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S55 Championship Week
#16
(This post was last modified: 08-31-2020, 04:02 PM by Chevy.)

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?
Initially I had goals to really push and go for Rookie of the Year.  I had been a 4-Star cup champion, IIHF Gold medalist and had just came off winning WJC Gold alongside fellow netminder A.Jobin (@"Awesomecakes") so I figured I had to make a decent run...until I remembered I was ineligible.  At that point, it was just a matter of getting comfortable in becoming, as @Ace once put it "A young starter on a bad team".  Getting more than 20 wins was definitely nice, but in terms of save percentage and goals against, it was a very mediocre season.  I can take most of the responsibility of that as well from becoming Co-GM on the team and having quite a bit of say in our on-ice presence.  It was a learning curve for both which hopefully will level off in the next season.  I have an idea of what I'll need to do to get better from here on out.
(161 Words)


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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?
Should there be SHL franchises in other continents?  Yes, absolutely.  While the NHL is their own popular entity, hockey in general has become a globally recognized sport.  We have international tournaments alongside the NHL, KHL, and more.  Not to mention how every four years the best players in the world get together and play for Olympic gold on top of everything else.  Here in the SHL, the community itself is as diverse and global as any community.  With it being a virtual world, only the sky is the limit of our imagination.  To eventually expand and only limit ourselves to North American franchises is absurd.  Globalize the SHL.

(108 words)



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6. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.) The world's hottest app is TikTok - which SHL or SMJHL player would have the biggest following on TikTok? What do they post there?
Honestly, I think future Hall of Famer Mike Izzy ( @Mike Izzy ) would take the throne on that one.  He is already such a well versed individual in terms of social and multimedia.  I can just imagine it being a pre-made match made in heaven.  Millions of people would follow (or subscribe, I don't TikTok so I couldn't begin to tell you how it works) for the latest news and entertainment from "The Big Parm" and other places in the SHL.  A close second to Mike would definitely end up being, at least to me, Andrei Kostitsyn ( @Clean Andrei Kostitsyn ) who's admirable search for his brother Sergei never ends.  That, and his mannerisms, while comedic at times, are perfect entertainment for the TikTok world.

(123 words)


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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?
In times of COVID and and political/civil unrest, the finalists of the SHL have opted to support their fellow man (or in some cases otter, hippo, etc) via the American Red Cross .  The Red Cross supports everyone, regardless of age, gender or creed in times of disaster and also accounts for approximately 40 percent of the nations donated blood supply.  In short, they're around to help.  The two teams have joined up, along with the SHL to sponsor the "Cookie Cup".  A national backed bake sale of various cookies and brownies in the shape of hockey pucks (think of all that chocolate goodness!), with all proceeds going to help fund the Red Cross' "Bloodmobile" as well as their disaster relief funds. The winner of the "Cookie Cup" will be determined by volume sale for each team (as the cookies & brownies have each team's logos on it), with the goal to be a friendly annual competition.

(157 Words)


Code:
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?
d. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.
A) New Orleans has a huge defensive advantage.  The obvious thing people will point to is Alesteir Cain's impressive resume and crease presence, however looking at the statistics from the regular season, New Orleans has a combined total of 743 shots blocked to Buffalo's combined 581.  You can't score goals if the puck never reaches the net.  NOLA wins this comparison.

B) Home ice advantage is always an important thing to have, especially in the playoffs.  Between these two teams, fairly equal in most statures, that bonus from the crowd presence will be tough to break through for each visiting team.  Whomever can steal at least one game on their opponents ice this series I predict will take the whole shindig.

C) Fighting may play into effect in New Orleans being on the penalty kill more often, however higher stats in bravery and aggression I think will balance that issue.  Bravery and Aggression will help allow those players to venture into heavier traffic more willingly and also helps them in the idea that they aren't afraid to get dirty in the corners.  In turn, this will allow them to get in more scoring chances.  That was one type of game style that I had a hard time playing against in Winnipeg.  If they're willing to go places that other skaters aren't, then can get the puck in more places too.

E) Its a very tough choice as to which animal, particularly in a hockey series, is the coolest.  I'll probably say though that Fox would be my favorite.  I would predict most would go with otter or monkey, but Fox definitely.  Foxes are sly and cunning.  If you put that kind of mentality on the ice with solid puckhandling or shooting, I would imagine they'll be able to tuck that puck in and leave the opponent dumbfounded on how they did it.

(Respective word counts:  60, 59, 108, 81)

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.

Strom


TOTAL TPE: 17/16
#17

PT PASS
#18
(This post was last modified: 08-31-2020, 02:26 PM by CementHands.)

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?

Karl’s on ice goals are general improvement – focused mostly on team improvement. He really doesn’t care how his individual stats are as long as he can find a way to help the Platoon achieve victory. If that means relegated to penalty killing specialist that is 100% fine, although the last season it definitely involved a lot more of a presence on the offense than Karl has been expecting. This was exemplified with Karl’s recent team friendly extension, allegedly leaving money on the table to help out some of the younger prospects.
Karl’s stats did improve. He set career highs for goals and points, his hits started to trend in the positive direction as well after a shattering first FHM season being one of the best in the league, and his penalty minutes were an all time low – clocking in at just 12 on the season. So hitting more, scoring more, and being in the box less.
On the team side Karl is a little disappointed with the Platoon’s performance. Coming in at a struggling 14 wins, they are able to maintain a small gap over Toronto and Tampa, but there is still a big gap to go to reach the bottom of the contenders. Ideally we should see a bump to 20 wins, but it may take a few seasons to get there, and from that point they have to be able to make the jump to 30
**238 Words** - 3 TPE

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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.

