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Massive Coiler · 02-01-2025, 02:47 PM

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.

Spumoni

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?

The coaching can be touched on as a key component to the team’s success in recent seasons, but to discount the impact of the players would be incredibly disingenuous to this franchise. The high end talent is REALLY high end on this San Francisco roster. One of the strongest top sixes in the entire league that is more than capable of carrying the load of any team, let alone one with quality depth and an overall strong roster like this one. To get that out of the way, the team did well in acquiring Justin Time in net, to squeeze out some of the remaining elite seasons from a generational goaltender was a wise move. Other teams looking to follow in their footsteps for success may be in for a tough time as you have to develop some unbelievable talents on your own and make good management decisions along the way. Trusting the process and the process fully working out like it has for this team are two different things. A bit of luck paid off for management, but hard work and skill triumphs as the stars do most of the heavy lifting for them. Everything needs to line up perfectly to go on a run like these guys have and everyone deserves credit, from the depth all the way to the top.

223 Words - 4 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?

I’m not sure anything could have been done differently by the Tampa Bay Barracuda to match the elite San Francisco roster. Just not two teams of a similar calibre. High end talent on Tampa can stack up with anyone in the league, but overall depth and ability is in the Pride’s favor against nearly anyone. The best parts of the series are early, with both teams taking 5-1 wins. It looked like it could have been a close, high flying series but ended up shaking out in the Pride’s favor as most probably would have predicted. Still, early on, anything can happen and makes for a very exciting viewing experience.

110 Words - 2 TPE

8/8 TPE Total

By-Tor · 02-01-2025, 03:49 PM

1. Trivia (+3 TPE)

VW: Topanga

8. Dynasty in the Making (+4 TPE) (206 words)

San Francisco has been so successful because of the people and group of users they have constructed. Great users who earn well for their player and are active in the locker room naturally attract more people like that. When you get enough people in a room that are highly motivated and diligent, all they need is some direction and structure to when they are peaking as a team to do well consistently. Starting from BadWolf and Toast as GM and Co-GM, those are two great users. Anyone would be happy to share a locker room with them. Add in the likes of Ramenamen, spidey, and Caleb and you are well on your way to having some of the best personalities in the league. Even their depth players are great and have great users. People then want to get traded to SFP and get drafted by SFP to be around these people, and that helps the good times keep rolling. I do know that they may be at rock bottom for a while based on the age of their players and lack of really any draft picks. They will have to get creative to make sure they can get back to the top as quickly as possible.

14. Procrastinator Special (+2 TPE) (103 words)

San Francisco won over Tampa Bay because of many of the qualities above, but also because of their consistently excellent goaltending provided by future HOF goalie Justin Time. More like "Father" Time as the ageless wonder keeps churning out top shelf playoff performances way past his peak. He was 16-5-0 with a .908 save percentage and a great 2.87 GAA. While many of his teammates put up the points and should be considered playoff MVP finalists, I think Justin Time is the reason SFP are back to back champions in Season 79 and Season 80. Who knows, maybe they three peat next year?

Credit to enigmatic, Merica, tweedledunn, and jaypc8237 for sigs

*AuggieO* · 02-01-2025, 03:50 PM

1. CW Trivia, 3TPE max

Lemonade

5. 4TPE

If the SHL finals this year were not held in San Fran and/or Tampa Bay, I think they would have to be in a cooler climate. Those there are both pretty warm environments to be playing hockey in. And probably indoor rinks but do not even come close to quoting me on that one because it’s a huge assumption. So I think to myself, where are cold places? And then I think to myself, I don’t know if it maybe matters if there is already a SHL team based out of those areas but I am going to declare that is not needed for the sake of this prompt. So, cold places. Siberia, Colorado, Canada, Alaska. I think I will say that Alaska sounds the best. And it will be held on an outdoor rink on a cruise ship just off the shore. Also it would be cool if the aurora borealis was showing during the game. Yeah that would be the best place to hold the SHL finals if they had to be moved. Don’t worry about how feasible that may be, after all this is a simulation/fantasy sport and my player is getting better because I’m rambling so it is not all that realistic to start with.

