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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.

Verification Word: Monarchy

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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?

I think quite a few SHL players would have famous Tik-Tik profiles in this day and age. There would be many who coast off their good looks to gain views and followers, but I think we would also see a subset of players who post different content on the app. Collin Gibbles would likely post cooking videos with his wife, Anna Kendrick-Gibbles. I think we would see many blunders arise from SMJHL players who have not gotten used to the impact they can make in the media as well. I think we would also see many SHL workout and training videos make it onto the for you page of sports fanatics. I also think we would see plenty of the old guard refuse to use the app and stay technologically impaired.(131 Words)

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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.?

The upcoming IIHF tournament should be interesting, as people have become accustomed to FHM. I think it will come as no shock that I think Team USA will have another stellar year and makes a deep medal push coming off last seasons early exit. Team USA still holds some top-tier talent with a few hitting their peak physical condition just in time for the tournament. I don't think any other team matches up to Team USA, but for the medals all it takes is 1 loss to be knocked out. I expect to see Team Switzerland to be a dark-horse candidate as their core continues to improve and grow older. I think after last season, more teams will have Team Japan on their radar as a threat as well. I think the addition of the IIHF Casino will also make a more invested audience for the international competition. I think it is hard to predict the WJC to the same standard with how much rotation occurs each season in the minors.(171 Words)

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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?

Like most of the seasons since the switch to FHM, it has been a mixed bag for Collin Gibbles. As he nears the peak of his SHL TPE earning, he has seemingly plateaued offensively. Putting up just shy of 30 points to lead the Minnesota Chiefs can be disheartening when seeing players from the same draft class, putting up 70 points on other teams. But offense was not the area of the game that Gibbles has always strived to excel in. His biggest gains this season came on the defensive as he led the league in takeaways for the 3rd straight season, smashing his previous record and setting a new high at 68 takeaways. Gibbles had 20 more takeaways than the next highest player as well as 35 more than the next highest forward who had 33 total. While some might cite playing on a bad team inflating his numbers, puck possession and control have been strengths of Gibble's game and goals for as long as he has been in the league. I can only hope he can continue to rack them up to set a good all-time record before he retires.(192 Words)

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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 the upcoming expansion drafts will be exciting for the league as a whole. As an SHL GM, I of course hate to be losing players, but in the end I can see the need for expansion for the good of the league. I have been making plans depending on who gets taken from Minnesota for a few weeks since the protection lists were turned into head office. I think both the Seattle Argonauts and the Atlanta Inferno have amazing people at the helm and should gain some great pieces from the draft. Some teams on the top of the standings have to expose some great talent and prospects that will help the new teams greatly. I don't expect either to have as fast of a turnaround as New Orleans did in their inaugural season, but I think they will definitely be set up for success in the long term. I'm excited to see how it will all be presented publicly.(162 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?

While I don't think there is anything wrong with putting a team outside of North America in the SHL. At this point it feels like the chance to do so has passed. Even in a sim league there has been a push for semi-realistic locations that would make sense to have in the same league. Travel across oceans and massive time differences make it hard to put a team outside of it's current scope. If anything I would expect Mexico, the Carribean, or South America to be more likely destinations for a team compared to the rest of the world. I think there is still plenty of great locations in North America for many coming expansions, so I think we will continue to see a NA focus going forward. (129 Words)
16/16 TPE

     

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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 season is about what I expected from Sharp, posting 54 points in 50 games. Buffalo's second line yet again has the only two people in the top 20 point scorers that don't play on the 1st powerplay unit with Sharp and Passamus, as we tend to over perform quite a bit during even strength play. Sharp led the league in +/- this season at an impressive 52, coming just ahead of his linemates. Sharp was snake bitten a little bit in the goal scoring department, only able to mustard a 7.5% shooting percentage, but fortunately he plays with two potent scorers in Marius and Passamus, as well as the mid season addition of Eko van Otter, so his point totals got carried by his 41 assists this season. Outside of individual performance, Sharp yet again played on arguably the best team in SHL, which is why he's part of the finals for the second time in his career. He's looking forward to getting another ring and sharing success with his teammates.

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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.

Expansion drafts are always a bit bittersweet from a player perspective. On one hand, it's great to see that the league is doing well and is looking to tap into new markets and make a ton of new fans, so it's always exciting to see from a growth perspective. On the other, it sucks to see your teammates, your friends, put into a situation where you might suddenly have to uproot your whole life, or if you yourself are exposed and face the same risks. This is part of the business yes, as players are traded from time to time and have to go through the same thing. Expansion drafts however just have so much of it all at once that it leaves you a little more anxious. Overall though, I think it's great thing, and seeing the players that have been exposed thusfar, I imagine it will be a relatively talented group of players that get put together on these teams. With two teams at once though, it'll be interesting to see what happens in terms of pick orders. I see one team maybe trying to ink a goalie early on to make sure they have depth in the net, but obviously that comes at the price of being able to draft the higher skilled forwards that are exposed.

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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 feel a bit similar towards this as I do about expansions in general. I think it's great for the game and for the league to expand in untapped territories and make new fans. The one huge drawback as a player here though is the added burden of travel. We already have to travel across the entirety of the US several times per season, which people don't talk about a ton but it certainly has it's toll. Having a team in Europe would make that problem so much worse, especially if you found yourself on that team. You'd spend so much more time on a plane than any human probably should. It's actually not terrible for teams in the Northeast like Buffalo, but any western team and of course the teams in Europe would have such an additional burden.

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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.?

The most surprising thing that came out of last seasons IIHF tournament was the early exit of Team USA at the hands of Team Japan. I don't think that we'll necessarily see a repeat, but I do think Team USA will come out hungrier than ever and stand at the top of the podium once again as they did two seasons prior. With that though, I also think Team Japan is going to be much improved, and will be looking at finishing second or third in their group, which will ultimately result in a rematch between them and USA to determine medal seeding (I think they're in the same group again...). This time however, Team USA will know what it feels like to be burned, and will come out guns blazing. USA will carry on to the gold medal game where they'll lock up hardware, and I think that Team Japan will bounce right back from their loss and take home the Bronze medal this year.

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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.

B. Home Ice will prove to be advantageous in this series for sure, even given the bubble nature of the playoffs and lack of fans, and it's for 1 simple reason - jersey colors. Buffalo players historically have had a much easier time eyeing their own players on the ice and dishing the puck when they're wearing their home green jerseys. It's somewhat obvious when you think about it.
D. My favorite name is Hippo Passamus. Everything about the name is top tier. Hippos are a high tier class in the game of outside, with very few natural predators outside of humans and the ability to intimidate the most ferocious foes. Passamus is such an appropriate hockey name with dishing the puck being a highly coveted skill. And together it creates a nice play on Hippopotamus. It's firing on all cylinders to be quite honest.

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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.

taco

Bobby Sharp   ||   Update Thread

      

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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 season was very strange, in every way. The performance of the team was unconvinced, failing to shake a sufficiently high dose of confidence over its strength to allow more. We were in the shutdown games, but failed in the first round, it was painful. Personally, this season was not the best, I exceeded the 100-point threshold in the youth league this season, but there is too little to do with it, I believe I have to take the blame because I had to be the team leader, as witnessed last season, but something went wrong. We couldn't bite a series of victories to get a better position on the table. The season in general was not what I wanted, wanted to conclude my youth career with the title of champion, because it was my youth team that I wanted to play. There were also talks about the swap deal, but all of this remains at the level of the rumours.

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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.

This drafts is very important to every player and every team, including the new teams of course. It makes it possible to start all over again, completely anew. For a player like me, it is an opportunity to start playing on an adult level at once in a very young team and to become a French-crease player, building his career on one of the two new teams for a long term. Draftf promises to be interesting, and I'll be in it too, and I hope that one of the teams will choose me with a high order number. I would like to get to one of these teams, because I believe in my strength and believe that I will ever be able to build a team around me in the future. Of course, I'm not the best of those drafta choices, but I'm among the most active young people who do the training and do everything they need to get better.

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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 think it's a very big reality and it would even be interesting to add a team from Europe to the league, if I had been given a chance, then I certainly would. Of course I am from Latvia and would like to base it in my home country, but I would not give up either from Finland or Sweden. I like those countries. This would create diversity throughout the league, create a sense of overflights and other nuances for teams from different continents. I very much hope that in the future it will also be done and that any European or other continental team will be put in place.

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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?

Carolina Kraken was one of the best teams in SMJHL this season and they didn't qualify to finals. They finished second in East conference right behind to Newfoundland Berserkers. Only one point between them. They were very good and I can say that because I had to play against them. It was hard for my and for all St. Louis team. They had very good defense and attacking lineup. But they lost in conference finals. And again against Newfoundland Berserkers in 7 games. That was a though and interesting serie even for me. I hope they will reach final next season only if they have fight with St. Louis then I'm in opposite sides.