I think both of the teams will be building into a slow gaining team similar to how Chicago conducted themselves in the last expansion draft. After some trades the availability pool shrunk a little bit, but both of the teams should be able to field rosters roughly equivalent with the top end of the missing playoff teams, so they should be ahead of the bottom.
Overall it looks like there is some decent defensive talent available, so the teams should have pretty decent numbers on that end. It’ll be very interesting if one of the teams take on Cain. Instantly one of the best (if not the best) goalies in the league’s history still in his prime, pair that with potentially a few very good defensive options it could be interesting to see a potential team be put together that is D heavy. It could be a good experience in defensive solid teams and tactics to see how they match up against their comparables – either Minny, Winnipeg, LA, or San Fran in the West, or Baltimore, Toronto, Tampa, or NEW in the East.
**183 Words** 3 TPE

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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 this upcoming IIHF tournament are going to see the top TPE teams really turn into powerhouses. It is tough with the player differences, but I think we have seen enough of the new engine where teams have enough people experienced and just in general strategies and tactics have been developed to produce predictable results.
Because of this I feel teams such as USA and Canada are going to be very dominant at the top end level of IIHF. I think there will be a tier 2 grouping of Great Britain, Germany, Sweden. I believe with the right strategies and a little bit of luck these tier 2 teams can absolutely find success and push for a win, but honestly I believe that the gold is between USA or Canada to win or lose. While there have been a few steps taken in the last few seasons to tighten the gap between competing teams and the top tier, it is still difficult to contend when other teams have the luxury of 1000+ TPE players not being able to crack the roster. It just leads to such a nice late game advantage.

**192 Words** 3 TPE

Code:
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?
d. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.
A - Not including goalies in pure defense (because I think Cain would swing the scales for me) I believe Buffalo has the better defense out of the 2 teams. My reasoning for this is I believe Buffalo has a couple all stars in Selich, Darrow, Scoop who are very versatile and can play big minutes. Nola isn’t without – they have Kirkby, but a small drop off after that where you have 3 game breakers vs 1 **75 Words**
B - Yes, I believe there will be a home ice advantage to the point that whoever wins will have to steal an away game. I assume buffalo is home, but even if that assumption rings true I believe they will still need to steal a game to win the series. They don’t want it going to 7, and likewise NOLA would probably like to finish it off on home ice in 6 if they can. **74 Words**
C - Well it will have an impact on the series, but I think it will be a negative impact overall for NOLA. Aggression seems to lead to taking more penalties, and fighting requires a partner, so higher score in frequency for fights isn’t going to swing anything in their favor. Bravery may be a big thing for them. If they are able to sustain hard offensive zone cycles that could very well work out in NOLA’s favor by winning puck battles. **80 Words**
D - Ok, well there isn’t really that much of a debate on this one, but sloth is leaps and bounds ahead as the coolest animal in the series. They are overlooked as being slow, but you have to think, how can prey that has bad eyesight and extremely slow movement survive in the wild? They have intense murderous rage. Likewise in this series, don’t count out Slothface. **66 Words**

4 TPE

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.
Dwarf - 3 TPE

16/16 TPE

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#19
(This post was last modified: 09-02-2020, 08:54 PM by hhh81.)

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?
This was a pretty good season. Darrow set a new career high for goals and shots—rather than the solid two-way passer he’s been for eight seasons, Darrow turned into more of a shooter, and kept the strong all around game. I’m pretty content with my season. I think I have a decent chance at being a finalist for best defenseman this year (Stevens nom or riot), though I don’t expect to win. Being in the top 10 for total point shares surprised me and felt pretty good. As for next year, I hope for a few more assists. I was surprised with all the talent around Darrow in Buffalo that he had as few assists as he did. It’s hard to predict what will happen, as I think Darrow’s time in green and gold is quickly coming to a close. Wherever the next chapter leads, I hope for another strong all-around season for Darrow as the undisputed #1 defender on his team

Quote: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.
Well, I'm one of the exposed players (and some would argue the best player among the options available), so it's a pretty exciting time! There aren't a ton of 1600+ TPE defenseman available, and even fewer with contracts beyond S55 other than me. I think this should make me a very attractive option for expansion teams. I wouldn't be surprised to be the top player taken in the expansion draft. The crop of defensemen and goalie is notably thinner than at forward, which could skew the expansion GMs to target goalie and defense early. Getting a grade A user and young player like Alexander Roach, however, might carry more value in the eyes of expansion GMs than a player in his prime. Only one of us can be taken in expansion (as hotdog will take his own player, Eko van Otter, as the second Stampede player).

Regardless on if I'm selected (I hope I am!) I think both Atlanta and Seattle will need a few years to really build a strong foundation to contend. I think one or both could compete for a playoff spot in their first year, but I don't expect either to be serious challengers for the Challenge Cup. Even with some losses, the top tier of Buffalo, Edmonton, and New Orleans likely will still be the undisputed teams to beat. Expansion teams should prioritize young players, and with the sizable crop of S52 and S53 players exposed, I expect to see many of them selected over higher TPE veterans. I don't think it'll be an all or nothing thing, though. Both teams will likely take players in both categories. In the end, I expect tig to, as he said in his podcast, focus on getting the maximum possible value from each pick. I expect at least a few backroom deals that sees expansion teams select a less optimal player in exchange for picks to build out their prospect pools.

I'm excited, are you excited?