Words- 211

6. 2 TPE

NoNo Jo would root for San Fran because on a map it is closer to his hometown of Colorado. Maybe that's a dumb reason but you just asked why you didn't say it had to be a good reason! It’s almost like a home team advantage and you just HAVE to cheer for your hometowns team you know? So you can catch NoNo Jo out there rocking a San Fran Pride Jersey and matching Hokas, and eating a soft pretzel with extra salt and mustard. Also they ended up being the better (winning) team so since hindsight is 20/20 why would you not root for them?

Words- 107

o1playz · 02-01-2025, 04:41 PM

Checklist Clear

skyrrhawk · 02-01-2025, 05:45 PM

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: skipper

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's win felt a little inevitable from the beginning, but I think the turning point was definitely that Game Four overtime win. After all, coming into that game, San Francisco was down two games to one on two pretty terrible losses, but on the flip side, that one win was a pretty big one itself. In fact, this game four overtime win was the closest of any game in the series at just three goals scored across both teams, only half the goals per game of any other game in the series except for the first one (in which five goals were scored). Had that game gone Tampa Bay's way, we likely would have seen a different outcome, as they would have been two games up. And clearly that overtime loss affected them, as they allowed an Oskar Scholtz hat trick in Game Five and an Edzus Ozolins buzzer-beater in Game Six to seal the Pride's win. Perhaps Tampa Bay needs to work on their mental fortitude more than their on ice skills, seeing as the overall outcomes average out pretty evenly between the two teams, and a good amount of the scoring was back and forth. [200 words]

6. Which team would your player root for in the finals and why?

Celeste is preferential to rooting for teams that they have some kind of tie to. Therefore, they were in fact rooting for the San Francisco Pride, as they have several ties to members of that roster through Quebec City Citadelles alumni gatherings as well as a former teammate in Rowan O'Beirne. [51 words]

[3+4+1 = 8 TPE]

ShadowFenix · 02-01-2025, 07:01 PM

1. Trivia
protoss
+3 TPE

Code:
2. Sydney Shaw has an incredible 6 powerplay goals leading the 

league this playoffs by 3x any other player, as a defenseman no less! Is

 there something San Francisco is doing differently to make Shaw a power

 play sniper?

Sydney Shaw specializes in puck handling with a treat of shooting range right behind it. On a power play, isn't that exactly what you want? Most teams force it to their wings, or try to create quick passes. Why do that when you have a defenseman who can dangle the puck away and create space for themself? The most interesting part about Sydney Shaw, however, is that their accuracy isn't actually that good. They just love ripping it from the point, and when you keep taking chances, eventually some of them are going to land. It's the law of averages.

100 words, +2 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?

As expected, San Francisco won and completed the dynasty. And they did it quite handily in just 6 games against the Tampa Bay Barracuda. Tampa Bay could have won if they didn't have as many goals scored against and they were able to score more goals. In particular. In actuality though, I have no idea how to beat SFP. They're just so good. All the other teams are just waiting for the regression to start hitting them. It's coming... Soon... Until then though, teams need to focus on limiting SFP shot totals. The team gets over 45 shots per game. That's crazy and absolutely too high. Their shooting percentages for their players aren't even that high, but simply due to how many shots they take, it ends up giving them a crazy goal differential. Now I'm no hockey professional, so I have no idea how to limit the other team's shots, but I'm sure they'll find a way.

158 words, +3 TPE

+8 TPE total

Whikadoodle · 02-01-2025, 07:07 PM

Prompt 10 (4 TPE)

I don't think regular season results matter all that much. I mean, of course, a good team with a good chance to win the cup is going to win a lot of games. But the playoffs is a very different beast than the regular season. You've got to be consistent. Rattling off 16 wins in short order against the top of the table is no laughing matter. You've got to contend with injuries and the stress and fatigue of an entire shl season. That stuff adds up a lot! Then you've got to win the mental game. Sometimes regular season games don't matter as much as other regular season games. But that doesn't happen in the playoffs. Every player is giving their all every single night for a chance to win the game and move towards the ultimate goal of every single player, a challenge cup. In the playoffs, the stakes have never been higher. In the playoffs, we learn who the best of the best are, and who is hungriest. The playoffs are the ultimate test for any team, which is why we don't just crown the regular season champ the winner of the cup. It just means that much more.

