5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
We're adding 2 teams to the SMJHL this season. Do you think we should keep the current SMJHL playoff format of everyone makes it? Or is it time to just take the best 8 or 12 teams and let em duke it out? Defend your stance.

I understand the appeal of sending every team to the playoffs since the goal of the SMJHL is to keep people active and make them addicted to the league in a way. Well, I think it has the opposite effect. It makes the regular season almost useless and it’s even more frustrating when you play a team that got in as a participation trophy and you get eliminated by them. I think we should make it the best of 8, even if it sucks for those who don’t get in the playoffs. I’ve never been a fan of rewarding people even if they finish last. There are probably other ways to make people stay active even with a longer offseason.

7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
We're at a point in the SHL where a good chunk of the playerbase played back in the STHS era, and a good chunk has known nothing but FHM. If you're in the latter part of the league you must have heard the horror stories... so: Let's make a hypothetical.

Players who played in both eras: What would have happened if we just had one sim engine? Posture how your career would have gone if we stayed in STHS (sans exploits). Or what if you had created in FHM the whole time? Would things have gone better or worse?

I knew how to use STHS so I’m sure my player would have done a lot better. There are so many stats to update in the new sim and now with the new, punishing scale it takes even longer to go up by a point so if you mess up, it’s pretty difficult to change your trajectory and I’ll probably never pay to redistribute in my life because I’m too lazy to make more money. STHS was so random, you could put points anywhere and still perform decently. I always liked creating scorers so I would have put a lot of points in scoring and even with rules to limit the “cheating” with scoring, I think I would have done well a lot earlier. All the players looked the same after a while but if you had sim luck on your side, everything was possible… oh wait, I never did have sim luck so maybe if I follow instructions I’ll actually do better with FHM.

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 salt special: Do these teams deserve to be here? Or were they gifted a trip to the finals through puck luck and bullshittery?

Every time the Hamilton Steelhawks, Chicago Syndicate or Buffalo Stampede make it to the finals, it’s just a series of shitfuckeries. Wake up sheeps, the league wants only these teams to win to fit their agenda and they threw in a Texas win to look a little less obvious. All luck, no skills. /s

b. Buffalo has been here many times in the past 20 seasons, this is only the second (I think I'm too lazy to check) time for Chicago. Which is more impressive? The continued dominance of Buffalo? Or the solid couple of runs Chicago has made despite the team only being 15 seasons old?

I’m so damned tired of seeing Buffalo in the finals but I can’t deny that it’s impressive. I could be talking out of my ass (as I often do because I don’t like to do research) but I think they did it mostly with homegrown talent instead of signing every cup chaser ever. That’s pretty good management.

c. Everyone's a critic: Nitpick one thing about either team's logo, jersey, rink design, goal horn, or general site demeanor.

I like both the logos enough so I’m complaining because I want that one TPE. Chicago’s logo doesn’t need the diamond in the background. Is this a sports logo or a freaking traffic sign? If you want to add something in the background add something that has to do with the branding.

d. Who is the best player to play for either team? Is it a current player? Retired? Traded? Make your case.

Elizabeth Doyle is Evok’s player and Evok is always the answer so you have your answer for this question too. She has won a bunch of cups, awards (I think?) and although she plays on a packed team, she still has amazing statistics. A packed team needs good players so I’m not uncomfortable choosing a player who happens to be awesome even while a team is dominant. I’m also too lazy to research so… Evok.

13. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)

Welp, you waited until the last day to grind out your CW and the CC finals are longggggggg over by now. congrats to [TEAM], woo! Reflecting back on the series, who gets your vote for series MVP? Make the case why this player deserves it over any other.
We already established that the correct answer to anything is Evok so I will pick Elizabeth Doyle for this question. She leads other goalies in most categories and she did so despite playing until the finals. Sometimes you see a goalie stats drop because they have to play longer but she stayed the leader anyway. The Stampede is a well oiled machine so everyone participates in their success but I think Doyle was the player that helped them to the cup the most.

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.

Maximov

17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

2 milestones