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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 predict this season's tournament will be very interesting. Teams are very strong, especially at the youth championship. I will also participate in the youth championship, where I will be one of the 3 team's most experienced players. That means I'll need to play so that the team can score the highest goals. The youth championship will certainly be more tense, and it could very well be surprising for teams who have not done it before, and those who have already been leaders to make even more effort to the cup, because for many of these young people this is the last chance to participate in such a level tournament, because it will be followed by calls to the adult league. On the other hand, the adult championship should be in the old tracks, like top teams, and the weaker ones hitting the bottom of the table. But the tournament promises to be interesting to everyone.

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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.

Verification word: latvietis


TPE = 16/16

1. Written, 3 TPE
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?

Ursin Zimmermann had a bad season after his last season was pretty decent. Ursin himself wasnt happy with it. He never found the scoring touch to get some points. He lost the puck a lot and wasnt able to takeaway the puck a lot. From his set Milestones he only reached one and that's shots blocked. Ursin Blocked a ton of shots which resultet in his body hurting like hell but who cares if you can help your team with this! Besides having a bad season on the ice Ursin got really happy to play with all the rookies which came up from the minors. He hopes that as a team the next seaon will be better. Sadly the schedule of the Toronto North Stars is straight up shit and probably one of the toughest of the league. So as long as Toronto has such a tough schedule because of their confrence it wont be hard to get real good!

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?

Well there is no question who this would be. Definetly (Clean) Andrei Kostitsyn from the Newfoundland Berserkers. His twitter and media game is really good and entertaining which would definetly be the same with TikTok. Well what would he post there? A series where he searches his brother Sergej (Where is Sergej?) and hopefully finds him someday. And also some videos of just him sitting there and talking some nonsense into the camera. Because who wouldn't want to see Andrei talking? He would also have a chance to share some of his applications to be a general manager with us to finaly show us how good his applications are!

9) Design a ring

10) Magazine

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.

I wanna congratulate the Newfoundland Berserkers for their win in the playoff finals to win the four-star cup! You guys really deserve it especialy after such a long time without having a cup! For me there are 2 mvps, which are @SDCore and @JNH. They drafted such a great team which is really active and also look great on paper! It took them some time to win it but it's definetly earned! And I know they both care a ton about their team which just makes it feel even better! They also have the clean guy with the best media game! So another MVP for them .

16) Trivia

UrsinZ

 

Thank you @Carpy48, @honkerrs

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’d have to say that Kyle Sutton met my expectations of him for this season. After posting back to back seasons of 26 points, Sutton broke out putting up 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points. That is a fantastic season and I should be happy with it, but for some reason I am left with the feeling that he could have done better and being a minus continues to plague my player. This season Sutton was able to move from 350 TPE to 425 which would have to be the biggest contributor to an increase on ice performance, along with more ice time being on the team’s 1st line. Next season is a little out of my hands as I am still capped at 425 and being strapped for cash cannot do any TPE reallocation. It would be nice to be a point per game player but my ultimate goal is to not finish the season with a minus.

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 the NHL would love to have some expansion teams in other continents but unfortunately its probably a logistical nightmare with scheduling, labour laws, entry to the country, and many more hurdles. Fortunately for the SHL, we don’t have to worry about any of that. I think they only barrier the SHL faces with this type of expansion would be members opinion. My opinion is that it would be a fantastic idea and should absolutely be considered, I see no reason why we should limit ourselves to NA teams. So long as the new expansion team is in a location where it makes sense they would have hockey team. It could also lead to some interesting storylines.

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?

It should be the Edmonton Blizzard playing Buffalo in the finals, not New Orleans. However, the Specters used their voodoo magic once again and managed to oust who would have been the Challenge Cup Champions. New Orleans limped into the playoffs putting up a 3-7 record in their last 10, and they barely got passed Calgary. Edmonton was one of the hottest teams coming into the playoffs having won 8 of their last 10 and quickly and easily disposed of the Texas Renegades. Edmonton was capable of beating everyone but themselves. This series was eerily reminiscent of last years match up where the Blizzard were clearly the better team but just could not hold leads. This year they gave up a breakaway in the final minutes of game 7 that sealed their fate.

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.?

Just saw the line up for Canada’s WJC team and I think without a doubt the Gold is coming back to Canada after a year of missing the medal round. Last years tournament saw one of the weaker teams Canada has fielded, wasn’t predicted to do very well and they ended up being one of the best round robin teams. This year the team is stacked with players in the prime of their junior careers with more than half of the team still playing in the SMJHL playoffs. Beyond the gold medal going to Canada, I could see Great Britain finding success after taking home silver in last years tourney. They have the two best goaltenders in playoffs right now and some real leadership in Alex Roach who is a shot blocking machine who has a fantastic mix of offensive and defense. I hear Sweden is very optimistic with its planned roster after a disappointing tourney last year. I think there will be strong competition amongst all the teams but hockey is Canada’s game.

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.

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? 1 TPE

I have no clue how much home ice advantage plays into the simulation, but based off other series in this this years playoffs I would have to say that home ice isn’t going to have that much of an affect. While Buffalo could win every game at home to win the cup, I suspect that some road games will be won.

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? 1 TPE

If New Orleans can manage to use their bravery and aggression without getting into penalty trouble than it absolutely could have an impact on the series. A big hit, huge shot block, timely win from a fight could turn the tide of any game.

e. There are several animal names in this series - which of these animals is the coolest? sloth, hippo, otter, monkey, fox, kirby 1 TPE

Otters are definitely the coolest of the animals listed. Highly intelligent animals, did you know they are capable of juggling? They use rocks and other things as tools, only non primate to do so. And they are ridiculously cute.

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

Verification word: Mojito

        

Jack St. Clair | C #89 | Edmonton Blizzard | Canada
Birthplace: Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 199 lbs
=====================================================
DRAFT POSITION
Season 66 SMJHL Draft: Round 1 Pick 6 - Quebec Citadelles
Season 67 SHL Draft: Round 1 Pick 2 - Edmonton Blizzard
=====================================================
SMJHL REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS
  QCC Totals   | GP: 66 | G: 11 | A: 32 | P: 43 | +/-: 4 | PIM: 22 | PP: 0|
SMJHL Totals | GP: 66 | G: 11 | A: 32 | P: 43 | +/-: 4 | PIM: 22 | PP: 0|
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS
  QCC Totals   | GP: 17| G: 1| A: 3 | P: 4 | +/-: 3 | PIM: 2 | PP: 0|
SMJHL Totals | GP: 17| G: 1| A: 3 | P: 4 | +/-: 3 | PIM: 2 | PP: 0|
=====================================================
WJC STATISTICS
    RR Totals     | GP: 12 | G: 3 | A: 3 | P: 6 | +/-: -4 | PIM: 10 | PP: 2 |
MEDAL Totals | GP: 02 | G: 0 | A: 0 | P: 0  | +/-: +1 | PIM: 0 | PP: 0 |

Kyle Sutton | RW #96 | Captain | Edmonton Blizzard (Retired) | CAN
Birthplace: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 190 lbs
=======================================================================
DRAFT POSITION
Season 54 SHL Draft: Round 3 Pick 47 - Edmonton Blizzard
Season 53 SMJHL Draft: Round 4 Pick 37 - Maine Timber
=======================================================================
AWARDS
S55 Ronan O'Keefe (SMJHL Playoff Scoring Champ - 26 points)
IIHF Silver Medal x3 (S61, S62, 63)
IIHF Bronze Medal x2 (S63, S64)
WJC Gold Medal x2 (S53, S56)
WJC Silver Medal
=======================================================================
SHL REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS
EDM Totals | GP: 660 | G: 204 | A: 270 | P: 474 | +/-: -107 | PIM: 153 | PP: 103 | HIT: 862 | SB: 499
SHL Totals  | GP: 660 | G: 204 | A: 270 | P: 474 | +/-: -107 | PIM: 153 | PP: 103 | HIT: 862 | SB: 499
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS
EDM Totals | GP: 71 | G: 18 | A: 19 | P: 37 | +/-: -18 | PIM: 10 | PP: 3 | HIT: 54 | SB: 75
SHL Totals  | GP: 71 | G: 18 | A: 19 | P: 37 | +/-: -18 | PIM: 10 | PP: 3 | HIT: 54 | SB: 75
=======================================================================
SMJHL REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS
  MET Totals   | GP: 200 | G: 58 | A: 66 | P: 124 | +/-: -61 | PIM: 42 | PP: 38| HIT: 141 | SB: 141
SMJHL Totals | GP: 200 | G: 58 | A: 66 | P: 124 | +/-: -61 | PIM: 42 | PP: 38| HIT: 141 | SB: 141
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS
  MET Totals   | GP: 36 | G: 20 | A: 15 | P: 35 | +/-: -11 | PIM: 10 | PP: 10| HIT: 22 | SB: 49
SMJHL Totals | GP: 36 | G: 20 | A: 15 | P: 35 | +/-: -11 | PIM: 10 | PP: 10| HIT: 22 | SB: 49
=======================================================================
IIHF STATISTICS
    RR Totals    | GP: 96 | G: 29 | A: 32 | P: 61 | +/-: +41 | PIM: 26 | PP: 17 | HIT: 91 | SB: 57
MEDAL Totals | GP: 15 | G: 3   | A: 5   | P: 8   | +/-: +5   | PIM: 0   | PP: 2   | HIT: 12   | SB: 13
=======================================================================
WJC STATISTICS
    RR Totals    | GP: 48 | G: 9 | A: 18 | P: 27 | +/-: +3 | PIM: 10 | PP: 7 | HIT: 41 | SB: 26
MEDAL Totals | GP: 10 | G: 2 | A: 6   | P: 8   | +/-: +4 | PIM: 2   | PP: 1 | HIT: 6    | SB: 6
=======================================================================

