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Moreorless89 · 02-23-2021, 03:40 PM

It is one third of the way through the season, and the mighty Toronto North Stars are the top team in the league with thirty-one points. After years of being the punching bag of the league, the management in Toronto has built a robust, and active, team that has lead the way. And the North Stars are not doing it in the Western conference, but the cut-throat East which accounts for four of the top five teams in the the Simulation Hockey League. Sim after sim, the North Stars have to battle with the last three champions. This is a meteoric start that will be contested the other two thirds of the season, but I believe in this team. Making it to the playoffs has always been the goal for the North Stars, and contention for the cup does not seem too far away. This team will only keep getting better, so the North Stars might be the nightmare the Great Lakes did not ask for. This is the story line of the season.

Rancidbudgie · 02-23-2021, 03:41 PM

I think the latest and greatest storyline to discuss in the apparent shift in power in the Great Lakes. Parity of schedule is once again in the forefront of the conversation, but this time it won't likely be the North Stars lamenting the stiffer competition. The past 3 Challenge Cup Champions are 3 different teams all within the 4-team Great Lakes Division, and 4 of the past 7 Challenge Cups have been claimed by the Northeastern region. Once again, the top 4 teams in the East are ALL of the teams from the Great Lakes, with the best-performing Atlantic Division team being 5 wins behind the slowest-performing Great Lakes team. However, this time it is Toronto's Thunderdome to lose, as they sit atop the Conference and the League, with Buffalo and Hamilton not far behind. Also performing better than ~70% of the league are the defending Challenge Cup champions the Chicago Syndicate, whose location might spite their so far great regular-season record with a missed playoff berth, due to the playoff format. Once again, the can of worms that debates having a set number of playoff positions for each divisions to seed the post-season will be opened. The Great Lakes is once again a bloodbath, but for once it might not be at Toronto's expense.

Thank you to Ham and Sulo for the sigs!

DELIRIVM · 02-23-2021, 04:26 PM

The S58 season has been an interesting season so far. While it didn't last as long as all hoped, the fact that the season started with better parity, more upsets, and the emergence of some new teams definitely is the overarching story moving forward. We're seeing teams like Tampa Bay, New England, and even Baltimore become more competitive. The youngsters are starting to develop. And while the overall standings hasn't shifted as much as some would hope, the positive movement of these teams shows that the future for the SHL is not always going to be paved by Hamilton, Buffalo, and Calgary. Other than the emergence of young teams and their upward movement, the Toronto North Stars have been another surprise. Their bursting onto the scene as a leader in their division, despite playing against some of the best teams in the league, has been quite surprising. The overall sentiment though is that people want to stop seeing the same three or four teams as the main contenders in the SHL.

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*littleb* · 02-23-2021, 04:46 PM

There are a lot of people in the media here that think the biggest storyline here so far is Toronto. While it sure is a nice story that they are doing so well and among one of the toughest divisions in the SHL to date I personally think they have the personnel and the coaching in place to warrant the position they are in. To me the biggest surprise so far is that Chicago in that same division, is struggling to repeat the kind of form they had in the prior season of glory winning the cup! While struggles are not uncommon being in a position of potentially not making the playoffs after a cup winning year is rare and something they will be looking to turn around. I think they will in the end turn it around and make the playoffs. At who's expense I am not sure yet as I said before the GL division is tight this season. It will be an interesting storyline to follow as the rest of the season progresses.

jRuutu · 02-23-2021, 04:48 PM

The biggest one has to be Toronto North Stars. After 25 games they are sitting first in the league with 20 wins and 41 points. Behind are such SHL favorites as Hamilton, Buffalo, and cup winner Chicago. One of the main reasons behind Toronto's success has been the center core. All three are pulling their weight offensively and defensively. Kandinsky has 23 points, Marston 21, and Last-Name has 18 points in 25 games. That kind of depth down the middle is extremely valuable and further shows to all the hockey fans that perhaps center indeed still is the most important position?

Equally important players can be found in the net. Veteran Carpet has been one of the best goalies in the league for years, and this year he has shown why. 14 wins in 18 games with a save percentage of 0.923 are elite-level totals. Having rotation and competition in the net is important as teams play a lot of hockey nowadays. Toronto has that well under control. Young Stratton has been dominant, with six wins from eight games. Strattons' save percentage of 0.938 is the best in the league.

