04-28-2022, 07:03 PM(This post was last modified: 04-30-2022, 05:06 PM by Dhoop. Edited 1 time in total.)
1. Brandon
2.a) I would choose Chicago and go with the Vets. The ability to stay calm and collected in highly stressful situations plays a key role. The Players have been here for CHI and the experience is there. For ATL, I can see them coming out with this, since underdogs are often overlooked.
b) I think a highly skilled defensive team like CHI is hard to work around. The skill level is really tough to scheme against. The best way I can think of is making sure the players you have with good puck movement and players with getting open to try and make space to avoid the stick work from CHI.
c) I really think the discipline is going to be a big factor. The 32 to 45 is hard to compare not a big difference between the two. The penalties are really going to play a factor in each game. The PK and PP are the winners of this series, just going to have to see which unit steps up for which team.
d) The difference in the balanced attack and targeted really depends on team. The balance attack is really for a team like CHI who have a lineup from top to bottom you can rely on. While ATL is targeted so the top of their lineup would seem to limit lower lines minutes since they aren't quite up to competing against other lines so limiting their time to prevent bad mismatches.
3. a) This is a tough situation, having offensive D-men are a very special player. I would probably start with adjusting my defensive formation to keep my wingers high to keep a shadow effect on their defensemen so that cant get room to be active in the offense. Then I would use my center and as the slot man to cover the middle. It would keep the puck to the boards in the D zone and once we gain possession I would have the wings break fast to push the defense out and open space for a break out.
b) This is a bit easier, I would play more of a shell around the goalie and push the puck to the perimeter. They have a good shooting percentage so to counter that you push them farther out and make them take shots at a bigger range. The farther you are out the lower your accuracy is.
c) I believe NF will get back that luck this series. I can't see the streak of bad luck continuing especially for a team like NF. I see this is a really tough series for QCC and I just don't see them getting it this year. I feel the luck is bound to run out and especially against the leagues hands down best team this year.
d) Going into this series I would feel really comfortable as NF, though I would not sleep on QCC. I feel you need to play each game as if you are playing the best team in the league. If you come out and not play to the top level QCC can take it to you. If I was QCC I would promote staying calm and not look at it like a David and Goliath. You need to stay calm and be confident that you can win this.
6. This is such a hard questions, considering there are SO many great players right now. I would stay in the J for my dream team. I think it would consist of some "obvious" choices and some "not so obvious". I am also staying with the present players (though some are moving up this coming year). To start I would have Sconnie McHits on the LW, this is a obvious pick. McHits lead the league in goals and blew away the playoffs points race. He is a solid Wing and should easily be in everyones dream team. Next would be Alexander MacKenzie. This is another one of those "obvious" picks. Leading by far the best team in the J for the last few years, Mackenzie was top points getter for NF and one the the prolific scoring centers in the league. The last wing is your "not so obvious" pick. I am taking Lesgo Brandon on the RW. He has played 3 years now in ANA and been a solid point getter for them in all 3 years. The reason to add him with the other 2 is he is not afraid to use the body. He had a drastic change to his physical play this last year jumping from 56 hits to 80! He will give this line then big body presence they need and lose 0 offense doing so, since he was in the top 10 in PP goals this year. The last 2 are the defense. This is your "obvious" picks again I am going Rand al'Thor and Mikko Rashford from NF. This is a no brainer for this line, so much offensive ability and the key aggression they bring they will have 100% zone control their whole shift.
22. This one is tough, there are so man people who deserve thanks and praise. I am going to say 2. First, I want to say Jess for their amazing job as mentor. I came into this experience 100% in the dark and they have made the process of learning this site and tasks/updates incredibly easy. They have done such a great job with my rookie class and I just can not thank them enough. Second is Fluw. I was really happy with how they treated me when I was with ANA. They asked me how I felt about being traded first and kept me updated through the whole process and let me have a say. I know some just trade people away like numbers in a spreadsheet and really appreciated the way they treated me in the process.
04-28-2022, 10:32 PM(This post was last modified: 04-30-2022, 12:25 AM by Shylo_Moxii. Edited 1 time in total.)
1.) Trivia Shylo2022 Password
2.)
A.) I would go with Atlanta because of the fact they had proven against Hamilton and Baltimore showing they can handle Chicago as well. I believe Atlanta will rewrite history and change the phrase of the power 4 per say who always win and make it in Chicago Texas Hamilton and Buffalo. I believe that Atlanta can accomplish a feat that most others haven't in a long time.
B.) Mostly strategic changes, switch from offensive style play to more of a balanced game, and to sort of lower giveaways you need to go with a conservative offensive route that would be more possessive rather than aggressive. I full well believe if Atlanta makes these kind of transitions it could impact a Challenge Cup for Atlanta.
C.) I believe it could be a big part of the series as a whole certainly could bring some extra goals based on mistakes that could shift momentum. You are always taught in Hockey to wear your heart on your sleeve. Which you should, but you also need to be very careful that you don't do something that could harm your entire team, and the momentum for the rest of the series.