ISFL Affiliation

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 stunk like a steaming pile of poop dumped straight on a freshly zambonied hockey rink, baby. My goodness am I happy to be getting the hell out of St. Louis. Somehow despite having 425 TPE for the past two seasons, I've gotten progressively worse statistically, and eschewed from impactful roles by lesser players. Was it my build? I actually have no clue. I don't understand FHM at all. That said, I don't think there's a good excuse for my capped, offensive-minded defenseman to be registering fewer than 20 points in consecutive seasons. Anyway, overall just incredibly frustrated with St. Louis. Felt like we were hopeless for most of my time there and consistently outdone by teams who probably should have finished behind us in the standings. Then, when I asked for a trade, I was told that the market was flooded with defenseman. Rather than just accept a price relative to the demand, the Scarecrows did not trade me for whatever reason. Even though their cup chances were hopeless (yes, I know every team made the playoffs, no, St. Louis was not going to win) and I was a certified goner at the end of the season, they elected to hold onto me. I get that GM's have an obligation to get value out of a trade, but getting nothing and going against the wishes of a player is worse. So long, Scarecrows.

2) 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?
No there should not be any European franchises here in the SHL. This is a good, old-fashioned North American league, and anyone who wants to invite eurotrash into our league can kick rocks. What's next, competent management of a pandemic? Better food and beer? Give me a break and stop pushing this disgusting globalist agenda. Keep the commies OUT of our league. We fought for too long to acquiesce to the whims of the mob of social justice warriors now. I can barely tolerate that we have a few Canadian teams. God it makes me sick to my stomach traveling to that godforsaken country and seeing all of their poor people being able to live with the knowledge that if they get ill they won't go broke. It's pathetic. Only the strong survive, baby! Darwinism. Canada is just propping up the mentally weak. If we're going to do anything, we should contract the Canadian teams and bring them to the U-S-of-A, baby! The greatest country in the world. Anyway, America or bust. Capitalism. Wall Street. Don't tread on me. Liberty or death. Etc.

4) Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?
The best team to not make the finals this season was Edmonton on account of they had the most points in the standings behind Buffalo, I guess, but stinky cheating Specters decided to rig the lines or whatever it was that happened and knock the Blizzard out of their righteous spot in the Cup finals. I can't believe whatever it was that happened that was controversial was allowed by the corrupt and disgusting head office of this once great league. They have soiled everything that the Challenge Cup or whatever the championship trophy is called means by allowing this disgusting act that I am very knowledgeable about to go unpunished. Edmonton totally could have made it to the finals if only they, instead of the no-good, dirty, rotten Specters had decided to do that thing first. If that was the case then I would have been totally fine with it because of reasons. In the end let's all just be thankful that I was able to provide WannabeFinn with the expert lines to counter New Orleans' cheat codes in time for the Stampede to win the title they so righteously deserve. Congrats, Sabres or whoever you are. Good job.

7) 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?
Oh Jesus why did I decide to do this task I have no idea what fundraising opportunities could be split evenly by two teams. I don't even understand the context here. We're in the finals, baby. There's no fuckin' charity there. Nothing but leave it all out on the ice, grit your teeth, get the job done, hit some people in the mouth hockey, baby! Woo! I'm getting jazzed up just thinking about how great that brand of hockey, a sport I know a great deal about, is. Anyway, I guess if they're doing a charity thing in the middle of the finals, which again, feels like it really works against the spirit of the finals, they could at least do something to benefit local youth hockey leagues in their respective cities. I'm not sure who the hell plays hockey in New Orleans anyway, so all the money might as well go to Buffalo where it's bitter-ass cold enough for water to actually freeze. New Orleans basically sits on the Gulf of Mexico, I doubt they have more than one youth hockey league in the entire state of Louisiana. Anyway, winner gets all the money actually makes it fit with the whole finals thing, so sure let's say that is what they do and since Buffalo won they donate all the money to youth hockey leagues in the greater Buffalo area which is practically Canada anyway.

16) verificationword

.

Erben Kasius || Defense || New England Wolfpack
=======================================================
Birthplace: Netherlands
IIHF Affiliation: Germany
Player Type: Point Shooter
-------------------------------------------------------
TPE: 930
=======================================================
SMJHL Stats
-------------------------------------------------------
[S52 - STL]  50 GP | 10 G | 15 A | 25 P | +04
[S53 - STL]  50 GP | 06 G | 17 A | 23 P | -01
[S54 - STL]  46 GP | 09 G | 08 A | 17 P | -08
[S55 - STL]  50 GP | 03 G | 16 A | 19 P | -20
-------------------------------------------------------
[S52 - S55] 196 GP | 28 G | 56 A | 84 P | -25
=======================================================
SHL Stats
-------------------------------------------------------
[S56 - NEW]

=======================================================
Player History
-------------------------------------------------------
[S52] Drafted 16th in the SMJHL Draft by St. Louis
[S53] Drafted 13th in the SHL Draft by New Orleans
[S53] Signed 3-year, $21 million deal with New Orleans
[S55] Acquired by New England via trade
[S55] Signed 3-year, $15 million deal with New England
=======================================================

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?

3 TPE
Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind had a really strong season. He scored 18 goals and gave 24 assists for a total of 42 points. He was 10th best point scorer in the SMJHL.
My goals before this season was to have better season than the previous one. Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind made a big progress in almost every category. He scored 6 more goals than last season (12->18). Asclepius gave just 7 assists last season but increased this stat by 17 to 24 assists. He had almost twice as many points as last season (19->42). There was also a slight increase in +/- stat from 1 to 5. Flitterwind played in power play 3 times more than last season and had a big increase in power play points (from 2 to 11). Asclepius also played a bit more physical and recorded 26 hits compared to only 9 last season.
Overall, this was a really good season for Asclepius and I didn't expect to do much better than I did.

(165 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?

2 TPE
For me as a European, that would be amazing. This is just a simulation hockey league so that is more than possible. There's also a big part of community from Europe and that would be great if next expansion adds 1-2 teams from Europe. I would like to see a team that is based in Riga, capital city of Latvia. There's a big hockey traditions in Riga, including KHL (continental hockey league) team Riga Dinamo.
Of course, some people will be disappointed if we add a team from Europe because there always has been only teams from United States but I would love to see a European team.

(108 words)

Code:

8. Graphic, 3 TPE. Think you can do better? Design a new logo for the Buffalo Stampede or the New Orleans Specters or either of the teams in the SMJHL finals.

3 TPE

Code:

9. Graphic, 3 TPE
Design a Challenge Cup championship ring for one of the teams in the finals. (A four-star cup championship ring for the SMJHL is ok as well.)

3 TPE

Code:

11. Graphic, 3 TPE
Design a Challenge Cup/Four Star Cup Championship banner for one of the teams in the finals, like those which appear on the side of the site.

3 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.