Barron and Meszaros in defense have been perhaps the best defensive pairing in the league so far. Overall, Toronto has all the pieces to keep this magnificent run going for the rest of the season. Quality players in all areas of their lineup, and most importantly the players are working as a unit, playing for each other.

Mooney · 02-23-2021, 07:15 PM

ISFL PT Username PMoney

*roastpuff* · 02-23-2021, 07:50 PM

The biggest recurring storyline for the league is probably the one regarding how the Great Lakes is the most ridiculous division still. Now with Toronto showing that they, too are a contender, it wouldn't be completely out of place to have the league's top four teams to also be the four teams in the Great Lakes division. The fact that any of these four teams would most likely lead every other division within the league should they be re-aligned to do so, should be on everyone's lips. What will happen instead is that one of these four teams will miss the playoffs due to the way the format is for the league, and that will be a true shame. The thunderdome is real folks and it's right by Lake Ontario. What to be done about this problem remains to be seen - some people propose a re-alignment, but that is an odd one as you would likely need to do it several times in the future, if not more. Otherwise, we just need to sit back and enjoy this fierce battle that at least produces some interesting hockey.

***hhh81*** · 02-23-2021, 08:10 PM

Some might fixate on Toronto’s big rise in the Great Lakes, or Seattle falling flat defensively after their big moves in the offseason (poor Thor Odinson has been so bad. FHM hates us). Me? The true story is down where the stars at night are big and bright.

The Texas Renegades’ rise is the biggest story. Led by a breakout season from young Edward Williams, the Renegades have steadily been building to this culmination. Coming out of expansion, they were stuck losing some good players no matter what based on how well they drafted. They’ve steadily kept rising and this season their center group (Williams, Kubinec, and Kvalheim) are as dominant as any team down the middle. Add in a deep and skilled blueline and a dominant goalie tandem, and Texas is as tough as any team in the league. Sure, they get to have rebuilding teams in the Western Conference (SFP and NOLA most notably) make them look better in relief, but I think Texas’ roster and management could go head to head with much of the Great Lakes and still come out strong. Unfortunately, if they keep it up that sets them up for a battle with the eventual winner of the Great Lakes blood gauntlet prior to the Challenge Cup. I don’t see LAP having enough gas to keep up or catch up, so TEX should comfortably win the Southwest. Whether TEX can hold off the other top dogs in the league to win the President’s Trophy is anyone’s guess.

mastersheep · 02-23-2021, 08:33 PM

I think the emergence of the Renegades and North Stars is the best story in the SHL right now. These two teams have been on a trajectory towards this for a long time and now they are finally becoming the powerhouses they were meant to be. On Toronto’s side, Bobby Lane has turned into a solid scoring wing and he’s only going to get better. Harry Carpet is proving to be an incredible goalie this season and Adam Barron is also becoming a star on the blue line. Texas has seen a sudden offensive surge with an insane 4.85 Goals For/Game much of which is due to the rise of Edward Williams, who finds himself second in the league in scoring as of this writing, but also the team has seen Andreas Kvalheim return to form after a slight down year for him. Overall it’s really great to see the teams finally entering their cup windows. These two teams are only going to get better over the next few seasons as they are still relatively young. Barring any real cap issues, these two teams will be at or close to the top of the league for at least 5 more seasons.

Velevra · 02-23-2021, 09:32 PM

There are many awesome story lines going on around the league both on and off the ice! Off the ice the Chicago Syndicate are trying to decide names for all of their pet turtles. There are lots of arguments and the city of Chicago are holding their breaths to find out what names will be chosen. On the ice, four of the best teams in the league are beating each other up in the great lakes to see who will miss the playoffs with a boatload of points due to them drawing the unlucky short straw. But that is boring, the real intense playoff race is going on in the Southwest between the New Orleans Specters and the San Francisco Pride. The teams just sit two points apart and a lot is on the line. Whoever fails to come out ahead will most likely be picking first or second overall. Whoever wins however get to play a playoff series against the 2nd best Great lakes team and instead of picking 2nd or 3rd overall, most likely pick 7th overall.

