Ricky Koivu is a consummate professional who is always very focused on finding ways to improve his on ice game. He strives to always be the best he can be and rectify weaknesses in his play. As such, for his new year resolution he vowed to be more active in shooting the puck, so that he can find the back of the net more often. Only having a small amount of 24 goals total over his first couple years in the big league, Ricky has acknowledged often that he needs to have more of a killer instinct for the Forge and contribute to their offense more than just looking for passes. Part of his resolution also includes not slacking on the other end of the ice as a result, though. Ricky prides himself on trying to be a menace on both ends of the ice, so he wants to keep a fine balance of scaring opposition defenders, while also making their forwards not want to be in one on one situations against him. With the next season due to start not long into 2023, we will see how Ricky fulfills his resolution. (192 words)


Ricky Koivu has previously said in interviews that he would love to play a series against the Hamilton Steelhawks at some point in his career, preferably as soon as possible. He has a lot of ties to people in the organization, notably his brothers who play for the team. The three of them (Tommi, Wide Peepo Happy 3 and Jolmi Koivu) and Ricky spend a lot of time together off the ice whenever they get the opportunity, but have never played playoff matches against each other, so it would be a very fun event. Apart from his Koivu brothers, Ricky also has close ties with B Jobin, Tommy Westbrook (but this time I upd, Yngve Simonsson, Devin Basher and Manny Calavera (among others) from Hamilton. The Steelhawks are currently in a rebuild right now, so time will tell how long it could take before Koivu has his dream series happen, but his friends are all at the center of the Hamilton rebuild, so when it does happen it will surely be a great occasion. (174 words)


Prompt: Hockey player sitting at home looking bored



This is Ricky Koivu at home being bored after a first round exit with Philadelphia


a. Manhattan comes into this series with a much more balanced attack than their previous playoff run carried by a scorching hot Lev Lebedev. This time around they have nearly seven players chugging along at a PPG clip. Is this a different beast than last season's Rage? Why or why not?

-It definitely feels like the Rage came into these playoffs with a more refined approach to their offense. One player can only do so much when you're the underdog against well rounded and dangerous teams like Philadelphia and Atlanta. Many of their offensive players stepping up was the big key to them advancing and will be key if they end up going all the way. (65 words)

b. Seattle returns to the finals with a roster that's very similar to last season's champions. So why would they lose this time around? This squad has proven they can do it, so what's changed? Do you think this team can do it again?

-Complacency can be a big factor for teams that are just coming off a championship. It's very easy to lose some of that hunger after you already achieved the highest accomplishment possible as a team, so Seattle just need to keep focused and stick to what's created so much success for them. I would back them to be repeat champions this season. (62 words)

c. The play of Max Manning for Seattle and Thomas Lind for Manhattan has been a key factor in their respective teams' playoff runs. Do you think they're both able to continue performing at the spectacular pace they have thus far, or do you think someone is able to figure out how to shut them down? Is that the key to this series?

-Manning has been an unstoppable force this season and had the greatest goal scoring season of all time in the SHL. I think Lind can be shut down by Seattle, who have a very sturdy defense backed up by debatable the best clutch playoff performing goalie in the league in Willie Miller. The biggest question will be if Manhattan can keep Manning quiet. (63 words)

d. With all that being said it's round two of SEA vs. MAN. Who wins this time? Regardless of any other stat in this series-- who do you think wins it and why? Last season Manhattan was the upstart without any experience, but here they are again to face the same behemoth Seattle team. Make your pick.[/code]

-I think both of these sides are very impressive, and that's pretty obvious considering they're repeat finalists. Manhattan have looked like a team that's learned from their mistakes of the past and look way more threatening these playoffs, but this Seattle team is a juggernaut that has just about more playoff experience than any other team over the past 5 or so seasons. I have to go with Seattle's winning pedigree here. (71 words)


Really
Intelligent
Cool
Knowledgeable
Yearned-for (?)

Keen
Obscure
Introspective
Visionary
Underappreciated

Spells out Ricky Koivu baby gimme that 2 TPE shit Dan


Code: Drake

TOTAL TPE: 16/16 (CW DONE!!!!!)