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?

I think it's tough to judge my player too extensively this season, as I had pretty limited minutes so there wasn't much sample size to draw too many conclusions. There was definitely some areas in which I thought my player did well, and some where I did terrible. I only got 12 points, but I'm pretty content with that in the end based on TOI, as well as with my 31 shot blocks. My advanced stats were obviously inflated due to being on one of the better teams in the league, but it was nice to see that I could hold my own with almost one more GF per 60 than GA per 60, as well as a 60 CF%. The biggest disappointment by far was my abysmal giveaway to takeaway ratio. Hopefully just beefing up some of the defensive stats, as well as stuff like strength and balance during the offseason will be enough to address that and start getting it trending in a better direction.

+3 TPE

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.

Already slightly handicapped in answering this question, since I've only been around for about half of these finals. If I recall correctly, the CGY vs. TBB finals a few seasons before I joined involved a reverse sweep, which has to be up there for one of the most memorable (in a good/bad way depending on who you ask). For the finals that I've witnessed, I think last season's of BUF over NOL was one of the more exciting. BUF had been a strong team for the past few seasons, and were in the finals after falling short in the semi finals the year before. They faced off against NOL who was the defending champs and coming off a strong regular season performance as well. Any time the finals goes to 7 games you know it was a memorable one, but add to that an OT breakaway save and a golden goal to win the cup just makes it that more exciting. Sprinkle in a touch of line/role scandals and that's a good recipe for a finals that people will remember even many seasons in the future.

+3 TPE

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?

For the SHL, I think a lot of teams could have different arguments for why they deserve this 'honor,' mainly CHI, CGY, and my own biased opinion of MAN, all based on both TPE levels and performance in the season. However for the SMJHL, I think the Kraken is the answer for this. The #1 seed in the east, and 2nd in the league in points and wins, only behind the eventually cup winners in VAN. This is the second season in a row that CAR has come into the playoffs as the 2 seed, but due to FHM's structure they had to play the 1 seed in semi finals, lose to them in 7 games, then watch them eventually go on to win it all. And for that reason they're once again the best J team that didn't get to play in the finals.

+2 TPE

Quote: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?
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?
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?
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)

a) I think this a two part answer. Hamilton has the advantage in overall TPE against BUF, as they have the #1 ranked offensive TPE forward group, and #3 ranked defensive TPE group, compared to BUF's #4 and #6 ranks in the same categories. However, BUF has the highest TPE player in the league with Luffy, as well as a higher TPE goalie in Doyle, so I think that the rosters on paper end up pretty balanced, but with a slight edge to HAM.

b) I surely see these two teams making adjustments throughout the series. HAM has always seemed to be ahead of the curve when it comes to FHM knowledge, and I know first hand from round 2 that BUF will test new theories and make changes to their tactics depending on how the series is going. I think HAM may want to stay with the strategies that got them the overall 1 seed in the league, as clearly it's worked for them to date. 

d) I think that I would have an NL reunion with Lime or Burd from Buffalo. We all have a shared interest in video games, so we would probably just hang out and play some together. Another choice for me would be Zomb from BUF as well, and there would be an extremely high chance of a ton of shots being taken.  

+3 TPE

Quote:14. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min)
Welp, you waited until the last day to grind out your CW and the CC finals are longggggggg over by now. congrats to [TEAM], woo! Reflecting back on the series, who gets your vote for series MVP? Make the case why this player deserves it over any other.

From purely a statistical standpoint, I think I would give the finals MVP to Aaron Wilson of Hamilton. He put up a stat line of 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 5 games, and had at least a point in every game except for game 3 where the Steelhawks got shut out. HAM obviously had the better goal differential in the series, but Wilson led the way at +7. He played a strong two-way game in the finals; on top of the 8 points, he had 13 hits and 5 takeaways in the 5 games. If you put any stock in DGR at all, he had DGR games of 68, 74, 80, 95, and 100 throughout the series, so it's that kind of two way effort that I think deserves finals MVP.  

+2 TPE

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.

Verification word: juke

+3 TPE

Total: 16 TPE