Login

***Patty*** · 04-04-2021, 09:51 PM

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

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

I think the most surprising part was the Chicago Syndicate miss the playoffs. Based on the current playoff format everyone knew one of the Great Lakes division teams was going to miss but, it's still shocking to see a team that's 4th in their conference miss the playoffs. they were even 14 points clear of the 5th place team the Manhattan Rage who won the Atlantic Division. Stats wise Chicago is a much better team than the Rage but Chicago misses because of their division and FHM screwing us with playoff formats. It sucks for that whole team and would have been shitty regardless of which team in that division did wind up missing. Hopefully Head Office can figure out a fix before we go too much longer with clearly deserving teams missing the playoffs. Toronto finally got over that hump this past season but it was an issue even when it was them getting screwed. They were probably a playoff team in any other division in the league.

Code:
2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

Oh this is a tough choice because the one perk counters the other in some ways. But I think I would take the 6 skaters option. Even with the other team being immune to offsides if they decide to have a player cherry pick you can stick your extra guy on them and basically have a permanent powerplay. 6 skaters might actually be difficult to manage in a strategy sense in the offensive zone. that's so many bodies on the ice, space would be extremely limited. It might be better to have your 6 hang out between your own blue line and the red line to quicken retrievals when other team takes advantage of their no icing perk. 6 skaters would make it very easy to sustain zone time as you could send someone for a change and not be at a disadvantage in manpower. I think these perks going head to head would end up with the no penalties/offsides/icing team playing a counter attack style and rarely leaving their own end. The 6 skater team probably comes out on top by virtue of exhausting the other team over the course of a game.

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

Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

I'd definitely have to choose my boy Monkey D. Luffy. He has the championships to appease that crowd. He consistently has been a over a point per game player. Has scored 40 goals and 40 assists in a single season. Is tied for the most goals in a single season in the modern era. Is tied for 5th in single season points in the modern era. Tied for 3rd in Power-Play Goals in a single season in the modern era. He dealt with adversity when it presented itself and came out better. He's just an incredible player that in my mind is a no doubt Hall of Famer. I would also give a honorable mention to Martijn Westbroek. Westbroek shows up on a lot of the same lists as Luffy does. Multiple times in some cases and has done it on arguably worse teams. Not much worse though Chicago has been a wagon for a while as well.

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

If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

Atlanta did miss the finals this season sadly. We've yet to reach the conference finals since we've joined the league. But making the playoffs every season since joining the league as an expansion team is impressive on it's own. If I had to change something to push Atlanta to that next level, truthfully I would remove myself from the top line. Anyway you slice it I just don't have the skills a first line player ought to have. I didn't even reach 40 points this past season with both my linemates being a point per game players. I was even the 6th highest scoring forward on the team while having the 3rd highest time on ice for a forward. It's not like I have great possession numbers to justify my placement either. Myself and the team would be much better served with me on the second line. Although the only reason I am in that spot in the lineup is because we're kind of retooling on the fly and our options are very limited there.

Code:
15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645

SMJHL Milestones (for senddowns): TBD

1 TPE
https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3012419

Code:
16. Written, 3 TPE

I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

@Nhamlet@juke - Our favorite franchise couldn't be in better hands. Keep being your great selves and doing good work.
@SDCore @JNH - Still the GOAT GMs and friends
@teztify - love you too
Love all you baby zerks too!

Code:
12. 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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?

b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?

c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

d. It's all come down to this: game seven overtime. Which four players are you sending out to win the game for you. This is in a fantasy sense, so feel free to mix and match from both teams.

c.) I far and away prefer Buffalo's branding to Hamiltons. Firstly Buffalo's colors are so so much better, all the grey in Hamilton's comes off as boring and drab to me. I also hate the beak on their bird. Hamilton does have nice jerseys but even on this front I like buffalo's more. The striping on those jerseys just have a real classic, timeless feel.

16 TPE

Skeleton Party · 04-04-2021, 09:56 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

The most surprising part of the season was that [Name Redacted] managed to not be thrown out to sea midseason when he was absolute dogshit. [Name Redacted] managed to piece together a stellar rookie campaign, only to have his legacy destroyed by an absolute dogshit sophomore year. The anger toward him in the locker room was real, with Oliver Cleary managing to complain about [Name Redacted] just as much as he does about Jukka Timonen, which is quite a feat since Cleary loves to complain about Juke. [Name Redacted] managed to hold on just long enough that he had time to turn his season around come playoffs, which was the #2 surprise of the season. How the hell does a goalie that barely holds his head over .900 have a stellar leadup to playoffs and manages to take starting spot? Something tells me that this may all be a simulation and it is just fucking with us, but we may never know.

2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

This question really only needs a couple sentences. I would take the no penalties perk, and then I would be able to use all the guns and machetes that I stash in my pads before every game but coach won’t let me use. With 0 able bodied players after the first 10 minutes of the game, the opposing team would have no choice but to forfeit, ezpz gg no re. Having 6 players on the ice would have no bearing on how the game went. That team could still take penalties and it would completely eliminate their advantage, while no whistles is in effect and is useful for the full 60 minutes (actually only 10 would be played though). Also, with no icing, you could just keep ripping the puck down the ice and making the opposing team chase nonstop, which makes them much easier targets for machete work. Overall, I just don’t see how you can pick the 6 skaters above the awesome power of no ref intervention.

4. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

I’m a piece of shit so I’m sitting at home watching this play out on the TV, so I need to spell out what I need to do in order to get to the cup next year. I think the most impactful thing I could do would be to go on a hunger strike until the Manhattan Rage are included in the Great Lakes division. We all know that the entire SHL playoffs is just to see who the best Great Lakes team is, so if we want a real shot at the prize we need a reorganization of the teams where we are included in that division. Short of that there are some small things I can work on, like jamming more steroids into my body and focusing on not having to spend most of our practice times being bailed out of jail. That little bit of extra time will probably do me good and might be worth an extra win or two next season.

12. 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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?

In Vancouver there was this funny thing that we used to do when the visiting team would come into town that I think would be helpful to Buffalo in evening the score. When the opposing team’s bus would come into town we would have a biological weapons checkpoint set up, and then have our police force pull them to the side for a long night of interrogations with no sleep. When it got close to gametime, we would let them go on to the arena. They were of course in their best shape at this point, so we would have a nice fair game of hockey. I think Buffalo would, for sure, benefit from performing this tactic themselves.

c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

I really like the Steelhawks’ branding. It is a sick as fuck killer bird with awesome coloring that just looks fantastic. I mean they are stuck in Hamilton, which kind of blows, but at least they aren’t in fucking Buffalo. That place is worse than hell. At least the Steelhawks have a nice color scheme to make up for their location.