D.) I do believe Atlanta's top handed minutes can outpower the Chicago's lower lines if it does come to that because they have more skill and I believe they have the necessary ability of endurance to keep the top line rolling, but I also believe if that isn't sustained Chicago could very much take over the series as a whole and basically beat Atlanta at their own game.
3.)
A.) In order to stop a potent offense like Newfoundland like Mikko and Rand. You need to go with a very defensive strategy to somewhat neutralize what Newfoundland hash as a whole. Which would need to include taking care of the forwards, and puck management so it doesn't cause key breakdowns. Overall.
B.) Posture up a tight defensive scheme of hitting knocking them off the puck getting full transitionary offense. This will give them a ton of breakways, and odd man rushes, not to mention a lot of D zone turnovers caused by Newfoundland. Which Newfoundland has done very well since the start of their dynasty in S62.
C.) I believe you start fresh. I wouldn't think luck has much to do before your series starts. I think it all matters on your momentum and series play to gain luck whatsoever. I think it comes down to strategies, player matchups, and overall just who has the puck bouncing their way overall. I believe in strategies that are defensive for QCC to keep the puck out of the net. As for Newfoundland do what they have for a long time and keep the physical play going creating turnovers.
D.) I believe for Newfoundland you need to keep the same position and stance you have to keep the preparation the same. I believe if you generate the turnovers like Newfoundland has in the forechecking department you have a solid chance at success. I would be worried about Justin Time stealing some of the games with his top tier talent as the QCC goaltender.
4.) Challenge Cup is a prestigious cup forged by Commissioner Spangle and SHL's founders and forefathers. It's origins are started in a very small 8 team league with Winnipeg being the original winner. The team had multiple awards named after team players including Sergei Karpotsov, Jay McDonald, Ron Mexico, and Damian Littleton. The origin story of the cup's forging was being forged in California and the difference between S1, and S64 is the various rosters of former champions on the Challenge Cup. It has become harder to win it as we have expanded to 20 teams. It has become the most prestigious trophy in all of SHL. It has become essential to everyone's way of life pushing for it now, and for others in the future. It holds up to 80 Team rosters of 8 teams per row. Almost a full 8 rows have been used. We are waiting to see the end of the Finals this season.
5.) I believe the SHL's Challenge Cup is way more difficult to win because you have to build a full on team in a league that is hard to make it past the first round of playoffs. As for Four Star Cup you just need players who are maxed by 2 seasons it is very easy to keep a team pushing for a Four Star because the gap between team skills is not as large as it is in the Challenge Cup at times. I believe that it's very simple to make it to the Finals in playoffs for SMJHL. SHL it's hard to make it past the first and second round. For a team perspective to takes a long time to make a great push for a cup, but being consistent it would be even harder to make a push multiple times over. I am excited to see who the next names who are claimed and engraved onto the Challenge Cup in about a week.
04-29-2022, 03:45 AM(This post was last modified: 04-29-2022, 04:56 AM by Opera_Phantom. Edited 4 times in total.)
PBE Affiliate - 3 TPE
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. Atlanta is a recent expansion team reaching it's first finals appearance. Chicago has been a dominant force in the league for a long time now, with their last cup win only seven seasons ago in Season 57. If you're betting on these finals, do you go for the experienced vets in Chicago, or the hungry Atlanta first-timers?
The only reason people are surprised by Atlanta is if they have not been following their past seasons. They have a great team, an incredible young one, so they have been rising through the ranks consistently. I do understand that experience goes a long way in the SHL, but if i was a betting man, i would go with Atlanta on this one.
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b. Chicago's lineup much more active with their sticks than Atlanta's, racking up 97 takeaways to Atlanta's 79. This late in the playoffs, how do you adjust to a team that's so adept at picking your pocket?
Chicago knows how to play the sim, so if they got that takeaway advantage it is because they built their team for it, and were successful in it. But to be fair, i think both teams will play to their strengths and will not adapt that much to their opponent. That would definitely be a mistake in my opinion.
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c. Atlanta has only 32 penalty minutes in these playoffs compared to Chicago's 45. With emotions high and the Challenge Cup on the line, do you think discipline will play a big role in this series?
Discipline will play a big part on these finals, but if teams get a bit more nervous this time if compared to the rest of the playoffs, i think it is quite normal. It is a final after all, so you can be 7 games away from getting a ring, so your heart will sometimes take advantage over your brain.
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d. Similar to last season's finals, we see Chicago running a balanced ice-time attack against Atlanta's targeted approach that has some players seeing sheltered minutes. Last season the more balanced attack won out. Do you think we'll see the same again? Why or why not?
I do not think anyone can predict that at this point. Games 1 and 2 will play a big part on how these finals will play out, so if a team gets behind 2 games for example, they will try and change things up a bit, even if that means approaching their opponent tactics. But that can be their final nail in the coffin, not playing to their strengths.
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6. Written, 3 TPE, Dream Team 150 words min
You have to create the perfect SHL or SMJHL line for your player to be on. Who do you put on your line and why? Is it something about their style of play that compliments yours? Does it only include players from the present, or do you dip into the past to find an incredible D pair? Or are you just choosing your friends ‘cause they’d be fun to win the cup with?
