8. I have to imagine the secret sauce in San Francisco is just putting together a good environment that brings out the best in their players. If you see a real desire to put together a winning squad and an effort to be active in the locker room day in and day out, it's a good look for the players and it makes them want to go that extra mile for the team, at least in my experience.
77 words +1 TPE
Code:
14. I might have procrastinated but I think anyone could've seen the San Francisco championship run coming from a mile away. Obviously they're the defending champs so you'd expect a lot from them either way, but when you look at their roster it is basically the model team stocked full of high earning players in their prime. They have 8 players who put up a point per game, not to mention Dominik Winters breaking the triple digit mark with an even hundred on the season, and Logan Webb hot on his heels with 97. Their offense is obviously top tier but they're also getting premium goaltending from league stalwart Justin Time and sophomore Luke Fromm. Tampa Bay is a strong roster with a lot of talented skaters but they just don't have the same synergy most of us have come to expect from San Francisco with it's deep, firmly entrenched roster, which is why even though they managed to walk away from a few games pretty handily, taking game 1 4-1 and game 3 5-1, San Francisco was able to fight back in those tight games to secure the championship in 6 games. Props to both teams to making it to the final round and especially San Francisco on a well constructed championship caliber team.
0. SSL Affiliate - 3 TPE
1. CW Trivia - Chickenwing - 1.5-3 TPE
8. What has made San Francisco so successful is obviously a mixture of a couple different things. I remember that in the draft my player was in San Francisco managed to have quite a few high-end picks, and also picked a couple of the top prospects back then, this combined with good tactics to get the edge over other teams who also had similar strategies gaining them quite a lot of good players as well, means you can have a consistent and very strong team which should be at least competing for the league win, if not winning the league for the upcoming few seasons. One nice thing which might also help them a bit is that their forum color is quite nice, so if it isn’t my team winning I wouldn’t mind them winning, and having the consistency of a pretty nice forum color.
1.
CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 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.
badger
Code:
13. Written, 50 to 200+ words. National Pipeline
WJC is always prime opportunity for your nations future starts to get
their first taste of playing for the national team. How has your nations
team done in recent WJCs and who are some of the most notable junior
players that will soon be expected to make an impact on IIHF level? Are
these expectations based on their performance in Juniors or growth of
their skills? How has their WJC career been, which team(s) they have
been playing for, does it compare well to your national team?
There's a complicated thing going on in USA Hockey, my national team. USA Hockey seems to do well in the WJC, I myself have earned a silver in the WJC back in S76. But in the IIHF level, USA Hockey drops off of a cliff. For the past few seasons, they have failed to even make it to the knockout rounds. This is embarrassing for one of the best hockey countries in the world. I think where they may fail is at player retention. You see so much top tier talent born in the United States leave for nations like Czechia or Latvia. That fractures the pipeline when Team USA should be stacked and contending for gold each and every season. One has to ask themselves, why do those players leave? What would need to change to make players want to stay on Team USA? Of course those questions are not answered overnight. It may even take a generational shift to see the results they need.
166 words, +3 TPE
Code:
14. Written, 50 to 200+ words.- The Procrastinator Special!
Looks like [TEAM] won Season 80 Challenge Cup! So 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 San Francisco Pride won the Challenge Cup in Season 80! Congrats to them, they went back to back as champions of the illustrious Simulation Hockey League. That is no small feat in such a tough, competitive league. One would have to recognize their general managers first and foremost for putting this team together and executing their strategies in a way that wins hockey games. Through the draft and free agency, they have put together one incredible team with some very impressive depth. There are stars up and down the lineup. It’s hard keeping a good team together for so long. Could they potentially three-peat?
10. Written, The Unexpected (70 words, 1 TPE)
The league should be unpredictable in the postseason. NHL hockey is the same way. Any series should have the ability to swing both ways, and no top seed should be locked in for the finals. The regular season is very important, and fighting for playoff spots should be the normal, but a top team should never be so far above the rest that they are expected to win every round.