(202)

Thunfish · 02-01-2025, 09:22 PM

10. Think of the regular season as getting your ticket for admission in the playoffs, it has a nice feel to have it and I would never downplay being the best team there but as long as you make it there, it really does not matter whether you get there as the top seed or the bottom seed besides the whole alignment thing on where you land. You know what I mean? If it was all about being the top team on the regular season, we would not have playoffs. Playoffs exist explicitly to make it so the teams that could not top the table during the regular season have a shot at winning during the playoffs.

I am not against the idea of playoffs but they do kind of kill the idea of a heavily relevant regular season. I mean, think of the NBA. People stopped watching their regular season because of the pointlessness of the whole thing. Unless you really like the sport, regular season might as well be just a season preview or something. One could make a very good point on how we really should consider having less games in general, in all sports. Specially soccer.

Except for cricket, which should be banned from existence because it sucks. (211 words)

13. Truth be told, I have no idea. Czechia recruited me as a World player and I really do not keep tabs on the WJC. Really lack the time for it so I hope you do not mind me saying it. That said, it sure is curious how the WJC could be used as a little scouting session for the actual IIHF teams since you could then proceed to go and try to bring in guys who lack an IIHF team and guys who are in crowded nations. Well, guys, gals, the other options, you know how it is these days, right.

That does kinda kill the second question though, does it not? Like, yeah, there probably are some good players in the juniors and all but since we are not always certain on where they will end up, it does kinda prevent you from knowing on whether they will be showing up at a team in dire need of talent or if they will just play back up to a dominant nation. I just do not know, really.

I do wonder how Czechia will go once my guy is gone though. Kinda thinking again of taking a long sabbatical, not entirely sure yet. (203 words)

NJBadApple · 02-01-2025, 10:24 PM

1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. (3tpe)

Code:
Verification word: applepie

8. Written, 50 to 200+ words. Dynasty in the Making (4tpe)
I think it's a combination of all of that. Having never been in their LR I can't speak to the culture but that has to be a part of it too - retaining quality people is just as important as retaining quality players in the sim. In addition to that, you'll end up recruiting even MORE people if you build a friendly and welcoming culture among those already on the team, and in the end those people will be more interested in making the dynasty that San Francisco has turned into. As far as drafting goes, they've really nailed all of their superstars through good scouting. Hargreeves, Scholz, Willow, Webb, and Winters were all taken in the first round between Seasons 68 and 71 during their rebuilding years. Even scarier, they missed on a few more picks so they had potential to be even more dangerous. For GM's, everyone knows the capabilities of BW and Toast, having been around the community for lengthy period of time and proven their skill time and time again. Lastly, the addition of supplemental players through trades and free agency have really solidified the depth they have. Between the additions of Bayle, Svatos, Lund, and Time compared to all of the other factors listed above, it's clear why & how the Pride turned into a truly golden dynasty.

Code:
Words: 200+

14. Written, 50 to 200+ words.- The Procrastinator Special! (1 tpe)
The Pride won it for the 3rd time in five seasons and there's no surprise why they did it - just look at their roster. There is simply too much talent for Tampa to contain. I'm not sure if they could've done anything differently other than grab another D at the deadline? They had a great post-season all around, from good offense to great goaltending - San Francisco was just too much to stop.

Code:
Words: 50+

Shylo_Moxii · 02-02-2025, 12:45 AM

I think Sydney Shaw is more of the talent than anything San Francisco is. He’s that player who can just go ahead and create as much offense as the team needs. Exceptional players do exceptional thing. There is no doubt that San Francisco has a scheme that works for a player like Shaw, but there is just something about Shaw creating their own space. Running circles around a man down defensive team. Some of that could be SHL defenses; but I think it’s more about Shaw being just an absolute threat in the offensive zone. The skating technique is second to none, and to add on top of the skating ability. You have the size. Size has a lot to do with it. Not getting knocked off the puck is a huge key when it comes to this. Puckhandling is absolutely insane. You can’t play hockey without the greatest ability to have Puckhandling. You don’t score goals without an elite shot and Shaw has just that. The elite shot that most defenseman don’t have. I don’t think there has been a player as talented when it comes to shooting as a defenseman. They have the ability of a forward to just score goals unlike any other.