Tylar · 02-23-2021, 09:54 PM

The biggest storyline in my opinion is the Toronto North Stars of this bright Simulation Hockey League season. The notorious Toronto North Stars have been building up to this point and have been waiting for a moment like this. The Toronto North Stars play in the toughest division and here they are ontop of the division right now, I doubt anyone would have saw that coming. Nost people predicted the Toronto North Stars to finish in their usual 4th spot in the Great Lakes Division and probably miss the playoffs like last season. There amazing 10-0 start along with continued success has made their chances of making the playoffs over 50% although the Great Lakes division is a slaughterhouse so it is hard to say how the season will end. Bobby Lane and Adam Barron are leading the charge along with the best goalie in the league Carpet. If the North Stars do not win it all this season, they surely have showed the league they are coming, sooner rather than later, that is for sure!

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JstMaro · 02-24-2021, 05:15 AM

Biggest story this season is Winnipeg rebranding from Jets to Aurora. It was about time to do so, you really don't wanna have lawsuit form NHL because there are some funny names in NHL team. New name really suits Winnipeg since aurora can be seen at night in Winnipeg (if you are lucky). Rebranding comes with new jerseys and new logo. In my opinion they look stunning, I specially like new logo. Hopefully this story of this franchise will continue for many years in future.
Too bad awesome logo didn't bring awesome results. Winnipeg currently sits 7th in Western conference with only nine wins in 26 games, but 2/3 of season is still ahead and I guess only way is to go up the standings and maybe surprise a team or two in playoffs. But with lots of young prospects next seasons are looking bright as very big aurora over dark Canadian sky.

***Ace*** · 02-24-2021, 09:02 AM

There are a ton of already covered league-wide storylines, so I will be focusing on the local market right here in New England. This season has been a story of transitions. We've had an awesome injection of youth into the lineup, and we have a handful of rookie players looking to begin to carve their names into the history books of the Wolfpack franchise. We have three S56 players and a S55 player making their debut this season.

Alexander Oscarsson has made the swap back to defense as a 1022 TPE rookie defender, and projects to be a top pair defenseman to protect my rear end. It's been an honor seeing them develop into a dynamic SHL quality defense after transitioning from forward. @Zema

Teylora Petrov is another rookie defender as the blue line went through quite the metamorphosis this previous season. Petrov is a high end earner from their class and takes great pride in the protecting the front of the net, something that is near and dear to this goalie's heart. Petrov will be a mainstay on the PK here in New England for a long time, I imagine. @Bayley

With great defense comes great offensive requirement, and that's where S56 right winger Alexis Vermette comes into the fray. The Quebeois has silky mitts and is a great puck distributor that will take some time to acclimate to the pace of play and skill of their opposing defensemen, but the sky is the limit here. @treant

One of the Wolfpack's top prospects from S56 graduated this season alongside the other three, and that's future stud two way center Calvin Hobbes. With the heart and competitive fire of a tiger, he's made an impact in his rookie season thus far. It may be early, but can we say *hall of famer*? @krazko

The storyline is growth and development for the Wolfpack

, and if we can win a few more games it'd be pretty dang neat too.

Nictox · 02-24-2021, 09:16 AM

The biggest storyline this season has to be the fact that the Toronto North Stars and the Texas Renegades are killing it. Both teams are coming off long rebuilds and are looking to seek vengeance on the teams that were known for being the best for so many seasons. Both of these teams came out swinging to start the season, both currently lead their conferences and are within 1 point of each other. Toronto has been getting shafted the last few seasons being in the very strong Great Lakes division. While they racked up points in the regular season, they could never topple the three giants above them, thus missing the playoffs. The tables have turned now as those giants have aged, the North Stars are ready to take over with their very good young team. Texas was in a similar spot, but played in an "easier" division where they always made the playoffs, but could never get out of the first round. The two powerhouse teams that gave the Renegades trouble have both lost a lot of talent and age has caught up to them. Thus paving the way for the Renegades to take over. I really hope we see both of these teams take over this season and go on deep playoff runs. They earned it.

RIP Dangel #AD26 | RIP TDZ

JuOSu · 02-24-2021, 10:06 AM

I think the biggest storyline has to do with the standings. Last season, three teams in the Eastern Conference were better than any team in the Western conference. This year, that is not the case. The Texas Renagades stand on top of the West with the best record in the entire league. It is especially interesting since they were not even the best team in the West last season, but they were in third place there last year. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the top seed in the entire league throughout the whole season and beat the dominance that the East had last season. Right now they are crushing people and with the best offense in the entire league are on their way to be the best team in the league. In 26 games, they have only lost 4 games so far. That is a pretty crazy record and they are very deserving of that top spot. Their defense is among the best teams as well.

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