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***sköldpaddor*** · 09-07-2020, 09:37 PM

Quote:1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

Okay, well, I played even worse than I did last year, but for some reason I felt better about it. I don't know. It's exhausting. I'm working out so hard during the off season, I'm trying to listen to everything my coaches say, and somehow, with more TPE this year, I played worse. I'm trying not to let it get to me, but I'm not going to lie, it sucks. The most frustrating thing is I have no idea what to attribute it to. I'm doing all the assignments, I'm putting in the points, and I'm just not seeing results. I don't know, maybe something's wrong with my build, maybe we just had a harder schedule this year, but that's the hardest part of this, is not knowing what I need to do to fix it. If I could just say "oh Gunnar you need to work harder" then I could do that, but not knowing what to fix is super discouraging.

Quote:3. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
It's too late for this go-around of expansion, so hypothetically - should there be SHL franchises in other continents? I saw some interesting European proposals in the PT. Should these - or proposals for any other continent that's not North America - become a reality in the SHL?

I absolutely think there should be an expansion team outside of North America. I have made my pitch for having a team in Sweden, which I think would be a great idea. Sweden is a country that has produced a lot of star SHL players, and I think there are several locations there that would be worthy of a team. I know people argue stuff about time zones but that is honestly just silly because we have a team in Alaska that nobody complains about traveling to, so realistically, time zones are basically not an issue at all. There's no practical reason for not having a team there besides some notion of "reality" to which I say .... it's fake hockey. Get over it.

Quote:4. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

I mean it was very obviously the Chicago Syndicate. I couldn't pick any other team besides my own. We worked so hard and we keep getting garbage playoff matchups (I know, that's our own fault, we lost some games we should have won, etc), but it's frustrating to get the boot in the first round again because we had to play stupid sexy Buffalo. We beat up on them pretty bad in the first game and I think that made them feel insulted or something so they felt like they had to teach us a lesson. Anyway, we have a really strong team and I expect we'll make it further sooner or later especially with expansion on the horizon, but it was still a huge bummer

Quote:13. Written, up to 4 TPE Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words. (+3)

c. Based on FHM player ratings, New Orleans has higher average ratings in bravery, aggression, and fighting? Will that toughness have any impact on this series?
Everyone knows that aggression is the only way you win anything. STRIKE FIRST STRIKE HARD NO MERCY. So I would have to give New Orleans the nod there if it was based on aggression alone. Unfortunately for New Orleans I think Buffalo found a way to counter that, perhaps with some aggression of their own. I did not watch the games but I imagine both teams punched each other in the face a lot and ran a bunch of all goon lines or something.

d. What is your favorite name from a player appearing in this series? Why do you like that player's name?
My favorite player name in this series is Elizabeth Doyle, because I think there are just not enough women in this league. My mom is a terrific athlete and I would love to see more opportunities for female athletes in this league. It is really inspiring for me to see female players succeeding at this level, and especially one who is younger than a lot of the other players.

e. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.
Fox is my favorite name in this series because fox is closest to my favorite animal, which is dogs. Foxes are kind of like dogs and kind of like cats but also all their own thing, and I looked into getting one as a pet once but it turns out they are kind of crazy and they like to wreck all of your stuff while you are gone so I just decided having a dog was good enough.

Quote:16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now 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.

turtlebabies

Keygan · 09-07-2020, 09:44 PM

Code:
16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now 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.

Banana

Code:
1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

It is kind of difficult to decide whether or not I performed up to snuff this season purely due to my decreased workload as a defensemen, coupled with the fact that I made the transition from forward to defense I have nothing to aptly compare my season too, as it is my first ever as a defensemen.

The only way to even slightly begin to compare is to compare me to my father during his seasons as a defensemen, but he was infinitely better than I have been to this point in my career. I ultimately do not think that is a fair comparison either.

I guess to get straight to the point ultimately it was a disappointing season and I expect better of myself going forward. My goals for the coming seasons are to become more offensively viable, I feel as though at this point I am a liability on offense and it hurts my team, regardless of how capable I am defensively.

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2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

This offseason will be extra exciting, as it features the rare expansion draft! Write about how you think the expansion draft will play out, either for one or both of the expansion teams or from an SHL team's perspective.

Offseasons that feature expansion are always the most exciting for the Edmonton Blizzard because it typically means the team is going to implode on itself before another quick retool. It is an extra exciting time for the Edmonton Blizzard because it means that it is finally time for the rookies to make the jump to the big leagues, such as current Four Star champion Guy LeGrande, Kelowna's number one centermen in Daniel LaForest as well as always dependable William Hartmann of the Vancouver Whalers.