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?
Edmonton Blizzard are the best team to not make the Challenge Cup finals. They were a game away from winning the President's Trophy as the best team. They made bold moves to add Theo Morgan, Jon Toner, and Bo Kane to their roster this season, and it paid off with the league's best offense (4.64 goals per game) and third best defense (2.38 goals against per game). They had a 3-2 lead going into Game 6 versus New Orleans and fell apart in the end, getting outscored 5-2 and 4-3 in the series changing games. Now, Morgan, Kane, Toner, and soon-to-be SMJHL graduate Carlos Brown are all pending free agents, and exposed. Edmonton will lose at least two of those players in expansion, and possibly could see all four walk for nothing.

Quote:6. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.) The world's hottest app is TikTok - which SHL or SMJHL player would have the biggest following on TikTok? What do they post there?
Ooh, that's tough. While Jean-Uhtred Ragnarsson-Tremblay is the undisputed king of Twitter, I think Augustus Wang @Ferda might have a huge following on TikTok if he took a shot. He's constantly high as shit and thinks he's funny, so he probably will have no shame as he does ridiculous things (with heavy product placement) for the lols. Gen Z's penchant for dark humor surpasses even the perpetual sadness of us Gen Y folks, so whether it's funny or so sad it's funny, the youngin's will flock... up until parents find out about Wang's penchant for the reefer and boycott to shut that shit down. This will only embolden Wanger and his flock of devotees, making him even more powerful than howdyhowdyyall and haileeandkendra combined.

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.
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.
a. This is a lie. I would not call New Orleans’ defense stacked. Odelein and Claude are solid, strong players heading into their best years and Kirkby is at his pinnacle after some team hopping. Beyond that, the defense is forgettable. Imagine having three players at or above Kirkby’s level right now—that’s what Buffalo has in Selich, Darrow, and Scoop. Buffalo can pretty much have one of those three on the ice at all times. If NOLA shuts down one of them, there’s still so much more talent throughout the lineup to take the edge. Scoop-Darrow has been one of the stoutest defensive pairs in the league for three seasons now.

c. I think mental toughness will play a major part in this series. NOLA can feel free to goon it up, but that won’t intimidate the Stampede. Further, when the Specters try to change the game with a penalty, the Buffalo power play will make them pay—whether that’s through big PP goals or just running NOLA’s PK units ragged, I think BUF has the edge.

d. Viktor Marius. The dude’s been around for a good long while, and he even has a rule named after him! That’s pretty cool, and a testament to the great person behind the player @karey . Honestly, who would say anyone else? Say it with me. Go on, say it! “Veek-tore Mah-ree-uus” it slides right off the tongue! He’s had a hell of a career, and has a great name. He subverts the traditional spelling of “Victor” as he pushes toward all sorts of fun franchise records. He’s #1 in graphics and #1 in my heart.

e. Otters! Holy fook, I love otters. Foxes are cool and fun as well (their barks and laughs are precious but also HORRIFYING), but I’m going with the otter gang. Have you seen otters? Just hanging out, using rocks as tools to crack open shellfish, floating in big ol’ rafts with other otters, holding each others’ little hands? It’s precious, it’s great, and I want to swim with otters.


Quote:CW 16: Trivia (3 TPE)
VW: bigbuf

Platoon Elk Elk Platoon
Argonauts Argonauts
PlatoonGermanyRaptors

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#20
(This post was last modified: 09-01-2020, 06:02 AM by dankoa.)

1. It was a weird season for Kaarlo this time around. Texas making a move to add a superstar player like Piotr Czerkawski at the start of the season meant that my role was more limited than I had expected, playing down on the third line. Even as a role player, he still managed to trend in the right direction, improving on last year’s totals in goals and assists and tallying 26 points on the season. This is definitely a little on the low side but given that the team had more depth this season and managed to get further in the standings, I’m not too disappointed in how things played out when all things are considered. I think if I’d been playing on the second line I could have been able to break the 30 point barrier, but there’s no point in speculating so we’ll just have to see if Kaarlo gets it done next season. I’m hoping for a bigger role as I’m getting to a fairly high TPE level, so hopefully good things are ahead.

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177 words


2. I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to this season's expansion draft. As someone who is exposed, the prospect of leaving behind all my teammates in Texas isn't something I'm particularly excited about, and even if I don't get picked, there will be two teammates of mine lost from the fold which will again be a sad prospect. We've really put a good group together these last few seasons, so losing anyone is far from ideal, but I think the GMs have done a good job of keeping as many of the team's main pieces together as possible. In terms of how things will go for the expansion teams, I can see the Argonauts picking first in the expansion draft and adding a player like Cassisus Darrow to their team. That kind of veteran experience will be a huge add for the team, and it's going to be a boost for a brand new team to add that kind of presence. From there on, I have no idea but it'll be exciting to follow for sure.

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3. It’s probably the more boring way of thinking for some, but I prefer having just North American based franchises. There’s a lot of large markets in North America that the SHL hasn’t used for franchises yet, and as a league that looks to mirror the NHL, it makes sense to put teams in some of those before we go overseas for team locations. I loved Atlanta as a location for a team, but it meant that we as a league are still without a franchise in potentially the biggest hockey city in the world in Montreal, so let’s get a team there before we start looking at random spots in other countries.

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4. The best team to not make the finals was the Edmonton Blizzard. They took the western conference finals to seven games and really made it look like they’d be able to beat New Orleans, but unfortunately they came up short when it was all said and done. They also were pretty dominant in the regular season, being tied for the best record in the league. I’m not sure how things are going to shake out in the next couple seasons for the team with some big names hitting free agency this offseason, but they had a great season and were unfortunate to not be able to go further

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5. I'm not going to miss an opportunity to pump my own team's tyres here, so I'm going to try and convince you that Team Finland are on the verge of a huge season. After making some strides last season, we're primed and ready for another big tournament from our young team. Guys like Josef Kubinec have stepped into the elite TPE range, Bjorn Leppanen and Kaarlo Kekkonen have continued their development to the point that they should be legitimate threats in this year's tournament, and young guys like Jukka Timmonen are entering the tournament with uncapped builds that should really let them play to a more complete level. It's tough to say exactly how well I think the team is going to do, but I really see us as being threats to make it to the medal rounds and cause some disappointment for other teams. In terms of an overall tournament winner though, it's hard to look past Canada. They've got an incredibly strong team and after seeing how they put it together last season, it's going to be interesting to see the way they go about looking to repeat.

