4. Well I think Montreal's woes are certainly temporary. I don't think it was the wrong time or too early for them to pull the trigger on a rebuild, as ultimately you can simply make the counter point of when their rivals from this past era need to clean shop and start thinking about whats the come in the future, Montreal will be out ahead of them by a significant time margin when it comes to restocking for another run at a competitive era. Having said that though, without knowing the machinations of their head office and scouting, the case can still be made that they've missed out on a chance at further glory with their past competitive roster. I think it's a risk reward preference and tolerance question ultimately, and I always lean towards looking to the future and ensuring that a build is as strong as possible, instead of chasing a high ceiling, low floor potential of one more run with an aging roster.
3. Ultimately I think that it's clear Winnipeg and New England's recipe for success boils down to the fact that their long term coaching and veteran status when it comes to competing within the playoffs is impeccable on both sides of the match up. Not only have they had consistent rosters competing at an elite level for some time now, ensuring that they know the ins and outs of their teams to a high degree but also they are strategically sound and have had many runs at the top to be able to solidify the approach and style that works for them in both lineup management as well as tactical styles on the ice. The two teams look poised to compete again next season as while they both slowly age they have minimal weak spots amidst their line ups and profile once more as some of the stronger teams in the league, and we all know once play off season begins any thing can happen, so I'd look for them to use their competitive pedigree to good use next season too.
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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. Two old faces are back in the ring, proving reports of the dynasty’s demise were greatly exaggerated! Pick either of our finalists, and tell me what about them impresses you the most!
b. Upsets were a theme this year - which of our finalists had the more difficult road to the promised land and why?
c. Which of the finalists had the more impressive conference finals victory, and why?
d. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?
A: Though the number of Finals appearances and cups are far from the same. I am impressed with the consistency of the Winnipeg Aurora to make the Challenge Cup Finals. They have made every final since S69 with the exception of S73. In that time they have faced New England 3 times now.
B: I cannot really decide. NEW had to deal with 2 of the top 3 teams in Buffalo and Philadelphia, but they also faced Hamilton to start. WIN dealt with Chicago and Texas, who are stronger than both them and NEW. Though they had to punch their ticket to the Finals against the Cinderella San Fran who had just beat the defending Champs in Edmonton. I find it about equal.
C: Luke's wolfpack faced down the Forge for the 5th time since S69. Philly is the final boss in the East as they have been there 6 seasons in a row now and went to game 7 of the Cup finals last season. But Ace's Aurora did something that not even the defending champs and best team in the league could and that was stop the San Francisco Pride.
D: I like how much younger New England is and they were able to retool a smidge to get past Philly. Consistent playoff teams who know how to get it done. Besides, Winnipeg has 1 cup in all the finals appearances. Though that came against the Wolfpack, still are my choice to take it.
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3. Written, 3 TPE, Haven’t I Seen This Before? (150 words min.)
Despite being the 8th and 10th ranked regular season teams in the league, our finalists from Winnipeg and New England represent two of the most dominant teams over the past several seasons. What do you think is the secret to their success? What can other teams learn from them? Which one is more likely to be back again next year?
Well a lot of things go into consistently showing up. Both teams have GMs who have been around for a long time on the SHL site. These guys know the ins and outs of tinkering with rosters, lines, and building locker rooms for success. Its also the right time for the rosters. Both teams boast a high average TPE and depth throughout their respective lineups and regardless of where they finished the season, had no business being counted out as Cup contenders. I've been hammering away for several seasons now that teams have been able to show that you can build up over the course of 5 or 10 seasons from the bottom to going on deep runs. These guys and gals are in their high points right now and it comes down to growing together. Just constant earning without getting burnt out by poor finishes or disappointing runs. About grabbing the right groups of people and trusting that things will work out together.
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12. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)
Looks like [TEAM] won Season 74! Who won and why? What could the other team have done differently to change the result? What was your favorite part of the series?