15. Milestone (3 TPE)

16. Written, 3 TPE
I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

Luke is really cool and he’s the main reason I’m still here and having fun. I was kinda rope-a-doped a bit when I joined but I’m glad that I stuck through it. So thanks to him for making this a cool and inviting place.

*Ferda* · 04-04-2021, 09:59 PM

Quote: 1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

I think the only acceptable answer to this question, even though both of these teams are “no strangers to the Cup finals”, is the Buffalo Stampede’s beginning to the season. Let’s be real here, nobody would have predicted Buffalo to be able to bounce back from their horrendous start to the season and end up in the Challenge Cup Finals in the same season. They played some of the ugliest hockey we have seen from them in over a decade and everyone, including myself, was surprised that they started off so poorly. I think it’s a testament to the players and coaching staff’s resilience in putting in the effort to overcome the mental block that they seemed to have. Buffalo is one of the premier teams in the league and it would have been unfortunate for them to not have a chance to compete for the Challenge Cup because we have seen the great things their team can do on the ice. (162 Words)

3/16

Quote: 5. 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 S58 New Orleans Specters team was easily the best, worst, team to not make the Challenge Cup Finals this season. We should award the league’s best team not by providing them with a high draft pick, but with a free ticket to the Cup finals. While you may joke about how they wouldn’t have even made the playoffs, the time that they spend while eliminated would be spent watching their prey, improving themselves, and strategizing to take down their opponent. We’ve seen their use of performance enhancing drugs too in previous seasons and it would help propel them to being title contenders simply because they would try to rig the system in their favor again. (116 Words)

5/16

Quote: 12. 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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?
b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?
c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.
d. It's all come down to this: game seven overtime. Which four players are you sending out to win the game for you. This is in a fantasy sense, so feel free to mix and match from both teams.

a.) One thing Buffalo can do is to stoop down to Hamilton’s level by providing the same performance enhancing drugs that the Steelhawks have used over the course of the season. Performance enhancing drug regulations are still absent from the Simulation Hockey League and it has breeded a, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”, mentality. (55 Words)

b.) Neither team will win and we will simply have Game 1 of the S58 Challenge Cup Finals be played until the next season. You’ve heard of the longest game for charity, but now we have the longest game for the Challenge Cup itself. We will go into however many overtime periods necessary to see if someone can score. It’s the classic paradox of having an unstoppable force and an immovable object. (71 Words)

c.) The Buffalo Stampede’s logo is definitely the more unique logo to me. You can see it through their color scheme and the different variations of their logo for their patches and alternate jerseys. Hamilton’s blue, grey, and white are unattractive colors and do not bring the “wow” factor that Buffalo’s is able to provide. Also, a bison would kick a bird’s ass if you were to actually have them fight. (70 Words)

d.) For the forward group, we’ll have Monkey D. Luffy and Aaron Wilson as our first two players. Both of these guys are some of the highest scoring players in their era and Aaron Wilson simply brings the illegal cheats necessary to dominating a fantasy league. We’ll add A-A-ron Hernadivic to complete that line because you always end up with one plug on your team that can still put up a point or two every once in a while. On defense, you can’t ignore that Samuel Michaud and Augustus Wang, the forbidden Anchorage Armada pairing, should be the obvious pick. They’re basically the SHL’s version of Exodia from Yu-Gi-Oh. (108 Words)

9/16

Quote:13. 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.

Augustus Wang should get the MVP because he is always provides rock hard defense that always has the fans and teammates erected from their seats. Even though he was not the biggest contributor on the score sheet, Wang is always the most important asset to any team because he provides some of the most exposure to the league through his girthy fanbase. His affiliation with SHL Kush has brought the funding necessary to help improve the league’s infrastructure and the subsequent improvements that we have seen around the league. Without the Wang, the league would simply not be where its at right now and that’s why he should always be the MVP of the league and not some chump who “scored lots of points”. (124 Words)

11/16

Quote:15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645
SMJHL Milestones (for senddowns): TBD

S58 Milestones

14/16

Quote: 16. Written, 3 TPE
I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

@Gwdjohnson and @jeffie43 are probably the only reason why I stay connected on the site because we’ve gotten to know each other so well. As much as I despise their alter egos, Gone Wild Johnson and Jeffrey 420, they’re my boys who have always stayed connected with me even though I’ve started to creep towards being IA. Regardless of the SHL, I’d love to get the chance to meet you guys IRL at one point. Gabe, it’s sad that we’ll never know who Jeff is cause he never turns on his video when we vc. We’ll just hang out without Jeff I guess. Sadge

16/16

Grum · 04-04-2021, 10:21 PM

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

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

The most surprising part of this season for me was how great of a regular season team the Texas Renegades where. I didn't even realize they got 54 wins until I checked just now to look for something interesting to write about. Going into this season I knew this team was extremely good and I expect them to potentially dominate the league like Hamilton has done so in the near future but I never expected them to top the entire league this season, much less have a 54 win, 109 points season. Another surprise to me was the decline that we saw in the Buffalo Stampede and Chicago Syndicate. In the FHM era, we have constantly seen both Buffalo and Chicago in the race for a top 2 spot in the great lakes, and most of the time, the league but this season saw both teams with 42 wins. I didn't expect the massive improvements by Toronto to have such an affect so soon.

+ 3 | 3 TOTAL

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

Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

I don't know a ton about other players outside of my own team so I think the player right now (off my team) with the highest chance to make it into the Hall of Fame has to be my team captain, Monkey D. Luffy. Monkey D. Luffy has established himself to be quite possibly the best forward of the FHM era, having the most points in the FHM by quite a bit. He also has the hardware to go with his great seasons. He has two challenge cups, made multiple all star teams, won a mexico, won a khan, and a McDonald. He also has a jesster nom to go along with two razov noms. If Luffy was to retire right now, I would not be surprised at all to see him make the Hall of Fame first ballot the first season he was eligible but that's just it, he isn't retired. He is still a top player who is going to continue to be able to produce at a high level for several seasons to come.