Unfortunately though, I know that means I will be losing two players in expansion and I fully expect those players to be Bo Kane and Carlos Brown, who were both incredible people to have in the locker room for their time with the Blizzard. I am most disappointed about losing Carlos though, as I am very confident that he will eventually become a force in the league for the Atlanta Inferno.

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7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.) The two finals teams have decided to team up for a fundraising opportunity to benefit both cities. What noble cause will the teams decide to benefit? What sort of fundraiser will the teams hold together? How will the two teams mesh before the finals start?

When the New Orleans Spectors and the Buffalo Stampede came together for a common cause it was undeniable that there was one issue plaguing the teams that needed to be addressed and that was the Buffalo children's hospital.

They way they decided to raise money for these sick sick children was to have a charity auction in which items owned by the players were auctioned off for charity. Most notable the jock-strap of long time Stampede forward Viktor Marius.

"The last item of today's auction is the most prized position of forward Viktor Marius, the very same jock-strap he was caught wearing when he was taking performance enhancing drugs which forced the league to implement a new drug testing policy.

The luxury item was what ended up pushing the charity over the edge bringing in approximately 36,000 dollars as a collector by the name of Metzler was see in the crowd bidding up the item frivolously.

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13. Written, up to 4 TPE Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

a. Both of these teams have stacked defenses - which team do you think has the defensive advantage in this series?

Both team may have incredible defenses but ultimately it will be goals scored that win this series and without a doubt in my mind the offensive numbers this Buffalo team is capable of putting up are the best defense they can play. I am sure someone a lot wiser than me said this at least once "The best defense is a good offense"

b. In the two regular season matchups, each team won once at home. Do you expect the results to reflect a home ice advantage in this series?

I am not totally sure what advantage home ice has at this point with the prominence of COVID-19 and the Corona Virus forcing teams to isolate from their friends, families and fans. This meaning that while yes they may be in their own dressing rooms, they are not infront of their fans and that is a huge part of home ice advantage

c. Based on FHM player ratings, New Orleans has higher average ratings in bravery, aggression, and fighting? Will that toughness have any impact on this series?

What advantage they may have in Bravery, Aggression and Fighting will without a doubt be wiped out by the pure offensive pressure constantly placed on them by the Buffalo Stampede's forward core, an absolutely deadly unit of nearly only superstars is difficult to stop regardless of how brave or aggressive you are unfortunately.

e. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.

If you're asking me about actual animals I would have to say that Monkey is the best of the animals, but since you gave me the option of the cheesiest main in the history of Super Smash Brothers, I will have to admit that Kirby is the coolest animal listed in this challenge week task, no doubt about it.

jason97 · 09-07-2020, 09:53 PM

Code:
16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now 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: week

LarksTongue · 09-07-2020, 09:54 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

Commander Shepard had an okay season. Shepard did not exceed expectations nor did he disappoint. Shepard was hoping for a point a game season but only grabbed 40 points. Shepard turned more into a playmaker this year with 30 assists. Last season Shepard had 20 goals and 21 assists. However Shepard was outstanding defensively with a +18 rating on the season which was 10 better than the next player on the Winnipeg Jets. Shepard like usual, led all forwards on the Jets with 32 takeaways which was 10 better than Nick Brain. Shepard was also an advanced stats darling leading the Jets in both Corsi and Fenwick relative percentage by quite a margin. Shepard also had the lowest GA/60 on the jets with a 2.2. Shepard had a much different season this year likely because he became a better passer and smarter offensive player. Shepard also got faster, which led him to being faster on the puck to disrupt plays defensively and preferring to create plays instead of finishing plays. Next season Shepard will hit regression so expectations won't be as high. I hope to maintain a decent production while maintaining a solid defensive game.

3. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
It's too late for this go-around of expansion, so hypothetically - should there be SHL franchises in other continents? I saw some interesting European proposals in the PT. Should these - or proposals for any other continent that's not North America -
become a reality in the SHL?

Although I like the idea in theory in reality it is literally logistically impossible for a team to play from across the large pond. It depends on what the user base values more. A sense of belief in the league that mimics a real world professional sports league or move more towards a complete fantasy league. I prefer the realistic outlook. If we were going to go that route I’d rather have a North American Conference and a European conference face off. Instead of having like 2 teams playing out of Europe. It wouldn’t make much sense. We would have to completely realign the entire league.