I think there is nothing better than to be successful in sim leagues when you are sharing a locker room with people you like and get along with in a great way. So i do not even care about the style of play the teams uses, while obviously i would hope it would play to Jay Cue's strengths, but as long as there is a good environment and knowledgeable general managers setting up the lines, we would be closer to success for sure.
If people get along, if you are having a great time on the team, that means that you are way more prone to do the league tasks and update your player according to necessities, making it easier for GMs to set up the tactics. And this means that you are a lot closer to winning games, being a force on the playoffs and bring that challenge cup ring back home a few times.
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5. Written, 3 TPE, Cup Check (150 words min.)
Which league has the more prestigious cup in your opinion, the SHL or the SMJHL? Which cup is harder to win? A lot is said about the different skill sets required to GM in each league, so which do you personally think is tougher to manage? Is a trophy case with three Four Star Cups as cool as a trophy case with three Challenge Cups? Maybe you think it’s even cooler. Why?
While i do understand that a lot of people love their minors team, especially here in the SHL as everyone spends a whole lot of time there, i do not think there is a way to consider the Four Star Cup as prestigious as the Challenge Cup. At least for me, as soon as i got to the league, the main idea is to have a great career in the majors, to be able to possible get an hall of fame shout. And for that, what do you need? I will let you know if you do not already, but it is rings. Using Newfoundland as an example, i bet their are having a lot of fun getting those cups every single season, but yeah, i bet the players think they need to emulate that in the SHL. It is the highest honor a player can get in this league, even more than MVP in my opinion.
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20. Written, 3 TPE, Ruthless Capitalist (150 words min.)
Someone that looks like the Monopoly guy just gave you two million dollars and a two year deadline to make the SHL a growing and profitable business. What do you do with that seed money to make this an online platform that facilitates you milking as much money as possible from the users? ALTERNATIVELY, if you don’t want to be malicious, what would you do with 2 million dollars to improve the site and make it the best sim league in the world?
I have no idea how much it costs because i am not in that business, but i would for sure spend a bunch of that money in advertising the league.
One of the things i have noticed since i came to online sim leagues is that a lot of people have no idea this is a thing. It happens in the United States, but if you leave the US and go to other countries, it is even worse. I had no idea about these games until like 2 years ago, so imagine the potential number of users that can be reached that would love to be a part of something like this.
Social media, like twitter, facebook, instagram, tik tok and i do not know how many more are there are a giant channel to bring new people into the league, which would be awesome. So pay someone to get the league a big thing on social media. More users, more money.
04-29-2022, 06:05 AM(This post was last modified: 05-07-2022, 07:54 AM by Sergeantens. Edited 1 time in total.)
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1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.
Bananarama
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16. Written, 2 TPE, Home Country (100 words min.)
Why did you choose your IIHF country? Is it where you’re actually from? Is it where your friends play? Was it for a specific role play reason? I want to know how you decided where your player comes from!
So Evert Jansson comes from sweden, A small town in the northeastern scanian region called Kristianstad to be exact. He always dreamed about playing for his home country but one night, after getting a call from Team Latvias General Manager. Evert started pondering if he should play for them instead. The reason for this was that he had two friends in Latvia already. with one of them being Tom Zile who is the backup goalie for Detroit Falcons. And so, Evert gave up on the mighty three crowns to fly to latvia instead to hang out with his friends and make even more friends in the very cultural country latvia.
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17. Written, 2 TPE, Substitute Teacher (100 words min.)
Hello! I am 11 years old, and as a part of the SHL Community Outreach Program– you, a famous hockey player, have to teach my Geography class in 15 minutes! You have to tell me and my classmates a couple of fun facts about your player’s IIHF country! Jump on Wikipedia or whatever and search up something weird or fun about where your player is from that I wouldn’t know! Get wacky, or get scholarly for all I care! Maybe you’ll actually learn something cool!
Well, where should i start? Latvia, or officially the Republic of Latvia. Is one of the three baltic states. The other two being Estonia and Lithuania. Lithuania borders latvia to the south and estonia has its border to the north. It also borders Russia, Belarus and Sweden, (although Sweden only shares a maritime border with latvia in the baltic sea which is to the west of latvia) It's capital city, Riga, is also the largest city and it sits right besides the coast of the bay of riga (called Rīgas jūras līcis in latvian.) Riga has a very rich history after being ruled by Sweden, Polish Livonia and Russia. It became its own republic when it broke away from the German Empire in 1918.
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20. Written, 3 TPE, Ruthless Capitalist (150 words min.)
Someone that looks like the Monopoly guy just gave you two million dollars and a two year deadline to make the SHL a growing and profitable business. What do you do with that seed money to make this an online platform that facilitates you milking as much money as possible from the users? ALTERNATIVELY, if you don’t want to be malicious, what would you do with 2 million dollars to improve the site and make it the best sim league in the world?
If I would get the opportunity to make the site a money milking machine I would definitely rework the cards program so that you need to pay actual money to buy packs. Just like EA is milking FIFA FUT and NHL HUT. It's proven to give a lot of money to the company and it's really adictive so the money will literally rain upon me.