+ 3 | 6 TOTAL

Code:
12. 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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?

b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?

c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

d. It's all come down to this: game seven overtime. Which four players are you sending out to win the game for you. This is in a fantasy sense, so feel free to mix and match from both teams.

a. I think the only Buffalo could do was try to out-coach the Hamilton Steelhawks. Whether that be to try to shut down one of their all star forwards, play with irregular lines, or just simply change up how players are played, that element of surprise or uncertainty could make up the difference, at least a bit.
b. Well we clearly saw that a great offense won but I think that's just how it is always going to be. Especially with how stacked this Hamilton team was with the forward position, it's hard for a defense to really have the depth to be able to keep up. No matter how good a defense it, it also just depends how well the goalie plays which is always a bit iffy in FHM
c. I might be really biased here when I say this but I think the Buffalo Stampede has the better branding. Personally I think it might even be the best branding. I think the colors of green and gold just go so well together. The logo is also really well made and suit the team it represents.
d. Out of both teams, if I were to send out four players to win the game for me I would choose Aron Hernandivic, Michale Scar, Aaron Wilson, and Nicholas Owens. Not gonna lie, picking myself is extremely biased but I believe that this lineup of 4 has a great blend of both offense and defense.

+ 4 | 10 TOTAL

Code:
15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.co

m/showthread.php?tid=114645
SMJHL Milestones (for senddowns): TBD

+ 3 for Milestones | 13 TOTAL

Code:
16. Written, 3 TPE

I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

This past season, the Buffalo lockeroom has been filled with frustrations with the sim, and rightfully so. However I think the work of our coach @fishy has gone extremely under appreciated. I'm sure the results of this season were even harder on you than the rest of us and I'm sure it wasn't fun at all testing for so long to try to get us there. However regardless, you still did your job and I just wanted to show my thanks .-.

+ 3 | 16 TOTAL ---- FINSIHED .-.

hewasajazzman · 04-04-2021, 10:23 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

i have to say i was pretty surprised to see Toronto and Texas do so well this season... and to be completely honest it was a breath of fresh air. while it is no surprise that these teams were able to accomplish what they did if they kept focused, worked hard at it, and trusted the process... its just really nice to see that happen and it finally pay off. from what i remember in my time in the league these two have not had the best of times. a good season or good players here and there really dont make up for the struggle i have seen them go through. i can only imagine that the players and staff involved with these teams have felt a weight lift off their shoulders and that the light at the end of the tunnel doesnt seem like its so far away or as difficult to reach. Toronto even beat my team in the playoffs and im not at all broken up about it, there was a small part of me that was even rooting for them just because i like seeing the underdog succeed. i am happy these teams were able to find their way, while that isnt exactly surprising i would say that it is within the context of the league and the way things have gone for them in the past.

2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

i think i might have to go with the extra skater on this one. it could be a little frustrating to watch the your opponent be immune to so many things that can easily make the game unfair... but i feel like if you know what you need to do going into it, stay disciplined, and always be aware of where the 5 players on the other team are... there is no way having that extra skater for an entire game wouldnt be an absolute huge advantage. even if your team does commit a penalty youre just playing a 5 on 5 game. if the other team feels like committing a player to hang out in your defensive end thats essentially a 5 on 4 in their own end which could be really dangerous.

3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

this is a little hard for me to say really since i havent exactly kept up with the league in at least a handful of seasons. so i went ahead and looked at the stats for the top players this season, there are quite the number of recognizable names on the first page which is nice to see. i think someone that has always kind of stuck out to me, someone who is on that list, would be Tony Pepperoni. i am unsure of the accolades that Pepperoni can claim but i know that its got to be a very impressive catalog. Tony's name is one that has to be a household name in the SHL world. im pretty positive that hes got at least one challenge cup to his name, and if i am remembering correctly was he not the MVP once? playoff MVP even? i know for a fact that i have seen Tony Pepperoni on the leader boards for seasons upon seasons and there is no way that he doesnt deserve a look for the Hall Of Fame at the very least.

4. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

first of all, this old man completely welcomes the idea of lounging on the couch and watching the finals. i am not sure that there is too much that i could do differently to give Manhattan the boost that it needs to reach the finals. i just know that my skills next season arent going to be any better. the only thing that i can do, and the thing that ive done for my entire career, is continue the grind and work hard for my team. i feel like at this point in my career the only thing i really have to offer is some physicality, opening up some space for my linemates to do their thing. the team around me is getting younger so you could say my veteran presence will hold some value. i have always been a team player and at this point that is about all i really have to offer. ive done what i can these past few seasons and i have to say i am more than content with what i have been able to contribute.

15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

Milestones +1

16. Written, 3 TPE
I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

i am beyond proud of what Carpy and Julio have done with the Graphics Department. the quick turn around on weekly submission has been really awesome to see, members are pretty active in the discord and always willing to help/give advice to newbies, and i think this is the most consistently active ive seen the graphics community be in my 3 years on the site. big props to them.

eMLBCommish · 04-04-2021, 10:36 PM

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

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

It might just be me who sees this, but I am wondering how many of you might have had the Toronto freakin' North Stars improving by a humungous twenty four (That's 24 for you types that prefer a number) points this season. Who the hell peed in their Cheerios? Bobby Lane does what Bobby Lane does having a pretty similar season over the past couple of seasons overall, but Ruslan Zaporozhets outright exploded, scoring an additional twenty goals this season! Last season, the North Stars only had two people with over fifty points during the year, but this season they had FIVE accomplish getting over that milestone, with three others knocking on the door to end the season. That's quite an offensive turnaround for Toronto, and apparently their new strategy got them many more wins.

Code:
2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

I feel like this is a definite no brainer to choose for a home team, although why any organization would ever allow a change during the middle of a playoffs would be a pretty desperate move to be made. But for the purpose of this article, I would choose to be immune to penalties, and offsides, and icing. Think of the set plays you can have, regardless if the other team can have six players on the ice. Utilize your fastest skaters, cause misdirection and spring your forwards down the ice, who no longer have to worry about when they need to cross the blue line, or missing the connection for an icing. Slew foot? SURE! Check from behind to injury a player! NO PROBLEM! Immunity, baby! Dodgy

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

If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

The biggest thing that I feel I can help my team going forward is being far more attentive and routine in getting my TPE submissions in. While I'm fairly diligent despite my real life excuses, I feel I leave just enough TPE on the table to miss out on being a top level player. Example: I was a day late and dollar short on making it into the Mock Draft, and that is completely my fault as I said I would get to it, and I allowed myself to get distracted enough that it was too late to submit and participate. With our team having missed the playoffs this past season, and the defense having a real challenge, I am committed to turning that around, or else I believe I will find myself at risk of needing to find a new home.

