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?

My season was pretty decent.  It was my first season with regression but I managed to stay where I was the previous season.  The additional games helped my stat line of course.  I’d say I met my goals because I don’t really have any other than to help the team improve.  At this point I’m a place-holder until the new guys hit their peak, but I still have a few seasons left in the tank.  My goal this season is just to keep up with Watcher and Kekkonen as much as possible.  I gauge how well I’m doing if I manage to keep up with or out-perform those two.  They both took tremendous leaps forward last season and I need to work just as hard to keep up with them.  I attribute a lot of the success I’ve had to everyone around me.  I was here for many bad seasons and my play suffered.  But now everyone kind of elevates each other.  I expect more of that this season. (169 words)

Quote:2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Create a new skater or goalie role for FHM. In what scenarios is this new player role best utilized? What attributes are considered important attributes to this new role, and why? Which attribute is the key one?

I think there should be a Dancer role in FHM.  Just a speedster.  His entire role is to get the puck down the ice.  The most important attributes would just be the physical ones like speed, balance, and agility, and stamina.  They wouldn’t be much good for anything else.  Just skating and dumping the puck.  But their immense speed would force defenders to alter their strategy to keep up.  This would leave the wingers open behind them and expose more scoring opportunities.  This player would just be a great skater with nothing else.  I’d call them Dancers just because they’d dance around the ice.  I don’t know really. (108 words)

Quote:3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Over the offseason your player is getting involved in some charitable causes. What is your player/team doing around the community/for charity this offseason?

The Renegades are always involved in some kind of charity but the big thing this year is “Skates for Dates.”  Basically, the players are auctioning themselves off for dates, or just hangouts, with fans.  The auction money will go toward skates for new hockey programs in poorer neighborhoods.  Along with that Kubinec has also started his own charity movement call “Break the Lakes.”  He is traveling the country raising money for needy kids in the Toronto, Hamilton, Chicago, and Buffalo area.  So far he has raised almost $100,000,000 but he will not donate it to the hungry in those cities until the SHL agrees to disband the Great Lakes Division and each team is forced to give up three players to be redistributed throughout the league.  “I’ll feed the kids but not until my demands are met.  It’s time to take back this league and I’ll do some good in the process.” (152 words)

Quote:5. 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 mean this is pretty obvious but it has to be Buffalo.  You have the top three teams in the same division so whichever one doesn’t make the finals is 3rd by default.  There’s a reason the Great Lakes Cup is a thing.  I’m also biased because they knocked out my team in decisive fashion but they failed to shut us out.  We had them on the ropes for about five seconds which makes Texas the other best team to not make the playoffs.  Buffalo had just as good a shot as winning the Cup as the two teams that were in the finals.  So fair play to them. (109 words)

Quote:6. 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 predict more of the same for the IIHF with the middling teams switching places for the medal round.  I would say this is Finland’s year but I can’t say it with a straight face.  I expect more of the same just as I do in the SHL.  Things changes over seasons and that’s especially true in the IIHF where trades and transfers are not more common.  Some kind of shake-up to that tournament would be nice but we are limited by whatever sim we currently use.  So my bold prediction is that the United States takes away the Gold, Germany gets the Silver, and then Japan comes in 3rd place defeating the United Kingdom.  My basis for these predictions are not really based on anything as I don’t even follow IIHF anymore, not even for my own player.  I’m literally just throwing predictions and hoping they stick.  Fingers crossed I’m right on one of those. (156 words)

Quote:7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
SHL-NHL comparisons. With the NHL season kicking off again, what are some team or player comparisons between SHL and NHL? Pick one (or more) comparison(s) and explain why it works (e.g., Monkey D Luffy is the Connor McDavid of the SHL because xyz, or the Chicago Syndiacte are the Nashville Predators of the SHL because xyz, or nour is the Gary Bettman of the SHL because xyz).

Chicago are definitely the Capitals of the SHL because after being really good for several seasons, the finally found a way not to falter in the playoffs even beating a very strong team in the finals.  They are also in the toughest division which was comparable to the Metro division back in the day which would make Hamilton the Penguins and Buffalo the Islanders.  Honestly I haven’t been following sports since the pandemic, it’s too depression to watch without real fans in attendance so I don’t even know who is good and who isn’t anymore.  Even piping in fake noise doesn’t do the trick.  Out west I’d say Calgary are like the Knights and Texas are like Minnesota.  Edmonton are probably St. Louis or Colorado.  I’m just looking at the standings at this point to make a comparison as I have no real line to base anything off of.  Once the crowds come back maybe I can educate myself. (159 words)