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4. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

Although New England had a better record than all the other non playoff teams I think they benefited from being in a weaker conference. The West was much more competitive with their bottom four teams having more parity. I think the Winnipeg Jets were the best team of the bunch. For a while the Jets were ahead of the Renegades in the 4th spot and beat some top teams like Edmonton and Calgary and for the most part always in games with top teams. They had a great top line and a fairly deep defense with the best young goalie in the league. They just seemed to have ran out of gas losing some important games to the Renegades.

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5. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What are your predictions for the upcoming IIHF or WJC tournament? What team do you think will win/surprise people/be bad/etc.?

I believe that team Canada will win the IIHF gold medal once again. As they have a lot of players at their peak TPE right before regression and a couple goalies that are further along in development. Canada lost an important player in Robert Phelps but I think that Ryan Shepard can contribute and fill the hole left by Captain Canada. Great Britain also looks quite outstanding with 3 2000+ TPE players and could win gold as well. The team that I think will be disappointing is Japan. Despite going deep in the modal rounds last season I don’t see how they can pull off the upset two years in a row even if they have Monkey D Luffy. Luffy will have to have a mega superstar level performance to get Japan to the gold. On the WJC side of things I think USA is the team to beat once again as they have 14 returning players from their Gold Medal team last season.

14. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min)
Welp, you waited until the last day to grind out your CW and the CC finals are longggggggg over by now. congrats to [TEAM], woo! Reflecting back on the series, who gets your vote for series MVP? Make the case why this player deserves it over any other.

This was a great series but I think the MVP should go to the Monkey D Luffy. Besides having a fantastic first 3 rounds Monkey kept up the play in the final round as well. He was the most consistent player for the Stampede during the final round. In game 1 Monkey opened the scoring for the Stampede to make it a 1-1 game. In game 2 Monkey initiated the play and had the 2nd assist on the overtime game winning goal. Monkey also had the primary assist on a goal in game 3. Monkey would go on to have points in 6 games and of course scoring the series clinching goal as well.

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13. Written, up to 4 TPE Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Both of these teams have stacked defenses - which team do you think has the defensive advantage in this series?
b. In the two regular season matchups, each team won once at home. Do you expect the results to reflect a home ice advantage in this series?
c. Based on FHM player ratings, New Orleans has higher average ratings in bravery, aggression, and fighting? Will that toughness have any impact on this series?
d. What is your favorite name from a player appearing in this series? Why do you like that player's name?
e. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.

E: Honestly I would have to say the Monkey is the coolest animal of 6. Being a primate they have the edge. They are just so cool how they maneuver their habitat and generally just look awesome and funny all the time. Besides being like that they have very unique social structures. Not to mention when they are babies they look cute.

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16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now 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.

Price

(16/16)

Thanks to @FlappyGiraffe and @ToeDragon84 for the making these sick sigs!

Quote: First Goal (3rd Game): Commander Shepard 1 (Nick Brain 1, Noah Gallagher 2) at 8:48

MarlinManiac4 · 09-07-2020, 10:18 PM

Code:
1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this 

season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you 

come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you 

attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

Barkov entered his final season with the Colorado Raptors filled with hope that it could be different from all the other ones. However, looking back, a lot of things didnt work out, both on the team and individual level.While the ultimate goal of leading the Raptors past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career failed, he didnt have to look to far to see why. Simply put, Barkov just wasnt good enough this year. He only managed to put up 15 points this year, which is the worst total since his rookie year in the SMJHL. The shots just didnt go in, as his shooting % hovered right around an abysmal 2%. While being tasked with workhorse minutes on the top defensive pairing, Barkov also was guilty of a lack of discipline, accruing 32 penalty minutes over the course of the season, which didn't put the team in good situations. While this chapter of Barkov's career is over, there is a lot to work on as he enters his rookie season in the SHL.

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2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

This offseason will be extra exciting, as it features the rare expansion

draft! Write about how you think the expansion draft will play out, 

either for one or both of the expansion teams or from an SHL team's 

perspective.

There are many factors to consider when trying to predict how an expansion draft will go. While conventional front office logic would dictate that existing teams would want to protect their younger prospects over an aging player, there are likely going to be other factors at play, which could led to some surprise selections. In the SHL, locker room culture is important, as it serves as a major factor in player retention over the course of many seasons. Just because a player is aging may not be enough to cause a team to want to expose him, as they may be an integral figure in the locker room. Younger players have high potential value, but its just that. Potential. You dont win championships with a bunch of prospects who never panned out. I expect to potentially see a few surprising picks by expansion teams due to some existing SHL teams having too many options to protect.

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3. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.) 