Looks like New England indeed won. Not too sure what Winnipeg could have done differently but lets have a look. First of all they needed to find a way to shut down the Wolfpack. Outside of game 5 to stay alive, the Aurora managed to eat 4 goals against or more. Gotta close the door. New England won by just being dogs on raw meat with the puck. Just put in goal after goal after goal. gotta admire the tenacity. My favorite part had to be the nail biter that was game 3. Was a 6-5 Overtime win for the Aurora not just to breath life into their series but also showcase just how much fight they had.
3. Written, 3 TPE, Haven’t I Seen This Before? (150 words min.)
Despite being the 8th and 10th ranked regular season teams in the league, our finalists from Winnipeg and New England represent two of the most dominant teams over the past several seasons. What do you think is the secret to their success? What can other teams learn from them? Which one is more likely to be back again next year?
I think the secret to both of these teams success is that they both still have really stacked teams. I am not sure how they ended up so low in the standings compared to the other teams but by looking at their rosters, neither has a starter below 1000 TPE excpet 1 on WPG which is at 975, which is very impressive. When you look at some of the top teams through the season like BUF, who I believe was top 2, they had 3 players below 1000 TPE and not many above 1500. I believe the sim was on one this regular season and two teams that should have been at the top made it there. If I had to pick one team to make it back, it would have to be NEW, as WPG's forward group looks like they may hit regression with a lot of their players, unlike NEW who barely hit it. NEW has been able to build a core of amazing players in multiple close draft classes which has helped them succeed for seasons, and more to come. Drafting has always been a part of sim leagues, as free agency seems to die down with loyalty, so having a good grasp on the players around the league is vital to organizational success.
217 words - 3 TPE
4. Written, 3 TPE, The Char B1 bis In The Room (150 words min.)
This league was until quite recently dominated by a cabal of four teams. Two of them, Winnipeg and New England, are our finalists. A third, Philadelphia, was a finalist last year. The fourth... was Montreal. Does the success of Winnipeg and New England prove that Montreal pulled the plug too soon and should’ve kept the gang around? Or did at least one of the others just get lucky and Montreal made the better decision, without hindsight? What team-building lessons can we learn from this?
I do not believe so as I think NEW and WPG are still built very well, especially NEW. Sometimes you just have to pull the plug, even if there is a chance for some success. As a GM, you have to be able to weigh the different options and the likely hood of the different options. If you do not pull the plug and wait, it could end up resulting in an even longer rebuild, which many teams do not want. If you can get out early and get some fair prices for your current players, rebuilding quicker could bring you back stronger than you may have been before. I do believe that some of these teams did get lucky, but that is the essence of the sim for many teams, just a lot of luck. Team building is all about reputation for a lot of teams in my opinion. If you are a GM or a team that does not have a good reputation, you may not be able to bring in key free agents and good draft picks that will be able to help you out faster than other teams. I am not very sure of MTL's reputation, but if they were strong for a long time, it will not take them long to get back.
218 words - 3 TPE
5. Written, 3 TPE, Upset City (150 words min)
An impressive string of upsets took place this season, especially in the West with San Francisco’s Cinderella run. Which upset series impressed you most, why, and what in that series sticks out most in your memory? For the purposes of this task, any series won by the lower seed is an upset.
The series that impressed me the most was definitely the SFP and EDM series, mainly because I picked EDM to win it all and was not expecting anyone to stop them. Well was I ever wrong because SFP was able to take care of EDM in 6 games, not even 7. This series was very impressive because EDM is super strong when looking at their TPE numbers and SFP is nowhere close to them, especially when EDM's goalie is almost double in TPE of EDM's. SFP was able to blow out the favourites twice throughout this series, but was also able to win when it mattered most in OT. This is why this series was impressive to me mainly, because they were able to beat out a better team by winning when it mattered. When looking at TPE numbers again, SFP has 0 players above 1700 TPE when EDM has 10, this shows how impressive the sim was able to sim EDM.