Total 8 TPE
karlssens Registered
S28, S45, S49 Challenge Cup Champion
Posts:4,071 Threads: 182 Joined: May 2015 Reputation:73
Discord: karl#3942
Pronouns: He/Him
Player: Oskar Scholz
01-31-2025, 06:19 PM(This post was last modified: 01-31-2025, 06:39 PM by karlssens. Edited 1 time in total.)
Code:
1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 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 word = karl [3 TPE]
Code:
8. Written, 50 to 200+ words. Dynasty in the Making
San Francisco has made the finals for two seasons in a row now and has won the cup twice in the last 5 seasons with a chance to make it 3. What has made San Francisco so successful? Is it immaculate drafting? Coaching? Hard work from each of their players? All of the above? Should teams learn from SFP and emulate what they’ve done to get their time in the limelight?
Dynasty in the making? You better believe it baybee. I believe it's a little bit of all the items listed. From a management stand point San Francisco did a very good job not only drafting, but retaining those players through some pretty rough seasons before they hit their current stride. When the time was right the unloaded future assets to bolster their growing core and it's worked out perfectly. From a coaching stand point they saw what they had and got the most out of it. It's lucky to be good in this league, but at the same time you need to be good to receive that luck and the coaching staff took the time to build a quality line up each season. Lastly you can't ignore what the players have done. All top 6 forwards have amassed huge pools of TPE the the 3rd line is no slouch either. On the blueline it's no different and between the pipes they acquired Justin Time who is already an easy first ballot hall of fame netminder and just doing victory laps at this point. As for as other teams go they should certainly try to emulate what San Francisco has done, but ultimately it's not so different from what other successful teams have done in the past. If it ain't broke don't fix it. [223 words - 4 TPE]
Code:
10. Written, 50 to 200+ words. The Unexpected
Toronto ended up making it into the playoffs by one point while Atlanta had the best regular season since S71 Winnipeg. Yet in the playoffs Atlanta ended up losing the second round, while Toronto made it to the conference finals. Does regular season success matter in the long run if the team fumbles in the playoffs? Should teams give much importance to the regular season or focus all of their energy to playoffs once their team has secured a spot? Should the league in general regard the regular season results more highly?
Regular season success is important and as far as awards and player legacy are concerned you could argue they are even more important than playoffs since they only awards available in the playoffs are MVP and the all important cup. That being said I bet the regular season MVP would trade in their Mexico trophy for a ticket to the finals. More importance will always be given to the playoffs, but the regular season is still a critical part of the year to see what you have and how likely you are to succeed. It's never a direct translation though as Atlanta showed us this season. [106 words - 2 TPE]
01-31-2025, 10:11 PM(This post was last modified: Yesterday, 11:56 AM by G2019. Edited 1 time in total.)
Code:
1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 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.
02-01-2025, 12:55 AM(This post was last modified: 02-01-2025, 01:41 AM by vbottas17. Edited 1 time in total.)
1. Trivia (+3 TPE) - Verification Word: Pasta
10. Written (+4 TPE) 206 words - As we've seen in not only the SHL, but the NHL as well, anything can happen in the post-season. I'll never forget how dominant the #8 seeded Los Angeles Kings were in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals after making some changes midway through the season to shake things up. While it wasn't on the same level as the Kings dramatic run, the Toronto North Stars squeaked into the post-season and made a highly unlikely run all the way to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Like the Kings, the North Stars underachieved for a majority of the season before getting hot at the right time. Toronto relied on great goal tending and a balanced attack to advance as far as they did in the post-season. I feel that teams making surprise runs is great for the league and gives everybody hope that their team can do the same thing. Having 80% of the league in the post-season can lead to some crazy things, it does feel like it's easy to make it to the playoffs. Maybe as the league expands in the future, there will be more of a focus on making the playoffs, and teams will have to be more consistent just to qualify.