Code:
5. 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 Manhatten Rage get the honor of being the best team to be on the outside and looking in this past season. With a Goal Differential of Plus-19 this season, the Rage were led by Ola Wagstrom with Twenty Four Goals and Forty Four Assists. In addition, the Rage ended up having four players who scored a total of Fifty Points or more this past season, and even had three additional players score Forty of more Points this season, including Defenseman Oliver Cleary. They played well with their goalie tandem of Name Redacted and Peter Larson.

Code:
15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3007659

Code:
16. Written, 3 TPE

I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

@kenvald has been such a tremendous help to me all along the way. I can certainly thank others like @Zomp and @Ace as well, all people I would love to meet up with and buy a beer at some point, but Kenvald has gone above and beyond to help me navigate how I want to build my player in a manner I would want him to be on the ice. While that certainly has caused growing pains in these first two seasons in the SHL, it has not gone unnoticed.

Leoben · 04-04-2021, 10:44 PM

Quote:1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

I think the two that come to mind are the resurgence of Toronto and the continuing rise of Texas. While I think Texas will be taken down a peg this season, they should still be pretty dominant over the West. But Toronto will further themselves from the pack in the East and take over the Great Lakes. These two teams are poised to face off in the finals for seasons to come (hopefully, if the playoff format ever gets fixed). We just missed seeing that fresh matchup in the finals this year but much like John Cena, Hamilton and Buffalo overcame the odds and faced off in the finals once more. Another surprising thing, if not a little insane, is San Francisco almost kicking Toronto out of the playoffs. That would have been the upset of the FHM era and I am kind of sad we didn’t get to see it. A team who had no business being in the playoffs knocks off the new darling of the league. It would have been a cool story.

176 Words

Quote:2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

The home team gets to choose a player from the opposing team to sit out all home games of the series. They could pick the best defender, goalie, or forward. It could definitely add a new dynamic to strategies and GMs would have to figure out how to compensate missing a key player on their team. GMs would have to be careful who they take out. Do they want to take out a strong goal-scorer or a key person on defense that allows them to score more. It would not be as simple as picking the guy with the highest TPE. Would create interesting results.

105 words

Quote:3. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

I’m clearly biased but Andreas Kvalheim should be a lock. If he isn’t then he certainly will be when he retires. He has won multiple Dar awards that many people joke that it should be renamed the Kvalheim award. He has let the Renegades from the basement of the league all the way to the top. His point totals speak for themselves and while I doubt he will finish as the highest scoring Renegade of all time, he will be solidified in the Top 10 for a long time. He is leaving an impactful legacy behind him and has had more impact on the team than anyone in quite a while. I’m not sure if Cups are needed to be worthy of the Hall of Fame but that’s probably the only accomplishment that he’s missing at this point. Either that or MVP but he is on a team of assassins right now so that may prove difficult to get.

159 Words

Quote:4. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

What do I plan on doing differently? There’s not much I can. I’m fighting off regression still but not quite as aggressive as I was. Honestly I’m just going to try and stay in shape and help these guys get back to the playoffs. We have a lot of young guys on the rise and I’m just trying to keep up and support them getting to the next level. Kvalheim and Kubinec have been waiting a long time for the cavalry to arrive and they have really showed up the next two seasons. I think they are ready to take the next step and make the finals but just need a little more of a push. I’m just going to keep doing my thing and once these guys are ready to take over, I’m probably done. I guess I can help keep them motivated as there were a lot of disappointed players after Hamilton sent us packing.

157 Words

Quote:5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

I’m clearly biased again but if you’re answer isn’t Toronto or Texas I’m not sure what you’re watching. I’d also make a case of Edmonton as they once again found themselves staying in the fight thanks to some excellent coaching and solid play. Toronto are on the rise and the argument against them over Texas is sure to be the harder schedule. That’s fine. I just think Texas’ firepower on offense would have been overwhelming for some Eastern teams too. But I’d have to give the edge to Toronto if I’m being honest with myself. They managed to survive the shark infested waters for one season. Let’s see if they can do it again.

Quote:15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

Milestones
+3 TPE

Serpe x 13 · 04-04-2021, 11:16 PM

1) I think that the most surprising part of the season was seeing the Baltimore Platoon grow so well a team together. With such a young team the communication is very important and this team is starting to get that down in a very good way; they do lack some top end talent but the hope is that these young players will learn from a season like this and keep getting better. Baltimore will need to do a good job drafting and calling up young players from the juniors to add to the depth of the team and to make sure that these players stay active and want to get better. The platoon have a some what weak defensive core compared to the two teams in the finals and I look forward to seeing how they can fix that. Next season i can see them pushing towards the next level and making a push at a top seed in the conference. (160 words, 3 tpe)

2) Given the choice between these two possibilities i would choose to take option b and be immune from getting any penalties, offsides, or icing calls during the game. I think that not having as many stoppages on the ice then the headlines for the championship will be much more action packed than previous championships have been. This will also help the league generate more revenue because it will help market the game to more viewers that were often turned the game off when the game would have such often stoppages. It would be interesting to see how the players would change their game style with none of these things called in game. (112 words, 2 TPE)

4) I am sitting right home now watching the incredible championship being played right now; I can not wait to play in the shl championship one day on with my team but until then I always keep thinking about how I can get better and what I can do differently to make sure I help my team be the best they can be. By still being in the juniors i am able to really hone in on my skills and make sure that i am fully ready for the shl when my number is called up. I want to differently next season is to be more active off the ice; I am very vocal on the ice but not so often off the ice around my teammates and some times i am too quiet and i need to more talkative. This will help me form a better bound with my teammates and coaches. (152 words, 3 TPE)

5) The best smjhl team not to make the finals this season was the st louis scarecrows. The scarecrows were loaded both offensively and defensively. I think that this season was a bit of a disappointment for them and I look for them to follow up next season with a very hot start to play off of the season they had last season. The scarecrows will look to add a few players in the sjmhl entry draft to be better add to their depth; that was the one factor that the team did not have and that was very deep depth for a long playoff run. (105 words, 2 TPE)

Total tpe: 10

***Hallsy*** · 04-04-2021, 11:16 PM

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

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

I think the most surprising part of the season would have to be the Chicago Syndicate missing the playoffs, lately, they have been one of the best teams in the league, and it's kinda weird not to see them making the playoffs this season. They are one of the better teams in the leagues it just they play in the hardest division in the SHL. I think they probably win any of the other divisions if they weren't in the great lakes. The Great Lakes might be the hardest division to make the playoffs in and it's going to be difficult to make the playoffs and we could see one of the 4 contenders miss the playoffs again this season and it's going to be interesting as we see how the playoff race unfolds next season as we see 4 powerhouses play in the best division in the SHL as we could see hamilton or even buffalo miss the playoffs

Code:
2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

I think we would play with 6 skaters on the ice at a time, as its sounds like we would have a powerplay for 60 minutes, and I think our 6 man unit would be impossible to play against and I think buffalo would have been in trouble if we play against as we have 6 people on the ice at a time, I think they would actually get more tired as playing defense is harder than playing offense on the body as having puck possession, making passes , and having a guy open at all times will make us fresh at all times.