Verification word: Wind
3 TPE


TOTAL: 17/16

Asclepius Perseus Flitterwind || RW || S55 || Anaheim Outlaws || Hamilton Steelhawks Prospect

Age: 18

Height: 6ft 3in

Weight: 213 lbs

Number: 27

------------------------------------------------------------

Transactions:

Signed $1,000,000 contract with Colorado Raptors for S53

Drafted 30th overall by Colorado Raptors in the S54 SMJHL Draft

Signed $4,000,000 contract with Colorado Raptors for S54

Drafted 47th overall by Hamilton Steelhawks in the S55 SHL Draft

Signed $2,500,000 contract with Hamilton Steelhawks for S55

Signed $3,000,000 contract with Hamilton Steelhawks for S56

Traded from Colorado Raptors to Anaheim Outlaws (S56)

------------------------------------------------------------

IIHF Career Statistics

S54 LAT GP: 12, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -8, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 2, SB: 3, TOI: 6:55, GR: 49, OGR: 51, DGR: 47

S55 LAT GP: 12, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -9, PIM: 0, H: 0, SHT: 3, SB: 2, TOI: 6:35, GR: 48, OGR: 51, DGR: 45

------------------------------------------------------------

SMJHL Career Statistics

S53 COL GP: 12, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -2, PIM: 4, H: 2, SHT: 8, SB: 3, TOI: 8:32, GR: 50, OGR: 50, DGR: 51

S54 COL GP: 50, G: 12, A: 7, P: 19, +/-: +1, PIM: 12, H: 9, SHT: 96, SB: 21, TOI: 14:12, GR: 57, OGR: 58, DGR: 56

S55 COL GP: 50, G: 18, A: 24, P: 42, +/-: +5, PIM: 18, H: 26, SHT: 138, SB: 29, TOI: 18:02, GR: 64, OGR: 62, DGR: 65

S56 COL/ANA GP: 51, G: 15, A: 23, P: 38, +/-: -17, PIM: 10, H: 21, SHT: 139, SB: 37, TOI: 16:49, GR: 65, OGR: 71, DGR: 57

------------------------------------------------------------

WJC Career Statistics

S54 UCL GP: 12, G: 3, A: 4, P: 7, +/-: 0, PIM: 4, H: 2, SHT: 18, SB: 8, TOI: 12:51, GR: 57, OGR: 60, DGR: 57

S55 UCL GP: 12, G: 2, A: 1, P: 3, +/-: 1, PIM: 2, H: 6, SHT: 10, SB: 7, TOI: 14:06, GR: 60, OGR: 57, DGR: 60

------------------------------------------------------------

IIHF Playoff Statistics

S54 LAT: Did not qualify

S55 LAT: Did not qualify

------------------------------------------------------------

SMJHL Playoff Statistics

S53 COL GP: 4, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -2, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 3, SB: 1, AMG: 8:20, GR: 50, OGR: 50, DGR: 50

S54 COL GP: 5, G: 1, A: 2, P: 3, +/-: -1, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 12, SB: 0, TOI: 14:03, GR: 59, OGR: 56, DGR: 60

S55 COL GP: 6, G: 0, A: 3, P: 3, +/-: 0, PIM: 2, H: 0, SHT: 15, SB: 4, TOI: 22:06, GR: 62, OGR: 59, DGR: 65

------------------------------------------------------------

WJC Playoff Statistics

S54 UCL GP: 3, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: -1, PIM: 4, H: 1, SHT: 3, SB: 0, TOI: 11:47, GR: 55, OGR: 57, DGR: 53

S55 UCL GP: 3, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: 0, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 0, SB: 1, TOI: 13:44, GR: 61, OGR: 60, DGR: 59

------------------------------------------------------------

Awards:

Named to SMJHL All-Rookie Team (S54)

The Casius Darrow Throphy (most outstanding rookie in Raptors) (S54)

WJC Gold Medal with UCORCAL (S55)

Named to SMJHL All-Star Team (S56)

------------------------------------------------------------

Achievements:

First goal with first shot in SMJHL (S53)

First hat-trick in SMJHL (S54)






Gvidas Kazlauskas || LW || Retired

Age: 21

Height: 5 ft 10 in

Weight: 191 lbs

Number: 27

------------------------------------------------------------

Transactions:

Signed $3,000,000 contract with Kelowna Knights for S41

Drafted 65th overall by Colorado Raptors in the S42 SMJHL Draft

Signed $3,000,000 contract with Colorado Raptors for S42

Drafted 43rd overall by Los Angeles Panthers in the S43 SHL Draft

Signed $9,000,000 contract with Los Angeles Panthers for S43, S44 and S45

------------------------------------------------------------

IIHF Career Statistics

S42 LAT GP: 10, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: 0, PIM: 0, H: 4, SHT: 5, SB: 0, AMG: 6.35

S43 LAT GP: 10, G: 1, A: 1, P: 2, +/-: -2, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 7, SB: 0, AMG: 7.44

S44 LAT GP: 10, G: 1, A: 2, P: 3, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 19, SB: 0, AMG: 8.21

------------------------------------------------------------

SMJHL Career Statistics

S42 COL GP: 50, G: 19, A: 20, P: 39, +/-: +8, PIM: 18, H: 35, SHT: 150, SB: 4, AMG: 17.18

S43 COL GP: 50, G: 12, A: 14, P: 26, +/-: +8, PIM: 6, H: 29, SHT: 147, SB: 6, AMG: 15.95

S44 COL/DET GP: 50, G: 16, A: 19, P: 35, +/-: -5, PIM: 6, H: 45, SHT: 158, SB: 10, AMG: 16.63

------------------------------------------------------------

WJC Career Statistics

S42 LAT GP: 10, G: 3, A: 7, P: 10, +/-: 0, PIM: 6, H: 12, SHT: 22, SB: 1, AMG: 18.10

S43 LAT GP: 14, G: 9, A: 7, P: 16, +/-: +6, PIM: 10, H: 15, SHT: 53, SB: 3, AMG: 19.01

S44 LAT GP: 14, G: 1, A: 8, P: 9, +/-: -1, PIM: 13, H: 12, SHT: 54, SB: 2, AMG: 19.69

------------------------------------------------------------

IIHF Playoff Statistics

S44 LAT GP: 3, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 1, SHT: 3, SB: 0, AMG: 9.11

------------------------------------------------------------

SMJHL Playoff Statistics

S41 KEL GP: 15, G: 0, A: 0, P: 0, +/-: +2, PIM: 2, H: 2, SHT: 3, SB: 0, AMG: 3.77

S42 COL GP: 4, G: 1, A: 0, P: 1, +/-: -1, PIM: 2, H: 6, SHT: 10, SB: 0, AMG: 19.66

S43 COL GP: 7, G: 4, A: 2, P: 6, +/-: +5, PIM: 7, H: 8, SHT: 21, SB: 1, AMG: 15.68

S44 DET GP: 7, G: 0, A: 3, P: 3, +/-: -1, PIM: 2, H: 3, SHT: 20, SB: 0, AMG: 15.04

------------------------------------------------------------

WJC Playoff Statistics

S42 LAT GP: 1, G: 1, A: 1, P: 2, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 2, SHT: 7, SB: 0, AMG: 22.30

S43 LAT GP: 2, G: 0, A: 0, P: 0, +/-: +1, PIM: 2, H: 1, SHT: 11, SB: 0, AMG: 18.93

S44 LAT GP: 1, G: 0, A: 1, P: 1, +/-: +1, PIM: 0, H: 0, SHT: 2, SB: 0, AMG: 18.48

------------------------------------------------------------

Awards:

S41 Four Star Cup with Kelowna Knights

S42 Esa Anrikkanen Trophy - Top Rookie

S44 Laurifer Trophy - Team with best overall Record - with Detroit Falcons

S44 IIHF Silver Medals with Team Latvia

------------------------------------------------------------

Achievements:

Best point scorer (39 points) among rookies in SMJHL (S42)

Best goal scorer (19 goals) among rookies in SMJHL (S42)

3rd best goal scorer (19 goals) in SMJHL (S42)

5th best point scorer (39 points) among LW in SMJHL (S42)

1st Hat Trick in SMJHL (S43)


Justs Sirmais || C || Retired
Name: Justs Sirmais

Position: C

Player Type: Sniper

Height: 6 ft 5 in

Weight: 231 lbs

Number: 7

------------------------------------------------------------

Signed 2-yr/$2.5mil deal with Portland Admirals

Traded to Hamilton Steelhawks

Signed 3-yr/$4mil deal with Hamilton Steelhawks

------------------------------------------------------------

Awards:

S30 KEL MVP

Laurifier Trophy: Kelowna Knights

Roberto Martucci Trophy: Justs Sirmais

PBE Affiliate

16. CW TRIVIA -  blueberries

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 pretty awful this year. I was bottom ten or fifteen in terms of plus/minus and didn't contribute a lot offensively or even defensively. On top of that I was getting pretty tired on these long road trips which was causing me to play even worse. I talked to my GM's and asked me to increase my stamina. So hopefully the full season of a better stamina rating will help and I need to get my speed up as well my other skating attributes. I was at a pretty low TPE level as a rookie this year but I'm hoping that with a full year under my belt of TPE that I can play a lot better on the third line next year. Stamina was the biggest issue but with the higher physical ratings I should be able to keep up and play more into my strengths  as a counter attacking forward. I need a good offseason to and IIHF to work towards being better next season.

