S62 Championship Week

S62 Championship Week

CrazyMojito
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Posting Freak

#106

12-22-2021, 02:15 PM (This post was last modified: 12-22-2021, 02:59 PM by CrazyMojito.)

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1. 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.

Verification word: Mojito

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2. Written, 3 TPE, GM stands for Great Man (150 words min.)

There have been some good and some bad GMs in SHL history. (Mostly bad) Pick a GM you think was outstanding and explain why you think they were one of the better GMs in SHL history. Point to trades/signings/trophy wins/locker rooms to support your claim.

No way I can pick just one GM from the best tandem the league has ever seen. Keygan and TommySalami are two HOF’r GMs and deserve some recognition.

We can start with the fact that since S43 the Blizzard have not missed the playoffs, current longest active streak in the league. Add in a couple Challenge Cups in S45 and S49 with a few other finals appearances sprinkled in that didn’t go the team’s way.

My history starts with them at the S54 Entry draft. Of the 4 players they selected, SnoopDog and I went on to play prominent roles on the team. One of the players was traded for a 2nd rounder in S60 which was then used to draft Lorec, one of the best players in the SMJHL during their reign.

Their biggest claim to fame in recent history though has to be the S59 SHL entry draft where they landed 5 of the best players available. These players just made their SHL debut with a potential ROTY nomination or two. (173 words)

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6. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

a. What is worth more to you, a cup win in the FHM era or the STHS era?

Since I never played in the STHS era, hard for me to imagine what it was like to have to compete against the top teams. I do know a lot about competing in the FHM era and how almost impossible it is to beat one of the big 4 teams. So I think if you are one of the other 16 teams, you gotta say an FHM win is more impressive. (72 words)

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b. Be honest, would we have seen the same final 4 as last year (Chicago, Texas, Hamilton, Buffalo) had BUF/HAM and TEX/CHI not run into each other in the second round?

For the West I think it’s a safe assumption we would have had a TEX/CHI Conference finals. TEX already beat LAP for one, and I cant see SEA eliminating CHI or TEX in a 7 game series. In the East it’s a little harder to say, BAP might have been able to beat out BUF if they played? I don’t know that TBB is quite there enough to edge out either BUF or HAM. (74 words)

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c. Hamilton has a population of roughly 5 people. Where would you relocate the franchise?

As far as IRL goes, Hamilton has a similar population size as Winnipeg, so I guess we better look into relocating the Aurora too… In the spirit of this task, I’d like to see the team stay in Canada so lets move it Ottawa. Create a rivalry with Montreal while maintaining the rivalry with Toronto (probably to their chagrin). Despite the Senators being particularly bad, the fanbase is pretty passionate and every game I’ve been to has been pretty close to a sellout. (83 words)

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d. Who is the best player to NOT make the final in the past 2 years?

I’m going to pick Karl Krashwagon. Former MVP winner has never made a finals appearance let alone in the last two seasons. 152 points including 70 goals; I know this doesn’t really look like much when Minamino put up 60 this season, but it’s the defensive side of Krashwagon’s game that catches my attention. Hard to pick though when it’s the same two teams every season, most of the leagues top talents fall into these parameters. (76 words)

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12. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 12 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

S62 Milestones

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14. Written, 3 TPE, Blow it up (150 words min.)

In your opinion, which team is on track to completely sell off all assets and begin a long rebuild? A few teams are already in the midst of this, but what teams are watching their window slowly close and need to get younger soon in order to start the climb back to the top?

Using the Player Analyze 2.0 TPE tracker and assuming its correct… there are two teams that this prompt makes most sense to apply to; Hamilton, and Chicago. At least in my opinion. With the recent changes to regression both teams core group of players that have helped their teams win cups are all about to get slapped pretty hard with TPE losses.

Looking at their prospect pools, there isn’t much in the pipeline for either team. Hamilton has one player near the top of their draft year, with two more players near the bottom. Chicago is an even worse position with nobody really at a noteworthy level of TPE earning.

Hamilton knows how to get the most of their players though so they probably have some time to figure out some trades and stay relevant with the competitive teams. Even if they had to take a step back, I doubt it would be considered a rebuild. I think Chicago missed their chance this season and without a few moves will for sure find themselves in a rebuild. Again though, I expect them to be back dominating the league before long.

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15. Written, 2 TPE, The yearly IIHF task (100 words min.)

Write your predictions for this year's IIHF tournament or WJC if you care about that more. Will there be surprises? Will any players make their country proud? Who's gonna suck? Be bold!

Since I didn’t get to do my real IIHF predictions because of the odd decision to just rush into regular season sims on a Sunday immediately after pre-season I’ll do my predictions here. Canada once again wins the Gold medal over some team that’s probably Great Britain because like SHL, its always the same teams at IIHF. This season though, my player is going to play an important roll for Canada now that he is on the top line and getting some power play time. I will lead all players in goals most likely and be in the running for tournament MVP.

Japan doesn’t advance to the medal rounds and Ireland now that they have a real Fed Head make a surprise appearance and maybe even medal. (127 words)