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

Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

I think Aaron Wilson is a lock for the Hall of Fame on Hamilton currently, he has been a big driver for this team in making it one of the best teams in the league. He is hard to play against, as he is one of the strongest best checking forwards in the league and he is going to be hard to play against. He makes smart plays with the puck too and he wants to create possession and maintain possession for the team so we could win games. He's a Corsi machine and he tries his best to make sure every day that the team is going to have more shots on the net than the other team. He's on pace to be one of the highest-scoring players of all time and he is going to be one of the best players to play the game. He has been able to an MVP lately and he is going win some more trophies in the future.

Code:
12. 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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?

I think Buffalo might be the favorite in this series as they did pick up clapper at the trade deadline which I think was huge for them, it would be interesting to see how it plays out as I know these two teams will be going head to head this season and it's going to tight as these two teams hate losing to one another. 

b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?

If evok stands on her head, I think Buffalo wins but if Hamiltons offense is able to take over games then I think it would be tough for Buffalo to match Hamiltons offense, I think Hamiltons offense has been poor during the playoffs and could have generated more goals and it could be an issue for Buffalo as the luck evens out.

Code:
13. 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 think if I had a vote for playoff mvp it would have to be jobin, I think going into the series, evok was considered to be the better goalie but jobin outplayed her and was a difference maker, in game 5, we were getting destroyed in the shots department and he stood on our head and we then got a lead, then built on it. I think if jobin lets in another goal there would have been a game 6. I think Aaron Wilson or Theo Morgan or even Samuel Michaud could have been considered for sure. WIlson had a hat trick in game 4.

Code:
15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645

SMJHL Milestones (for senddowns): TBD

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3012484

Bongo · 04-04-2021, 11:17 PM

1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

- This season, by far the biggest surprise was Baltimore’s HOT finish to eliminate Tampa Bay Barracuda from the playoffs and solidify themselves in the Challenge Cup Playoffs for the first time since they were located in West Kendall. This squad proved that they are legitimate up-and-comers. After relentless abuse from other teams (they didn’t like Baltimore’s development plan) not only did GMJR and company prove that Baltimore is a force to be reckoned with, but Karl Krashwagen lead the ENTIRE LEAGUE in goals.. How does that happen? The Baltimore Platoon were dead last in many peoples predictions – and this just energizes this squad to perform at OPTIMAL levels. Look out for the platoon going forward.

4. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

- Going forward, I plan to train with the most elite athletes of professional hockey in order to bolster my quarterbacking offensive potential- yeah, that’s right. I’ve recently got into contact with an old contact from back in Anchorage named Rex Kirkby – he’s teaching me the ropes on how to create those long and winding stretch passes down the centre of the ice, tape to tape baby. Also, I think that it is important to put some sweet sweet TPE into longevity statistics such as stamina – so I’ll have to put in some extra reps on the treadmill this summer. I don’t think I can put any more hard miles on the 6’11 frame without some well manufactured blood pulsing through my system and allowing me to breathe, And, like any good defneseman, I must pursue upgrading my slap shot. I’ve always been more of a wrist shot kinda dude but this season expect some massive powerplay clapbombs from the high slot.

- 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 SHL team that I believe is the best to not make the finals are the Toronto North Stars. The North Stars exceeded expectations this year and had a very strong showing in the competitive Great Lakes division. Though their time was cut incredibly short due to a 2nd round playoff defeat, they take into next year some playoff experience, as well as being a young team in an aging skilled division. I’d predict that we will see Toronto on top of the entire league next season. Their rise will honestly be meteoric if they maintain the same pace as this season,

13. 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.

- With the acquisition of Elijah Jones, the Hamilton Steelhawks finally solve their issues and get (yet another) challenge cup. Would this cup have been possible without the addition of Jones? Perhaps – but also the addition of Mitchell Van Der Heijden leads me to believe that Hamiltons moves really pushed them over the edge – perhaps in costed them a franchise hero in Gabe Johnson, but I believe that Elijah Jones has delivered the city the cup entirely on his shoulders – if I were to give this as a joint award, I’d give Elijah Jones and Mitchel Van Der Heijden MVP honors as they were both great pickups.

16. Written, 3 TPE
I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

gmjr is the man with a plan and despite people being super shitty to Baltimore the past couple seasons, he stuck to his guns and his plan appears to finally be working out – this has to be a big relief and reward for JR- the man 10 grand.

MasterSheep is that dude and an overall crazy excellent wacky guy who is very funny and I like him. Thank you to him and ZOONE for reminding me to get all of my trainings, AC and overall TPE done on time.

Thank you to S7even and hockeyiscool for hosting hockey talk tonight – it really keeps me informed and interested in leagues goings on when I do not have the opportunity to log on in a few days.

Krashwagen is a bonafide stud and leads the league in goals – this in itself is ‘nice’ and an accomplishment for anybody. Also, Krashwagen is an awesome guy and very chill.

Trashae (TEDDY) is the man – he really came back with a vengeance and though I know he is very busy, he makes a point to do what he needs to do to improve with the team and is currently @ more tpe than me and he’s probably a lot busier.

Nat emerson is the man and he will win a challenge cup in Baltimore in the next few sesaons – this man is a busy dude who brings out the best in everyone. Just a cool stud

Here’s a list of cool people: incite, andy, serpe, no one,JT3, Lepish, jumbo etc. everyone on BAP is cool ok .

15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.
SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645
SMJHL Milestones (for senddowns): TBD

CLAIM 1 TPE for my one milestone

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3012482

2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

I am assuming that the Steelhawks at home would choose to have 6 skaters and a goalie. No matter how you bend the rules, one extra skater would beat the line rules. This is a weird hypothetical but im thinking that Hamilton will simply plant their 6th player at the opposing blue line while applying regular pressure with the 5 remainding players in hopes that they will exploit them eventually and score some genos – if Hamilton plays a high paced game, they should come on top – offsides may not count but if the steelhawks are aware of this they can adjust defensively and keep a man floating at the blue line, so essentially, it’d be 5 on 4 the entire time in their defensive end while the two other players cover eachother.

