S58 Championship Week

S58 Championship Week

StadiumGambler
Registered
Posting Freak

#131

03-30-2021, 03:56 PM (This post was last modified: 04-03-2021, 03:06 AM by StadiumGambler.)

Code:
1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

Couple surprising things was Toronto finally putting it all together after a long, long rebuild, developing superstars such as Bobby Lane and Ruslan Zaporozhets, creating the resurrection of star forward Mika Kandinsky, who finally had another great season after that one rookie of the year performance, and got a world-class performance from trade acquisition Adam Barron. Toronto also got their usual high-quality goaltending from Harry Carpet, and surged up to a 98 point campaign, taking 2nd in the super-tough Great Lakes Division and making it all the way tot he semifinals. Unfortunately they lost the semifinal matchup against Buffalo, but there are signs that they may further upset the pecking order next year.

The other surprise was the late-season surge by the Winnipeg Aurora. Winnipeg stumbled out of the gate thanks to the traditional early season brutal road trip, but rebounded to leapfrog Minnesota and Seattle in a tense stretch drive. Unfortunately, a heroic effort from Strom Chamberlain was not enough, and Winnipeg washed out in the first round to Buffalo.

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3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

I'd like to think Tony Pepperoni would be an HoF lock. Won a Cup as co-GM, likeable guy, I think he won at least one scoring title, and he'll have a fairly long career no doubt. Luke Thomason could get in via user reputation, but there were some seasons where his on-ice production was sorta lost to the RNG ether, as Manhattan has been a weird bubble team for quite a while, good enough to make playoffs in a good position, but not strong enough to regularly threaten Hamilton and Buffalo.

A lot of the Hamilton guys who were around for all the Cups are probably in it for Hall of Fame consideration, as a number of them have won individual awards as well, and were part of an influential and ongoing dynasty. Ditto a couple Buffalo guys like Monkey D. Luffy. Cassius Darrow's also achieved a lot in the league and won two Cups, so he could warrant Hall of Fame consideration.

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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?

From the looks of things, the Kelowna Knights got fuckin robbed. Led by top junior talents like Kynwyl Pearce, Vlastislav Malik, and powerplay quarterback Robert Feltersnatch, Kelowna burst to a 109 point season, and led their conference by a considerable margin. Goaltender Damien Vertigo was so well protected, he led the league with a 1.88 GAA and an eye-popping 11 shutouts, one of the best basic stats seasons the SMJHL has ever seen for goaltending.

Unfortunately, Kelowna got seeded against the number 2 team in the league, Quebec City, for the semifinals, instead of them just meeting in the Cup finals, and Kelowna lost before making it to the finals they really deserved to be a part of.

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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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?

c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

a) Hope for a great performance from Elizabeth Doyle. Talent-wise, Doyle's the better goaltender, and always seems to be at or near the top of the save percentage lists every year, while A Jobin struggles in some games where the Hamilton defense gets breached. Buffalo can work from behind in terms of shots on goal advantage, as long as Doyle keeps bailing them out with big saves in the crucial moment, that is where Buffalo can win this Cup.

c) Buffalo's branding isn't THAT great, but I feel like Hamilton's is sorta destined to be boring cause of the name. I really don't like the general colour scheme of Hamilton that much. Perhaps the branding could be improved by making the eagle more intense and shifting to a more grey-oriented theme, but until then I'll take Buffalo's branding.

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15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645

SMJHL Milestones (for senddowns): TBD

4 Milestones from this post: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3006566

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16. Written, 3 TPE

I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

I can say nice things about Kez and Geekusoid for taking over management roles here, and providing the team with a bit more stability after my unmitigated disaster of a GM tenure in Seasons 50 and 51. Thanks to these two I don't have to worry about doing inordinate amounts of stuff, and can just concentrate on being the best Nick Brain I can be.

I can also say nice things about LarksTongue, forever underrated, forever a quiet presence, but a good guy, for keeping Commander Shepard around on Winnipeg through some tough times. Shepard's been the perfect lieutenant and complement to my boy Nick Brain over the years, and maybe someday as we get older we'll have the support around us to give us that silver Cup.