2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Shiny Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 topics related to the All Star Game to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Before last players are picked Edmonton is the only team that has 4 players selected for the game. Among those only defensive pairing from a single team Isaac Forty-One and Emil Egli. They both were traded to new teams this offseason. Would you let them play one more time with each other or would you highlight them with their new teammates Dirty Boots and Brandan Laroux who also made it to the game?
b. Inferno and Panthers got to send two forwards each, Shōyō Hinata and Binko Koivu from Atlanta and Adam Prpich and Derek Martin from Los Angeles. Would you let them show of their chemistry and potentially dominate the game by letting them play on the same line or is All-Star game prime opportunity for them to show their creativity and skill even when playing with other top players?
c. Should the starting goaltender be the one who arguably had better season? Or as the stakes aren't as high as usually would you think it is better to offer the experience for the goalie who has had less appearances? Or maybe honor the one who has had more? Who should start and why?
d. Aleksandr Iskandrov and Wide Peepo Happy 3 Koivu get to play on their home arena as Hamilton is hosting the event this season. Does it matter more for the fans or the players that they get to play in front of home crowd?
e. Why should YOUR player have made the all star game, and why should you be the last man in? (If your player did make the all star game, tell us why they were picked.)
A. Based on my limited understanding of how the sim works I would have them play with their former teammates rather than their new teammates in the hopes of optimization by virtue of them having preexisting chemistry. Whether that would actually help significantly or not is beyond me, but in case it would it is also beneficial in that I am not helping them preemptively develop chemistry with their new team thus preventing future me from being harmed by this decision. Least that is how I choose to look at it!
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B. This feels like a bit of a repeat of the previous question given the overall thoughts, but I am glad to see that I remembered chemistry being a thing. Now having recently caught up on Blue Lock I am going to go a different direction here in that I do think getting them some experience with a different set of forwards will be beneficial as long as the coach remembers to preach to them about embracing their ego and some other strange stuff about how clashing egos will cause chemical reactions which will lead to artistically satisfying goals.
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C. My stance varies dramatically based on circumstances, but ultimately I would say barring it being a last hurrah for a legend that the overall better player during the season should win the starting job. You deserve to go out there and show your skills after earning a spot from working hard during the rest of the season. However that does go out the window if for example a player with a decade of experience already announced this is their final season in which case if they make it they deserve to have the spotlight more as long as they are the longer tenured of the two because this is it for them.
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D. I would say it matters more for the fans all day. The players are used to playing on the road good and bad, but the fans do not usually get the experience of watching their stars play under these circumstances. This is a rare opportunity for the fans whereas it is a special Tuesday, but still ultimately just a Tuesday for the players. Or to put it another way I would expect the players to play and enjoy the experience regardless because it is an honor; whereas for the fans it means they don't have to pay as much in airfare and that means a lot to their more limited budget.
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4. Written, 2 TPE, Participation Trophy (100 words min.)
Currently every team gets to send at least one player to the All-Star game. Are this seasons selections good in terms of team variety? Would you prefer more even selection from all of the teams or more focus to be put on individual performances despite the teams they represent? Do you think it is important for each team to get representation?
I would say that it is good in the sense that every team sent someone, but if our goal is more team variety then the fact that two teams sent a total of nine players is pretty not great. Given that there is a joke in the post though about having to send someone I am not sure whether that is ultimately what should be the goal? If a team is tanked wins next to no games and has no real star performing player I don't think they should have an All-Star just for the sake of having an All-Star personally, but at the same time just because one team is overloaded with talent does not mean that I want to see the two top teams send all of their people to the All-Star game if that makes sense. One thing I would admittedly also want to take into consideration is surrounding talent is beneficial and so someone being the third best player on X team might not have had as impressive a season relative to the best player on the worst team given that best player on said worst team had to do more for their team. Ultimately I come from the gridiron football fandom where the Pro Bowl does not require a player from every team, but star players on trash teams do get some recognition like Joe Thomas who went to ten straight Pro Bowls as a member of the Browns despite the team having a better record than 5-11 just twice in his career. End of the day if every player on a team is inactive or borderline inactive they should not have a guaranteed spot, but otherwise there is probably someone on the team deserving of the nod I would hope. Thank you.
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8. Written, 3 TPE, 75 seasons worth of stars (150 words min.)
It is 75th season and we had excellent media series produced by Luke that showcased the best players the league has ever had. Your task is to make an All-Star line (3 forwards, 2 defensemen and 1 goalie) out of those 75 players. To make it bit harder, you can only pick one player from each of the following ranges: 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-55 and 56-75. Who you pick and why?
I would like to open this point task by saying that I love the idea behind what Luke did and I love that kind of media as media grader in another league. They are always beautiful love letters to the league in my experience, and it is a fun time reading about past stars. Now having said that I don't read media in this league at all because I do not know hockey at all and despite attempts to become more interested in hockey it has historically been a non-starter for me. That said I am doing this task solely for the TPE because I don't have enough milestones for that to matter this season, and all of the rest require knowledge beyond my easy access. Honestly even this one kind of hamstrings me because the rankings don't include what position the player played anywhere easily accessible relative to where they ended up ranking which just makes the limited selections from ranges to make it harder feel completely unnecessary as far as increasing difficulty goes. Now onto my picks!
Goalie will be second ranked Jason Visser, left defense will be eleventh ranked Kristian Eriksson, right defense will be twenty-third ranked Tony Pepperoni, center will be thirty-first ranked David Winter, left wing will be forty-first ranked Tor Tuck, and last but not least will be fifty-ninth ranked Martijn Westbroek. Are any of them playing out of position? I don't know, but the rules don't say anything about a dog playing basketball so fingers crossed this got left out of the rulebook as well!