+16 TPE total

MCP_ · 04-04-2021, 11:21 PM

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

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

The most surprising thing this season would probably have to be the ferocity shown by the bottom 3 teams in the Atlantic Division. All three of the Tampa Bay Barracuda, New England Wolfpack, and Baltimore Platoon were incredibly competitive, especially when the season was heading to a close. Even then, there was no expectation that the playoff race would be as engaging and as exciting as it was. I literally was glued to my seat watching sims for the first time in a while, and I am going to look forward to it over the next few seasons. While Baltimore did win out in the end, the last stretch of the season showed that these three teams were not only getting better but are also getting hungrier and hungrier as time goes on. Especially with the Manhattan Rage looking to decline over the next few seasons, the playoffs are looking to be a much more difficult goal to achieve.

Code:
11. Podcast, 3 or 4 TPE

Record a mini-podcast on any of the below topics!

- Highlights of the S58 season (on or off the ice)

- S58 playoff round-up

- S58 Challenge Cup/Four Star Cup finals Breakdown

- S59 predictions

1 person Mini-Pod: 3 TPE for 5 minutes or 4 TPE for 7 Minutes

2 person Mini-Pod: 3 TPE for 6 Minutes or 4 TPE for 8 Minutes

Post the direct link to your podcast.

https://soundcloud.com/cade-petrella/tre...cw-podcast +4 TPE

Code:
12. 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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?

b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?

c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

d. It's all come down to this: game seven overtime. Which four players are you sending out to win the game for you. This is in a fantasy sense, so feel free to mix and match from both teams.

a. It's no secret Buffalo had struggled this season to get started but in order to really triumph over Hamilton, Buffalo needs to play a much more defensive game compared to Hamilton's high-flying offense. Buffalo has shown their defense is capable, but they just need to be way more consistent in order to triumph.

b. It's the usual thing of "A great defense is the best offense" or "A great offense is the greatest defense", so it really comes down to overall consistency. It's not easy to achieve either, but in my opinion, better scoring prowess will always win out against defensive prowess. If they can really overpower Buffalo, it's not gonna be a fun series for Buffalo.

c. In terms of branding, I do like Buffalo a lot better. The Yellow and Green works surprisingly well and is more interesting than the grey and grey blue of Hamilton, and I really do like the linework for the Buffalo logo a lot as well. Location... I know nothing about either city so it's a draw. I heard the wings in buffalo were good as well, so I guess if I had to choose one, it's gotta be Buffalo.

d. Rotticus Scott, Monkey D. Luffy, Theo Morgan, and Matt Kholin. All four are incredible players, and all are incredibly potent on offense, which is what you exactly need in overtime. It also helps that I know both Astatine and Kalakar very well from years of experience, and if I am gonna pick people to win the game, it's gotta be the people I like a lot.

Code:
15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645

SMJHL Milestones (for senddowns): TBD

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3012203, +2 TPE

Code:
16. Written, 3 TPE

I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

Huge shout out to my Tampa Family, both past and present. We're winning the fucking league starting next season, and I'm honestly incredibly excited to get down and dirty over the next few seasons, win some cups, chug some beers, we fuckin got this CHOMP CHOMP!!!!! @trella @hockeyiscool y'all are especially fuckin cool, not to mention our caps @PremierBromanov @Rangerjase @Fitted2106 WE FUCKING GOT THIS

To my fam in the nugg, we really gotta do some more jackbox sometime, because I love you guys a lot, and I wanna game with the boys.

***goldenglutes*** · 04-04-2021, 11:22 PM

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

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

Oh yeah let me tell you all about the Buffalo Stampede and the Hamilton Steelhawks, two of the most successful and dominating franchises in the Franchise Hockey Manager 6 era of the Simulation Hockey League (which began in the fifty third season of the Simulation Hockey League, to be clear). I feel the most surprising part of the season had nothing to directly do with these two teams however, since everyone knew they were going to make playoffs and make a deep run anyway. What was most surprising to me and most other people is the fact that mloo2 and the Toronto North Stars managed to make playoffs, even with a goalie lik Scoochie Stratton manning the posts (I guess he's only the backup so the amount of damage he can do is minimized). The fact that they managed to beat out the former cup champions of the fifty seventh season in the Chicago Syndicate is nothing short of incredible. Great job to mloo2 and his gang.

167 words

Code:
2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

Oh yeah this one's definitely a good question, I think having six skaters on the ice would definitely be the worse choice for sure. Now before you get angry, hear me out. Why does everyone love three on three overtime? Now I'm not talking about the three on three point tasks that were added to the simulation hockey league player progression tasks under the reign of then point task director @hotdog. I'm talking about the real life national hockey league three skaters on three skaters overtime format. It's because fewer skaters means more exciting scoring opportunities and plays! So if we increase the number of skaters, that means it will get more boring! Checks out to me. Get rid of penalties and offsides and icings and we can see some teams really goon it up and come up with interesting strategies.

141 words

Code:
5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

You know, there are two candidates for my answer to this question here so I am just going to give both of them as an answer and elaborate on them both in order to pad my word count for this answer. The first is the obvious choice for many people, which is the Texas Renegades. They've got a hell of a young squad who managed to snag the President's Trophy, and even though we all know the West is significantly weaker than the East so it was easier for them to snag easy points, we all know that the team is for real and they had a great chance to beat the juggernauts of FHM, Hamilton. My other team is Toronto because holy shit look at what they did to the Great Lakes oh my god great job ml.

139 words

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

What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

Alright so here's the question that I get to just mindlessly ramble on about for every championship week because of my experience as a former federation head for great britain team in the international ice hockey federation tournament. Woo love it. Ok so as always we all expect the same 3 teams to do well every IIHF tournament, these teams being Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. Even though the United States seems to fail to live up to expectations for most of these tournaments, you still can't count out their ultra talented squad who are likely to win it in any season. That being said, we all know the top dogs are Canada and Great Britain. I expect these two teams to come top 2, and anything less would be a failure for both of them. As for which players, I think Monkey D. Luffy will do well because he always does since Japan has an ultra stacked first line.

