat to win. Even if a team does decide to cheat to lose, it begs the question of why are they bothering to cheat to lose? Are they not embarrassed by their constant losing?

(141 Words)

8/16

Quote:4. Written/Graphic, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
If the SHL needed to set up a playoff bubble (like the NHL did in Edmonton/Toronto or the NBA in Orlando), which city would be the best candidate to host as the hub city? What would the players do during their time in a playoff bubble? (For graphic option, make an advertisement [like a pamphlet/brochure] in support of a specific city as the hub city and highlighting the reasons why.)

The only real answer to this question is Iqaluit, Nunavut. Even though as I’m writing this, Nunavut now has a confirmed case of COVID-19. However, aside from that one idiot, it makes the most sense to bring hockey to its birth country in Canada. Not only is Nunavut extremely cold year round, but there is so much ice to potentially play on due to Iqaluit being so close to the North Pole. We could potentially have the entire Challenge Cup finals played outdoors for the first time because of how much good ice there is for hockey. The players just need to ignore the extreme cold and potential frostbite and it’ll be the most memorable SHL playoffs in the history of the league. If anything, we could just treat the playoffs as a form of survivor where the team that survives the cold is crowned the champions of that season.

(150 Words)

11/16

Quote:6. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

The S56 Chicago Syndicate roster may be one of the best teams in recent history to not reach the Challenge Cup finals. After an embarrassing reverse sweep at the hands of the reigning champions in the Buffalo Stampede, the Syndicate showed that they still have the same issues. The main issue being that they are consisted of many weebs and it is clear that SHL success is tied with how few weebs a team has. If only Chicago spent as much time gawking over their waifus on actually practicing, then they would be likely be in the Challenge Cup finals right now.

(102 Words)

13/16

Quote:16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

Cheathawks

16/16