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 a South American team would be pretty awesome. I'm not 100% sure why and hockey is not very prevalent down there but I think you could put a team in Brazil or in the mountains somewhere and you could have a pretty awesome branding. I also think any European team would be a slam dunk. A Scandinavian team would be dope but I think Russia is the must play. There are a lot of cities you could use and I think just even putting a team in Russia from a branding perspective would be pretty intimidating. They are a Super Power on the World Scale and in hockey as well.

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?

Probably Hamilton or Edmonton. It's really hard to say because unlike the Simulation Junior Hockey League teams legitimately tank in the Simulation Hockey League. New Orleans and Buffalo are very good teams and I believe both finished first in their respective conferences. Edmonton has just as dominate of a defense as New Orleans but scored thirty more goals during the season. It has to be disappointing that after the moves they made during the season and offseason that they were unable to get to the finals and they inch closer and closer to regression. Plus with expansion on the way who knows how the season will shake out next year.

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.

Expansion is kind of weird in the SHL The teams don't cannot get prospects unlike the PBE but they can usually pick from a host of impending Free Agents or older players since those are the most likely candidates to be unprotected. Specifically for Toronto we were able to protect our entire prospect pool and basically all of our young talent. We were fortunate enough to be able to keep much of our roster intact. It seems weird that the Simulation Hockey League teams are able to protect all of their prospects and a great amount of the people on their teams. As an expansion team you can basically field a team of inactives and then build through the draft. We had a tough decision to make, or I should say ML our General Manager had to, and I was glad to just be one of those guys lucky enough to be protected. I'm on the lower spectrum of TPE in the league and in my class I only rank around 23.

---

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?

This season I managed to accomplish one of my bigger career goals, which is become fantasy relevant. My fantasy value got inflated due to being a high volume hitter but it was nice to be selected in some people’s initial draft and swapped for by many others. I ended with a mediocre 252.1 fantasy points, and mediocre describes the rest of my stats quite well too. Going forward I am hoping to get 40+ points each season but only got 35 this season. I had a very weak 96.7 PDO this season which likely played a large factor. As a two-way/defensive minded player I’m sad to see my +/- drop from 35 last season to 11 this season. Also my giveaway and takeaway +/- this season is -4 which is awful for what I’m going for. My fantasy stock was high this season, but I think next season I won’t have as many people pick or swap for me with how average of a season this one was. I’ll likely not be putting TPE into offensive stats this offseason so I don’t think much will change for points, 40+ will still be the goal and achievable.

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’s a lot of people’s headcanon that we should be mirroring the NHL as much as possible. Without going through everyone’s answer to this question I would expect roughly a 50/50 on yes/no to this question. My opinion is that I see nothing wrong with it. Obviously there shouldn’t be one just for the sake of it, but if someone brought up a solid relocation idea or expansion team in the future I think it should be considered. In the end this is just a big community for a fake hockey hobby and there’s a sizeable amount of users from the EU. I think it’s fine to have a non NA team. 

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?

To me this is easily the Carolina Kraken. They were neck and neck all season with Newfoundland for the President’s trophy and finished one point behind. They actually finished with the most wins, losing out on first place due to loser points. With the new twelve team playoff format in juniors, Carolina got absolutely screwed. Their reward for winning their division and finishing second overall was to play Newfoundland in the semifinals. The twelve team format that FHM has is a complete clown show. I don’t think many people realize yet as it’s only in juniors, but it will come to light next season when it’s applied to SHL as well.

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.?

As a member of Team Canada, my choice for both is pretty obvious. Canada has been weak in WJC this past couple seasons as there was a drought of creates, but I think they finally have a solid roster again and have a great chance to take home gold. The only real weakness they have is no capped 3C. Although three lines of capped wingers, and a very great set of fourth line wingers should more than make up for it. Unless they get a fluke loss in their first elimination game I think medalling is all but certain for this squad, the only question is which colour? For the IIHF squad I think the situation is pretty much the same as last season. I voluntarily sat last season so Maxime Bouchard wouldn’t transfer out, and now I’ll be stepping in this season for the great Robert Phelps who I’ve passed in TPE. I think IIHF will be another close battle with Canada, Great Britain, USA and Czechia.

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’m on the stance that regular season matchup literally does not matter. Sure it’s cool to look at and can give something to discuss, but playoffs are completely different. You could have a team that swept a season series 5-0 but then go on to lose a playoff series against the same team and this isn’t all that uncommon.
C. I’m in the 5 aggression and fighting camp here. I have nothing against people that want to build that type of player, but I think it provides less to a team overall. It’s difficult to get consistent fights and you’re likely not going to get a star player off with it. I just think that TPE is better spent elsewhere.
D. Being the weeb that I am, it’s easily Monkey D. Luffy. I’ve watched a lot of One Piece, up to the conclusion of the Alabasta arc. I think this is in the 700-750 episode range. Luffy is a great character and quite enjoy him. Him and Zoro are my two favourite Strawhats by far.

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.

seedub

Ryan Shepard || #21 || C || Chicago Syndicate || S50 || 2086 TPE
Age: 22
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190lbs
Birthplace: Slave Lake, Alberta
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SMJHL Regular Season Statistics:

S49| KEL| GP:50| G:5 | A:6 | P:11| +\-:-2 | PIM:12| H:30| SH%:7.58

S50| KEL| GP:50| G:17| A:38| P:55| +\-:17| PIM:40| H:43| SH%:12.78

S51| KEL| GP:50| G:15| A:26| P:41| +\-:3| PIM:12| H:52| SH%:11.28

S52| KEL| GP:50| G:17| A:31| P:48| +\-:29| PIM:8| H:58| SH%:11.89%

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SMJHL Playoff Statistics:

S49| KEL| GP:17| G:5| A:1| P:6| +\-:-7| PIM:0| H:14| SH%:29.41

S50| KEL| GP:6| G:1| A:2| P:3| +\-:0| PIM:0| H:10| SH%:4.55

S51| KEL| GP:20| G:6| A:6| P:12| +\-:0| PIM:12| H:18| SH%:13.33

S52| KEL| GP:13| G:4| A:7| P:11| +\-:0| PIM:12| H:20| SH%:13.79

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Awards & Achievements:

S49 - SMJHL: Drafted 1st overall by Kelowna

S50 - SHL: Drafted 5th overall by Chicago

S50 - S52: Captain of the Kelowna Knights

S50: WJC Silver Medal

S51: WJC Gold Medal

S52: WJC Silver Medal

 

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.

Well, since I've left the Championship Week writing til the last minute (or day), I'm writing this around 2 hours before the expansion draft is supposed to happen. Maybe I should've waited until after the expansion draft happened because then I could have just copied the actual results instead of having to sit here bullshitting about it. Oh well. For one, I think Darrow is 99% going to the Argos first overall, then from there on it's kind of a crapshoot. This expansion draft isn't particularly strong to be honest, and aside from Darrow, there aren't any players who are must grabs from any of the teams. So, to sum it up, I think Darrow goes to the Argonauts first, and after that who really knows. The only other certain picks (to me) are Tig to the Argos and Eko Van Otter to the Inferno. Maybe Sawchuk to the Inferno too but who knows.

154 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 believe there should actually be an entirely new league, just to support European expansion. Now, I've floated this idea around before, but let's see how it does on the public stage -- I think we should have an intermediate league between the Simulation Major Junior Hockey League and the Simulation Hockey League, and a European league seems like a good place to have it. With the need for higher TPE in order to make an impact in the SHL in the FHM era, to me it makes perfect sense to give middling players another place to play until they've reached higher TPE numbers, and Europe just seems like a nice spicy place to expand to.

115 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?

This one's easy. Not to be a homer or anything but I believe this iteration of the Hamilton Steelhawks was the strongest they have ever been, and yet they fell shorter than they have ever fallen in the Franchise Hockey Manager Simulation Engine Era. They gave up a load of first round picks and prospects to acquire two 2000 TPE players, and they end up falling to the beans? That's kind of rough, for a team that's always made do with the players they have, this was a big risk to make a splash and acquire these superstars, and clearly it should have paid off but it just didn't. What a sad story for the Hamilton Steelhawks very sad indeed. The saddest!

122 words

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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.?

Well, another easy one! @hotdog is knocking it out of the park for these Championship Week prompts, making everyone's lives easier and handing out TPE as if it was candy. You love to see it. The clear favourites for the International Ice Hockey Federation tournament are the United States and Canada. Both of these teams have insane forward lines that don't have a player under 1.2k TPE (at least for Canada, I haven't checked for the USA but I assume their forwards are even better, maybe I'm wrong though don't sue me). They aren't slouches on defense either, and overall these teams are purely built to win. It would be a disappointment to both teams if they don't place in the top 2. Even though Canada has a sub-par goalie in terms of TPE, we all know TPE for goalies doesn't really matter because Franchise Hockey Manager is all just a simulation with equations.