2.
B:
Out of the two finalists i'd say New England had the more difficult road to the final. For starters they had to beat Philadelphia in the semi finals. Philadelphia of course wasn't the only strong team in their way as they have also beat Buffalo which was another strong team this season. On top of all the mentioned Winnipeg also had some upsets help their way like Edmonton being eliminated rather early so New England certainly had it more difficult. (80 words)
C:
I'd say New England's conference final win over Philadelphia has to be the most impressive out of the two conference finals. After all Philadelphia is not just one of the powerhouses but also has a very strong team. On top of that they have come off of a very strong regular season finnishing 3rd overall and 2nd in their conference. (60 words)
3.
Both New England and Winnipeg are doing well what they are doing Winnipeg's secret to success from the little information i have managed to gather anyways is that they are certainly not affraid to pull the trigger if it's necessary. Especially if it means that they can get what they need in the moment that they need it. It's probably not so surprising to hear that Winnipeg is also gearing up for a rebuild in their core. After all they have just traded Mads McBride away. Speaking of which, 7 of their player's who are currently rosted has all been aquired by either trading or through free agency which means they are both making good deals and are capable of attracting free agents to the team. New England on the other hand is a bit more difficult to guess but from what i gathered they are really good at not just drafting but also developping talent. After all they seem to gather really talented people. And on top of that they seem to be doing so in a constant cycle meaning that they always seem to have a fresh core ready to strike. (193 words)
4.
This opinion might be a tad bit controversial but i don't think Montreal had much of a choice in terms of pulling the plug. While i wanna make sure that it is absolutely clear that i do think Montreal is a good team. There is also no denying that they seem to be swinging above their weight. Which of course is a testimony to their greatness in terms of how well they are doing as a team. I'd still say however that this is a curse in disguise rather than a blessing in disguise. After all by overperforming in the regular season they were granted with lower picks in the draft, which when they traded away had lower value meaning they couldn't get as much in return and they also have not been very successful in the free agency market. That sadly results in them having no pieces in place and as a result having trouble maintaining their window unlike teams such as New England, Winnipeg and Philadelphia. (168 words)
" Maybe someones er... they don't like me but... because i'm too good, i don't know why. "
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. Two old faces are back in the ring, proving reports of the dynasty’s demise were greatly exaggerated! Pick either of our finalists, and tell me what about them impresses you the most!
b. Upsets were a theme this year - which of our finalists had the more difficult road to the promised land and why?
c. Which of the finalists had the more impressive conference finals victory, and why?
d. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?
a. The New England Wolfpack impresses me the most as I believe they had the tougher playoff route, having to beat the 2nd best team in the league in the Buffalo Stampede, as well as the 3rd best team in the league in the Philadelphia Forge. The team is just firing at all cylinders right now. (55 words)
b. As mentioned previously, the New England Wolfpack definitely had the more difficult road having to beat the 2nd best team and the 3rd best team in the Buffalo Stampede and the Philadelphia Forge. Comparatively, the Winnipeg Aurora did not have to go through the top seeded team in the Edmonton Blizzard. (51 words)
c. The New England Wolfpack had the more impressive conference finals victory as they beat the 3rd best team in the league in the Philadelphia Forge who had 9 more points than them in the regular season with a much better goal differential in +142 versus the Wolfpack's +71. Comparatively, the Aurora beat a lower seeded team in the San Francisco Pride. (61 words)
d. I have the New England Wolfpack winning as the team has beaten the tougher opponents and entering the finals they have the better goaltender in Olof Karsikko and the better players that just absolutely dominate the stats sheets, taking the top spots in the playoffs. The Aurora will need to find some sort of luck if they expect to pull out the win. (63 words)
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4. Written, 3 TPE, The Char B1 bis In The Room (150 words min.)