1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 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: 87
Code:
10. Written, 50 to 200+ words. The Unexpected
Toronto ended up making it into the playoffs by one point while Atlanta had the best regular season since S71 Winnipeg. Yet in the playoffs Atlanta ended up losing the second round, while Toronto made it to the conference finals. Does regular season success matter in the long run if the team fumbles in the playoffs? Should teams give much importance to the regular season or focus all of their energy to playoffs once their team has secured a spot? Should the league in general regard the regular season results more highly?
I think it’s a double-edged sword in terms of how teams are remembered looking back. If it’s one strong regular season that isn’t replicated and also ends in playoff disappointment, it’s hard to look back on that fondly. It was one chance that got away and never produced further opportunities of achieving the ultimate goal.
However, speaking from experience with my first player, Winnipeg was consistently one of the best, if not the best, regular season teams in the late 30s and early 40s. Even though Winnipeg’s “final form” only produced one Challenge Cup, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who looks back on that time and doesn’t think of Winnipeg as a very strong team, year in and year out, that demanded respect on the ice.
If you’re able to put together wins consistently, I think most people will intelligently recognize consistent success and chalk up the lack of rings to the whims of postseason hockey.
As far as a team’s approach? You try to win every game, period. If you do that, then there’s no reason to change your approach in the playoffs, or even leading up to the playoffs. It’s not like we have to worry about injuries in the SHL.
[206 words]
Code:
11. Written, 50 to 200+ words. Did We Really Win
This seasons we saw something unusual as both conferences featuring a division where winner got arguably harder matchup than the second place team as the wild card from the other division finished with more points than the third place team in their division. How does it make you feel about the playoffs structure? Was it actually even worse for New Orleans and Buffalo to have won their division? Or does it really matter as if you are reaching for the cup likely should be prepared to face any team anyway? How much do you think it benefited Los Angeles and Philadelphia to face opponents out of their own division during first round?
This particular playoff format has frustrated me both in real life and in the virtual world. It's a pretty artificial attempt to create divisional "rivalries" at the sacrifice of the most fair competition. In real life, it’s cheap and often punishes good teams – whether it be the divisional winner who gets a screwy wild card matchup, or even the wild card team that arguably deserved a first-round opponent that was closer to the middle of the playoff group like they were rather than a divisional champion.
I have no idea if this is a thing the SHL can alter or if it’s hard-baked into FHM thanks to the follies of the NHL, I’ve been gone too long to have intelligent opinions. But I have a hard time believing many genuine rivalries are being built through this format when we’re all just part of an online community building fake hockey players, so it seems even more pointless here. But as the task notes, at some point in a run to the Cup you have to beat good teams, so perhaps the order is inconsequential.
[183 words]
Otrebor13 Graphic Graders
S11 Challenge Cup Champion
Posts:5,385 Threads: 184 Joined: Dec 2011 Reputation:54
Pronouns: Male
Player: Axel Kirby
02-01-2025, 01:14 PM(This post was last modified: 02-01-2025, 01:14 PM by Otrebor13.)
Task 1
Verification
Task 3 – 3 TPE
When it comes to playoff scoring I think it is always important to have a great amount of depth. I think depth will always help when things are not going well and the games get tighter. I always prefer if a team has a lot of players contributing when going into a cup final as it can be problematic for opponents to deal with on every line. That being said, when you have someone like Webb firing the way he is and scoring goals at will, that also is a little problematic to deal with. Sure, it’s only one player, but when things are going your way, it’s almost impossible to stop. I think both have their merits, and I would prefer to have more depth scoring, but having someone who seemingly can’t miss is a not something you want to face in a series, especially when the cup is on the line.
Task 6 – 1 TPE
I think this one is pretty easy, as I would say Tampa Bay. This is purely because my player is currently playing for the Panthers and the Pride are our rivals. I don’t really have anything against the organization or the people on the team, but I just couldn’t do it to my teammates or fans to get behind the Pride in the playoffs, especially when we’ve struggled to get past them the last few seasons.
