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?

Each offseason, Elwulf Jericson participates in the Dempsey Challenge back in his home state of Maine. The Dempsey Challenge is an annual run/walk/cycle fundraising event to raise money for the Dempsey Centers. These facilities offer free care and support to families in Maine that  are dealing with cancer. If Elwulf hadn’t gone into hockey, he had planned on possibly going into the sciences in order to study cancers and this is his way of giving back.

Since this is a fundraising event, Elwulf bugs his teammates all year about helping out with the event. This past season, he managed to wrangle Rum Ham into some questionable acts in order to help raise money for the event. Once the offseason begins, he takes time to go around to the various schools and other community events in Maine in order to help raise awareness. He matches dollar for dollar every donation raised.

When it comes time for the challenge, Elwulf looks forward to the cycling. He always attempts, sometimes in vain, to participate in the longest cycling event. Even though he is a strong skater, the 100 mile bike ride always makes him realize how skills do not always transfer. He is constantly passed by various people during the event who like to make light jokes at him. He takes it in stride and knows that it is all for a good cause.

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 have always felt that Japan will surprise each year. They seem to recruit very good players who are looking to crack the roster with a nation. That being said, I would put my money on either Great Britain or Canada to win it all. It really could be a coin flip as both have some strong players with Frans Eller backstopping for Canada and Vincent Mietitore backstopping for Great Britain. If it comes down to the two of them to decide the winner, I would put my money on Vincent Mietitore and Great Britain.

As for the bottom of the barrel, I feel that yet again Russian is not going to perform anywhere near where they would want to. For a proud country, they have not been able to ice the greatest team the past few seasons. Perhaps it is due to the training and recruitment of the other countries, but Russia seems to keep falling behind rather than cathup. Hopefully in the next few seasons we will begin seeing them produce yet more high profile players that can help make the team relevant again on the national stage.

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).

For this I dug a little bit into the attributes system of the sim program (FHM 6) to determine mathematically how players would line up. Now, this doesn’t mean that on the ice they will be exactly as there are lots of factors, but I wanted to discuss this first to show something interesting with how goalies specifically are handled in the SHL.

First, the best goalie by TPE (based upon attributes in the simulator) is Ben Bishop. In the SHL, we lock Aggression, Determination, Team Player, Leadership, and Professionalism for our players, so I have done the same with Bishop even though his stats (such as Aggression at 11) do not line up with the locked stats. Taking this into consideration, Ben Bishop would end up with 1117 TPE spent in the SHL. This would put him approximately in the same range as White Goodman of the Texas Renegades. White Goodman played 32 games during Season 57, bringing in a 21-7-2 record with a 2.45 goals against average and a 0.907 save percentage. Bishop, during the 2018-2019 season that the sim was developed after, played in 46 games recording a 21-16-4 record with a 2.32 goals against average and a 0.921 save percentage. Surprisingly, other than the save percentage which is reduced across the board in the SHL compared to the NHL, the stats between players are fairly similar. This is probably due to the fact that the average SHL skater lies right around the same TPE spent as the average NHL player.

12. 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. The season series between these two teams was tied 3-3. Do you think either team has an advantage in this series or do you see it as a true toss up?
b. Each of these teams boasts a very strong first powerplay unit - which team has the special teams advantage in this series?
c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.
d. Would you rather get a lap dance from Hugh Jazz, have a staring contest with Luke Atmey (velv's old player), reach for objects on high shelves with Dale Miller, or play League with Parker Smeb?

A: I am never one to put much stock in home-ice advantage but it is never a guarantee. That being said, the 2 teams split the season series against each other so my bet would have to go to the team with the home-ice advantage, which for this series is the Hamilton Steelhawks. That being said, Chicago finished the series season winning against Hamilton and may have a bee under their bonnet finishing in second in the division to Hamilton.
B:Interestingly enough, I feel that both teams are right around even for their powerplay capabilities. This is due to, during the regular season, both teams earning a total of 134 power play points. Instead we have to look at the capabilities of the shorthanded units to produce. Hamilton had 2 shorthanded points throughout the regular season. Chicago had 3 shorthanded points through the regular season. Granted, the extra point is on the assist but it shows that there may be a slight advantage team-wide for chicago.
C: Personally, I prefer the Hamilton Steelhawks branding over the Chicago Syndicate. It starts with the naming. With teams, I much prefer a physical object rather than a broad idea. When I think of a steelhawk, I think of a blue-white keen-eyed bird (even though their logo looks more like an eagle than a hawk to me). When I think of a Syndicate, I think of a shady organization and cannot have a picture of it in my head. From there are the colors. This is a personal preference, but I am not a fan of the color yellow for whatever reason. Not really sure why, just never liked the color. Finally, the location. I have no grudge against either but coming from a small town I hate huge cities. The thought of living, or even visiting, a city of over 2 million just makes me anxious as hell.
D: I would reach for objects on the high shelves with Dale Miller. Being a shorter guy myself (5’6”), we could stand on each other’s shoulders in order to reach. Together, we would be an unstoppable force that nobody could defeat. We would conquer all the tall shelves and cut them down to normal person size. And by normal person, I mean our size. Suck it tall people.

15. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is 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.

Procrastinated