I'm torn on this subject, because the obvious storyline of the season in the SHL is Toronto's push into the Great Lakes, and how one of the three last Champions' Cup winner may not even participate in the spring dance.

However...

If you look westward, you will see that a franchise that hasn't participated in the playoffs for 12 seasons, the longest active drought in the SHL, currently sitting fairly tightly in 3rd place of the Northwest Division. While the Minnesota Monarchs are still on the young side, they have emerged as rivals to the Winnipeg Aurora and Seattle Argonauts for that final spot, as the first two echelons seem to belong in Alberta, for one more season at least. Their relatively untested defensive squad, outside of Mathias Seger and Noah Tedla, has looked splendid in front of Tegernako, who's playing like a man possessed at times, and their offense has been timid, but timely, from old and young blood alike. There's still a long way to go before Minnesota can cheer for a long-awaited playoff berth, but if the offense finds its beat and the defense stays solid, the Monarchs are on a good pace to show the Western Conference that there's a new threat to supremacy on its way.

(218 words)