It's too late for this go-around of expansion, so hypothetically - 

should there be SHL franchises in other continents? I saw some 

interesting European proposals in the PT. Should these - or proposals 

for any other continent that's not North America - 

become a reality in the SHL?

I dont see a reason why not. After joining the site I was surprised to learn that their is a fairly substantial European community in the SHL and i think it would be an exciting prospect to those people to get a team closer to home. We also have national teams from several continents represented in our league. While in real life the prospect of an expansion team in Europe would prove very difficult, im not sure why we couldn't do it in our simulation hockey league. It wouldn't hurt my immersion and I think its possible that it could help others immersion, especially our European community.

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5. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)

What are your predictions for the upcoming IIHF or WJC tournament? What team do you think will win/surprise people/be bad/etc.?

I think the upcoming international tournaments should be exciting. The WJC features the always dangerous USA, Canada and team DACH as perennial medal favorites, as well was Sweden, UCORCAL, and the British isles as dark horses. Finland has spent the past few years rebuilding the junior program and it culminated in a bronze medal in last seasons tournament. The core of the team is still in place for this tournament, which leads me to believe that they should also be looked at as a serious medal contender this time around. I would still favor the USA to win it all, but the junior tournament has a much higher tendency to produce surprises then the IIHF senior tournament does. The British Isles team is another to watch out for after a strong performance last year, and they maintain a solid S53 core heading into their final tournament. After winning the silver medal last year, I could easily see them with a repeat performance this season s well.

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13. Written, up to 4 TPE Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics

to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ 

words.

a. Both of these teams have stacked defenses - which team do you think has the defensive advantage in this series?

b. In the two regular season matchups, each team won once at home. Do 

you expect the results to reflect a home ice advantage in this series?

c. Based on FHM player ratings, New Orleans has higher average ratings 

in bravery, aggression, and fighting? Will that toughness have any 

impact on this series?

d. What is your favorite name from a player appearing in this series? Why do you like that player's name?

e. There are several animal names in this series - which of these 

animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.

d. I would say Hippo Passamus is my favorite player name appearing in the series. I think it is a clever little word play which is kind of fun to say. Plus i also like that it implies that he is a team player who likes to pass the puck, which are highly valued.

e. While I thought Hippo Passamus was the coolest name, I think I would have to go with the Fox as being the coolest animal. There are a lot of different foxes and I think the Arctic foxes look pretty cool. Plus they live in snowy climates, which is pretty badass.

Code:
16.

CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each 

correct answer. This is now 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.

Marlin

16/16 TPE

***Wally*** · 09-07-2020, 10:26 PM

1. Hard to argue with a Championship ending season. Statistically it definitely could have been a better season for me. While there isn't much I can do differently as I can touch any of my banked TPE it will really just be relying on the sim gods to be honest. Always a good and bad thing. Ideally I would like the SV% to go plus .920 and goals allowed average to be sub 2.00. I know we weren't too far off this season, but it will most definitely have to be there is Newfoundland is going to have a shot at repeating. With us losing some key defensive players it will take a full team approach to fill in those gaps and for Cale to step to the plate in full rookie season mode to prove doubters wrong in what will be his last season at the Slaughter House with the Newfoundland Berserkers.

3. Ideally I love the thought and the what-ifs of the scenario, but from the sim logistical stand point... Meaning lets say the actual NHL allowed for say a team in London. Imagine the sheer logistical nightmare that would cause for scheduling and expense. In my opinion, I love the potential branding as the outside of the North American borders haven't been tapped yet. It is really just hard when we talk about the realism aspect when it is far from do-able. Simply just hard when we have such an amazing contingency from Europe and beyond representing a solid presence here on our site... But there is a reason why the NHL hasn't done it as well.

4. Absolutely had to be the Carolina Kraken. I think the most unfortunate thing here is how the playoff format shakes out. While the 8 in format wouldn't have changed the conference championship meeting, I did feel like the 12 team playoff should have given us the 1 versus 2 matchup potentially in the championship game. Albeit it is what it is, I felt like Carolina had one of the best teams in the league easily and when you see a conference championship go to game seven against the eventual SMJHL Championship... You know it would've been a great one between two of the top teams in the league.

9. [Image: champring.jpg]

10.

14. Peanut

SlashACM · 09-07-2020, 10:37 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

I had an improvement on last season which I can't complain about. The team "underperformed" but it doesn't matter because the President's trophy is a curse anyway. We were clearly the best team in the West (which is the harder division) and were able to cruise to a finals appearance. We took the highest tpe team in the league to a game 7 overtime and unfortunately it just didn't turn out the way we wanted. It's ok and hopefully the champions are not sore winners about it and take their victory and move on. Next season will be crazy, new teams, lots of player movement. It will be a little tougher to predict the season and even this time I don't know where I'll be next season. I'm hoping to be a starter but everyone seems to have written me off as almost at retirement even though I'm still at 1800 tpe? Who knows whatll happen.

4. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

Everyone is saying Edmonton but I would have to go with Manhattan. They loaded up this offseason, grabbing Geoff Moore and Ola Wagstrom, with Larson having a decent year this time around. They still fell to Hamilton, which is another great team to lose in the playoffs. Chicago would have been another great team to make it far, but unfortunately it just didn't work out for them against Buffalo. Edmonton is great but there are so many other teams that were the best, and imo Manhattan would be the best team to miss. With the expansion draft changing things up, this will be an interesting question to look at next time.

5. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What are your predictions for the upcoming IIHF or WJC tournament? What team do you think will win/surprise people/be bad/etc.?

The United States of America will be the gold medal champions once again. They have the most stacked squad and won't nerf themselves in the first game this time. It was disappointing last time but this time we won't have anything holding us back. I expect Tokolosh to have a beastly tourney, with Scruf being a god and Sharp and Fox also having themselves a good one. Vanderberg was crucial in their cup win and a lot will be expected of him, and Cain should be amazing as always. Cain is hoping to secure the spot as best IIHF goalie of all time, I'm not sure who that title currently belongs to, maybe Biscuit? Anyways, another gold medal would be great for Cain as he just wants to continue his dominance before ol Stromie boy boots him from the throne and takes over as the best IIHF goalie. Lets go USA!

13. Written, up to 4 TPE Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Both of these teams have stacked defenses - which team do you think has the defensive advantage in this series?
b. In the two regular season matchups, each team won once at home. Do you expect the results to reflect a home ice advantage in this series?
c. Based on FHM player ratings, New Orleans has higher average ratings in bravery, aggression, and fighting? Will that toughness have any impact on this series?

a. I think New Orleans has the advantage in this series. Their defense can chip in offensively and that is huge because they can take over the ice and make the opposing team have a hard time defending against what seems like 5 forwards. Kirkby is a legend and probably the best trade of the offseason after the s54 cup win for the specters.
b. Home ice is great but at the end of the day I'm not sure how much it means. A good team can win anywhere and maybe the simulation puts some stock behind it, I don;'t think it will be a deciding factor in the series. You have to remember that the NOLA win came with Joe on the roster and Buffalo won with EVO on the roster, so that may have been the edge.
c. I think toughness can help to a fault, but you have to remember to keep your cool and not take any dumb penalties. A powerplay like Buffalo has is really tough to keep off the scoreboard, so be aggressive and win those corner battles but don't be hooking, holding, or slashing.

14. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator Special! (100 words min)
Welp, you waited until the last day to grind out your CW and the CC finals are longggggggg over by now. congrats to [TEAM], woo! Reflecting back on the series, who gets your vote for series MVP? Make the case why this player deserves it over any other.

Series mvp is a tough one, but I might go for Luffy on this one. He was all over the scoresheet in the season and I don't have the points for the playoffs, but he scored the winning goal in game 7 ot and that is huge. The goalies were also great in the final game, keeping it at 3-3 and stealing games for each team throughout the series. While I think the trophy should go to a skater, Doyle could make the case for MVP as well. It could really go any way. It was a hard fought series and it stings but there's always next season.

16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now 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.

VW- poop

Zomp · 09-07-2020, 10:42 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

Over the course of this previous season, I did not have too many goals set for my player. It was the final season of Ethan Price’s junior career before he gets called up for S56. With that said, there were a few statistics that I expected to come from him. That being getting at least 40 points as well as 20 goals. Both of these were met as he finished the season with 22 goals and 48 total points. Overall I feel as though it was a great way to finish off a career in the juniors as well as helping pad the stats for the history books. This upcoming season will be a big one as it’ll be my rookie SHL season. I’m really excited for it as I have a ton of banked TPE that I’ll finally be able to use as I craft my player for the future.

2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
This offseason will be extra exciting, as it features the rare expansion draft! Write about how you think the expansion draft will play out, either for one or both of the expansion teams or from an SHL team's perspective.