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16. Verification word: verified

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#21
(This post was last modified: 09-07-2020, 03:24 PM by BrewskyBoy.)

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?

In some aspects, this was my best season to date. This was my sixth season in the league and for the first time in my career I actually finished with a positive +/- rating. While some of my individual offensive stats were down this year including goals, assists, and points, the advanced metrics actually show that this was my most productive season overall. While I wasn't necessarily a leader on the scoring front, my defensive ability actually stood out as being one of the best on the team this season. As a defender, this pleases me greatly to see that I was actually contributing on that end of the ice in a positive way. Of course these are just individual stats we're talking about here, but I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention how this was the first season in my career that I actually made the playoffs. I certainly wasn't the only one that helped the team make it this far, as it was a full team effort from top to bottom. But that might be the single factor that has made this my best season so far.



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?

In my honest opinion, no. I don't think the SHL should ever expand outside of the north american continent. Sure this is a virtual simulation league and technically anything is possible, but I like the realism aspect of it. And the logistics of having a team across the big pond is just a nightmare to think about. We've seen other sports leagues like the NBA and NFL have a couple games out in Europe and it's cool for a one off, but the amount of planning that goes into just that single game is unreal. Imagine trying to do that for an entire season. Not to mention the absurd home-ice advantage the teams would have due to the other team traveling either to or from Europe a night before the game.



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 think you have to look at Edmonton as the best team to miss out on the finals this season. They killed it throughout the regular season and easily earned the top seed in the west. If it weren't for New Orleans coming up with the upset (with some questionable tactics, if what I've heard is correct), we could have been looking at an Edmonton vs Buffalo finals. I'd like to put a secondary shout out to Chicago though. While it's hard to argue that Buffalo wasn't the better team, a lot of experts predicted that if Chicago could somehow get past Buffalo, they'd have been the favorite to go all the way and win the cup.



Quote: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 don't think I've ever successfully predicted any winner in the IIHF, so maybe it's time I take a step back and predict a more reasonable winner. I think we all know that Canada and the United States have been the two powerhouse international teams for quite some time now, and I don't see this season being any different (of course this will be the year it's different, but I can hope it isn't anyways). I think you can pretty much pencil in a Canada vs United States championship game right now, maybe at worst you'll see them meeting in the semi finals depending on how the groups are structured. I won't even attempt to predict the WJC because I have absolutely no idea who has been doing well there or who has the top prospects in the league at this point. One thing I can tell you though is that you can expect a bounce back season from the German squad in the IIHF. They were one of the worst in the league last time around and I think it took a lot of people by surprise, including the Germans. Don't expect them to be at the bottom again.



Quote: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?

This season, Buffalo and New Orleans are teaming up to support The Pet Fund. The Pet Fund is a charitable organization that raises money to help pay veterinary bills. There are a lot of people out there that do their best to take care of the animals we know and love, but sometimes people are suffering through tough financial times and can't afford to pay the sometimes expensive medical bills that their pets need. The Pet Fund comes to the rescue in these situations to ensure that the pet gets the proper medical care it needs. Without them, the owner may be forced to give their pet up to a shelter or keeping the pet at home but potentially suffering. There are plenty of options to help raise funds, and whatever the two teams choose, it won't be an issue for the teams to come together as one to help out a great cause. In the end, hockey is just a game and when you have the chance to raise money for a greater cause, you take it.



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.

Verification Word: healthcare



3 + 2 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 16 TPE


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#22

PT pass

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#23
(This post was last modified: 09-07-2020, 09:52 PM by Sean.)

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?

I was extremely happy with how Pepperoni did individually this season. He moved back from the 1st line to the 3rd line in order to match up against other teams top-lines. Despite the harder match ups, Pepperoni still managed to put up 69 points in 50 games and had a career high +30 +/-. The same success was not seen in the playoffs as Pepperoni was only able to manage 9 points in 11 games and was unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs in the 2nd round. I really felt like we had a chance to win the cup and almost had an expectation to make the cup finals with the roster we had. As much as I appreciate the individual success, the end goal for all players should be to win the Challenge cup. We weren't able to do that in Edmonton this season. For that reason,  I feel disappointed with how the season turned out for Pepperoni. Hopefully next season Pepperoni can come alive like he did in the S53 playoffs and lead the Blizzard back to the finals.

[179 Words, +3 TPE]

Code:
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.

I think we're extremely lucky this is a two-team expansion and not a one-team expansion. With the players that were exposed, it's quite possible that there could have been a championship caliber team made from them if only one team was selecting. I think this could be a very exciting time for the expansion teams. They're entering the league when there's been salary cap changes which will challenge some of the higher-end teams. If they're able to build a good foundation now, they'll probably be able to pick up more and more extremely talented pieces as teams get more heavily affected by the cap changes. The expansion draft played out almost exactly as I expected for the Blizzard, we lost Bo Kane and Carlos Brown. Of those two, Kane was more of a shocker since it was well known he wants the most money available and Edmonton was not allowing expansion teams to talk to their pending free agents. Carlos Brown is going to be a very good player in the future for Atlanta, so we're excited for him going forward with them.

