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faith

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Jarrod Lakemore has entered regression and is entering the tail end of his prime. He is still putting up all-star numbers and is expected to lead the forward line for Buffalo and is hoping to capture at least one more cup before the end of his career. Buffalo isn't particularly strong TPE wise at the moment and is better positioned to be amongst the leaders in that category in 5-6 seasons, when Lakemore would be at the end of his career or perhaps even retired. Despite being fairly average in TPE, Buffalo has consistently outperformed expectations and has made the playoffs every season of Lakemore's career. Even their cup run in Lakemore's rookie season they weren't one of the regular season powerhouse teams or one of the top TPE teams. So even if Buffalo may not have the best team on paper, Lakemore and Buffalo have still shown they have a puncher's chance every season and have been a tough out for any opponent in the playoffs, even those that boast what would appear to be superior rosters. (185 words)

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Latvia has finally gotten over the hump as last season they managed to make it out of the group stage and into the knockout round after a disappointing run of many consecutive seasons of dropping out early. Latvia will be looking to build on that, as they are still a fairly young team that still is perhaps a couple seasons away from truly contending. For the upcoming IIHF season, it would be a huge success if Latvia would manage to not only make the knockout round, but perhaps score an upset and make it to the medal rounds. While certainly not one of the favorites, Latvia is a feisty team with a couple of stars and solid depth that has a chance of surprising some of the better teams. Most important for them will be taking care of business against some of the weaker teams, and putting up strong showings against teams on their level. As long as they can make it out of groups, with the playoffs being a single knockout game per round, anything could happen for Latvia. (180 words)