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Massive Coiler · 03-10-2023, 05:33 PM

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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.

a. Both Winnipeg and Philadelphia have taken the long road of drafting and development to find themselves in the Challenge Cup Finals. Winnipeg in full scale rebuild, and Philadelphia in the expansion draft. Each began nearly 10 seasons ago. From your point of view, which build is more impressive? Full scale teardown to challenge cup, or expansion draft to challenge cup?

b. Winnipeg's Mikko Rashford has been an unstoppable assist machine with 25 in 20 GP. If you're looking to shut down Winnipegs offense, who do you target? Rashford, or goal scorers surrounding them? Do you double down on guarding the scorers and letting a pass-first player take a shot, or do you go heavy on the passer and hope nothing squeeks through?

c. Philadelphia's BASE PACK has made over 500 saves in 17 GP. If you're a Winnipeg team looking for a weakness to exploit, do you think this is one? Does this signify an exhausted goalie that you can pepper with shots and eventually break the dam? Or is BASE PACK just an on-fire goalie that you need to find another way around?

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?

Not to take anything away from a successful rebuild, but that seems like the standard play to me, and is less impressive than an expansion draft turning itself into a legitimate contender. Rebuilds are so common, and are a sure thing when it comes to building a successful team, it just takes time and knowing when to start capitalizing on a window.
Always have to make the passer take the shot. Could result in some goals for them, but it’s the safest bet, to me. Put them in bad positions and low percentage angles and take away the passing option to force a bad shot or a pass that isn’t directly in a premium scoring position.
You can’t go into a series hoping a goalie is tired. You have to assume that they will bring their A game, and one doing this well is another big hurdle. Everything from offence to defence to goaltending needs scouted and planned around in a playoff series. Gambling that one of them just “stops working” is going to result in trouble and you’re probably going to be in for a rude awakening when the series starts.
The Philadelphia Forge, because I am on them. As I am writing this after the fact, I know the result, but going back and looking at it from a pre-series standpoint, I would trust the strong goaltending to hold and the Forge to be able to win some tight games. All you need is to take one game on the road, and it puts you in a very nice position to succeed.

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6. Written, 2 TPE, Haiku Highlights  (5 words min.)

Rather than giving you a task where you do something boring like "write about your season" using things like "sentences and punctuation" I figured I could instead ask you to write a haiku about how your season went! A haiku is a three line poem where the first line is five syllables, the second is seven, and the third line is five again.

Once called up early
My team was a contender
I have won the cup

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18. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)

Congratulations, procrastinator!  Through your terrible time management skills, you’ve unlocked a special task! [TEAM] has won it all! Were the playoffs as you expected this year, or were there some surprises? Is it exciting to have two completely new teams meet in the finals? What did you like or not like about this season?

The playoffs were extremely exciting to me, as I was on the Philadelphia Forge. I was pleasantly surprised every step of the way, having not picked my team to win in the predictions. Which is funny that I try not to pick the homer selection and it ends up being the right call. It’s always nice to look at the big picture and see new teams playing in the finals, rather than the same 3 or 4 teams that seem to always find themselves there. As for what I liked about this season? Well, I was called up a season early and ended up winning a championship, so that was pretty good.

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20. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Seige Engine (150 words min.)

We all know what a seige engine is, and we all have a favourite one! If you had to design a seige engine based on your team's branding, what would it be? What would that seige weapon do? What would it look like? What are its advantages? As a graphic option, you can depict what it would look like in action!

The Philadelphia Forge siege engine is a powerful behemoth. At first glance, it appears to be a reinforced battering ram/siege tower with a roof and walls with metal added to it, but the interior is a shock to those who have never seen it. A fully functional forge is inside, with the hardest working smiths you’ve ever seen, pumping out weapons and armor as the battle rages on. Fast as lightning, they churn out arms as if it were a real time strategy just spawning at will. Soldiers can retrieve weapons and armor as theirs fail. This mobile forge is able to maneuver with the soldiers and act as cover from arrows and other projectile attacks from above. After battles it can replenish the items required by the soldiers. This thing is nuts and totally realistic. No need to wait for supply lines to bring in new gear because they have a seemingly infinite supply of crafting materials. Also soldiers are able to spend gold to upgrade during the battle here. They can buy the battle pass beforehand if they’d prefer.

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22. Written, 2 TPE, Hope and Hapiness (100 words min.)

I've asked this before, but since it may be my final time writing CW, I wanted to ask it again. It was one of my favourite questions to read responses to. Tell me something that happened recently that you enjoyed, something that brings you happiness, or something you have hope for in the future. It could be a huge thing like buying a house or a small thing like having fun with your lockerroom this season. I just want to give you a chance to write down something positive.

Well to keep this SHL related, my team just won the S69 championship, which I personally find hilarious. I’ve won SHL cups before, but that was at the end of my player’s career and after being forced into free agency and losing my general interest in the league. This time I was paying attention and following along with my team. I was called up early, which was fun, and to actually win was a huge surprise to me. It was actually sort of nice to be in the team discord during sims and seeing everyone’s reactions to each goal. I was very happy for everyone on the team, more than myself, as winning and losing isn’t very important to me.

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7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

+3 TPE - Milestones

16/16

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