[183 words, +3 TPE]

Code:
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?

As much as this is going to upset some of our European users, I really don't think we should expand into Europe. No major North American sport has crossed the Atlantic into Europe and I think it would be odd for our league to do it when there are a lot of North American cities that have heavy sports presences and are without SHL teams. Off the top of my head, we still have no SHL team in Quebec, Pennsylvania (Philly/Pittsburgh), Nashville, Phoenix, Ohio, New Jersey, Washington, etc.

However, if we were to revamp the junior leagues and divide it into 2 leagues. A SMJHL and a European league, I think that'd be really cool.

[116 words, +2 TPE]

Code:
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've got to represent my team here and say it was the Blizzard. We had the best offense in the league and a greatly improved defense from last season. We also tied to challenge cup champion Buffalo Stampede in points in the regular season. Sadly, the offensive fire power died down a little and Pepperoni and Bo Kane were not able to produce at the same level they were during the regular season. I think if Kane and Pepperoni are playing at the ability everyone knows they can, they win the series against NOLA and have just as interesting a series with Buffalo following it. Buffalo is the best team on paper in my opinion but anything can happen in the playoffs, that's why we play them.

[127 words, +2 TPE]

Code:
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.

b. I don't really know how much home ice advantage is going to mean in this series. Both teams are extremely deep so the matchups aren't going to be as important. If one of the teams had a weak 3rd line or 3rd pairing I could see the home team trying to chase a favourable match-up and get their best guys out against them, but there's not going to be much room for that kind of advantage. [76 words, +1 TPE]

c. I don't see much of an advantage in having higher bravery, aggression and fighting. From everything I've seen, higher aggression just results in more penalties which I would consider a disadvantage. I doubt there are any fights in the finals as there were so few during the regular season so the fighting advantage means nothing. Bravery would be the only one I see affecting the outcome but if Buffalo is better in other areas, it shouldn't make much of a difference. [81 words, +1 TPE]

e. I'm going to say a fox is my favourite of all the available animals. Not because there's anything special about foxes, mostly because they remind me of one of my favourite episodes of The Simpsons. It's the one where Shelbyville steals Springfield's lemon tree and when homer threatens to break in a steal it back, the Shelbyville guy says he must be stupider than he looks to which Homer responds, "stupider like a fox"! [74 words, +1 TPE]

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.

Pizza

[+3 TPE]

[Image: TommySalami.gif]


Blizzard Raptors Blizzard Raptors Blizzard Raptors Blizzard Raptors Blizzard

EDM All-Time Leader in Goals, Assists and Points
#24
(This post was last modified: 09-07-2020, 10:52 PM by rum_ham.)

5:
My prediction for the upcoming World Junior Championship is… THAT THE U S OF A IS GONNA WIN AGAIN BABY! We’re the loudest and most obnoxious country in the world, so of course we have the best young hockey stars out there. If things get rough, we can always dust the Mighty Ducks playbook off the shelf and get some flying V’s going. Also, a dark horse for us this year is the ghost of the Mighty Ducks equipment manager, Hans is coming with us to sharpen our skates and feed us wisdom from beyond the grave. A player to look out for on team USA is goaltender, C.K. Supernaw, not necessarily on the ice, but off it. My bold prediction is that by the end of the tournament, Supernaw will take a page out of Goldberg’s book and become a drug-addicted homeless man with no teeth. Maybe I’ll join.

8:
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10:
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13:
a. I didn’t watch a single game of the SHL playoffs this year. But if there’s one thing I know, it’s that the Buffalo Stampede have the defensive advantage in this series. How do I know that? Because I procrastinated and know that Buffalo already won the series. Also I’m magic.

b. As someone that waited until the last minute to answer this question, I’m going to take a bold guess and say that because it was so close during the regular season, this series could go to seven games. After looking up the series, it looks like it did go to 7. I’m a goddamn psychic.

c. As someone who knows nothing at all about the illustrious Franchise Hockey Manager 6, I’m going to put my foot in the sand and say that statistics like bravery, aggression, and fighting don’t have much of an importance in a league where no one can get hurt. Maybe it would be different if injuries were on.

d. The player with the best name in the series belongs to the one and only Poopity Scoop. Not only is his name fun and exciting, but his player has also been whoopiting and scoopiting all over the ice in a major way for a majorly long time. What a threat.

16:
reeves

[Image: rum_ham.gif] [Image: ox6aAot.png]
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[Image: ddIlIkT.png]Colin Lambert ll Left Defence ll Barracuda[Image: NA3IV5m.png]
#25
(This post was last modified: 09-06-2020, 11:27 AM by Jumbobone19.)

Championship Week

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?

While playing in Colorado this season, I (Lord Raiden) started the season very slow. Through a little over half the season, I was averaging less than half a point per game. But ultimately I pulled it together and finished the season scoring roughly 1.25 points a game. I basically improved in every statiscal category. But while I surpassed my overall expectations this season, I wanted to score a few more goals. After scoring 9 in my rookie year, I only improved on that by scoring 14 goals. I definitely had higher expectations on that one. I think the slow start can be attributed to me and my linemates trying to find our chemistry. Once we got familiar and got it going, we crushed it. Shoutout to my linemates Rock Strongo (@Leafs4ever) and Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind (@CaptainCrazy).  Hopefully next season, I am on the same line as them again, and we can start the season at full speed. If the end of the season is any insight on next season, watch out for this line. 
174 words

Code:
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.

