Nike +3



There is a pretty good likely hood that this is a different beast than last season’s Rage and their scoring will come more from the entirety of their lineup. However, we also know that this Seattle team is really strong in their own end and tough to score on. It will be interesting to see which side wins out.


This Seattle core can absolutely forge the same path as last year’s roster. With only 2 differences from the team that was Challenge Cup bound the prior season, they have proven that they have what it takes to win it all. I would suspect that the experience being here last year is a boon to that team and helps them take it home.


Max Manning has been a mainstay and top tier talent throughout the SHL playoffs for most of his career. Nothing about this run to the cup seems to be any different and he will likely continue to be a significant part of the Argonauts success. Lind will also likely drive play for Manhattan, but ultimately I think that goaltending is going to be the key to this series.


Seattle is likely to be victorious in my mind. The Argonauts just have so much talent on their roster from top to bottom and have the bevy of playoff and cup experience behind them. Have no doubts however, this Manhattan team has also been here before, they have a great history of winning and they have a roster that can compete with the best in the league. It’s just likely that Seattle brings is home in my mind.


This year, Nike’s new year’s resolution is to stay in shape. It’s pretty challenging as an older veteran to keep up with the top players in the league. And each year, it gets more and more difficult to be a truly impact player down the stretch if you don’t have great conditioning and physical attributes. The SHL seasons are long, and when you have spent nearly every season of your career on a strong playoff contending team like I have, it can make the offseasons pretty grueling. This year, we didn’t quite make it out of the conference, which does give me some extra offseason time to focus on my game and getting ready for the upcoming season. However, the real focus during this offseason and the new years resolution is to prepare my body for a long season. Getting older means injuries and nagging aches can be the difference between a team that flourishes in the playoffs and falls off a cliff when they games matter the most.


There is something inside of me that just can’t stand Hamilton. For a long time I have been in this league and I always couldn’t stand that organization. It has nothing to do with the people, as they have always been kind to me. And yet, something inside of me has this burning need to beat them every time I go out on the ice. And then, Hamilton had that string of success in the last 10 seasons or so that were almost unbearable. They were in the finals more frequently than even every other year. They seemed to come out of the east just about every year and find their way to the Cup finals. My dream matchup would be this current Chicago squad in our prime during some of those best Hamilton teams in a Challenge Cup final. And sweeping them in a clean four games wouldn’t hurt either. Unfortunately, they haven’t quite had all that much success of late. Or should I say, fortunately? ?




https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3305297 +1


Did the playoffs go exactly as expected this year? I would say for the most part, yes the field trimmed down to mostly the best teams. The only real surprises came on the back of some seeding. Mostly though, I think we saw two of the best rosters in the SHL in the Challenge Cup final and we saw Seattle pull out yet another Challenge Cup victory. Manhattan has to be devastated after building such a strong roster that they had to run into Seattle again, but Seattle made short work of just about everybody they met on their way to the finals and pushing them to a 7th and final game isn’t a bad way to end your season, despite how disappointing we know that that feeling is.