17. Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3084974

15: Trivia verification: buttscratcher

7. My first player's career was played mostly in STHS but the latter years were in FHM. What's interesting is that my three career seasons were the last three in STHS, and I won the Stevens as defenseman of the year (after two consecutive runner up finishes) in that last STHS season after becoming one of the best offensive defenders in the league. Immediately after transitioning to FHM, my offense suffered. I was no longer a point producing machine (although the numbers were still decent), but what happened instead was my player became a dominant play driver and defensive powerhouse that led to three Bojo Biscuit nominations for defensive defender of the year, winning my last one in my only season with Seattle before announcing my retirement and returning to Hamilton for one final tour of duty. If we had continued playing on STHS, it seems likely that I would have continued putting up a significant number of points and may have had the offensive production to win another Stevens or two, but I likely would not have received Bojo consideration as I was not as physical in STHS. Overall, my player transitioning from an offensive force to a dominant two way defenseman with some of the best defensive impacts in the league late in his career was an interesting narrative and I can't complain as it helped me get into the HOF.

2. As a pokemon master, I can confirm that my team would be the absolute greatest thing to grace the competitive scene. My team would be as follows:

Cassius Darrow - @hhh81 - Ferrothorn - An absolute brick (steel?) wall that nothing can pass through, just like the back to back Bojo winner on the ice. Packs a surprising punch and is all about taking some heat so the rest of the team can flourish.

Jean-Uhtred Ragnarsson-Tremblay - @lespoils - Hippowdon - Another absolute defensive powerhouse, this guy is all about wearing out the other team's best. Just like JURT on the ice, Hippowdon can use a move like Yawn to force a team into a bad change after lulling them to sleep.

Kriss Darzins - @lilstifler - Garchomp - Darzins exploded offensively this year due to his offensive talent and especially his blazing speed, which is exactly what Garchomp is there to do for our squad on the battlefield.

Gabe Johnson - @Gwdjohnson - Heliolisk - Much like his favourite pokemon, Gabe just kind of exists. I'm sure there's a moveset out there that you can make viable in the right setup. I kid, mostly. Just like Gabe, Heliolisk has great offensive typing and can break through defenses.

Dee Centerman IV - @grok - Aggron - Grok is here for one reason and one reason alone, and that is to absolutely slap down anybody who even dreams of offense. Aggron is a super high-defense pokemon, and can actually clap back with physical attacks, just as DC IV did with his surprising offensive performance this season.

Vaseline Podcalzone - @bdu754 - Beeg Yoshi - Is Yoshi a pokemon? No. Do I particularly give a shit? No. I cleared the word count awhile back and this just fits

3. Early on in the series, it looked like Mat Smith was a lock for series MVP. But then, Buffalo came storming back to push it to 7, and then taking game 7 in a fairly high scoring affair. His work is still worthy of praise, but given the way things played out I think it's hard to argue against Steve Harrington for series MVP. When you come up completely clutch with a hat trick in game 7 of the Challenge Cup finals, you pretty well deserve it even without looking at the other 6 games that were played, which he was also great in. He'd get my vote if I had one.

5. The SMJHL exists primarily as a developmental league, and part of that development experience is getting to bond with your teammates over the playoffs. Having a large chunk of players essentially get an extra week or two off from having to really stay invested in the league is less than ideal when the goal is to keep people engaged. Having everyone make the playoffs is always the best option for the J, even if it leads to some wonky playoff structures. The other side of it is that a rebuilding team of mostly rookies grows a lot in terms of TPE over the course of the season, so while they may not perform well enough throughout to make the playoffs in a more punishing system, they could actually stand a reasonable chance of winning a round or two if they got a chance. Just let the kids play