While I already did a mock draft of how the expansion draft will go, it will definitely be interesting to see how the real expansion plays out. I think the first pick overall will be Cassius Darrow, and thats how HH wanted it to be. After that other top plays on the board are Theo Morgan, Bo Kane, Oliver Cleary. These are players that the teams can build around. One position that will be a focal point is goalie. There are only 3 active goalies available (Cain, Samat, and Borro) in the expansion draft so it will be interesting to see who goes first and where. In our mock draft, Cain actually ended up being safe as two other New Orleans players were selected, making Cain no longer available. There are some quality inactive goalies that could be a stopgap if teams need one. There could be some serious strategies to block the other team from being able to select certain players. I am looking forward to the expansion draft and what the GMs plans are. 
176 Words

Code:
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 think it would be interesting to have teams in other parts of the world. I could see teams in Russia, Germany, Sweden, Finland, among other countries. I mean hockey is played all over the world so why not include them in the SHL. I dont think travel is a big factor in this case. I know players take pride in playing for their countries in the IIHF and WJC, so with this they could play for an SHL team in their home country. But in order for this to happen the SHL to would to have a huge influx of players so there is a need for more expansion teams. 
111 Words

Code:
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?

In the SHL, Buffalo and New Orleans made the finals. But Edmonton was tied for the most points in the league, and they scored the most team goals on the year. It did take New Orleans 7 games to beat the Blizzard. But still a shock to see. I think it has nothing to do with how Edmonton played, it justs the reigning champions knew how to get the job done.  Edmonton had New Orleans on the ropes being up 3-2 in the series, but could not close it out. In Game 6, the Blizzard could not get any offense going and then in Game 7 the Specters top players pulled it out in the end. I think in a rematch, Edmonton takes the series. 
 125 Words

Code:
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.?

Well in the WJC, team USA is defending the Gold Medal. A majority of last years team is returning to the squad.  So I believe they are still the favorite to win the Gold again. There are a few unfortunate departures such as Teddy Park (world), Hubert Andrews (world), and Soochie Stratton (transfered to DACH but on loan to World). With those 3 players, I think World has put together a pretty solid squad. Last year, World underperformed and did not medal. I think World can push USA for Gold but they will come up short and earn Silver. The last team that I think will earn a medal is team Sweden. Sweden also did not meet their expectations last year. But Sweden riding on the back of top goal scorer and Captain Sven Svenson will be a underdog in this tournament. Svenson is in his last WJC this year, so he will want to make it count, and I believe that Sweden added some of the pieces they were missing last year. 
173 Words

Code:
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.
 
Buffalo Stampede are the Challenge Cup Champions. It was an amazing series, and a battle to the finish. The series went 7 games and then game 7 goes into overtime was decided by the MVP Monkey D Luffy. Monkey D Luffy had  a great playoff performance by scoring 7 goals with 11 assists. Luffy's 18 points were tied for the playoff lead but Luffy did it in 3 less games. Also in the final series, Luffy scored 4 goals and had 4 assists. Then as stated before, Monkey D Luffy scored the biggest goal of the series with the Game 7 overtime game winning goal. 
105 Words


Code:
16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max

16. Jumbo

[Image: jumbobone19.gif]
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Thanks to @DELIRIVM @sköldpaddor @Merica for the Sigs
#26
(This post was last modified: 09-02-2020, 12:01 PM by Mediocre_Fred.)

Code:
1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season?
Considering I paid no attention to my last season, I'd say mister Fred Wanesly did pretty well. He played his last season in the juniors with Detroit and had a surprisingly good season, despite the obvious effects of the Detroit Curse still plaguing the team. Thirty something points isn't so bad, if I do say so myself. As for what I can attribute it to, I'd say I owe it all to the Falcon's (former) GM Tig since he randomly summoned me from my inactivity to redistribute points before this season. I'm sure that helped in the way my player jumped up in points from the season before. I guess I am not looking forward as much to next season, since I have missed out on a lot of TPE while I was gone and I'll likely be starting my time in the SHL with around 600 TPE or so.

Code:
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.
Oh boy, it is like I was made to answer this one! I have a very strong feeling I am going to be picked up by one of the expansion teams because of my several month period of inactivity and then my very recent reemergence! I disappeared for a while due to work and other real life things which undoubtedly made people think I was not going to be a good asset to the team, and I don't blame them! I wouldn't want an inactive dude on my team either. So that left me EXPOSED! But then, something happened that no one could have ever predicted. I came back! Out of nowhere! So now I am sure I am going to be picked up by one of the two expansion teams. I know both General Mangers well enough that they like me and I'm sure my recent activity is exciting to them. We'll see what happens!

Code:
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.?
Yes. I have a prediction for the upcoming World Junior Championship tournament. Team British Isles is definitely going to get gold this year. If my memory serves me right, they got bronze two years ago and last year they go silver. The team is filled with quite a lot of talent, including the wonder kid himself, Fred Wanesly, and should hopefully have what it takes to go all the way to get the gold. This would really be great for me because it is my last year being eligible for the World junior Championship and with my low TPE, I am certainly not going to be able to play in the IIHF tournament next year, so it's my last shot, for a while at least, to get gold for my player in an international tournament. We have a new GM for team British Isles this year, and I'm really looking forward to what they can do for the team.

Code:
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?
e. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.
a. I have no idea which team is going to be better defensively. I think it will really be up to a coin flip when I make this decision. The coin says Buffalo. The coin does have a good point, though. Buffalo does have some very good defensive players that I think will give them the edge over the Spectres.
b. It's always hard to say if home ice helps at all or not since I don't know the mechanics of Franchise Hockey Manager all that well still. Based on the two regular season games, I'd optimistically say that it might have an effect and that we might see that advantage help the respective teams during the series.
c. Again, I don't know too much about the mechanics of Franchise Hockey Manager, so I can't say for certain how I feel this attributes will affect the outcome of the series. I'd like to imagine that the developers of the simulator made the skills useful enough that they might make a difference.
e. It's a tossup between fox and otter. Some say that otters are the foxes of the sea and others say that foxes are just land otters. I personally subscribe to the former of the two options. With that being said, though, I think I will give my points to the Fox. They just don't smell as bad as otters.

