1. CW trivia word: ripper

Quote:c. Atlanta's big storyline is their incredible depth. They have eleven players that have logged 10 or more points so far in the playoffs. If you're Seattle, how do you try to contain three lines of unending offensive pressure? If you're Atlanta, how do you ensure everyone is able to continue to contribute against such a stellar defense?

With deep teams, all you can really do is try your best to get the favourable matchups you want. Players like Kermit Murphy, Daryl Urquhart and others will have their work cut out, as they'll likely have to face lots of minutes against a deep team. For Atlanta, they have a similar task as they'll need to manage their lines carefully to create mismatches and break the stalemate. Having the advantage of being able to run three lines ensures that the Inferno can keep their opponents guessing who they need to contain.

Quote:3. Written, 3 TPE, It Gets the People Going! (150 words min.)

There’s been some great Stanley Cup Playoff marketing campaigns over the years. Lots of us probably know the “Because it’s the Cup” series of commercials, for example. Well for the S66 playoffs we’ve really turned on the money faucet and we want YOU to give us the next great playoff ad campaign. Tell me how you’d go about promoting the S66 SHL playoffs in a way that will have people talking about it for years to come.

The Challenge Cup has been around for a really long time and has produced a lot of incredible memories. The league's current crop of talent would have grown up watching the STHSers of the day go at it every year in the playoffs. Thus, my ad campaign would be called "Inspire" and would centre around this, as well as the next bunch of talent just coming up through the SMJHL now. The ad campaign would show old-time highlights of players from the STHS era, along with younger photos of players who said they grew up watching them/modeled their game after them, and then newer highlights of these FHM-era players tearing it up on the ice. The theme would be really inspiring and paint the league as this timeless creation that's become a part of the culture. The clips would also show these players lifting the Challenge Cup after achieving their biggest goal, reminding everyone what all these players strive for. Finally, there would be shots of fans enjoying the playoff games, particularly young fans who will grow up to be the SHL's next generation.

Quote:4. Written, 3 TPE, League vs. League (150 words min.)

Could any SMJHL team in history (if they were NOT capped at their usual 350/425 builds) have beaten any SHL team in history a 7 game series? Why or why not? What historical teams do you think are good candidates for this trial? Who do you think is the best team in SMJHL history and the worst team in SHL history? Would the J team have a chance? Make your case!

There have been plenty of bad teams in SHL history, but I'll make a case that the peak S64 Newfoundland Berserkers could have beaten the S54 Tampa Bay Barracuda. That Barracuda team was bad, with the goal of losing as many games as possible and shipping off everything of value for picks. The team would have sold off the bolts in the wall if they could. The Berserkers, in contrast, were absolutely stacked with talent and had tons of capped players who went off to the SHL next year and had lots of TPE. One of the bigger weaknesses would be in net, as the Barracuda only had the aging Johannes Leitner and inactive Tobias Lindeman as their backup. I'll be biased as well and say that the S56 Vancouver Whalers could have given them a run as well. That team was stacked with capped talent thanks to some savvy drafting, and a defensive core of Ryosuke Sato, Slimey Snail, Johnny Shuffleboard, Sarah Burke, Zebulon Leavitt and Lonnie O'Donoghue - all above 350 TPE and Sato one of the class's top earners - would be excellent at shutting down the popgun Tampa offense.

7. Milestones +3 TPE

Quote:16. Written, 2 TPE, Top Line (100 words min.)

Create the best line you can using real life or SHL hockey players from your player’s home country. Give me 3F, 2D and a G– and a short description of why you chose who you did!

Since using Canada is cheating and Bordeleau's adopted country of Latvia doesn't have a ton of players, I'm going to go with the Quebecois all-time team. At centre, we have potentially the best two-way centre of all time in Patrice Bergeron. Mario Lemieux and Maurice Richard join him on the wings, providing some of the best scorers of their eras to provide some great scoring. The anchor of the defense is one Ray Bourque, the legendary Bruins and Avalanche defender who put up over 1,500 points over a 22-year career. Joining him on the back end would be Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, who is in the later stages of a great career but is still a great threat. In net would be Patrick Roy. With three Conn Smythe trophies and four Cups to his name, there is no goalie who would be more useful when it comes to the clutch. This starting lineup would provide relentless waves of offense, strong two-way defense, and a legendary goalie.

Quote:23. Written, 2 TPE, Dreams (100 words min.)

Sticking with the “last prompt is just letting people write about themselves” idea, here we go! I’m curious to know what sort of things you hope for in the world! What are your dreams? Maybe that’s a dream job, a dream house, an opportunity for your kids. I don’t know! Whatever you want to write about. What do you hope for in the future?

I'm just starting a program to become a schoolteacher and I hope to be able to help people achieve their dreams. I want to be true to myself and never be afraid to say what needs to be said. High school, which I plan to teach, is a really tough time, and I hope that through my teaching I can make it better for at least one person. As well, I want to uphold the values of my family and live a good life with those I love. Someday I hope I can move in with my girlfriend and we can have a life and family together. We care about each other and lift each other up and I want that for a long time.


TPE: 15.5 + trivia/16