I would also make it so that all sigs on the site is sold in real money. Do you want to have an awesome looking sig? Well pay up because this is going to cost you half of your wage.
I think I could also integrate some sort of profile customization system that makes it so that you can buy cool graphics on your player page. Everyone wants to flex their money so the best way of doing that is to be able to pay for customization.
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21. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Epic Loot (150 words min.)
A hockey gear manufacturer has developed a substance called “Materia” that allows them to imbue hockey gear with incredibly powerful abilities. They’ve come to you to ask for your endorsement, and to help you design your own piece of magical hockey gear. What piece of gear do you design? What do you make it look like? Is it an unassuming piece of equipment that can fly under the radar, or do you go for some wild steampunk thing? What insane magical bonuses and benefits does it give you? ALTERNATIVELY for a graphic task, show me your player wearing the piece of gear you designed! Show how its power is benefiting them.
As a goalie, I would gladly develop some sort of goalie gear that has powers and that would make me impossible to score against. I would either choose to develop some sort of pads that never give up rebounds so that every puck that I save with the pads just stops right infront of me so that I can just block it with my glove. That's something that would make my life a lot easier.
The other gear I would want to help design or develop is a glove that makes the puck go in it by some sort of magnetic power. So if somebody shoots high I would just raise my glove and the puck would go in it everytime. But only when the puck is inbetween a certain distance to the glove so I wouldnt attract pucks that are way outside the goal.
These gears would probably look like normal goalie gear.
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7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. Just link your Milestone claim below this task for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
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Post your claim in the milestones thread for tpe earned per stat, and then link that post in your CW submission. This is done because the person who grades CW will be a different person than double-checks milestones
04-29-2022, 06:17 AM(This post was last modified: 05-05-2022, 06:28 AM by dankoa. Edited 5 times in total.)
2. - Written
c.
I don't think that there's ever been a playoff series where discipline hasn't been a huge factor. It's quite simple, playing without a full lineup is only going to hurt you and make your life more difficult, and staying out of the penalty box is vital if you're going to pull off a series win. I'm sure it'll be massively in Atlanta's favour if they're able to stay away from penalties and play their strongest lineup at all times
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d. Similar to last season's finals, we see Chicago running a balanced ice-time attack against Atlanta's targeted approach that has some players seeing sheltered minutes. Last season the more balanced attack won out. Do you think we'll see the same again? Why or why not?
To be honest I have no idea, FHM is a mystery that has almost entirely eluded me and I make no effort anymore to understand how it works. I think that the biggest thing that they can do is find out the strategy that best suits their lineup, and if Chicago find they have the depth to run that kind of strategy and do well with it, I'm sure that they will and they'll go on to do well in the series
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4. - Written
It's actually a fascinating story behind the origin of the Challenge Cup, but it's one that the bigwigs at SHL HQ have tried to suppress over the last few years. The original Challenge Cup trophy was purchased by the then commissioner of the league from a thrift store in West Palm Beach, Florida. You might not have noticed this before but rather than a hockey player, the trophy actually depicts someone bowling, due to the fact that the trophy had served as a beer league bowling trophy in its first life before the league got hold of it. It's taken on a life of its own since then and people are too used to it to worry about changing things too much, so it's stuck even though it actually makes no sense at all and it looks kinda weird to see 20,000 fans packed into an arena cheering for their team to go away with such a shitty looking trophy but there we go; that's just how the SHL works!
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5. - Written
As someone who has had the chance to GM in both leagues and compete for both cups, I feel like I have a good idea of what's actually harder to compete for and I would say without a doubt it's the Challenge Cup in the SHL. Going for the Four Star Cup is actually really tough as well, but the timescale involved in winning a Challenge Cup makes it so tough. You have to essentially nail your GM moves for a long, consistent period, and one or two messed up drafts 7 seasons ago can really hurt your chances of winning a cup this time around. It's obviously tough in the SMJHL with the level of player turnover there is there but it is a lot quicker to rebuild and go from the bottom to the top there, whereas SHL requires a lot of commitment from everyone to giving a bad team a good go and it's just generally really tough to get right.
15 - Written
I'll start off by saying how much I've enjoyed over the last few seasons see so much deviation from the status quo in the IIHF as smaller nations have gone on to win gold and break the dominance we "enjoyed" from Team Canada in the last few years. But yeah, in terms of this upcoming tournament I think it's completely open and have no idea how it's going to play out. I would love to say that I think Team Finland is going to be straight back in there winning medals again, but I'm not really sure that's likely to happen based on how random the tournament can feel. I think that the probably safest bet is saying that one of the bigger nations like Canada or USA will come away with the gold medal, but at the minimum I'd like to see someone we haven't seen win one in a while or who hasn't traditionally been a superpower get the chance to win something this time around.
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18 - Written
I didn't have the Syndicate winning the playoffs before it all started, but to be honest I really wasn't super sure about what direction the playoffs might go. With a weaker Hamilton team than we've seen in previous years, I was of the opinion that we were likely going to see something different when it came to the finals, and seeing Atlanta make it all the way to the cup finals was great and I'm really happy for them. But yeah, Syndicate weren't my pick but they've been a great side for a long time and deserve to come away with another ring for the hard work that they've put in over the last few seasons.