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

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[Image: PeZ8eh1.png] [Image: r2pSvNf.png]
#27

My favorite task of the season.

Simmer claim!

[Image: Kalakar1.gif]

#28
(This post was last modified: 09-01-2020, 10:13 PM by Ohtaay.)

Task 1:+3 tpe
Code:
177 words
Well, it really depends. My regular season was pretty good, and I can’t complain with how it turned out. Anchorage finished the season first in the west. With a record of 35-12-3, we started off the season a little shake but went on a tear to finish the season that was lead by strong defence, and a hot goalie. Individually, going into this season I was hoping for 25-30 points, which I hit finishing the season with a stat line of 13-16-29, while getting to enjoy some time on the special teams as well. Although this was my goal, I started the season on a much better pace and finished cold. The regular season season success was great, however after getting a first round bye in playoffs, and being up 3-1 in our series, we ended up losing in game 7. Just like that, all the hard work was thrown out the window, and another season came to a halt. Coming into next season, I hope to make the first line and play a bigger role in our chase of the cup.


Task 3: +2 tpe
Code:
167 words

Hmm that is an interesting take, and I think it would require a bigger change in the league. I know other sim leagues like the VHL have teams from other countries and what not. He’ll even when I have the freedom to locate my team where I like in various games, I usually go outside of North America to make it unique. When you look at the current structure of the SHL and how every team is located in North America, I think it would be odd to randomly throw one or two teams from different countries in the mix. If you were to go this route you would definitely have to relocate some of the current franchise to make it work in my opinion. With the current structure of the SHL there are still a decent amount of locations in North America that expansions teams could expand to, while still making sense. So without an overhaul of the current structure, the SHL should stay North American based.

Task 4:+2 tpe
Code:
117 words

That’s a pretty easy question in my books, Anchorage. Yeah call me a homer, but look at how the season played out, 35-12-3, only 3 points behind the best team in the league. Anchorage also boasted the league best lowest goals against per game this season, only giving up 89 goals all season! The next closest team had 102. Anchorage also had a strong goalie, posting a league best .966 save percentage and a 1.62 gaa. However, these numbers would not last in the playoffs, where their goalie would drop to a league worst .849 save percentage which would ultimately cost them their playoff series, as they would heavily out shoot the timber in 5/7 games.

Task 6: +2
Code:
116 words
Who would have the biggest following on Tik Tok you ask? Well why don’t you ask him yourself? TURG TURG of the Anchorage Armada already has a cult like following on his Tik Tok. Now despite him having a huge following, his tik toks aren’t for everyone as they are made for a very specific audience. TURG TURG only posts two types of videos, the first being him bathing in different types of sauces, yes sauces. Sweet and sour, Soy Sauce, Ketchup, TURG has been in it all. The second time of video, is review various chicken strips, and nuggets from fast food to frozen, he trying them all one Tik Tok at a time.

Task 16: +3
Code:
oats

Task 13: +4

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

Well looking strictly at defence, I believe New Orleans has the defensive roster. They have Rex Kirby on their team who is a top 5 defender in the league, and has the ability to tilt the ice in his favour when he is on the ice. However, I believe that Bufallo has a better team defence when you include the forwards into the equation.

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 believe the home ice advantage will continue, however I think Nola will split their games, winning one and losing one, where buffalo will win both. Buffalo has looked very sharp in these playoffs, and that’s no knock against Nola as they have also looked very good. I just believe the momentum Buffalo has build wil continue.

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 don’t believe so, from my understanding of the sim bravery really only has much of affect when you are playing other teams players who are set as “goons” with the rule being introduced with only one goon per team, it wont have much affect on the other players. Also aggression and fighting may only hurt New Orleans leading to them taking more penalties.

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

Is this even a question, its obviously Otter, EKO VAN OTTER or EVO is by far the superior animal name on the ice night in and night out. First of all, sloth as a player? No thanks, we here to go fast. Hippo? Yeah okay maybe you should play defence. Monkey you say? No bananas here, try some where else. Not much to say about fox, just a no go personally. Finally Kirby? Guy must be a big ol weeb.

[Image: Oats.gif]




Player Page | Player Update
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#29
(This post was last modified: 09-07-2020, 01:23 PM by Flowseidon.)

1. 3 TPE (160 words)

I think that this was one of the tougher seasons that I have had in a while. While the individual performance wasn’t necessarily bad, it isn’t quite to the same standard that I’ve performed the past few years. It may be slightly related to the rebuilding that the team is currently doing, causing stats like my plus minus to tank and for me to be less effective as part of a complete line.

Along with that, it was my first season in a few where I was not at minimum a point per game player. I feel as though I slacked a little in my training when it was clear we weren’t contenders, and I need to ensure that I come in with a better attitude next season to correct that. I need to set the example for the younger players that we have and help build them into pros that will contribute and help win San Francisco a cup.

2. 3 TPE (176 words)

I think that we will see things play out a little differently than the last time that we had an expansion draft. Last time, we had two very different strategies take place where New Orleans built a team that could immediately contend, and Chicago built a team with a ton of potential and prospects that have turned them into a contender a few seasons down the line.

This time, I suspect that we are going to see teams try to mimic what New Orleans did. They will be going after best player available with every chance they get to try and built a team that can step right into the Challenge Cup picture. As a result, I think both teams will end up a little more middling than expected since the pool of top end players will be depleted more quickly. This could cause both teams to struggle a bit more than they would have hoped and take a few years of drafting smartly to put them in the picture while hopefully maintaining the aging talent.

