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***Toast*** · 02-24-2021, 10:58 AM

The story of the season so far has to be the rising success of the Toronto North Stars. I don't think there's anyone who can say that they saw this coming but it's fantastic to see a new face at the top of the league, especially a team where young stars demanded out not too long ago on different occasions. Now the team has some new youth and look like they'll be a force in the league for the rest of the season and beyond so I can't see them falling from their record so far with only 5 losses. It's hard to predict if the Stars success will carry through to the post-season as well but I am loving the fact that Toronto is steam-rolling most of the competition and probably making some people upset to have quit on them so soon. I'm rooting for them as reasonably as possible from an opposing team but you love to see the change in the powerhouse teams.

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eagle_brand · 02-24-2021, 11:46 AM

Biggest storyline so far is how Jimmy is managing to get so many babes so quick in so little time. Success, that's the key. Jimmy scoring goals for his team left and right, that's how you get the boobies in the face. Jimmy be dealing with wood on ice on the DAILY. You see, it's not hard getting a girlfriend. It's not hard if you believe in yourself. -Jimmy 2021
Something that Jimmy came across this season was getting his nuts mashed mid game. A clean stick to the nuts. Hits nuts could be considered to be in a cluster, if you will. But Jimmy gets right back up. He kisses the girls. He asserts his dominance. Jimmy for the win.

EricNCSU · 02-24-2021, 12:33 PM

I know this is biased, but I think the storyline for this season has to be the explosion of the Texas Renegades. From 9 wins total a few seasons ago, to leading the West and pushing for close to 50 wins. The talk around Texas the last couple seasons has been how deep their prospect pool is and now that is coming to fruition. Edward Williams leads the team in points, Eric Hudson and Burlock Sulfurgold are on pace to obliterate their previous point highs from last season. Young guns Joseph Fantobens and Mikkel Asmus Sondergard have their legs under them now as well. The entire roster is clicking from top to bottom. While it was certainly painful to go through the lean times while this was being built, it has absolutely paid dividends and was worth the wait. Texas should be a force to be reckoned with for the next several seasons.

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*CptSquall* · 02-24-2021, 01:26 PM

Toronto being a good team is nothing new. But the Toronto North Stars going from 74 odd points last season and losing all but 1 game against other Great Lakes teams, to LEADING the division with wins over each team is absolutely amazing! This team has gone from divisional afterthought to scary as fuck in an offseason. Best part is, all we've done is grow.

The other massive surprise and storyline is how the New Orleans Specters have fallen so far as to allow the San Francisco Pride to challenge for a playoff spot. No doubt at this rate either team will be blown away once there, but for them to actually keep pace with each other is astounding. I think most everyone had old SFP pegged for the biggest loser trophy again this year.

The final storyline is just that with the above occurring, LOTS and i do mean LOTS of the season predictions will be absolutely torn asunder.

**OrbitingDeath** · 02-24-2021, 02:47 PM

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StadiumGambler · 02-24-2021, 03:57 PM

The biggest storyline in the SHL at the moment is obviously the fierce fighting for the lead in the Great Lakes Division. With Toronto rising into contendership behind the efforts of stars like Bobby Lane and Harry Carpet, the normally solid playoff positions of talented teams in Chicago, Hamilton, and Buffalo are in question. Right now Chicago is the odd team out, despite scoring the second most goals in the league while allowing the fewest. Buffalo might also be dipping into the danger zone, despite a McBride-level performance from goalie Elizabeth Doyle and some league leading scoring from forward Bobby Sharp.

Another storyline is Texas seemingly crossing the gap into superteam status, thanks to the rejuvenation of star forward Andreas Kvalheim and a superstar performance from forward Edward Williams. Texas also gets rock solid goaltending from the tandem of White Goodman and Cillian Kavanagh, and have a strudy defense that seems to limit shots well. It remains to be seen if Texas can break the Eastern stranglehold on the Cup at the moment, but they'll be one to keep watching.

notoriousTRON · 02-24-2021, 04:45 PM

The Toronto North Stars are currently in a position to make the playoffs for the first time since the FHM era began. As has been the case for the past two seasons in the SHL, the four teams in the Great Lakes are among the top teams in the league. This year in fact, the fourth place team in the Great Lakes, the reigning champion Chicago Syndicate sit 8 points ahead of the leading team in the Atlantic, the Atlanta Inferno. This means that if the season ended today, Chicago, who won the challenge cup last season, would miss the playoffs despite outpointing every Atlantic team by at least 8 points. Among all of that, the Toronto North Stars sit atop the Great Lakes and thus the entire Eastern Conference. Many expect Toronto to fall back down to earth a bit, but at this point in the season, they are more likely to make the playoffs than not. This is an impressive feat from a team that has become the whipping post in the Great Lakes division for several seasons now and are just a handful of years removed from being the butt of every joke in the league on their way to almost putting up a win-less season. The North Stars are without a doubt the best story of S58.