04-29-2022, 08:47 AM(This post was last modified: 04-30-2022, 07:33 PM by Gifter of Bikes. Edited 2 times in total.)
2a)
Whatever it comes to a situation like this, I always find it best to trust on the veterans over the inexperienced group. But ultimately having gone through the process usually seems to be the most beneficial way of succeeding. Look no further than Wayne Gretzky in the early 80s, where they lost to the New York Islanders in the cup finals. Gretzky tells a story of walking out of the building after losing the cup and passing the Islanders locker room, expecting to see them celebrating. Instead he sees guys with ice packs all over them, unable to move. He credits that for teaching him what it takes to win it all.
2b)
If I were coaching a team in this situation like the one that Atlanta finds themselves in, I would refer my players to the absolute fundamentals of a smart, simple game. Keep your sticks in the passing Lanes. Don't make blind passes. Don't pass in front of your own goalie. I would coach my team to look for short 5 to 7 ft passes to maintain possession and coverage instead of looking for long two line cross ice bombs. Otherwise Atlanta is going to lose on transition offense alone.
2c)
Comparing Atlanta and Chicago's penalty minute numbers is really only relevant if Atlanta can capitalize on Chicago's lack of discipline, or, as alluded to above, if Atlanta gets too fancy and Chicago creates a lot of turnovers, it might end up being at best a wash and at worse a negative to get a special teams opportunity. If Atlanta can take advantage of the power play and not turn over the puck to Chicago's very skilled defensive players, special teams could absolutely be a deciding factor in this series. But if Atlanta gets sloppy or overenthusiastic on the power play, it would not surprise me to see Chicago put up multiple shorthanded goals this series.
2d)
When I was a general manager in the SHL, I was always a big proponent of having a well-balanced attack throughout the lineup. While it only brought me one League trophy, I think there's definitely something to be said for having guys on your third line who would be on other team's top lines. The ability to roll line after line after line of attack, taking advantage of and exploiting the other team's lack of depth, can be the difference between success and failure in the SHL.
3a)
I'm a big fan of Rand and believe that he and Rashford both have very Bright futures in this league. From a Quebec perspective, you have to be constantly aware of when those two are on the ice and, again come up play a smart, simple game. Try to keep your stick in the passing Lane. Don't let guys into the middle of the ice in front of your own goalie. Keep a nice tight box in the slot. In the case of these two defensemen, it becomes almost a man-to-man coverage instead of zone, but you don't want to take it too far, as they are both slippery players and could very easily create odd man opportunities in close.
3b)
Twenty percent is a ridiculously high shooting percentage, and to have three players scoring at that rate is unheard of. Part of what Newfoundland has to do is simply hope that the percentages are unsustainable and these guys start missing some of the opportunities that they are getting. Aside from that, I'm going to repeat myself with what I just said: don't let guys into the middle of the ice in front of your own goalie, and keep a tight box in the slot. Just getting in the way of passes and shots, sacrificing your body to block a shot, can be the difference between victory and defeat.
3c)
As I alluded to above, if you are Newfoundland you have to hope that the Quebec players' hot streaks come to an end. Hockey is a game of inches, and right now those bounces seem to be going Quebec's way. It's impossible to predict how luck might rear its head over the course of even a single game, let alone a series, but it will be interesting to see if Newfoundland can either elevate their offensive game or limit the offensive game of their opponent.
3d)
This whole scenario is kind of weird to me, if I'm being honest. I guess it's a byproduct of players having hyperextended stints in the Junior League, but the idea of there being perennial powerhouses in the SMJHL is absolutely wild and kind of difficult to wrap my head around. At most, I would expect 2 years of success from a junior team before they have to rebuild, but that doesn't seem to be the case for either of these franchises. Ultimately, this seems like a series of can Quebec continue to score at their torrid pace, or can Newfoundland shut them down and win an absurd fourth title in five seasons.
20)
I think Spartan really hit the nail on the head here: step one has to be a website redesign so that it looks modern and not like a giant misshapen BBS system designed by fromsoft. The site is an unwieldy monster and needs a complete makeover, which can be done for considerably less than 2 million dollars. Once that's done, I would suggest a fairly aggressive campaign on YouTube, ideally one with video clips of our new sim engine that we developed, mashing up the attribute depth of FHM with actual play-by-play video like an EA NHL game. Ultimately, I'd hate to see the league get super popular, as it would probably detract from the community, as hard as that is to believe, and I really hate the idea of microtransactions. Microtransactions should never have started as a model. What a disgrace. Look at some of the games that are released these days, where barely half of the content comes on the disc / in the download, and the rest costs $5 per gig of data. It's not difficult to imagine a training model like Matteo mentioned, and that would be the end of my interest in sim leagues for sure.
1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.
atllove
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7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim below this task for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
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Post your claim in the milestones thread for tpe earned per stat, and then link that post in your CW submission. This is done because the person who grades CW will be a different person than double-checks milestones.