This offseason is definitely one that people won’t forget about for some time. There were two new expansion teams that got announced, the Atlanta Inferno as well as the Seattle Argonauts. With this, it brought along an expansion draft. I believe the GM’s of each respective team will have to try their hardest to figure out the optimal players to select within the draft to be able to set up their teams for seasons to come. This won’t be an easy task. You have to think about how many players are protected, it’ll be tough for them to make a solid core right off the bat. I think for the most part they’ll need to look toward the future with the upcoming draft as well as next season to try and really solidify a solid team that will look toward becoming a contender in the future. I wish both of the GM’s luck headed into the future.

3. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
It's too late for this go-around of expansion, so hypothetically - should there be SHL franchises in other continents? I saw some interesting European proposals in the PT. Should these - or proposals for any other continent that's not North America -
become a reality in the SHL?

I personally don’t think that SHL franchises in other continents should be a thing. You have to take in account the travel time that it’d take to go from North America across the Atlantic. It would be an extreme time crunch for scheduling as well as a mental and physical draw on the players. This would also bring the issue of having to figure out currency exchanges as well, NO FUN. There’s plenty of states in the United States as well as provinces in Canada that could be great fits for potential teams in the future. Looking over toward Europe for a place that a team could call home is not it.

4. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

I think the Anaheim Outlaws were one of the better teams that weren’t able to make the finals this season. Their core is currently on their way out, but they were still putting up respectable numbers throughout the season and into the first round of the playoffs. They have two really solid defensemen in James LeBlond and Emilia Bergman. They were second and fourth on the team in terms of scoring for the regular season for Anaheim. I think the issue was only having one solid center to rely on which caused them some issues in the long run. Hopefully their rebuild will be swift so that they’ll be back to competing again soon

7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.) The two finals teams have decided to team up for a fundraising opportunity to benefit both cities. What noble cause will the teams decide to benefit? What sort of fundraiser will the teams hold together? How will the two teams mesh before the finals start?

Fundraising is always a toughie as it can be difficult to find something that people are actually interested in donating for. There’s always people on each side who wouldn’t like the cause. With that said, there’s one specific cause that could sway the people on each side. That would have to be the creation of a new pizza parlor. The two teams would be able to easily find people interested in donating if they were to receive a coupon book for half-off pizzas every third Thursday of every even numbered month. That’s honestly quite frankly an absolute steal no matter the amount that you’re donating to the cause. They could get a few samples pizzas and walk the streets handing out slices of it, it doesn’t even need to be from their own cooks. They could go get a few large carry outs from Domino’s and give those away and I bet people wouldn’t notice the difference. The two teams would even be able to have friendly team dinners with each other, preferably outside to respect social distancing guidelines.

16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now 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.

Zomp

16/16 TPE

JT3 · 09-07-2020, 10:59 PM

1) - 3 TPE
Jon Toner had about the kind of season he expected going into S55. Toner was traded last offseason to the Edmonton Blizzard from the Los Angeles Panthers, where he had played his entire career to that point. With Toner being a bit long in the tooth being one of the oldest players in the league, he expected to come in to a very strong Blizzard team and slot in as about a #4 or #5 defenseman, which is exactly what happened. While Toner brought his strong defensive game to the table, he also put up solid offensive numbers with 25 points, despite not receiving any powerplay time throughout the season. Overall he was happy with his personal play throughout the year. Unfortunately the high flying Blizzard squad that was projected to compete for the cup fell just short, dropping game 7 to the New Orleans Spectres and finishing just one goal away from a finals berth.

3) - 2 TPE
My personal opinion is that I don’t think foreign based SHL/SMJHL teams would be a good idea for the league. While I think it could allow for some creativity with new locations, team-names, and maybe even jersey design, I think it scraps some of the realism aspect that the league works strong to maintain. A multi-continental league isn’t super feasible in terms of travel and what that would cost, both financially (especially for a junior league) and in terms of the toll that amount of travel would take on the players. Maybe some day we might get to the point where an overseas team is feasible but right now I think there are plenty of great options in North America for future expansion.

4) - 2 TPE
Although I’m biased I really think the Edmonton Blizzard were the best team to miss out on the Challenge Cup Finals. We tied Buffalo for this years Presidents Trophy, we had fantastic depth on our team, some of the best players in the league (Pepperoni, Scholz, Morgan, Tokolosh), great coaching, solid goaltending, the whole works. We were actually even confident that we had a good chance to beat Buffalo were we to make it to the finals, but unfortunately the New Orleans Spectres just had those few extra bounces go their way and they managed to eke out a win in game 7 of the conference finals.

6) - 2 TPE
He may be retired now, but I think if Mike Izzy made a TikTok account he could probably build himself a solid following of fans. He was an immensely popular player during his time in the league and he always had a big personality which I think would lend itself well to becoming a social media star. He already has experience making video’s and clips for the Dragons in the past so I can’t imagine it would be too hard for him to make the transition. Maybe he could go on there and start a virtual campaign to make sure he gets into the HOF (not that it matters, cause he will).