Sig Cred: Carpy, ML, RainDelay, Donini & Geekusoid

AL GRINGO · 02-24-2021, 06:55 PM

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*Otrebor13* · 02-24-2021, 08:27 PM

I think one of the biggest stories has to be the way the Great Lakes is looking right now. I don’t think anyone expected Toronto to be in the position that they’re currently in. I love the franchise and what they’ve done, do it’s great to see it finally pay off, but I don’t believe anyone expected it to happen as is.

On top of Toronto holding the 2nd spot in the division, we also have the defending Challenge Cup Champions sitting 4th in the division, which would see them miss the playoffs because of the playoff format. I think everyone expected Chicago to continue their hot play and easily make the playoffs.

Lastly, I’ll head over the west and say Texas is looking phenomenal. They have the highest winning percentage at the time of writing this and only have 4 losses on the season. They are playing lights out and have Josef Kubinec leading the league in goals. I think everyone knew they’d be a good team, but sitting at the top of the league with the highest GF and the lowest GA is not something many would have anticipated.

bjkman · 02-24-2021, 09:00 PM

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***DrunkenTeddy*** · 02-24-2021, 10:44 PM

One huge story for this season so far is the Toronto north stars looking for real in a very very tough great lakes division. Toronto has been the 4th best team in their division for so long I can barely remember the last time they were about Buffalo, Chicago or Hamilton. Here we find ourselves one third into the season and Toronto isnt 4th, they aren't even 3rd in the great lakes, they've taken 2nd with 21 wins so far, only 3 wins behind Hamilton. To see the strides made by Toronto this season is pretty cool and if they can keep it up they won't be the best team to miss the playoffs for once. That reward will have to go to Buffalo or Chicago, unless of course Hamilton takes a nose dive in performance and let's all 3 teams pass them before the season ends. Best of luck to Toronto this season.

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***Ohtaay*** · 02-24-2021, 10:54 PM

reid · 02-24-2021, 11:04 PM

With the great lakes once again being insane, the race for the playoffs is something to watch. My storyline to keep an eye on however is the Northwest Division. While things might not look too different from last season - Edmonton and Calgary on top - the closer you look the more silly season esque it is. EDM has been up and down all season, and Calgary has been unable to seize the division lead despite EDM's 12M cap penalty, lack of a 3rd pairing, and rookie goaltender. Minnesota broke out of the basement of the division and is in third now, buoyed by netminder Markus Tegernako. Seattle is in 4th, hunting down Minnesota, and Winnipeg - the team which got to the semifinals just last season - is in last. This division is clearly up for grabs - now and in the future, with EDM and CGY regressing, MIN and SEA being young and aggressive teams, and WPG being caught in the middle. Hell, even EDM could tumble out of the playoffs if things go poorly for them. This is a race I see going down to the last day - at the very least for the playoff spots, if not for the division lead.

sakrosankt · 02-25-2021, 05:06 AM

One of the biggest storylines so far is probably the amazingly good start of the Toronto North Stars. The North Stars have the destiny to be in the best division in hockey, namely the Great Lakes if I’m correct. Not an expert in the league, but I think that’s correct. They battle for a playoff spot against the powerhouses of recent seasons, Hamilton Steelhawks, Chicago Syndicates and Buffalo Stampede. Two of these three teams faced each other in at least the last two seasons and got a championship out of it each. The other one used to be a powerhouse I think, but I’m not exactly sure about that.

Back to Toronto. They had a crazy good start, going on a win streak early on and beat all their division rivals, no matter if at home or on the road. They won most of their games with ease, no matter who the opponent was. The streak ended by now, and the North Stars have cooled down quite a bit. They took some surprising losses lately, and have to look out they don’t fall behind again. They are still on the way for playoffs, but it is getting a close battle for the second half of the season.

*traphag* · 02-25-2021, 08:20 AM

It seems to me that the biggest story of the season is the rise of the Toronto North Stars. This is a team that has been going through a rebuild over the past several seasons, and it seems their patience has paid off. After being near the bottom of the standings in S55 and S56 they were happy to see themselves above .500 in S57 with a 34-26 record. With their prospects maturing it seemed logical that they would be improved again this season, but I don't think anybody expected them to be this good so quickly. Right now they are sitting pretty with a 21-8 record, right with elite teams such as Buffalo and Hamilton. The fight for the top of the Eastern Conference looks even more interesting with Toronto thrown into the mix, as they have shown they have all the talent to be at the top of the standings. Can Toronto keep up this hot pace? Who will end up victorious at the top of the east? It's hard to count out the North Stars at this point, even if the other top teams have more experience.

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