162 words

Code:
15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3012479

Code:
16. Written, 3 TPE

I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

No word limit? Does that mean there's no word minimum either? Oh well either way I will try to fulfill my quota of 150 words on this prompt, which shouldn't be hard because of the number of incredible people who I've spent time with while on the site. First and foremost we've gotta give a shoutout to my boy @5ympathies, he's been with me on this journey for more than 2 years now and I definitely wouldn't have made it this far without him. Super happy we're united again, throwback to when we managed to get drafted to the same team in an ultra stacked draft, crazy how that can happen huh? Next I've gotta give a huge shoutout to @hotdog, probably the person I'm closest with on the site other than 5ym (sorry hotdog you can't overcome 10+ years of friendship). Thanks for taking me under your wing, even if it meant having to trade that first for me. Thanks for doing all the GM things that I don't want to do (like scouting). And thanks for just being a wonderful guy. Next thanks to @Jepox @micool132 @Briedaqueduc @Leppish I fuckin love you guys being in nem and sharing all the memes in cross server posts and you guys are great people too I guess. Special shoutout everyone else on ATL too like @Acsolap and @bilbo there are too many people all tag so I'm sorry if I've missed you aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

216 words

16/16

Signatures by Vulfzilla, Jepox, Jess, rum_ham, Ragnar, and myself
[Image: 9vAsr7c.png]

Duff101 · 04-04-2021, 11:23 PM

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

3 TPE

For me the most surprising thing has to be the meteoric rise of the Toronto North Stars. Toronto went from a mid level fringe playoff team to a strong cup contender in the span of a year. I honestly don't know what changed all that much. Players like Mika Kandinsky and Harry Carpet were always there and had high TPE but the rest of the team really galvanized around them. The Great Lakes as a whole is a super strong division and Toronto went from the bottom feeder to one of the good teams in a year, boxing out the defending champion Chicago syndicate from the playoff picture altogether. It's crazy to think that they were so stacked that they could successfully have a turnaround of this magnitude in the year. I think the sky is the limit for Toronto, formerly the land of the eternal rebuild, they can be optimistic for once.

Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

2 TPE

Obviously I would choose the penalty option, because I and my players would be able to injure the other team with impunity. If there's no penalties there are no majors and no ejections so I can just physically abuse the other team until they don't have the capacity to stand up anymore, removing their bench, in addition, I do not get penalties for fighting but they do, putting them on an eternal power play. There is no reason to take an extra skater when said skater can immediately just be taken out of the game through a well placed dirty hit or fight.

Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

3 TPE

I am going to go back to Toronto for this and say that in my opinion Harry Carpet and Mika Kandinsky are both fairly clear options for the hall of fame. Both of them are over two thousand tpe and have had strong careers, with Mika being the strongest player for russia on the international front for years now, and Carpy being consistently an above average to elite goalie depending on the year and has been a big part of Toronto's recent success, and has propped them up in their lesser years. Given that, as well as the fact that they are both around two thousand tpe earners I think it makes it pretty obvious that they are on the hall of fame shortlist. It is not that common to have a player earn that high, much less to have two of them together on the same team, it's pretty crazy.

Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

2 TPE

Imma be real I hate this question buuut I need 2 more teepee eee in order to fill out my championship week point task. In order to meet this requirement I have to bullshit this task out as much as I physically can. So as I say that it's probably like the Texas Renegades or Toronto North Stars or something I dunno, maybe it was the Atlanta inferno where Nathan Explosion went for one last shot at winning the cup. Fuck it I don't know I just want the TPE and milestones are shit now.

What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

3 TPE

I think this is going to be a big year for Russia, we have a lot of players that are unbanking and I would not be at all surprised to see Russia make a run for the playoffs, and firmly place themselves in the tier of the mid-majors like Czechia and Japan. Outside of that, I think it will be more of the same on the top of the food chain, with the standard Great Britain United States Canada axis taking the lion's share if not all of the medals in the playoffs. Great Britain is what I aspire to make Russia, as unlike them Russia has the history of being a hockey nation and so therefore has the advantage of more new creates coming in every year, while not a lot leave. I want players to return to Russia and feel like they got a good experience out of it.

a. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?
b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?
c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

3 TPE

a. Honestly I do not see a way for Buffalo to win this, Hamilton is by far a stronger team and it really shows in everything, I think everyone thought this was gonna be the year when the steelhawks dynasty finally collapse but honestly It really does not look like that is the case.

b. Offense will always win because shot volume matters more than basically every single other stat in FHM. More shots equals more games won, simple as that. Sure that does not guarantee a win.

c. I stand by that Buffalo's logo is just a reversed simplfied version of Dinamo Minsk's logo. Look it up its straight of fax. So therefore by default Hamlton wins even though I find their branding to be fairly meh. I will be informing both of these teams to not draft me because of this.

Milestones

none of them fuck you

Credit to Geck, Ragnar and Juni for sigs

*Zomp* · 04-04-2021, 11:38 PM

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

While these two teams are no strangers to the Cup finals, we did see some very interesting things this season. Looking back, what do you feel was the most surprising part of the season?

Everyone knows that the Buffalo Stampede and the Hamilton Steel Hawks are perennial contenders, there's no question about it. That's to be expected every season for the foreseeable future. With that said, there was definitely quite a few surprises that I didn't expect.
The first being that the New England Wolf Pack didn't win the Challenge Cup. I personally believe going into every single season that this will be the year. You'd be crazy not to have that mind state, you always want to stay positive and look toward success. I can't imagine that it'll be too much longer before the New England Wolf Pack organization is a contender and a team to be feared heading into the play offs. Another surprise this year was my player's lack of production. I recently came off a most improved player award and to drop by nearly twenty points over my previous season was quite disappointing, but there isn't much that you can do.

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

Which players, if any, do you see as locks for the Hall of Fame? As in, if they're career ended today they're in. Anyone on the cusp? Anyone on the right track, but still needs to put up a few more great seasons?

When you think about the Simulation Hockey League Hall of Fame, you know that you're talking about the best players to ever come through the league. There's no doubt that it's a difficult task to reach the level of greatness that it takes to even be considered, never mind actually make it there. I personally believe that Dick Clapper, who recently joined the Atlanta Inferno hockey team could be a lock if they were to retire today. They're one of the few players who's managed to make it to the 2000 TPE club, they've won the Challenge Cup as well as constantly being one of the top producing forwards in the league. No matter the team that they're on, they're instantly improving the team in both offense and defense. There isn't really much more that you can ask from a player than that. I believe that there will be riots in the streets of New England, Buffalo as well as Hamilton if he doesn't make it into the Hall of Frame after retiring.

Code:
5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

I answer this question the same way every single season for championship week. There is no doubt in my mind that the best team that did not make the finals this season was the New England Wolf Pack. The New England Wolf Pack hockey organization on the Simulation Hockey League is a team that possesses everything that a championship caliber team could ever desire. They have heart, skill and sometimes get a little bit lucky. What more could you ask for? The answer to that is nothing. I believe that they've been stiffed in more ways than one and eventually it'll get to the point where no matter how hard the referees try to hold them back, they will succeed.