154 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?

This one's a bit harder for me. It's obvious to me that everyone should be hoarding all of their money and putting it in gold and burying it in their backyards in the case of a nuclear or possibly non-nuclear apocalypse, so it would make no sense for people to give their money to any sort of fundraising drive or other attempts to wrestle away your hard earned pennies. However, if I had to pick some worthy causes to put money into, it's gotta go to the Emergency Support Fund for Victims of Aggressive Forechecking. Aggressive Forecheckers have ruined our game, ruined our league, and the victims need to be appropriately compensated for the trauma that they have experienced at the hands of these scummy players. They go out there, thinking they can just forecheck to their hearts' content without a care in the world that they're hurting everyone else, and it's honestly quite sad to see. I believe we should all support justice for victims of aggressive forechecking.

169 words

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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.

glorp

Signatures by Vulfzilla, Jepox, Jess, rum_ham, Ragnar, and myself

 

Binko Koivu | S64 D | Colorado Raptors | Atlanta Inferno


Guy Zheng | S46 D -> F | Atlanta Inferno | United Kingdom | 2134 Peak TPE | Retired
Birthplace: United Kingdom
Height: 6' 3"
Weight: 215 lbs
Number: 40
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Trophies, Awards, and Medals:
S46 | KEL | Quilha Agante Trophy (SMJHL Top Defenseman)
S47 | NEW | Ryan Jesster Nominee (SHL Best Rookie)
S47 | NEW | All Rookie Team
S47 | GB  | IIHF Gold
S49 | GB  | IIHF Silver
S52 | GB  | IIHF Gold
S53 | GB  | IIHF Bronze
S54 | GB  | IIHF Silver
S55 | GB  | IIHF Gold
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
SMJHL Career Statistics:
S45 | KEL | GP: 50 | G: 7 | A: 24 | P: 31 | ATOI: 20.61 | HIT: 37 | SB: 51 | +/-: -14
S46 | KEL | GP: 50 | G: 10 | A: 32 | P: 42 | ATOI: 21.87 | HIT: 27 | SB: 49 | +/-: 19
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
SMJHL Playoffs Statistics:
S45 | KEL | GP: 4 | G: 0 | A: 0 | P: 0 | ATOI: 21.80 | HIT: 2 | SB: 4 | +/-: -5
S45 | KEL | GP: 18 | G: 2 | A: 13 | P: 15 | ATOI: 22.07 | HIT: 7 | SB: 24 | +/-: -5
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
SHL Career Statistics:
S47 | NEW | GP: 50 | G: 5 | A: 22 | P: 27 | ATOI: 22.76 | HIT: 45 | SB: 89 | +/-: -9
S48 | NEW | GP: 50 | G: 5 | A: 19 | P: 24 | ATOI: 21.72 | HIT: 44 | SB: 53 | +/-: -1
S49 | NEW | GP: 50 | G: 7 | A: 21 | P: 28 | ATOI: 21.62 | HIT: 45 | SB: 55 | +/-: 21
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
SHL Playoffs Statistics:
S49 | NEW | GP: 15 | G: 4 | A: 3 | P: 7 | ATOI: 21.96 | HIT: 11 | SB: 15 | +/-: 12
───────────────────────────────────────────────────
Transactions:
S45 | KEL | SMJHL Draft | 15th Overall
S45 | KEL | Contract | $3M AAV, 1 Season
S46 | NEW | SHL Draft | 15th Overall
S46 | NEW | Contract | $3M AAV, 3 Seasons
S49 | NEW | Contract | $5M AAV, 2 Seasons

PBE PT Affiliation (3/16)

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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?

Boy, this season was disappointing. I mean, I get it. Our team brought on some great free agents and for most of the season, I was one of the lower TPE forwards on the roster. The lineups being constructed the way they were gave us the best chance to win, and I can't have a gripe about that. It doesn't make it any less disappointing though when you look at Blackwood having two straight forty point seasons and then going backwards to almost half the point total. Truly, my sniper build just isn't made to be a third line player. I was still a horrible defensive liability, despite my numbers such as giveaways and takeaways did moderately improve. This isn't my pitch to team management to play me where I want or to give me more minutes. In every league I'm in, I'm known as a team guy, and I want the team to win way more than I'm looking for personal accolades. It's just nice to see yourself do well, y'know? 171 words (6/16)

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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?

Absolutely. That's the fun of having an online sports league. It doesn't matter. AT. ALL. Anyone who says it does is clowning. "It ruins the realism of it." There is no realism! It's fake. It's a fake league. It's all about camaraderie and having fun, and if someone would enjoy having a team in Germany or Japan or the Canary Islands, who cares really? PBE and ISFL both have begun embracing international team on one level or another, and I don't see why SHL would approach the issue any differently. It allows users to be more creative with their teams, and makes the league a richer environment. 107 words (8/16)

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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?
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. It's true, there are absolutely huge names on both defenses in this series, and it's also true that I'm doing this after the finals have ended. I didn't watch any of the games though, so it's okay. Just looking at everything, I assume that Buffalo has the defensive edge. I mean, they have three defennsemen over 1800 TPE, and Darrow is over 2000. New Orleans defensive TPE is more evenly distributed, but I think the big guns will win it for Buffalo. 82 words (9/16)
d. I mean, I'm assuming the favorite answer to this for most people will be Poopity Scoop, and to those people, I say, GROW UP, CHILDREN! Ha ha ha. Poop. Now that we have that out of the way, the best name is clearly Michael Scarn. Trautner loves his hockey related names from The Office, and this makes me chuckle every time I see it. (Also, RIP Cherokee Jack.) 68 words (10/16)
e. Hippos. Hippos are the coolest. They're one of my top five animals. Unlike, D-Wade, they're in my fave five. (Sorry about that old cell phone commercial joke.) Hippos are gangster as hell. They have the bite force to snap a saltwater crocodile in half. They also look cool as hell walking along the river bottom in all those nature documentary half in half out of the water shots. 68 words (11/16)

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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.

Verification: Championship (14/16)

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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?

I have to assume that Augustus Wang would have a pretty bumping TikTok account. Also, I have no idea how TikTok works in any way, but if there are some sort of parental guards built into the app, I'm guessing his videos would be marked NSFW. There would also be a lot of short ads for various Wang branded apparel. Overall, it would be an insane conglomeration of things from inside Wang's mind, which I'm sure would be both hilarious and shocking, but would certainly be in all ways entertaining. Secondarily, Andrei Kostitsyn should start an account just so he can use the power of his followers to find his brother. 111 words (16/16)

 