This league was until quite recently dominated by a cabal of four teams. Two of them, Winnipeg and New England, are our finalists. A third, Philadelphia, was a finalist last year. The fourth... was Montreal. Does the success of Winnipeg and New England prove that Montreal pulled the plug too soon and should’ve kept the gang around? Or did at least one of the others just get lucky and Montreal made the better decision, without hindsight? What team-building lessons can we learn from this?
Without knowing the ins and outs of what went on in Montreal, one can definitely say that they pulled the plug way too early as they still had a number of players in their prime and I have said this in the past and will say it again, the team chemistry is what truly carries the team far in addition to the individual player and team tactics. This can be seen in the success of maybe New England this season in particular where their team was not the most stacked team, but they had kept a lot of players playing together for a long enough time that the chemistry really shines in the playoffs (in addition to a little bit of luck). If the Montreal Patriotes were able to keep the team together, then I believe they definitely should have, but if it was the players that asked out and wanted to play for other teams seeing the probable decline of the team, then of course their hands are tied on that end.
(173 words)
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5. Written, 3 TPE, Upset City (150 words min)
An impressive string of upsets took place this season, especially in the West with San Francisco’s Cinderella run. Which upset series impressed you most, why, and what in that series sticks out most in your memory? For the purposes of this task, any series won by the lower seed is an upset.
Without a sliver of doubt, the greatest upset series has to be the San Francisco series against the Edmonton Blizzard. The two team were separated by 38 points in the regular season which is equivalent to 19 wins! That is over 25% of the season worth of wins that the Edmonton Blizzard won more than the San Francisco Pride. In addition to that, they had the greatest goal differential difference with the Blizzard having a goal differential that is 169 goals better! With that all said, the Edmonton Blizzard didn't even take the Pride to 7 games and they had such decisive losses, losing 7-2 in game 2 and 5-2 in game 4. Did the Edmonton Blizzard get unlucky? maybe, but that's all a part of the game and that is what makes this upset so impressive. The Edmonton whole team just faltered, scoring 2 or less goals in their losses and their defense and goaltending were no better with the team allowing 3 and more goals on fewer shots!
(170 words)
“The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. ... There are neither beginnings nor endings to the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning.”
01-15-2024, 12:41 AM(This post was last modified: 01-19-2024, 10:33 AM by Troy_McClure03. Edited 3 times in total.)
APPLES
Quote:10. Written, 3 TPE, IIHF Underdogs (150 words min.)
Predict an upset for this season’s IIHF tournament, and explain why you think your chosen underdog matches up well against that specific opponent!
Czechia is Bestia. As the federation Head for Czechia, it is my duty to say now that we are a better team than we were last IIHF. I think we will get to a metal this time around. While we may not have the TPE that the larger teams have, we without a doubt have quality and our lines will be very hard to play against. We have a great mix of young and old talent, and the people who we have added are stellar. Other teams have gotten better as well, but the big teams are stuck using the regressional talent, as we have had so many new names added to the pipeline. Players who have transferred into our glorious nation do not have to wait long to become a pillar in our group. This year, Rookie Roman Cechmanek II will see some IIHF ice time, as well as others who are lower in the TPE but higher in determination than most federations. So, in closing, GO CZECHIA! FOR IT IS THE BESTIA!! (169?)
Quote:11. Written, 3 TPE, Juniors’ Juniors (150 words min.)
Are there any new promotions to your org that you’re excited to see make your IIHF squad? Who’s a good rookie on your squad this offseason? Alternatively, who’s a current World Juniors star you’re excited to see in the IIHF soon?