Task 14 – 3 TPE
Honestly the series itself was highly entertaining, and was extremely close. Obviously San Francisco rattled off 3 straight to take the series 4-2, but I think you have to really applaud the work that Tampa Bay did. Not only were they going up against a great San Francisco team, but they also took down the juggernaut that was the Atlanta Inferno. Atlanta was absolutely unstoppable during the season with an incredibly potent offense and they managed to get through them. I think at the end of the day they just managed to come up a little short. San Francisco has arguably one of the best and deepest lineups in the league and they have the experience of being in a cup final (and winning) over the past few seasons. I think either team was deserving of winning, it just ran out for the Barracuda, but I think they’ve been building well and will probably continue to see success in the near future.
1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 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.
swords
Code:
17. Graphic, 3 TPE, My Captain
Create an image highlighting any of the captains for an IIHF team, if you can’t find info who the captains are for the team, you can create image highlighting the player you would pick to captain the team.
Code:
18. Graphic, 3 TPE - The Procrastinator Special!
Congratulations, graphics-master procrastinator! Much like the written-word-loving procrastinator, you too have a special task! Create a post-series splash screen detailing the outcome of the series, or highlighting the player that you think should be playoff MVP. Include at least 3 stats!
6. Kristian Seppanen, the star right defenceman and assistant captain for the Atlanta Inferno hockey team, of the Atlantic Division of the Simulation Hockey League, otherwise known as the SHL, wouldn't cheer for either team in the SHL finals, because that would involve cheering for his opponents who he dearly doesn't want to win. If forced to, I suppose Kristian Seppanen would choose to root for the Tampa Bay Barracuda, because that is the team that eliminated Kristian Seppanen and his Atlanta Inferno from the 2nd round of the playoffs. The rationale behind this support is that theoretically if Tampa Bay Barracuda win the playoffs, if the Atlanta Inferno had beaten Tampa Bay Barracuda, it would be likely that the Atlanta Inferno would have won the cup. However, it is against Kristian Seppanen's competitive beliefs to root for an opposing team, let alone one that beat Kristian Seppanen in the playoffs. Kristian Seppanen wants to win, not cheer for his opponents who are winning. (163 words, +3 TPE)
11. The playoff structure sucks, there's no way around it. In a sim engine that is sporadic and unpredictable, earning home ice advantage is nice, but offers no guarantee that it actually computes to an actual advantage, particularly when the quality of opponents is so closely grouped. Atlanta Inferno got stuck against the Baltimore Platoon in the first round, who had 14 more regular season points (the equivalent of 7 more regular season wins) than the Toronto North Stars. Atlanta Inferno played the 6th best opponent in the conference in round 1, and the 12th best opponent in the entire playoffs, in an 8 teams per conference and 16 team overall playoff format, when the team was by far 1st overall in the standings. Then, in the 2nd round, we play a team with 90 regular season points, when the 2 other teams in the division had 54 and 79 respectively. A team that does well in the regular season to earn a home ice advantage and theoretically easier opponents to build streaks in the playoffs instead is met with a horrific playoff format that ultimately makes them face tougher teams and creates challenges building streaks and momentum in the playoffs. At best, the playoffs really should be restructured to be 1v16, 2v15, etc., but at worst, it should be 1v8 and so on per division. This provides the proper, well earned advantage of home ice and theoretically weaker opponents to build hot streaks on, as teams reach deeper in the playoffs. And teams should be re-seeded per round. (258 words, +4 TPE)
3+3+4 = 11 TPE, cap is 8 but natural buffer built in
Steelflex![[Image: PDyLXEi.png]](https://i.imgur.com/PDyLXEi.png)
FuriousChicken![[Image: FuriousChicken.gif]](https://sig.grumpybumpers.com/host/FuriousChicken.gif)
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