3. 2 TPE (180 words)

I think while there is certainly a lot of potential in a European expansion, particularily considering how many of our players come from there, I think that it is still too early. Between the SHL and SMJHL we still have many North American markets untapped which have had traditionally hockey crazy fanbases. We still have places like Boston, Philly, Moose Factory, and more that are not represented in our two leagues. Adding teams to these locales will be easier from a logistics standpoint as well as they have far less travel that needs to be factored into the equation.

When the European expansion does happen, I would propose that multiple teams will need to be setup at the same time so that there can be a division sitting in Europe to slow down the travel and make the lives easier of the players on those teams so they’re not just constantly in the air. It will be very important that there is significant work done towards making the move correctly and ensuring that the impact to the league is minimal.

4. 2 TPE (146 words)

I think that everyone needs to be surprised that Edmonton didn’t make the playoffs. They sat tied in points at the top of the league with Buffalo, only losing out on the President’s Trophy due to a tiebreaker.

They were a super strong team all season, and showed that by leading by 7 points on the next highest Western Conference competitor. They were dominant, and they showed that in the first round of the playoffs before ultimately losing to New Orleans in 7 games.

The Blizzard were built to be a very strong team with some of the best players in the league like Scholz, Pepperoni, Kane, with a strong supporting cast of experienced veterans. They had one of the best goalies in the league in Spector as well. They were built for playoff success, but they just couldn’t get it done.

5. 3 TPE (185 words)

I would say that Team Canada is coming in with a very strong team once again and definitely need to be favourites to win the whole IIHF tournament for a second year in a row. They came off of a great tourney last year where they played excellent hockey from start to finish and got key players to step up in the important moments. Whether it was a timely goal or a huge goaltending performance, the team was well-built front to back.

This year, the team is looking much the same with most of the roster returning, and many of them improving between seasons. This team has experience winning, and they are still hungry. With several All-Star caliber players such as Gabe Johnson, Aaron Wilson, Bo Kane, and more, they are looking to impress this tournament. The leadership team of Kholin, Clapper, and Brogen has a ton of international experience and have long been impact players in this tournament. Look for this team to come out flying, and come out with a deep roster to take on the best other countries have to offer.

16. Trivia (Hopefully 3 TPE

Totes

Battleborn  Finland     [Image: QwTZD8C.png]   [Image: uJXrVDL.png]  [Image: iemKOIk.png]     Finland  Battleborn

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#30
(This post was last modified: 08-31-2020, 01:54 PM by Z0REM.)

1. 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?

My player had his best season on ice in the past three seasons.  It’s hard to compare statistics from STHS to FHM as my player had way better luck when the randomness of our previous sim was counted.  I try to ignore those stats as FHM is the new god.  I think I was still quite disappointed with my results this season.  I know 1300 tpe is just breaking into elite level and I didn’t hit it until the end of the season, but nevertheless I did not find the success that I wanted to achieve.  I scored the 4th most goals on the team while playing the third line, but my defense was atrocious.  I cant hold up at all on higher lines and therefore I feel like a liability to the team.  I can only work on my physicals right now to make my player a better starter.  The rage are going to need me in a few seasons and I need to step up.

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.?

As always, the USA are going to take it all the way.  I think we had a surprising end last season with some mixups going into a crucial game.  We rely on our coaches a lot and it looks like some orders just got mixed up by our strategist which resulted in an incorrect evaluation of one of our players.  We were not supposed to have ruled out Cain for the game so while we did leave our other goalie high and dry I think we could have a little more luck on our end.  Our team has only gotten better since last seasons, so I would tell other teams to look out as we are going to take it all the way in worlds this year.  Phineas Gold wants that gold medal and this is the window that he could get it in.  Although I have kept my eyes on finland.  Those sneaky guys are always looking for a come back.

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?

Surprisingly, enough NOLA and Buffalo have come together in support of more childrens hockey leagues for either side.  Buffalo has a little more infrastructure in the way of hockey arenas for all the ages, but in a show of hockey sportsmanship they wanted to do what they could to promote hockey down in NOLA.  To that effect during the championship they are spending each day before the games to play some games with the youth in either town while streaming the game to show that hockey can be for all ages!  Each day will be a different age range of skaters joining a few of the pros.  If they make it all the way to game 7 then it will be a skills competition in whichever city it is in.  To maintain a competitive edge, the winning team of the challenge cup will get 55% of the share of funds donated.  It is said that there is a secret donor who is going to match the entire contribution.

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?
We have seen over the last few seasons how few goals and shots make it past the buffalo defense.  So in this case I am going to have to go with buffalo having the edge over NOLA.  With their moves to bolster their team even further this is going to look like another strong post season for this buffalo defense.
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 think any team would have a home ice advantage here.  With the fans from the home team stacking the crowd it is likely to give both teams a major boost that will be needed to win these matchups  I think it is going to be how each team plays away that is the real clincher here. 
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?
If it plays any part at all it will be later on in this series when things get tense.  I think those edges will help NOLA stay in front of the net and take possession which is going to be key in this series.  If they can use their speed and aggression to combat the shenanigans that buffalo are going to be up to then I think those stats will play a huge part.
d. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby.
Sloths win hands down.  They are the most chill animal out there and that makes some people think they are weak.  What they don’t know is that the sloth can be quite vicious when it is being attached and can use those nails on their toes to inflict some serious damage.  Look to the sloth for a great performance if backed into a corner.

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.
chill

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Credit to Vulfzilla for the awesome render pic
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