I think if we had a final in another country it should be held in Europe. I’d say Sweden would be the first option somewhere like Stockholm would be a perfect fit for it. There is just an amazing hockey culture in Sweden in the sense that it might be different from North America, but it’s not something you can deny. The Swedish fanbase is something to be cherished. I’d say that for anyone in Sweden it would be a celebration that would shut everything down. It would become a holiday that everyone celebrates around the country. I could also imagine a place like Finland being a great place to have one as well. Helsinki has a really nice arena and on top of that the fans love Hockey more than anything else. Which is a huge opportunity to expand the SHL fanbase past the North American territory and move into Europe and build a foundation where we are a global league rather than just a North American League. It’s something to be cherished that we do have fans from Europe and we don’t get to go see them very much. I believe that Europe would be a key place to expand our game to. Even if it was just for SMJHL for a bit.

Thelastheraclid · 02-02-2025, 03:54 AM

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.

coffee

Code:
7. Who you got? Who wins the Challenge Cup or Four Star Cup? Why?

The San Francisco Pride are going to win the Challenge Cup. They have a combination of talent and experience that is paramount when it comes to take home the Cup. I say it all the time: give me a team with vets who have been to the finals and been successful over any group of young studs who have never done it. There are so many intangibles that are gained from that kind of experience that it will invariably give you an edge.
(83 words / 1 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?

Going on a run like this is a combination of everything mentioned above with a little luck added into the combination. The most important aspect of continued success in the SHL is a good locker room. If your team has a dead locker room or a couple of people that everyone else can not stand then your earning will suffer. That means you draft for the person behind the player rather than the top TPE earning name. Vibes are such a key part to the health of a locker room that you sacrifice a few hundred TPE if need be. That is the key, but you definitely need a coach that understands how the engine works in order to succeed from there. Outside of that, FHM is a game engine and it can be unpredictable. You can do everything right and still get goalied by a 800 TPE tendy because the game wanted it to happen. I do not think there is anything to learn from San Francisco necessarily. Most teams are already going the develop the room and kick out the problems route. I hope that does not sound like I do not think San Fran deserves any praise. They are obviously are doing a lot of things right; they are just enjoying the most success at the moment out of many teams doing the same thing.
(228 words / 4 TPE)

Halkohol · 02-02-2025, 09:24 AM

Code:
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.

Halkoholic

+3 TPE

Code:
6. Which team would your player root for in the finals and why?

Niclas Sundqvist would definitely root for Tampa Bay Barracuda. It's not that he dislikes San Francisco Pride, rather the opposite. But the dynasty building and same team winning quickly gets boring and as such, Niclas Sundqvist always roots against the classical winning team in the hopes of something new and refreshing happening.

[52 words] +1 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?

San Francisco has made one thing very well. They have managed to get the perfect amount of actives in their drafts. Of course, trades and management plays a part in this but what I want to push for is that San Francisco is managing it very well. By having the correctly built pipeline, they can fill out the regressing player's spots with new up and coming younger players that help them to fill in these missing gaps. By running this strategy and executing it well enough, San Francisco has managed to keep the max TPE possible in the team for quite a few seasons now. This is also likely to help coaching a lot as the strategies that have worked earlier will keep working. Consistency is key. I definitely think teams should try to adapt to the strategy that SFP is running. The problem is however that many teams already want to run this strategy. The problem lies in executing it as often times something unexpected could happen. For lower ranking teams it's difficult to manage to get everyone to stay if the team is not performing well. And the person suddenly going missing and IA could definitely ruin it all.

