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spidey · 12-04-2023, 05:50 PM

With Season 74 about to start and only hours away, I am going to make one bold prediction for each team. Some are bolder, some less so, but I believe each of these has a chance of coming true, if the right circumstances fall in line. Wish me luck…or curse at me depending on how I treat you and your team, but here are Spidey’s Season 74 Bold Predictions:

Atlanta Inferno make the Challenge Cup Finals – They are a very good team, but they are flawed. They lack a top end goalie, and their offense and defense are very top heavy. But I am going to call they make the finals in the EAST.

M’Baku Olubori wins the scoring race! A huge gamble putting this on him. He does not have the same support as some of the other top earners in the SHL but there is enough there where it wouldn’t be a complete shock if he did pull it off.

Casey Fantobens has the most shutouts among goalies this season. A good group defending, and a good goalie gives this a chance of becoming true, but it is a long shot as there are other teams that have arguably a better combination or the ability to control the puck more.

Hamilton loses to Atlanta in game 7 of the Eastern Finals! I feel like Hamilton has been quietly creeping up on the rest of the top of the league, and this is the year we really take notice. They get to eastern finals but eventually lose to Atlanta.

The Rage win 20+ games this season and squeeze into the playoffs! Ok two things have to happen. #1 making the eastern playoffs, not entirely unlikely despite a weaker roster. #2 win north of 20 games, fairly unlikely and their goaltending situation will not be helping this current prediction.

Montreal Patriotes do not win a game this season. Ok even the worst roster has to win a game by sheer dumb circumstance or the grace of the simulation gods, right??? I am going to say no, they do the impossible and go winless this season, joining the other legends of the league.

Thomas Sawschuk wins Rookie of the Year. There are a ton of great rookies this year and there are a lot of those who might get more ice time than Thomas, but I am betting on the level of talent he plays alongside will boost his numbers a bit.

The Forge will finish first in the East in standings but be swept by underdogs in the first round. What I feel will be the surprise of the playoffs, the juggernaut Forge will be beaten by the 8th seed team…please god don’t be Manhattan, that would be embarrassing for the league.

Tampa Bay will finish in 8th in the standings (And sweep the Forge). I needed two things to happen here. I need a team that could actually beat the Forge to play against them in the first round of the playoffs, and it needs to be a team that actually has a chance of pulling off the upset. Second it needs to be a team that legit could end up in the bottom of the standings and with a little bad luck Tamp is that team.

Toronto North Stars will relocate this season. Honestly I had no idea what to put here. There is no way they are making the playoffs, sorry Toronto. Winning first overall is a legitimate possibility. They will not have a lot of good things to talk about, so let’s shoot for the stars…pun not intended, and have the team leave their failing city in search of a complete restart to the franchise. I hear a lot of talk around Ohio of recent.

Crystal McCleod will have the most fights in the SHL this season. Calgary could go in a few directions this season, but one person I absolutely love and would love to see make some noise is the hard nose playing style of McCleod. Hopefully she takes off a skate and chases down a referee after making a bad call as well.

Ben Jammin finally becomes a fantasy star and earns the most points by a defender. Come on sim gods I need this prediction to be true. The top defenders were taken before I had a chance to grab my targets. I mean, he is always someone everyone in the league believes but never seems to put up big points in the fantasy world.

Justin Time has the best record among goalies this year. Once again this may not be a wild swing but there are not many options with Edmonton. Going back to back seems very plausible, one of their scorers could easily win the scoring race. Let’s go with the hardest to predict and that is goalie stats. Jusin is talented enough and has a good enough team around him so he should own the best overall goalie record (Wins, save percentage, GAA).

Los Angeles Panthers make the Western Conference Finals! Welcome back to the top of the league. I was going to pick them to win the cup…maybe I should. But I feel Edmonton is going win it all. Screw it we are calling it Bold Predictions, LA wins the Challenge Cup. They have enough firepower and a strong enough team to do it and take down the Blizzard in the process.

Nevek Kove wins the Quilha Agante trophy! He is not even the best defender on his team, but he is talented enough to be in the conversation. With a good forward group, a defensive strategy may be needed to win games, and Nevek will be a benefactor from a defense first mentality.

Benard Lodge takes over as number one and doesn’t look back. Ok it is clear, Benard Lodge is the future for the crease in New Orleans, but by all accounts he is still a season away from taking over (TPE wise). But if you look at his play he should be their number one. I also believe he is born under a lucky sim star and has over preformed at every opportunity, so now he does it once again.

San Fransico Pride finally make the second round of the playoffs! It should be too early for this prediction to come true. They have some talented members, but they are not ready to climb to second round yet. I am calling it; they make the second round! GO PRIDE!

Seattle finishes last in the West with fewer than 5 wins this season. I am going against all of you and your casino pick. Seattle will not win more than 5 games, but they will have 10+ points in the standings as they claim a lot of overtime losses.

The Renegades are shocked with a first round exit from the playoffs. They paid a big price this offseason acquiring Petr Svoboda, the expectation is they have a chance for a cup run with that missing piece, and they could…maybe should. But I am predicting they get knocked out early in the first round to everyone’s surprise.

Lord Farquaads becomes the goal scoring champion in this season. He will not win the scoring race, but he will score the most goals. Not the most outlandish prediction but with all the talent across the SHL almost anyone has a chance at this opportunity.

Good luck everyone and have an amazing season 74!

**bbjygm** · 12-04-2023, 06:22 PM

12-04-2023, 05:50 PMspidey Wrote: The Renegades are shocked with a first round exit from the playoffs. They paid a big price this offseason acquiring Petr Svoboda, the expectation is they have a chance for a cup run with that missing piece, and they could…maybe should. But I am predicting they get knocked out early in the first round to everyone’s surprise.

Nodor!

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