13) - 4 TPE
a) I think that both teams are extremely even defensively. Buffalo has THREE 2k TPE defenders in Darrow, Scoop and Selich, giving them the slightly better top end. However I think NOLA had ever so slightly better depth than the Stampede. However, I think the real difference comes in the goalies, with Cain being a little bit better than Doyle.
c)While New Orleans does have slightly better physical attributes than the Stampede, I don’t think that it will end up making too significant of a difference. Buffalo is a team that has won cups and been a top team the last few years. They aren’t the type to get too phased by physical play.
d) For favorite name in the series, I’d have to go with Boris “The Beast” Poroshenko. This guy sounds like the type of old school Russian dude that would show up to the rink 15 minutes before game time, smoke a massive cigar, skip warmup, and then STILL beat the shit out of you on the ice. Plus the guy’s nickname is “The Beast”. How can you not love it.
e) I think there are two clear animals out of this group that are way ahead of their peers, sloths and otters. Otters are cute as shit (although they stink) but sloths are cool as shit and one of the chillest looking animals out there, so I gotta go with them.

16) - 3 TPE
verification: tpe

Credits to OrbitingDeath, Tweedle, Incite, Wasty, and Slothfacekilla for sigs!

Player Profile | Update Page

JMacNCheese · 09-07-2020, 11:52 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season? This was my rookie season in the big league, and I would have to say that it turned out better than I expected honestly. I say this because I did not feel like /I had that great amount of TPE to compete with some of the big boys, but I guess it was a decent amount to keep me somewhat relevant. I also did not think too much about it because being on a team that is at the bottom of the league, although on the rise with great talent coming up, but figured I would struggle because of it but was not too bad and actually helped the team succeed. Was in the running for Rookie of the Year for a lot of the year but lost the momentum towards the end of the year. Next year with the help of the new talent, I will be able to do even better next season and so will my team! (160 words)

2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
This offseason will be extra exciting, as it features the rare expansion draft! Write about how you think the expansion draft will play out, either for one or both of the expansion teams or from an SHL team's perspective. The expansion draft looks like it is going to look fun this year and I look forward to seeing which players end up on the new expansion teams. There is a lot of good players that are not being protected or have their contracts expiring. Interesting how each new GM will handle about picking their new players. I say this because one team will get a top pairing defenseman and the other will get a line 1 or line 2 forward to start off. I would imagine that the new GM would draft their counter parts in getting a forward and a defenseman, respectively. Although if I were one of the new expansion GM’s I would build from the back up, so I think that Aquanauts are starting off better. So to add on to my build from the back up, I would get the best goalie available and if it is someone that is IA, get one in the works going right away with the actual draft, then build up from there. Going a great offense man does not hurt. (181 words)

5. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What are your predictions for the upcoming IIHF or WJC tournament? What team do you think will win/surprise people/be bad/etc.? In the up coming IIHF and WJC I believe that Great Britain and the British Isle are going to do well and may even end up winning it. They have been close for the past few years and I believe that this year they will push it over to winning gold. British Isles, this may be one of their last chances in a while since they will lose their big boys to the IIHF. They include Edward Williams, Frederick Wanesly, and Patric Twist, which are elite talent in the WJC and will be welcomed with open arms when they join IIHF next season. I believe with the veterans of MacIntyre, and Kirkby holding down the fort in from of a strong goalie, it is Great Britain’s to lose this year I feel. Some countries that will be good too will be USA, but not as good as in the past, and Switzerland. A surprise team will be Norway!!! (158 words)