16. Written, 2 TPE, Home Country (100 words min.)
Why did you choose your IIHF country? Is it where you’re actually from? Is it where your friends play? Was it for a specific role play reason? I want to know how you decided where your player comes from!
There are multiple reasons I decided Jay Sink would play for Great Britain in the IIHF (and do so relatively well, if I do say so myself). The first is that I am actually from Great Britain, but my players in other leagues are US-born and came through the US college system and I thought I'd do something different. There's also a role play aspect to it. I haven't written any SHL media for a while, but early in my career I wrote Jay Sink as a stereotypical meat-headed jock, but from the UK (I still do, in PT responses). As well as suffering from all the pitfalls these characters do in US culture, Jay Sink plainly doesn't understand hockey and is competent at the sport only because of his athletic ability, expressing hockey beliefs that make no sense at all. (141 words)
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21. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Epic Loot (150 words min.)
A hockey gear manufacturer has developed a substance called “Materia” that allows them to imbue hockey gear with incredibly powerful abilities. They’ve come to you to ask for your endorsement, and to help you design your own piece of magical hockey gear. What piece of gear do you design? What do you make it look like? Is it an unassuming piece of equipment that can fly under the radar, or do you go for some wild steampunk thing? What insane magical bonuses and benefits does it give you? ALTERNATIVELY for a graphic task, show me your player wearing the piece of gear you designed! Show how its power is benefiting them.
There's a temptation to equip your player with a magical hockey stick, one that makes you several magnitudes better at controlling, passing and shooting the puck. This feels a little too obvious though, and doesn't really fit Jay Sink's strengths and weaknesses when he's performing on the ice. Instead, I'd give Jay Sink magical pads. With these pads on his knees, elbows and wherever else hockey players put those things, Jay Sink becomes much stronger when opposing players come into contact with him. When colliding with Sink, opponents are blown away by his physical strength and often fall to the ground. This is useful when competing for loose pucks, or when Sink tries to dispossess opposing wingers. As a player who is already known for his physical strength and for dominating his side of the ice, this ability will go somewhat under the radar and opponents will assume that the beefy boy just got beefier. Jay Sink would just become an even better version of the player he is. (169 words)
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22. Written, 2 TPE, Be Nice (100 words min.)
I’ve seen this prompt used from time to time and I think the end of my first full season as PT director is as good of a time as any. Use this 100 words to give a compliment to someone in the community that you appreciate! Whether it’s a friend, a GM, a PT director, or one of those amazing folks that designed the card website– try to make someone smile with some kind words!
I would like to say something nice to my two (new) GMs, @hotdog and @goldenglutes. Two offseasons ago, I wasn't enjoying SHL at all and had only remained active so as not to let down the team that drafted me first overall. Knowing there were other teams where I had friends in management positions, I asked my then-GM to look for a trade for me and the Atlanta GMs traded three picks for me, bringing me to the Inferno. I love the team you two have built. I signed a contract extension last offseason and being brought into a new locker room with friendly faces (new and old) has motivated me to see out Jay Sink's SHL career instead of going IA. Thanks for trading for me <3 (128 words)
1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.
coffee
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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. Atlanta is a recent expansion team reaching it's first finals appearance. Chicago has been a dominant force in the league for a long time now, with their last cup win only seven seasons ago in Season 57. If you're betting on these finals, do you go for the experienced vets in Chicago, or the hungry Atlanta first-timers?
b. Chicago's lineup much more active with their sticks than Atlanta's, racking up 97 takeaways to Atlanta's 79. This late in the playoffs, how do you adjust to a team that's so adept at picking your pocket?
c. Atlanta has only 32 penalty minutes in these playoffs compared to Chicago's 45. With emotions high and the Challenge Cup on the line, do you think discipline will play a big role in this series?
d. Similar to last season's finals, we see Chicago running a balanced ice-time attack against Atlanta's targeted approach that has some players seeing sheltered minutes. Last season the more balanced attack won out. Do you think we'll see the same again? Why or why not?
A. I am of the mind that you go with experience over youth when it comes to the championship series. Not to take anything away from Atlanta but Chicago will have the upper hand having more players that have experienced the intensity of final series. In general, the game gets a little bit slower every series which would favor and overall older Chicago team as well.
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B. If you are facing a team that is so good at stripping the puck off their opponents’ sticks you have to play good old dump and chase hockey. If you push your luck trying to carry the puck up ice you are going to lose. Atlanta will need to make quick passes when necessary but should be looking to get pucks in deep and outskate Chicago.
(66)
C. Discipline is going to be huge. Atlanta staying so composed this far into the playoffs is a bit surprising. They have advanced further than ever before. I would have imagined they would rack up more penalty minutes based on emotions alone. I hope for their sake that this trend continues into the finals. An experienced team like Chicago will take advantage of every power play they get.
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D. In my opinion, the balanced attack is always the best approach. When minutes get pushed too far you end up with gassed players. Sure, you don’t want to have your third pairing out there 25 minutes a night but you don’t want your top pair exhausted after game two either. These are all professionals. Given the opportunity they are going to rise to the occasion.
