11. Written, 50 to 200+ words. One Season Closer to Retirement
One season behind all of us. How did your player perform compared to your expectations? What do you expect from next season? Are you being hit by regression so hard that anything close to this season's performance would be a win in your books? Or maybe you are reaching your peak, in either of the leagues and hope to compete for some awards?

Well my player AT-AT Wøllker is not really thinking about retirement yet! S77 was just his second season in the SMJHL after his draft season. After being drafted by the Seattle Argonauts, he returned to Great Falls for his second season with the Grizzlies. After unexpectedly losing a couple Defensemen to call-ups, AT-AT was thrust into a top pairing role on the team. Being given the opportunity to play lots of minutes was tough, as a sophomore 350 TPE capped player lining up often against other teams fully capped top lines meant he would be placed in some situations where he could be overwhelmed. The team did ok, not great not terrible, mostly slogging though the season at a .500 pace in a tough conference. AT-AT himself lived up to the expectations of a defensive defenseman, although perhaps not seeing quite as much improvement as he hoped in other areas. His stat line showed that his defensive stats were the area where he shone, seeing an increase in takeaways, blocked shots, and defensive game rating. In fact he was top 10 in shot blocks and top 5 in DGR in the league. The biggest improvement though was in fights, where he had zero fights in his rookie season, in S77 he was involved in 3 fights so that was something he had wanted to get since he joined the league! Even if he did only win one of them, he showed that he can be a tough player. He was also top 10 in the league in penalty minutes overall. So basically he's playing like he should - a defense-first player with toughness and an aggressive edge. However, he continues to be not quite as skilled offensively. He did produce more points than in his rookie season, but that is almost entirely because he got increased power play opportunities. More than half his points came with the man advantage and in fact he produced less offense than his rookie season at even strength. Certainly the team would want to see a bit more production next season so his offseason workouts will probably be focused on that part of his game. The Grizzlies look poised to make a jump next season with multiple players moving to the 425 cap which should allow them to compete for top spot in their conference. AT-AT will be a big part of that -if he can help a little more on the offensive side while still keeping up and doing his part in his own zone, it is possible he could get some recognition for awards. All, of course, while continuing to work hard to earn a spot with Seattle when his time comes to join the squad in the big leagues!  [457 words = 4 TPE]

12. Written, 50 to 200+ words. Old Reliable IIHF Analysis
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 and how much do you expect them to change this time?

I'm excited for this season's IIHF/WJC tourney because AT-AT will get to do double duty! After being on Team Norden's squad which won their 3rd straight WJC championship, he's getting transferred to Team Ice this year so he won't get a chance to 4-peat with Norden, but hopefully it will still be a good time, I don't know what to expect there due to a last minute managerial change but who knows maybe it will go ok! But more importantly, AT-AT gets to make his IIHF debut for Team Norway. Norway has been a perhaps surprisingly good team, my last player won 7 IIHF medals with Norway including 1 gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze. I'm hoping the team has the right mix of vets and youth to keep competitive while still having promise for the future as well. It will be AT-AT's first time playing against true SHL players so probably he'll get crushed but all I'm hoping for is to not be too much of a liability. Definitely will be focusing on playing smart defense and it's pretty unlikely I'll get many points. But I'll get to play alongside Norway Legend P.E. Eel who has won defender of the tourney twice so that will be exciting! It would be great to go on another medal run but for now it's just exciting to get my first experience with it and start building some chemistry for the future! [240 words = 4 TPE]