Barrett Blackwood || RW || USA || TOR || Max TPE: 1630
Height: 6'1
Weight: 190
Number: 90
==========================================================
Transactions
(S47) - Signed 1 yr/$3M deal with St. Louis
(S48) - Drafted in the 1st round (14th overall) by Edmonton
(S48) - Signed 3 yr/$6M deal with Edmonton
(S51) - Signed 3 yr/$12M extension with Edmonton
(S54) - Signed 3 yr/$15M extension with Edmonton
(S57) - Signed 2 yr/$12M extension with Edmonton
(S59) - Signed 2 yr/$10M deal with Los Angeles
(S60) - Selected in the SHL Expansion Draft (11th overall) by Montréal
(S60) - Traded from Montréal to Toronto
==========================================================
Season Stats
SMJHL:
(S47) | STL | 50 GP | 06 G | 03 A | 09 P | +02 | 26 H | 03 SB | 04 PIM
(S48) | STL | 50 GP | 13 G | 28 A | 41 P | +22 | 51 H | 02 SB | 12 PIM
(S49) | STL | 50 GP | 23 G | 24 A | 47 P | +21 | 56 H | 07 SB | 16 PIM
(S50) | STL | 50 GP | 27 G | 36 A | 63 P | +12 | 56 H | 14 SB | 20 PIM
SHL:
(S51) | EDM | 50 GP | 10 G | 07 A | 17 P | +03 | 49 H | 08 SB | 12 PIM
(S52) | EDM | 50 GP | 08 G | 07 A | 15 P | +01 | 13 H | 08 SB | 08 PIM
(S53) | EDM | 50 GP | 20 G | 20 A | 40 P | +20 | 15 H | 10 SB | 30 PIM
(S54) | EDM | 50 GP | 13 G | 29 A | 42 P | -10 | 30 H | 51 SB | 14 PIM
(S55) | EDM | 50 GP | 07 G | 19 A | 26 P | +36 | 50 H | 64 SB | 32 PIM
(S56) | EDM | 50 GP | 22 G | 34 A | 56 P | +11 | 41 H | 31 SB | 28 PIM
(S57) | EDM | 66 GP | 32 G | 38 A | 70 P | +32 | 44 H | 76 SB | 31 PIM
(S58) | EDM | 66 GP | 37 G | 41 A | 78 P | +33 | 60 H | 37 SB | 32 PIM
(S59) | LAP | 66 GP | 10 G | 32 A | 42 P | -14 | 68 H | 84 SB | 15 PIM
(S60) | MTL |
==========================================================
Playoff Stats
SMJHL:
(S47) | STL | 13 GP | 0 G | 2 A | 02 P | -5 | 07 H | 1 SB | 0 PIM
(S48) | STL | 06 GP | 1 G | 1 A | 02 P | -3 | 03 H | 0 SB | 2 PIM
(S49) | STL | 13 GP | 6 G | 2 A | 08 P | +1 | 20 H | 3 SB | 6 PIM
(S50) | STL | 13 GP | 7 G | 4 A | 11 P | -1 | 11 H | 5 SB | 0 PIM
SHL:
(S51) | EDM | 09 GP | 4 G | 02 A | 06 P | +1 | 14 H | 00 SB | 0 PIM
(S52) | EDM | 06 GP | 1 G | 03 A | 04 P | +1 | 02 H | 06 SB | 0 PIM
(S53) | EDM | 11 GP | 7 G | 04 A | 11 P | +2 | 02 H | 01 SB | 2 PIM
(S54) | EDM | 06 GP | 0 G | 04 A | 04 P | +1 | 06 H | 08 SB | 0 PIM
(S55) | EDM | 11 GP | 2 G | 03 A | 05 P | -2 | 12 H | 25 SB | 5 PIM
(S56) | EDM | 14 GP | 2 G | 10 A | 12 P | +4 | 06 H | 15 SB | 0 PIM
(S57) | EDM | 07 GP | 1 G | 02 A | 03 P | -3 | 07 H | 10 SB | 0 PIM
(S58) | EDM | 09 GP | 5 G | 05 A | 10 P | +4 | 07 H | 10 SB | 2 PIM
(S59) | LAP | 06 GP | 2 G | 00 A | 02 P | -5 | 05 H | 08 SB | 4 PIM
==========================================================
Career Stats
SMJHL:
200 GP | 069 G | 091 A | 160 P | +057 | 189 H | 026 SB | 052 PIM
SMJHL Playoffs:
045 GP | 014 G | 009 A | 023 P | -008 | 041 H | 009 SB | 008 PIM
SHL:
498 GP | 159 G | 227 A | 386 P | +112 | 370 H | 369 SB | 202 PIM
SHL Playoffs:
079 GP | 024 G | 033 A | 057 P | +003 | 061 H | 083 SB | 013 PIM
==========================================================
Awards/Achievements
SMJHL:
Laurifer Trophy - (S47,S48)
(S50) - Named Alternate Captain for STL
(S50) - Set the record for points in a season (63) for STL
SHL:
Challenge Cup - (S49)
Selected to All-Star team - (S58)
All-SHL 2nd Team - (S58)
International:
(S48) - Bronze Medal at WJC
(S49) - Named Alternate Captain for USA WJC Squad
(S50) - Named Captain for USA WJC Squad
(S50) - Bronze Medal at WJC
(S53) - Gold Medal at IIHF
==========================================================

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?

This one is what is really made this season hard, after over a year of taking luffy to the top of the tpe charts and trying to position himself to be known as one of the greats, he kind of fell flap this year. Leading the league the entire season by a hefty margin and just coming up short for his dream of leading the league in points at the last second. A huge disappointment in the individual side, but being the captain of the best team in the league really makes up for it. A deep playoff push and, since this is after the ploofs, scoring the biggest goal in the entire league is what drives this player to keep going up and up and never stopping. Nothing can beat a game 7 finals OT winner. Next season luffy is getting older and will be nowhere near this peak season but i believe in the org and all the players around luffy to help raise him up for seasons to come.

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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.

This is going to be an extremely difficult season for teams at the top, especially coming from buffalo. Losing a lot of key pieces to expansion and free agency is going to take the toll on us in particular. It's nice to see more teams and see some of the wealth spread out over the league, but it really sucks losing players that you have grown with and experienced so much with. Buffalo has made some moves to lighten the blow that is going to happen this off season but the dreams of this season and having almost over a full line of top tier talent will be a thing of the past, only able to get back to that with fancy team management. It's hard to see which one of the two new teams will come out on top but i have a feeling atlanta will come out just a little ahead, only because the gm has to take his own player and hes a bit higher than tig atm. Only time will tell for these two.

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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?

The best team to not make the finals this year i would say are the manhattan rage. They put up a stellar performance for this season and were only a couple points behind the big dogs like buffalo this season. It's really hard to break through to the top in this league and the playoff bracket is a harsh mistress when you have to take on the big bads in the early rounds. I have a feeling we will be seeing the rage in a final sometime soon and have no doubt in my mind a cup is in their near future, that is if buffalo has a random year of bad luck.

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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.

a. Easily we have to give it to buffalo, their core of selich wang scoop and darrow are unmatched both in terms of raw power on paper and a play that speaks for itself. No team comes close to these 4 core and even their bottom two defense are heads and tails above everyone else as well.
b. There is no home ice advantage to be had in the fhm era in my opinion. Both teams play just as good home and away and they just win, so being at home or away doesn't matter for these two powerhouses. This game will go all the way and no home ice will matter.
c. Sorry having only an advantage in shitty things like toughness will not be a changing or deciding factor in these finals. The better skilled team will come ahead here and the best coached one. Not even cheese all out aggressive forechecking strats will be able to carry the weaker team here.
e. Once again buffalo wins it here with hippo otter and monkey. First kirby isn't even an animal and a sloth can barely move so how can it skate? Sure a fox is a wicked cool animal but its getting teamed up on by the three other awesome animals from buffalo so it can't hold its own sorry.

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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.

There is only two players in my mind that even are in the debate for that and those are monkey d. luffy and elizabeth doyle. Luffy leads the league in playoff points this season and doyle was a monster the entire run. Both had huge plays that either saved the series, doyle making a breakaway save in OT, and then luffy potting the eventual winning in game 7 OT. My greed wants to give luffy the nod, but doyles stats don't lie and she should be the MVP for this series and the entire playoffs, captain luffy promised to win the cup for her and realistically she did it instead.

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.

v.word - poop

||

Task 1 3TP
This season turned out way better than the first regular season for the new Latvian Zelma Zuntnere. She was sent to the expansion draft by the team that drafted her in the S54 SMJHL Draft and ended up in the newly baked team from Nevada. Gotta say, the move helped ZZ rise and become better and more confident in her game than she was back in Carolina. As this was only her second season as a pro, and her teams first season ever, the expectations were not the highest, but there was some light at the end of the tunel as both ZZ and the team started to become better as the season reached its ending point. Zelma excelled in every departement of the game if we look at her statistics this season and the season before. Of course, big influence on her game was the role she was given. In Carolina she was just a fourth line player that didn't really have much chances to show her strenghts, but in Nevada she had solid first line minutes and a lot of time on the powerplay. Although the stats always can be better, this season was a good starting point for both - Zelma and Nevada. Be sure to check them out next season. No doubt that ZZ will be doing everything in her power to rise her worth in the market and help Nevada reach something more than last place in regular season and a loss in the first round of playoffs. [250 words]

Task 2 3TP
For me expansion drafts are always exciting and interesting. There are two brand new teams and I think it will only add to the SHL and also SMJHL community as the players have even more options where to go. New GMs, new players that can upgrade their roles from members to club owners and widely known personas in the SHL community. As one of the members that has enjoyed the joy of expansion draft I can say that it is always interesting to have a chance to start with a completely new and fresh team. I think that during this expansion draft we will see some great players go into them. Maybe some big surprises and faces of other franchises will decide to continue their careers or play their last seasons in a new environment. As a new recreate, with no seasons in SHL under my belt, I do have a feeling that I could go into the expansion draft for the second season in the row. Of course, it is in the hands of my GMs and the board of the team. It could be exciting tho, and I don't think that anyone has ever been into two expansion drafts with the same player and two years in a row. That would be something. [215 words]

Task 3 2TP
The SHL has expanded quite a bit during these long years it has existed. We have seen teams from all around North America and a lot of people may think that the next logical step forward would be to add a team from elsewhere. If we look from the realistic point of view I think that the only possible additions could be teams from South America or maybe Russia and Australia. One of the best parts that I like about SHL is the geographical accuracy that we have. There are no bizzare games between Moscow Red Stars and North Dacota Tumbleweeds that could maybe make some people question the sanity of some GMs and league owners. For me, the only possible way to see a different continent teams in SHL is to have a whole another division or conference devoted to non NA teams. Maybe an European conference. [148 words]