13. Written, up to 4 TPE Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Both of these teams have stacked defenses - which team do you think has the defensive advantage in this series? Based on purely TPE, they are extremely close and New Orleans just slightly edges Buffalo out. But the TPE does not completely mean everything even though it helps lol. The goalies help a lot and the forward can be defensively to help the defense. I think that New Orleans has more defensive forwards and the goalie with more TPE, so I believe that they have the defensive advantage in this battle! (71 words)
b. In the two regular season matchups, each team won once at home. Do you expect the results to reflect a home ice advantage in this series? I do, lol just that plain and simple. We have found out that home ice advantage does give the home team an advantage. So, if they are very close stats and strategies, then I believe that the slight extra home ice gives will give the team the advantage in the series. (51 words)
c. Based on FHM player ratings, New Orleans has higher average ratings in bravery, aggression, and fighting? Will that toughness have any impact on this series? I do think it helps but I do not think it gives New Orleans the advantage. I think that it helps with them being the more defensive team and will help them with blocking shots and screening. This will make the series closer, but I think that Buffalo has the offensive power to break through and prevail them in a Cup Championship. (62 words)
d. What is your favorite name from a player appearing in this series? Why do you like that player's name? The person’s name that I like the most in this is a toss up between two Buffalo Stampede, Monkey D. Luffy and Hippo Passamus. I love Monkey D. Luffy’s name because it is from an Anime and and I love Anime even though I keep meaning to watch that series but its sooooooo long. I love Hippo Passamus because it’s a pun off an animal and hockey, plus his player is massive like a Hippo lol! (76 words)
e. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby. Kind of answered this in the previous question but the HIPPO!!! I love that there is so many animal names and Otter is a good one, Monkey is okay, but I know the character is from Anime and love it for that. Sloths are meh, foxes are to smart/sly and untrustworthy, and Kirby is an animal? News to me, just thought he was a pink blob lol. (67 words)

16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is now 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: Jmac

hughesab · 09-07-2020, 11:54 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

Honestly, my performance my rookie season left a lot on the table so there was nowhere to go really but up. That being said I was pretty pleased with my numbers from this season. I ended up pretty high in the league leader boards for faceoff percentage. It’s not much compared to goals and assists but contributing to team stats was always the goal going into this league. I was also able to drastically improve my offensive production from last season. A lot of this had to do with the chance to be on the same line as some really talented playmakers. This next season I’m hoping to improve on the score sheet while also reducing some of the giveaways that plagued me this past season. Total play time per game will likely go up now that I’m on the first line which will likely help with improving some of these stats.

3. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
It's too late for this go-around of expansion, so hypothetically - should there be SHL franchises in other continents? I saw some interesting European proposals in the PT. Should these - or proposals for any other continent that's not North America -
become a reality in the SHL?

Yes absolutely. It’s about time that the SHL expands across the Atlantic. I feel that there are a lot of really great markets that could be tapped into. Also I think it will provide a larger pipeline for international players to enter the league. I think that a team in Paris would do pretty well. It’s central-ish location in Europe and a large population would provide a strong foothold as the first expansion team across the pond. In the future I think that teams in cities like Copenhagen and Hamburg would be successful. All these cities have a lot of history and culture and could use something as important as an SHL team.

4. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

Either the Carolina Kraken or the Kelowna Knights could have made the finals this season. Both teams have fantastic goaltending and solid depth on both offense and defense. Carolina were the defending champs this season and didn’t lose many players to the SHL so naturally they had a pretty good shot of making the finals again this season. With veterans Jimmy Wagner and Dwight Knight, Carolina brought a level of grit and physicality that helped them have a deep playoff run. We may have not seen the knights in the finals this year but I’m sure they’ll make another deep playoff run next season. This team has a lot of talent returning next season so I wont be surprised to see them go all the way next season.

5. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What are your predictions for the upcoming IIHF or WJC tournament? What team do you think will win/surprise people/be bad/etc.?

This WJC is actually a more interesting one for me as this time around I will be GMing for one of the teams participating. This would be my first time GMing so there’s a lot to learn in not a ton of time but I’m looking forward to the challenge. That being said I feel pretty confident with Team World this year. Compared to countries like the US, Canada and Sweden we have a pretty limited pool of players to pull from but players that we do have are all high caliber. I think that what we bring to the table is a level of physicality that other teams may have a tough time matching up against. And even if we don’t win I think that teams wont look forward to playing us. I think that Team World will surprise a lot of people like the plucky band of misfits that we are.

7. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.) The two finals teams have decided to team up for a fundraising opportunity to benefit both cities. What noble cause will the teams decide to benefit? What sort of fundraiser will the teams hold together? How will the two teams mesh before the finals start?

With both the Carolina and Maine having somewhat naturey mascots I think it would be fitting for the teams to team up to support an environmental cause. Kind of like the mayors from both super bowl cities wagering things native to their cities, these two teams would each volunteer for a charity associated with the other team. In this situation the Timber would spend a day or two cleaning trash off the beaches of Maine and teaching youth about marine conservation. The Kraken would in turn spend the same amount of time planting trees and teaching youth about the effects of deforestation and habitat removal. The teams would then come together for one big conservation workshop/ volunteer event in junction with youth groups from both regions. I think this would teach the next generation that while rivalry and competition are fine, it is even more important to be able to collaborate with people that you may not necessarily get along with.

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