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 did not do as well as I would've hoped this season with more TPE and my team being stronger as well. I performed better in every category other than plus/minus in my rookie campaign and a couple things contributed to that. My build this season was more focused on defense so I didn't really get a jump on many offensive skills. I also played less this season then I did in my rookie campaign, playing second and third line minutes for the majority of the season. I think if I was back on the top pairing with the first line forwards I would've met or exceeded my rookie totals. I've already looked at adjusting my build for when I hit the 425 cap and I think next season that will help me put up more points and hopefully my second line teammates are grinding it out so we have more offense production.
Word Count: 154

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.
If I had to take a different take on the playoffs I would make it similar to a reverse grid in racing. The worst teams would be top seeded and get a bye to the second round and the top teams in the regular season would fight it out to make it to the second round. #1/#2 and #3/#4 while #5/#6 sit out the first round. Then winner of #1/#2 and #5, winner of #3/#4 and #6 go at it in the second and winner's of those two go head-to-head in the conference finals which is a mandatory seven games. Then at the one minute mark of the third period of the seventh game the highest seed team of the first round that was eliminated comes on the ice and takes out the leading team with chairs a la WWE.
Word Count: 145

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.)
If the SHL had to set up a bubble with the way the playoff bracket works it doesn't really make sense to have two locations as it's not a guarantee that the brackets would play out in conference play. I think the best location would be Hamilton because of it's location in relativity to most of the teams home locations and it's a smaller town then Toronto. Being one of the smaller markets would mean it would be easier to keep everyone away from outside influences but it's still a big enough town to have all the amenities any team could want. I think the bubble would be a lot of video games and binge watching, but would also be a great way for the teams to get some more time together to get to know each other. Old teammates could reunite and new friendships could be made. It would be a good way to learn how other people train and could be an improvement for everyone.
Word Count: 167

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?
I think if the Dragons had been able to beat the Blizzard they would've absolutely made the finals. They have a deep roster through including Esa Parmborg with his 2k TPE, Brennan Kennedy Jr who is an absolute defensive monster and their netminding is looking solid with Kata Vilde. They finished first in their conference and second overall in the league but had a rough go in their first round match-up against Edmonton who had the momentum coming off a first round win over the Wolfpack. Their roster is super deep all the way through and they have the experience needed to win, they would have given Hamilton a huge challenge to win the Finals and would've made for entertaining hockey.
Word Count: 121

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 think Canada looks to be the strongest team which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. They have some huge names like Maxime Bouchard, Matt Kholin, Gabriel Johnson and obviously the SHL's leading scorer Theo Morgan. They have depth right through the roster and will be heavy favourites to win this season's tournament. Looking through the rosters it seems like most teams have a chance to be contenders with the odd dark horses to usurpe the usual suspects. Norway strikes me as a team with a fair bit of depth led by Andreas Kvalheim and Eko Van Otter. Japan has really come together to be a strong roster as well, I guess the Kariya brothers really kicked up interest in that part of the globe. The USA is also looking to get one last strong tournament in before some of their older players ride off into the sunset. I predict that this season will be an entertaining tournament and everyone will enjoy tuning in to watch.
Word Count: 166

8. Written/Graphic, 3 TPE (150 words min. if written)
The arenas in Buffalo and Hamilton want to make sure they're pulling out all the stops on the big stage. Help the concessions department of one of these two teams develop a new product, with marketing specifically pertaining to this finals series, to be sold at the arena during the finals. Describe the product and the marketing in 150 words or create a promotional poster showing the product, its name, the price, etc.
Out in Hamilton the upper management was looking to lead the hype train of the Steelhawks to huge profits. The marketing team came up with two ideas for fans coming to the home games. The first would be a commemorative bow and arrows made out of foam in silver and blue with a foam buffalo target. These would be used as a rallying cry for hat tricks, big wins or other big events. These would come with three arrows included but could have more purchased separately. The price on the bow would be 15 bucks and replacement arrows were 5 bucks for 10. The other product would be sold at the concession stands and it would be a buffalo burger. It would be a premium burger in a commemorative claw that would hold it imprinted with the Challenge Cup logo and would cost 25 bucks. This would be another way to show the Steelhawks are going to eat up the Buffalo Stampede.
Word Count: 162

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