1. Written, 3 TPE, Ups and Downs (150 words min.)

So this was a tough season for everyone in the SHL. Dealing with trolls online, horrible PR from product endorsements, and on top of that all some minor identity fraud to add to the pile. Are these the worst things to happen to your player this season, or did something unimaginably horrible happen? On the flip side, were there any bright spots hidden in the countless nuisances and problems? What good things on and off the ice happened this season for you?

Definitely a bit of a rough season for Jonas off the ice with the obscene amount of random bad luck he had, but on the ice it was certainly his best season yet. Jonas set a new personal high for himself in goals scored, assists, shots on goal, time on ice and +/-. It all came with the larger top 6 role that he had with LAP this season, finding himself even on the top defensive pairing for bits of the season, which was certainly exciting, and even in the lead for points amongst defencemen just under halfway through the season. Hoping for even bigger roles next season, although LAP is expected to maybe start taking a few steps back which means the amount of production from Jonas may not increase, and there are still a few defencemen ahead of him on the depth chart. But hopefully he can keep up his offensive production and increase his effectiveness defensively as well over the off-season to make himself more effective by the start of next season.

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.

Personally I think that it would be much more exciting to just take the best 8 teams and have them duke it out in the playoffs. i say this because playoffs are supposed to be a best of the best tournament, so letting everyone into the playoffs kind of takes away the special aura surrounding the playoffs, as the regular season is then basically just made for seeding everyone for the playoffs. With only the top 8 involved, it's up to teams to push harder for SMJHL glory. But, we have to rememeber that thjis is the smjhl and it serves other purposes for the league as a whole apart from just winning trophies. But winning is certainly fun.

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.

Well, congratulations to a team from the great lakes yet again. Chicago thought they were lucky to escape the infamous great lakes division, but what they didnt realize was that they were now losing out on the also infamous great lakes magic that causes them teams from the great lakes to have a 80% chance of winning the league before the season has even started. My series MVP will be Ryuuji Minamino because he is just my overall MVP and hero. Plants himself in front of the net and just scores goals. What a legend. Jukka Timonen is pretty cool too, to be honest.

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?

I will say that Chicago deserved to be there but you know what, I am gonna say that Buffalo did not, and this is purely because they lost me tpe by beating hamilton who i am pretty sure i had winning it all (but on 2nd thought I may have actually chosen buffalo to win, in which case they very much deserved to be in the finals). But these were two of the best teams in the league regardless so it is not a big surprise to see either of them here.

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 would have to say that it is the continued dominance of The Buffalo Stampede over the past 20 seasons that is more impressive. To be so good for so long takes a lot of good management work. Now I am not sure if it is unique because it seems like buffalo, chicago and hamilton have all been so good for so long, at least ever since i entered the league in S55.

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

Chicago has a very fitting goal horn by using that song of theirs, but I think it is also very boring.  They should find something that pumps people up a bit more (or at least pumps themselves up). But oldschool jazz or whatever isn't exactly what im lookin to hear when a goal is scored.



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.

Wheeler

17. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
MILESTONES TBD (check back later)


Milestones