For Czechia, we have 1 S75 on our squad this time around with Goalie Roman Cechmanek II. Joining him are more than a few S74s, such as Sergey Ivanov, Cal Juice, Marek Carda, Mikkel Enevoldsen. These players are going to carry some minutes and really help develop the culture in Czechia. I am mostly excited to see how well Five-Hole Sieve does this time around, as they are our new goalie for the foreseeable future. There are tons of others that will be making some huge strides this year, including the likes of Jean-Francois Bokassa as well as Sunrice van de Schubbekutteveen. Jimmy Larkin-Conway has gotten a little bit older and a lot bit wiser, and hopefully we can get our squad over the line for a medal this year. Hopefully we can do it for our S58s so they can get the long deserved gold. I look forward to the long awaited debut of Oranj Konhe, but sadly we will have to wait one more cycle before we can let that D out. (174)
Quote:12. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)
Looks like [TEAM] won Season 74! Who won and why? What could the other team have done differently to change the result? What was your favorite part of the series?
You aren't going to copy the gold that was NEW this season. I know I am a homer here, but Luke reminds me of my old Winnipeg Jet days, where the team is a unit, everyone is there for each other, and the discord never stops pinging. The management style just can't be copied. I hope every GM tries now , because it is such a joy, the culture of the entire team. NEW won it all, and they won it because of the lack of panic when things go bad, and the knowledge to know what to change and when. Winnipeg was very close to winning, and I'm sure they will be around for seasons to come. The best part of the series was when NEW pulled out the win! (130)
3. Written, 3 TPE, Haven’t I Seen This Before? (150 words min.)
Despite being the 8th and 10th ranked regular season teams in the league, our finalists from Winnipeg and New England represent two of the most dominant teams over the past several seasons. What do you think is the secret to their success? What can other teams learn from them? Which one is more likely to be back again next year?
They are both very well built teams from the ground up. Despite not always having phenomenal regular season success, you can always count on them to perform in big games. Both teams have some incredible top end talent (Lias Ekholm-Gunnarsson, Matsmith Soderberg-Tremblay, and Jay O’Neil for Winnipeg, and Ivan Lacksamus, Seamus O’Slapahan, and Olof Karsikko for New England) but both teams also have filled out their rosters with some fantastic depth pieces and a great group of veteran players as well. Both teams seem to have a really strong core to build off of and can re-tool around that core to have continued success. It’s just a matter of finding those guys who are gonna keep training week in, and week out. Once you have a team willing to go hard for each other each game, anything can be possible. I think between the two teams, New England is the most likely to have a return appearance sooner.
3 TPE
4. Written, 3 TPE, The Char B1 bis In The Room (150 words min.)
This league was until quite recently dominated by a cabal of four teams. Two of them, Winnipeg and New England, are our finalists. A third, Philadelphia, was a finalist last year. The fourth... was Montreal. Does the success of Winnipeg and New England prove that Montreal pulled the plug too soon and should’ve kept the gang around? Or did at least one of the others just get lucky and Montreal made the better decision, without hindsight? What team-building lessons can we learn from this?
I think team building needs to start with getting good locker room guys. The guys who are more willing to speak up in the locker room are the guys who will make sure no one is skipping out on training. Surrounding yourself with people who will hold you accountable is step 1. Well, I guess step 1 is scouting to find those guys. Step 2 is working through the draft. Every season there’s an incredible crop of junior players just itching at their opportunity in the big leagues. 1 good draft can set you up for a long time. Beyond that, I think knowing when to pull the plug is also important. Sometimes things aren’t working with the crop you have, so instead of letting it “rot” so to speak, you dig it up and start again. There’s no harm in admitting things aren’t working. So in that, I’d say Montreal made the right choice.
3 TPE
12. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min.)
Looks like [TEAM] won Season 74! Who won and why? What could the other team have done differently to change the result? What was your favorite part of the series?
The New England Wolfpack winning over the Winnipeg Aurora was definitely on my card for this finals. It was an incredibly high scoring series with each game having at least 6 goals scored. Winnipeg picked up twenty-two goals in the series compared to 28. Scoring wasn’t really the issue for Winnipeg as much as it was goaltending. Between the two teams, New England has a top level goaltender, as well as the better performing elite stars for the season. Despite this, Winnipeg made it interesting, forcing a game 6 where they eventually fell to New England. My favourite part of the series was the big overtime in game 3.
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