(65)
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3. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Four Star Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Newfoundland has gotten 25 points in 11 games from two of their top D, Rand al'Thor and Mikko Rashford. If you're Quebec's coach, how do you adjust to Newfoundland having guys on the blue line that are just as offensively dangerous as the wingers?
b. Quebec has three players shooting 20% or better in Bertrand, Utah, and Kidd. If you're the Newfoundland defense, how do you find a way to bottle up three forwards that can't seem to miss the back of the net?
c. Looking at each teams' PDO, we see that Quebec is riding a bit of a hot streak while Newfoundland has actually been a bit unlucky. Do you think this a is a good thing for either team? Is Newfoundland bound to find some luck, or are they going to get stuck in a rut? Is Quebec going to come back down to Earth, or did they get hot at the right time?
d. Newfoundland has appeared in all 4 of the last SMJHL finals and won 3 of them. Quebec, a consistently strong presence in the SMJHL, has a lot of playoff success behind them as well, having won several series since their last 4 Star in S58. How do you approach this series mentally on either side? If you're Newfoundland, are you worried your streak can't last forever? If you're Quebec, do you fear that you can't take down a goliath?
A. There is not much you can do given that Newfoundland are such an offensively explosive team. If you want to shut down these two defenders specifically you will need to play man on man defense as hard as possible. If they are pressured constantly, they are going to be hard-pressed to continue their offensive dominance.
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B. Drop the hammer on them! If you focus on them and make them scared to have the puck that shooting percentage is going to drop. I am not saying do anything dirty. Just play hard, old-school hockey and do not let them get comfortable. Do that and those shooting percentages will fall drastically.
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C. I think that Quebec got hot at the perfect time. They are rolling and they are going to keep riding that hot streak. If you are riding high after three rounds, most likely that is going to continue into the finals. Newfoundland is going to have a tough time getting going against a team that is hot and full of the confidence that come with it.
(66)
D. At this point, all the pressure is on Newfoundland in my opinion. Quebec is riding into the finals on a hot streak and feeling good recovering after a couple down seasons. Even if they lose, they still have plenty to feel good about. Newfoundland is looking over that edge before they fall. They have lived high for a while and that can’t last for a while.
(66)
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5. Written, 3 TPE, Cup Check (150 words min.)
Which league has the more prestigious cup in your opinion, the SHL or the SMJHL? Which cup is harder to win? A lot is said about the different skill sets required to GM in each league, so which do you personally think is tougher to manage? Is a trophy case with three Four Star Cups as cool as a trophy case with three Challenge Cups? Maybe you think it’s even cooler. Why?
For me, the Four-Star Cup is harder cup to win. Off the bat, you only have five chances to win the FSC. Depending on how long of a career a player is in the SHL, they could have between ten to fifteen chances at the Challenge Cup. Related to that, the constant flow of players into and out of the league makes it so hard to make a long term for a team. It does not matter how dedicated a player is in the J, they need to pack their shit and get out when they finish their fourth season. Finally, the TPE cap also makes it harder for a team to become dominant because of huge TPE advantage. Everyone is much closer to each other in terms of their TPE. All of these factors combine to create a more level playing field and a much harder environment to win the cup.
(152)
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21. Written / Graphic, 3 TPE, Epic Loot (150 words min.)
A hockey gear manufacturer has developed a substance called “Materia” that allows them to imbue hockey gear with incredibly powerful abilities. They’ve come to you to ask for your endorsement, and to help you design your own piece of magical hockey gear. What piece of gear do you design? What do you make it look like? Is it an unassuming piece of equipment that can fly under the radar, or do you go for some wild steampunk thing? What insane magical bonuses and benefits does it give you? ALTERNATIVELY for a graphic task, show me your player wearing the piece of gear you designed! Show how its power is benefiting them.
Being a more offensively minded defender, I would design a stick using this newly founded materia. I had many meetings with the design team and settled on something nice and clean. In video games, the stronger something is the more over the top the design is. I did not want my stick to be covered in skulls and spikes like some top-tier sword. I based my design off the Master Sword from the Legend of Zelda. It has a nice clean bright silver and blue design with a slight shine emanating from it. The stick itself grants some nice bonuses as well. Drawing from my inspiration of the Master Sword, there is a bonus when you are at full health(stamina). When beginning a shift in the offensive zone you have a significantly stronger shot. When starting in the defensive zone, you get a speed bonus to get to loose pucks. It isn’t anything game ending but it is a nice boost when you need it.
(165)
04-29-2022, 04:20 PM(This post was last modified: 04-30-2022, 01:53 AM by Carpy48. Edited 2 times in total.)
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1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.
Verification: redcarpet
+3 TPE
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5. Written, 3 TPE, Cup Check (150 words min.)
Which league has the more prestigious cup in your opinion, the SHL or the SMJHL? Which cup is harder to win? A lot is said about the different skill sets required to GM in each league, so which do you personally think is tougher to manage? Is a trophy case with three Four Star Cups as cool as a trophy case with three Challenge Cups? Maybe you think it’s even cooler. Why?