[201 words] + 4 TPE

---

TPE: 3 + 1 + 4 = 8

*Soviet Sexpot* · 02-02-2025, 09:57 AM

1. CW Trivia - perfect - 3 TPE

5. I say its time to change it up and go completely out of the box for where we hold the SHL finals and go to a place that isn't associated with cold, hockey, and winter at all. That's right, we're going to Dubai, smack dab in the middle of the desert to prove that even on sand, you can have a hockey final. If they can generate fake snow and a 22500 square meter ski resort at Ski Dubai, then they surely can figure out how to come up with top notch ice for the teams to play on. Afterwards, you can even host an award ceremony atop the world famous Burj Khalifa on the platform. - 116 Words 2 TPE

6. Texas Renegades. Now I know it may seem controversial, or counter intuitive to root for the team that busted out a broom to sweep you in the first round, but by my logic, what better way to go out then to lose to the team that wins it all? Or in this case, just fell short. The reality is, it makes for much better bragging rights than losing to a team that say got swept in the following round. This way, the whole off season can be spent going on about how you know we totally had a chance, but the seeding against a champion caliber finalist screwed us and we got sim HO'd, and so forth. Its important to remember to never accept blame and to shift it elsewhere, especially in a showing where you couldn't net a W. So for that reason, I pull for Texas, oh and if I had to chose, probably the state I'd move to also. - 162 Words 3 TPE

Leoben · 02-02-2025, 10:12 AM

Quote:Written Prompt 3

So spreading the cup around as opposed to having one guy score more goals? I mean the results seem to be the same in the end. Personally I prefer Tampa Bay's approach. Because if you only have one scoring threat, a decent defensive strategy can lock him down. But if you have multiple threats, that will be a little trickier. But the results in this instance don't appear to have had much of an impact on the team, the results were similar. But if you have multiple scoring threats, your best bet is to probably utilize that threat. Both strategies work if you have the talent.

Quote:106 Words

+2 TPE

Quote:Written Prompt 8

When you win a lot, it's easier to retain interest and support for your team. So you're likely to attract good prospects who want to get in on that success. It's why prospects are told to stay away from certain teams because their outlook is awful. So why is San Francisco successful? It's a combination of good coaches and players who stay invested. But I'd have to give more credit to coaching. It's one thing to have a stacked team but if you don't use them right then what's the point? But repeated success attracts better players. Teams can try to emulate it but if you don't have the same personnel it's difficult to do that.

Quote:116 Words

+2 TPE

Total - 4 TPE

Quote:Written Prompt 9

As someone who's had a player in Tampa Bay in the past, I can't even answer this. I had a sub-1000 TPE player put up insane numbers for a few seasons. It didn't make sense but there you have it. Credit to the coaching there as they seem to be able to squeeze every ounce of potential out of their players, even their lesser known ones. Maybe it's the water or nice weather but there's definitely something going on there. I think it happens too often to consider it luck. I wouldn't call it overperforming, that's disrespectful to the team and the players. But they definitely rise above expectations on a fairly consistent level.

Quote:114 Words

+2 TPE

Total - 6 TPE

Quote:Written Prompt 11

This one is hard to answer. On one hand, sure. If you want to win the Challenge Cup, you should be able to beat any team in the league right? You're the best team, so take on all comers. But to look at it another way, if your #2 seed is getting a better matchup, are you making the regular season less important? Winning your division should be an incentive and give you an advantage in the playoffs. No playoff format is perfect and they all have their quirks. I'm not sure how much leeway the sim engine would even give for adjusting playoff formats but I still think the division winners should have what is theoretically a weaker seed.

Quote:120 Words

+2 TPE

Total - 8 TPE

MightyMulder · 02-02-2025, 10:50 AM

PBE Affiliate PT +3 TPE

Trivia Confirmation +3 TPE: gratitude

Written Prompt 8, 167 words +3 TPE

I think it's pretty fair to say that to a certain extent it's impossible to have a dynastic run like this without at least some level of excellence coming from every part of the organization. Your roster management has to be elite to keep and afford the players that help you win. Your locker room has to be a great place to be in order to keep players motivated to consistently update. Your coaching has to be good to make sure your lines and strategies are optional. It really is a case of everything coming together and doing their part to uplift the team. In particular though, as someone who grew up dreaming of being a goalie, I think Justin Time deserves a shoutout for especially the past 2 seasons. He's been a brick wall in net and has been able to provide some peace of mind to the players, knowing even if they make a mistake their star goalie will be there to bail them out.

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