TRIVIA 3TP Max
FOOD

LW | ZELMA ZUNTNERE | LATVIA | FORGE
Age: 23
Height: 6ft 1in
Weight: 190 lbs
Number: 14
------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL Regular Season stats
[S54]CAR - GP:50 G:4 A:5 P:9 Hits:14 +/-:-8 SB:14
[S55]NBB - GP:50 G:18 A:7 P:25 Hits:37 +/-:-17 SB:59
[S55]NBB - GP:50 G:23 A:19 P:42 Hits:7 +/-:+8 SB:36
------------------------------------------------------------
SHL Regular Season stats
[S56]WPG - GP:66 G:16 A:10 P:26 Hits:10 +/-:-7 SB:11
------------------------------------------------------------
SMJHL Playoff stats
[S54]CAR - GP:20 G:1 A:0 P:1 Hits:2 +/-:0 SB:3
[S55]NBB - GP:4 G:0 A:0 P:0 Hits:2 +/-:-5 SB:4
[S55]NBB - GP:5 G:1 A:3 P:4 Hits:1 +/-:-3 SB:4
------------------------------------------------------------
SHL Playoff stats
[S56]WPG - GP: G: A: P: Hits: +/-: SB:
------------------------------------------------------------
Transactions
Drafted 33OA In The S54 SMJHL Draft - Kraken
Drafted 37OA In The S55 SHL Draft - Jets
Signed a one-year deal with the Aurora (Through S58)
Signed a two-year deal with the Aurora (Through S60)
Drafted in the expansion draft by Philadelphia Forge
------------------------------------------------------------
Honours and awards
S54 Four Star Cup Champion with Carolina Kraken
S55 WJC Champion
Oliver Pettyfer / Isaac Cormier Hale / Eva Lykke Aparjode

ISFL PT- 3 TPE

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?

Looking back on the season, Jakob is fairly satisfied with his season. Tampa Bay saw a great deal of improvement over last season, winning eight more games than we did last year. Over the 50 games, Jakob had a -52 +/- rating. While to some people this may seem poor, put in context with last season’s -86, it is a clear improvement for both him and the collective team. Hamr was also on the ice quite a bit, 7th most in the league with a TOI of 25:18, leading the Barracuda in that stat. Using that time effectively to fill his role of being a punishing defender, Jakob wasn’t particularly prolific when it comes to goals or assists, but in terms of hits and blocked shots, the things Hamr is on the ice to get, he was respectively 6th in the league and tied for 5th in the league. 162 blocked shots and 178 hits, Jakob’s presence was felt every game, netting him the 4th best DGR in the league. While it isn’t a perfect measurement, it shows Hamr was doing what he was on the ice to do.

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?

International teams would be a fantastic addition to the great league of the SHL. We have a very diverse group of nationalities as proven by the IIHF’s success, so allowing players to represent teams from their home nations would give people an extra reason to give their all on their ice throughout the regular season. While the argument of travelling being hard on players and potentially weakening the quality of play, Jakob would argue that sleep is for the weak, so if time zones make you play worse, you are clearly weakling. For European players like Jakob, it is insulting to suggest travelling to and from Europe makes one a worse hockey player. Give us international teams.

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 should not surprise anyone as Czechia is Bestia, but it is my prediction that Czechia will take home the gold medal in both IIHF and the WJC tournaments. Czechia is noble country and ancestral home of the Hamr family, where Jakob grew up. As such, Jakob knows exactly how hardened the Czechia citizens and players have become before joining the sport of hockey. Jakob, for example, grew up wrestling bears. Does not matter how big or strong other players on the ice are when your opposition is used to much bigger and stronger animal in the mighty bear. Other countries Jakob expects to succeed are Canada and United States, for very different reasons. Canada will succeed because this is nation of polite people who then take out all their pent-up anger and aggression on the ice, and in this day and age there is a lot of that. USA will do well as this nation is full of people who are mean spirited and angry every day. The stamina that allows them to keep raging for years on end will help them throughout the tournament.

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?

Biggest TikTok following in the SHL is obviously that of Michael Fitted. The man is a stallion and is here for both a good time and a long time. Fitted’s antics are the stuff of legend, and unlike most public figures who like to get hammered and have fun, he isn’t worried about hiding that side of himself. His TikTok would be full of him shotgunning beers with his teammates and raving about how great all of his friends are. It would be simultaneously positive and also a car crash you can’t look away from. The sheer energy that would be exuded from that TikTok account would gain more following than any other player’s.

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.

PIMs

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 a lot of fun throughout the season, so I cannot really complain about anything. In fact, moving to Winnipeg was pretty fine in the end and while I still have no hard feelings over any move that was made to send me off to another team, I am actually rather pleased with how things are over there. We fell a bit short from getting to the play-offs but I am sure that if we work hard at it, we will get over that hump and return to the promised land... with social distancing and whatnot, gotta be careful, you know. Anyhow, if I had to think of something I want to improve on, it would be to basically do more things to improve my player. I missed an entire week busy with other things and I wish to make sure I shall make the most of everything next season.

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.

It will definitively be very interesting. Our last expansion, that saw the additions of the New Orleans Specters and the Chicago Syndicate led to two very talented squads that I believe have both made the Cup (not really sure about the Syndicate but I am pretty certain New Orleans made it), which is the sort of stuff that encourages the belief of adding new teams. There's always that bit of interest from the people who write articles regarding the more hockey-related matters of the league, especially in a new system (if we are to look at the bigger picture, FHM will be a rather young chapter of the league's history for a couple of more cycles at least) but as a person who tends to look at other details instead of the actual point, I'll say that expansion time can be fun although I'm still a bit iffy on the other teams. One is a hockey team in Atlanta, home of that infamous stadium that looks like the end of a gentleman's stomach so while I'm sure they'll do well, it's begging for a curse or two. The other, you could argue, has a fairly creative name and looks less awkward than the NHL's new expansion team. The logo is a bit iffy at first but it gets better once you're used to it. The Draft is fun for some users who may have the curiosity of trying to be a bigger name or something of the sort (or just aren't fond of where they are) but to me, it'll be more of a curiosity than anything else.

Do obviously wish them the best, though.

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?

Absolutely. The idea of having teams playing abroad has always been a fun little thought and seeing that in a concrete manner would certainly be fun. Plus, it isn't like the league is bound to any major realistic criteria, I was able to make a player with a ninja background, for crying out loud. Besides, it isn't like there's plenty of places in the US and Canada that would fit a team for any league out there, unless people are absolutely fine with just having teams in places like Des Moines or Billings or just taking up places from teams that are in the minors.

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?

So. I hope it will not upset anyone, I am sure some people here have some sort of working relationship with TikTok and thus could feel majorly hurt by any sort of comment so take it with a pinch of salt. I have seen a myriad of bad social media sites come and go; all of those making a very strong effort to paint the idea of social media being the absolutely craptacular. And among all of those, TikTok is the worst one of the bunch.

If it was able to contain its' own crapness to itself, that would be fine. Alas, social media sites are also massive businesses that profit over data sales and advertisement, so they also need to put their brand out there. Which basically means that if you use anything, anything ever, there's a horrible TikTok ad.

And not just one. Several. They're incredibly irritating, pushy and essentially make you don't want to even touch that mess. So by all accounts, I would rather not think who would be the best in that, because it's literally being the best at one of the worst possible things ever.

So, yeah, pick someone at random. I don't care.

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.
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 honestly think people can overvalue home advantage sometimes, but this series made a pretty convincing argument towards keeping that practice alive: barring two exceptions, the series was essentially solved by which team was playing at home and in the end, this whole format helped Buffalo nip it in the end.
c. Speaking now that we are through with the whole playoffs, I kinda feel like the toughness might have had something to do with the results but it was not enough to put them over Buffalo. It did definitively work enough to get them to the finals but in the end, it didn't make the desired impact, I feel.
d. (loads of sarcasm) I think I will be going with Luffy, namely because that is the only thing about One Piece that has been performing consistently and is not bad somehow. Seriously, state of that manga, I read it once and I have been regretting it for the rest of my life. Even their games suck, jeez.
e. Oh, man. I am a sucker for foxes, they are one of my favourite animals ever, the rest doesn't even compare. They are smart, they can make some massive damage to someone's ear and they are well known for their ability to survive. Best animal ever and you know it.

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: Yoshimitsu

Player Page - Update Page

Former Players: Yoshimitsu McCloud (LW, #64) -
Won a Four Star Cup once, knew ninjutsu, picture editors hated him, never tried free agency
Anton Harrier (LW, #90) -
Won WJC gold, liked skateboarding a lot, went to the finals with Manhattan, kept his seat glued in LR