Prompt 1
With the new player's consciousness simulation hockey tournament, Ryosuke Sato has been placed on the Superstars team as he is just about to reach the peak of his SHL career. With this, he is excited to be on the team alongside old and new friends alike such as fellow S54 create Dwight Knight, former defensive partner on the Vancouver Whalers Sven Yxskaft, current friends and teammates Bobby Lane, Adam Barron and Rhys Pritchard, and of course old friends in William Hartmann and Jack Kanoff. Sato was really excited to see all of them as they headed into the Superstars locker room to place down their bags and to start their first practice. Since Ryosuke, Bobby, Adam, and Rhys were coming together from Toronto, they already had a great time chatting on the flight and bonding over their excitement for the new tournament, but that doesn't mean that the chemistry was lacking with the other players. Seeing Hartmann, Yxskaft, and Kanoff again, they gave each other a big hug after a long time playing on different teams. It really took them back to the days when they shared locker rooms. As for Dwight Knight, there was definitely a mutual respect on how far both of them have come since they were just rookies in the league.

Stepping onto the ice for practice, the coaches were still figuring out lines, shuffling Sato between Adam Barron who is his current defensive partner on the Toronto North Stars, Sven Yxskaft to see if their chemistry has at all dwindled since they last played together, and William Hartmann who just recently switched to the blue line. When practicing with Barron, they just overall felt comfortable, training hard, but also able to crack a couple jokes as they do back in Toronto. When practicing with Sven, it definitely felt a little different at first, but they got into the swing of things as Sven commented on how much better Sato's shot has gotten. Then, when playing with Hartmann it was a bit odd because you can see the offensive side to his game is much better due to his time playing as a forward, so Ryosuke took control on the defensive side of things. Overall, after a tiring first practice, the boys head to the showers and caught up with some dinner afterwards. Even though it was just their first practice, you can tell they were all happy and excited to have each other as teammates.

Ryosuke Sato and the Superstars have been practicing hard and have gotten closer since the start of the tournament, but now it's their first game against the Up-and-Comers. Fans and analysts are expecting this to be a cakewalk for the Superstars, saying that the match up is synonymous with Team Canada versus the likes of Team Germany (sorry Team Germany). The Up-and-Comers have potential, but none of them can compare to the realized skill of the Superstars.

Starting the game, Sato was benched as the 7th defenseman as the likes of Sven Yxskaft and Jukka Timonen manned the top defensive line. The Superstars came hot out of the gates scoring 3 goals early with points for their top line of Ethan Duncan, Ryuuji Minamino, and Steve Harrington. There was a bit of a push back from the Up-and-Comers, but the team and coaching staff soon realized that this game was locked in with the great goaltending performance by Strom Chamberlain. With this, the coaching staff started playing more equal ice time, having scored 2 more goals in the 2nd period, and gave Ryosuke Sato his first sniff of tournament play. Playing a strong defensive game, the team limited shots and Sato was a +2 by the end of the the game. The Up-and-Comers were able to score one on the powerplay, ruining Chamberlain's shutout, but the Superstars came out victorious with a 7-1 win. The teams gave each other respectful handshakes as the Superstars saw great potential from the Up-and-Comers.

The Superstars heading into the game against the Hall-of-Famers, both teams have had perfect records in the tournament so far. Both teams had their perfect records on the line, but seeing that the Hall-of-Famers team was comprised of retired players, the Superstar team began to slack a little bit, believing they were the top-dogs of the tournament. Oh boy were they wrong... The Hall-of-Famers came out strong with their players and their goaltender Benjamin Blue didn't seem too far removed from his prime years in the SHL. Due to their belief that the game would be easy, Sato's teammates didn't have the right conditioning and mindset before it was too late. The Hall-of-Famers ended up winning the game 5-3 after scoring the first 4 early in the game, an absolutely disappointing performance for the Superstars.

Heading back to the locker room, the coach was furious at the team for doubting the opponent. The veteran leadership on the team in Adam Barron tried to talk up the team to keep their spirits high for the coming games, but at the time the rest of the players weren't feeling it. The youngins on the team in Dwight Knight and Ryosuke Sato both had their heads low as they thought they could have put in more of an effort and the -3 on the night for both of them definitely didn't sit too well. However, eventually the team snapped out of it and they went to go grab a quiet team dinner before calling it a night.

This loss was a reminder that every game matters and they can't let their foot off the gas pedal. In the coming days, the team held extra practices and players seeked more one-on-one coaching to make sure such a loss wouldn't happen as easily, if at all.

The Grizzled Vets who have proven they can win and have the experience versus the new age of dominant players in the league, the Superstars. It was quite the match as you expected as the Superstars and Grizzled Vets both came out cautious of the other, making the smart plays throughout the 1st period with the score 0-0. The goalies are making spectacular saves as Sato watches from the bench this important game (he is the 7th defenseman). The referees have been good in not intervening, but in the 2nd period the Superstars take a blatant hooking penalty which put the Grizzled Vets on the powerplay. It turned out to be a bad move for the Superstars as Theo Morgan scores on the powerplay for the Grizzled Vets to put the Superstars down 0-1. The rest of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd was pretty much the same as the 1st with limited scoring chances from both teams, but with the minutes dying down the Superstars get desperate. They pull their goalie to put an extra-attacker on the ice. With 2 minutes left and an empty net, it is none other than Ryuuji Minamino who ties the game! The teams enter overtime 1-1 with shots on both ends of the ice, but the Grizzled Vets finally make a mistake which springs the speedy Jimmy Wagner on a breakaway. He dekes and he scores! The Superstars win the nailbiter!

The team hops off the bench to pile on Jimmy Wagner for his spectacular goal to send their team off to the next round! The players sing and cheer all the way back to the locker room where they are hyped and ready for the next game. The coach enters congratulating the team and telling them to celebrate, but not to forget that there's still the next game.

Superstars versus the Hall-of-Famers, round 2. The first time the two teams matched up the Superstars let the game slip away from them early and they eventually loss the game in a nailbiter, but after that game the team has been on a tear, vowing not to get lazy around the other teams. This time the Superstars came out flying. A goal from Ryuuji Minamino early in the 1st and the team played well in the transition. Jimmy Wagner really showed off his speed against the aging legends on the other team while the Superstars kept the Hall-of-Famers scoreless in the 1st, The 2nd period saw the two teams get a little physical. Rhys Pritchard was throwing big hits against the old Hall-of-Famers, but that was responded with DeMaricus Smyth on the Hall-of-Famers. Line tussles would ensue after ever whistle as the Hall-of -Famers were getting frustrated with their lack of goalscoring. Despite roughing and fighting calls that resulted in 4-on-4 hockey, no one had a clear powerplay until early in the 3rd where a hit from Rhys Pritchard took it a bit too far and was called for cross-checking. On the powerplay the Hall-of-Famers got on the board from the timeless Flacko Lagerfield. The game is tied 1-1 and it stays that way headed into continuous overtime. The goalies are standing on their heads as the teams go back and forth, but it is eventually a rather unexpected hero that seals the game. Dwight Knight was cycling in the offensive zone and behind the net he received a pass from Zoltan Topalo. The goalie didn't know where it went and Knight's quick shot passed him top shelf! The team all hops on the ice and celebrates this hard earned win!

(P.S. quite enjoyed the story prompt! Really got me writing in comparison to the other ones)