Code:
2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

When handed a question like this, some may need to take some time to think it over. I personally believe that there's absolutely no question at all on the right answer to pick. You would most definitely have to pick the being immune from penalties. At that point you could go head hunting against the opponents the entire game. If you were successful at this, at the start of the third period the opponent could be out of players to put on the ice to play. At this point, you'd be handed a guaranteed win because they would need to forfeit.

Code:
15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE

New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

SHL Milestones: https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=114645&pid=3008549#pid3008549

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3008549

Code:
16. Written, 3 TPE

I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

I'd personally like to thank the entire Anaheim Outlaws team for being an awesome group of people. I genuinely enjoy my time in Anaheim as a Co-GM and have an absolute blast interacting and helping out both new players and recreates. It's an amazing opportunity to get to know new people and interact with members from all around the world. I'm super grateful for the opportunity to be in the position that I'm in. Typically after you get called up into the SHL you tend to pull away from your junior team. I was first drafted by the Anaheim Outlaws when I got started on the site, yet here I am over a year later still playing a big part for them.

Jericson · 04-04-2021, 11:44 PM

2. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
Oh no, the head honchos of the league are worried that there aren't enough story lines for the finals! Therefore they're changing the rules for the finals. The home team will get to choose to either a) play the whole game with 6 skaters on the ice at a time or b) be immune from penalties/offsides/icing. Whatever the home team chooses, the visitors get the other perk. Which one are you choosing, given the choice and why?

As the home team I would choose the ability to be immune from penalties/offsides/icing any day of the week even if it meant the other team being allowed 6 skaters at all times for the game.

Being immune to taking penalties allows for various different tactics even without taking advantage of no offsides/icing. Imagine for a second you have a player coming down the ice at you full apeed and you have the option to take the body. You know you can hit as hard and in any manner you so desire so you give an extremely hard hit near the boards and knock them out. No boarding call on you, but that player may be done for a bit. The physicality cannot even be answered for by you as, if you are fought, the other player sits out for 5 minutes whike you are fine. The entire series your team will put the other on their heels from this play and, chances are, will take plenty of penalties out of frustration that you will rarely be playing 5v6.

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

No questions asked, rhe best team in the SHL to miss the playoffs was the Manhattan Rage. They played a good season with a .561 points percentage over the 66 game season. Ending the season with a 34-26-6 record and posting a +19 Goal Differential on the season is a pretty good stat. Unfortunately, the Eastern Conference was stronger overall than the Western Conference. In the east, they finished a whopping 14 points out of the playoffs. However, in the West they would have been 4th beating out the LA Panthers by 10 points. It is an unfortunate circumstance that the East was much stronger across the board than the West, as can be noticed by the worst team in the East (my own Tampa Bay Barracudas) amassing 54 points, beating out the bottom 4 teams on the West, including the league worst New Orleans Specters with 26 points. Had Manhattan been in the Western Conference they may very well have not only made the playoffs, but modt likely with a much better record.

12. 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. Hamilton finished 13 points above Buffalo in the standings this season. What is one thing that Buffalo can do to give themselves a leg up despite this?
b. Hamilton was 3rd in the league in GF this season. Buffalo was 2nd in GA. This begs the age old question: what will win out, a great defense or a great offense? Why?
c. Which of these two teams' brandings do you prefer? Take into account colors, logo, name, location, and anything else you consider relevant.

A: The biggest thing that Buffalo can do going into the series is to look at how they matched up against Hamilton in the regular season. In their 6 matchups, the teams split the series 3-3. Howver, 2 of Hamilton's wins were in OT/SO whereass 2 of Buffalo's wins were shutouts. I feel like, given this info, Buffalo can play their game and expect to match up or even beat Hamilton in a 7 game series.

B: These types of stats are always an interesting one to me. Especially when they are cherry picked. For instance, the series between these 2 teams in the regular season ended with Hamilton scoring 18 goals whereas Buffalo scored 27 goals. Given this, I believe the matchup actually favors Buffalo as they had a +9 GF during the regular season against Hamilton.

C: This one is based solely on bias more than anything else. First, I love Hamilton's colors, as I think I had pointed out last year. And a Hawk, can never go wrong with a Hawk. That being said, the deciding favtor here is location. Being a born and raised New Englander, anything New York is evil. It's bad enoigh that people think New Yorkers are New Englanders. But then the tourists. It's not even like they stay away after the summer. Those leaf peepers are almost even worse.

15. Milestones, up to 3 TPE
New this season, Milestones are folded in with CW. So just link your Milestone claim as task 16 for up to 3 TPE towards your 16 total.

https://simulationhockey.com/showthread....pid3007673

16. Written, 3 TPE
I loved this as a mPT when hotdog did it last season, so I'd like to bring it back as a permanent fixture. After all, we could all use a little positivity every now and then. Say something nice about another member or members, no word limit.

Honestly, this year has been an insane one both on the site and in real life. Luckily, I have been highly encouraged to continue with the site even through my stretches of inactivity by everyone in the Tampa Bay locker room.

This starts at the top with @trella and @hockeyiscool. Both of them offer huge encouragement for just sticking to everything and helping out where I can.

Both @PremierBromanov and @Fitted2106 are huge locker room presences and are amazing to talk to and hang out with.

@Rangerjase and @Muford are hilarious to chat gaming stuff with as well as mess around.

And of course, @rum_ham has had to deal with me since his time in St. Louis and it has been amazing to see him embrace and grow on the site.

Honestly speaking, I couldn't be here without all of them and the rest of the Tampa Bay locker room as well as the members of St Louis who gave me a chance to begin with.

4. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
If you're sitting at home watching the Finals: What do you plan on doing differently next season to help your team reach the promised land? If you're playing in the Finals: Is there anything different you plan on doing next season to continue your team's success?

First and foremost, it is time to hit the gym. This past season has seen a sharp decrease in the improvement of my on ice product (although I still consider myself a great locker room presence) and this year I want to change that. Being drafted where I was, I am feeling as though I have been a bust. But that just means I need to embrace my new role and strive to improve in that to bring Tampa Bay to the playoffs next season.

I also plan on making more money. Afterall, money makes the world go round. Expect to see some more "expert" analysis of what is going on in the league, as well as the SMJHL. Afterall, they are the future of the upcoming Tampa Bay Revolution.

Finally, I am going to learn the tactical side of the game. You can teach and train the basics, but true hockey knowledge and IQ are going to take a deeper dive to help bring both myself and the team to the next level.

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us