You could theoretically find arguments for both. I'll start with the Four Star Cup in the SMJHL. Most players only spend a handful of seasons in the SMJHL, usually three or four seasons. That means you only have three or four seasons to win the cup. Nowadays there are more teams so the chances are even lower than in the past. Rebuilding is faster in the SMJHL due to the higher turnover the players, but if you happen to be on a "bad" team it's more difficult to win (I know, I've been there myself), however if you are on a good team with GMs that know what they're doing, it's even possible that you win more than one cup. The same really can be said about the SHL, only that your career is typically a lot longer there. Not always, but usually. There are even more teams in the SHL so there is a ton of competition too and players can stay longer on their teams if everything works out. However, it's also in theory easier to change teams as free agents. Some players do that because they really just want a cup and go to the "good" teams. I've never been on one of those good teams and I have never won a cup with my player so for me it seems equally difficult in both leagues. In the end it really comes down to your GMs. I'd say the Challenge Cup in the SHL feels more prestigious. In theory you could even win that more than five times with the same player (that would really be the maximum amount of times you could win a cup with one team in the SMJHL).
+3 TPE
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6. Written, 3 TPE, Dream Team 150 words min
You have to create the perfect SHL or SMJHL line for your player to be on. Who do you put on your line and why? Is it something about their style of play that compliments yours? Does it only include players from the present, or do you dip into the past to find an incredible D pair? Or are you just choosing your friends ‘cause they’d be fun to win the cup with?
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7. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 12 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
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Post your claim in the milestones thread for tpe earned per stat, and then link that post in your CW submission. This is done because the person who grades CW will be a different person than double-checks milestones.
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15. Written, 3 TPE, IIHF Hype (150 words min.)
Write your predictions for this year's IIHF tournament or WJC! Do you think the same teams will be on top this year, or are we due for some turnover? How are you feeling about your country’s chances this time? Any players that you think will light up the tournament?
Last season the tournament didn't go as planned for our team (Finland), but I'm sure we can turn things around again since we are still a good team and are good enough to win a medal. Which one remains to be seen, gold would be ideal, but at this point I'd even be happy with something like silver (the one I don't have yet). Sweden has been one of the favorites lately and teams like Canada are always good somehow. It always depends a lot on the GM skills too and Japan has been strong in that area for a while now. You shouldn't underestimate Switzerland either, they're always up for a surprise like making it all the way to the final last year, even beating Japan on the way there. It's difficult to say who will win, but I think it will be one of the teams that has been good lately, I don't expect any real surprises.
+3 TPE
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16. Written, 2 TPE, Home Country (100 words min.)
Why did you choose your IIHF country? Is it where you’re actually from? Is it where your friends play? Was it for a specific role play reason? I want to know how you decided where your player comes from!
The explanation is relatively easy. Ever since I started getting interested in hockey I've followed Finland. I first only watched international hockey for years before I started following any "league" hockey. They've been the country I support in international tournaments even though it's technically not my home country (but I have lived there before, visit regularly and speak the language, so that counts?). Some people find that odd, but I don't. When I had to pick a country my player was from, I picked Finland. I didn't know anyone on the team so that had nothing to do with it and I didn't check for open positions either. All that was a coincidence that there happened to be a free spot at the same when I created and the "old" goalie retired relatively quickly.
18. I have got to admit, the playoffs weren’t quite what I was expecting this year. The biggest surprise to me was that my own Montreal Patriotes made it to the playoffs for the first time ever! We thought we were still another season away from making a push for the playoffs, but the cards fell in our favor, and we managed to jump into the big dance ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pull a win off Hamilton, but it was still super cool to be a part of the playoffs for the first time since I was called up to the SHL.
22. Admittedly, I don’t know a whole lot about the SHL or SMJHL. I just haven’t paid much attention ever since joining the league, even though I thought I would. But one thing that I have definitely noticed over and over again is how awesome Evok is over here. She’s always helping people in the QCC locker room and anywhere else that she can. I think she may have joined the PT team now too maybe? I noticed she posted some PT, so I assume so. She’s a joy to talk to, and even though we don’t talk as much as we used to, anytime we have a conversation it feels like we haven’t missed a beat. I’m really happy that I get to call her my friend!
09-05-2018, 10:04 PMBeaver Wrote: Wow look what the PT affiliation has done to our pristine league.
12-19-2018, 12:31 AMBeaver Wrote: I personally blame the PT affiliation for handing out massive amounts of free TPE to all these players, inflating the TPE they're at when they get called up.
Dhoop![[Image: XlUQV2V.png]](https://i.imgur.com/XlUQV2V.png)
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By-Tor![[Image: DqlVneu.png]](https://i.imgur.com/DqlVneu.png)
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I ![[Image: specterspp.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/537644128066994197/593600679130431523/specterspp.png)
I ![[Image: czechup.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/454001889063862273/593632736833568769/czechup.png)
I ![[Image: gs89eGV.png]](http://i.imgur.com/gs89eGV.png)
I ![[Image: 0XJkcN5.png]](http://i.imgur.com/0XJkcN5.png)
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