1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 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: Borje

2. 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.
d. As always I ask... who you got? Usually when I analyze teams for this segment I see a contrast in results or deployment or something I can latch on to, but these look like remarkably similar teams at this point in the playoffs. So who wins? Why?

I have Winnipeg to win whole thing. Why? It was my pre-season prediction and I stick to it. During past seasons they have got important experience about playoffs and finally this year is time to go all the way. Unfortunately they dropped us from the contention in G7 and triple OT which just showed that Aurora is now ready to win finally. They learned from previous playoffs defeats and don't make silly mistakes anymore.

Words: 74

3. Written, 3 TPE, Chemistry Lesson (150 words min.)
Tell me about who your linemates were this year, and how the season went playing together. Why do you work well together? Why don't you work well together? If there was anyone on your team you don't play with but you'd like to, who is it? Why? If you're a goalie, tell me about your bond with your goaltending partner!

William Salming played a whole season together with superstar center Max Manning and captain Vaseline Podcalzone. They have developed a great chemistry because they played together already on last year when Seattle won back-to-back championship. Salming is familiar to play as Podcalzone's winger partner also on previous seasons than last two. We work well together because everyone has a clear role. Manning is the goal-scorer and play-driver on the middle lane. Vaseline is a power forward who can hit, win puck battles, score and pass. He does everything. And my job is to move the puck quickly to those two and make sure our structure stays compact. I am pass-first guy and a two-way winger. I think more defensive-minded than my line mates and that's why they are part of top PP unit and I play on top PK unit. Manning and I had plus-minus rating of +52 this season and Podcalzone +34. Last year our plus-minuses were between +46 and +51 so you could say that past two seasons our 5v5 game is about +100. That is a good number.

Words: 180

7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 7 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

+3 TPE - S69 Milestones

15. Written, 3 TPE, IIHF Analysis (150 words min.)
Write your predictions for this year's IIHF tournament or WJC! Tell me about your team! What are your expectations for your player? What teams are you watching out for this time around? Did last season's results surprise you?

Like always, I expect big nations to succeed. Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia and USA are powerhouses which should dominate IIHF event year after year because hockey culture is there something else than in for example in Japan, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Norway or Latvia. Finland and Germany dominated round robin last year and I expect them to have now even more success in the playoffs too. I also expect that Germany's hockey will continue its rising season after season even though last year they were already in a bronze medal game and on the other hand success of other rising hockey nation Norway was a positive surprise. Germany is lead in the attack by Steve Harrington who is a good hockey player as are defenders Jonas Kahnwald, Kermit Murphy and Dee Centerman IV. From Nordic countries I expect that Finland will again strong this year because goalie tandem Smith-Carpet is elite and they have good forward group. They are ready to win again like on season 62 and S64 and S66. When it comes to Russia, I expect the same. They are way too big hockey nation to underperform again which means everything lower than achieving a gold medal.

Words: 199

16. Written, 3 TPE, Rivalries (150 words min.)
Which SHL IIHF teams do you think have the best or longest running rivalries? Which teams does your country have a rivalry with? Why? Is it because you're both in contention to win all the time? Is it because you're both always duking it out at the bottom of the standings? How did this rivalry come to be?

For me it is hard to know best rivalries in the SHL. Probably Seattle vs. Manhattan is one because they played against each other on last two SHL finals on S67 and S68. Those were epic thrillers. Chicago vs. Texas is also match-up which is familiar from recent years. Usually you need to have multiple playoff series against same opponent to develop a rivalry. Only regular season games don't do it. There needs to be more stakes on the table. Hamilton vs. Buffalo is third rivalry which comes to my mind from the North East Division. In the international stage, Finland vs. Sweden is a classic. It was a real pain to lose Sweden last season in the gold medal game at the home ice in Tampere. Gutsy win from Sverige. Canada versus USA is always interesting match-up like Canada-Russia too because those teams have best talent pools in the global universum. Games between smaller nations unfortunately aren't so interesting that people would pay to see them but matches between five big hockey nations are always special.

Words: 177