Link your Milestone claim as task 1 for up to 3 TPE towards your 8 total.
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Post your claim in the milestones thread for tpe earned per stat, and then link that post in your ASW submission. This is done because the person who grades ASW will be a different person than double-checks milestones.
3. Written, 3 TPE, The Teammate One (150 words min.)
Tell me about your teammate who made the all star game! Who are they, why were they an obvious choice to make the All Star roster, and what do you expect from them this ASG? (If more than one of your teammates made the game, pick one of those players other than yourself. If you are the only player on your team selected for the all star game so far, write about your team's candidate for last man in instead.)
Nathan Barca represents the Philly d-core, and rightfully so. He stepped up big time this season right when he needed to. As my player, Antonio Flusso hit his TPE peak, he took a bit of a step back, production wise. Emerson regressing a bit too left what would have been a substantial hole in the lineup, as both former all stars had down seasons. But Barca stepped up on both ends, but primarily leading the way offensively he took his game to a new high and thankfully has been recognized here by this prestigious all-star event. A high talent player who will fit right in the best of the best, and gives my player a nice rest, so that’s always nice. Seriously can’t credit this player enough in terms of workload by a defender on the Forge, it could have been a nasty season if he hadn’t stepped up to the plate and smacked one over the fence. Or, dumped one over the glass? Not sure about the proper terminology there.
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2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Shiny Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 topics related to the All Star Game to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
c. Should the starting goaltender be the one who arguably had better season? Or as the stakes aren't as high as usually would you think it is better to offer the experience for the goalie who has had less appearances? Or maybe honor the one who has had more? Who should start and why?
e. Why should YOUR player have made the all star game, and why should you be the last man in? (If your player did make the all star game, tell us why they were picked.)
C. The starting goaltender should obviously be whichever of the two is better at playing the puck. I want to see a goalie go for a skate up to the red line, Patty Roy style, dangling Gretzky while getting blown out. Goalies should be able to jump up in the rush for the all-star game (and the league games, but that’s for another time). Imagine the crowd’s reaction seeing one of these keepers go for an absolute missile from the hash marks off a one timer. I don’t think any all star game for any sport could compete if that were happening regularly.
E. My player should have made the all star game just because he made the last two. Come on now, let him have the three peat. Did he deserve to make it on talent or merit? No. Did he take a step back even though he hit 2000 TPE? Yes. Come on, just let him in so he can coast around, mullet and mustache waving in the wind with no bucket on. I guess he could make it next season, but he isn’t going to apply himself, so you really should have just let me in again this season.
2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Shiny Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 topics related to the All Star Game to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words. A: With the amazing season the Edmonton Blizzards have had in the regular season at least, I would love to see the Emil Egli, Isaac Forty-One duo have 1 last go at it. They might only have played together for 1.5 seasons so far (at the Edmonton Blizzards at least), and hopefully for both the players, and their new teams we will see these new duos for the seasons to come.
70 words - 1 TPE
B: The Atlanta Inferno and LA Panthers have both had great seasons, with their forwards showing an especially strong chemistry. But of course it would also be great to see these forwards playing with other top-tier forwards in the league, show off why they are the best forward in the league, or that it really was the chemistry which got them this far, and that they might not be the best player with different players around them. Let’s hope that whatever choice is made, it will produce the fireworks these forwards have shown throughout the full season so far.
98 words - 1 TPE
3. Written, 3 TPE, The Teammate One (150 words min.) Jarrod Lakemore has made the all-star season for this season, and to be honest who is really surprised. Despite this season, not being the best season ever for the Buffalo Stampede with them ending 8th in the league, Lakemore still got the 5th most goals, also hitting amazing values in the fantasy, for how much that counts. Lakemore also got the most points for the team, with 101 over the 88 of Grumathan who had the 2nd highest for the Stampede. On top of this Lakemore also had the most penalty in minutes of all the Buffalo Stampede players, which really shows the commitment Lakemore had to win each and every single game, even if it meant getting penalized on occasion. Despite these high amount of penalty minutes Lakemore was still the forward with the highest time on ice, which also shows how much the team believed they needed Lakemore. So all in all you can only admit that Lakemore is the Buffalo Stampede players most deserving of a spot in the all-star team.
174 Words - 3 TPE
4. Written, 2 TPE, Participation Trophy (100 words min.)
This is always the hard question, the difference between individual and team performance. Should there be more teams present, as even with the current rule there are still 3 Atlanta Inferno, and Philadelphia Forge players in the eastern conference team, while the western conference team had 4 Edmonton Blizzard, and 5 Texas Renegade players in their team. Or should it be less diverse, with teams like Montréal and Seattle getting only 3 and 17 points respectively, but still being able to send a players to the all-star team. Personally I think the diversity of having a players from each team in this match is the most fair way to create the teams for a match between the east and the west. But I can also see it from the perspective of players on good teams, just barely missing out from the team of the season, despite a player from a team who barely got points making it in. Personally I think it should either be kept this way, or be made to either not look at team at all, or have a cap per team and/or a minimum amount of different teams but not all teams in the all-star team.
200 words - 2 TPE
2. Shiny Grab Bag 3 TPE
c. I would go the old fashion way like the NHL used to do. I would nominate 3 goalies from each conference and they would all play one period. That would increase the amount of goalies selected and there will be no benching anyone. I would play the 2 goalies having the most vote in the 3rd period and let them duel it out.
d. I think it does matter but it depends of the market. This year being in Hamilton I don't think it would matter a lot if they had many or zero representants. This is a team with a lot of history, I don't think the fans consider it a huge event. I'm sure those two players would prefer a vacation instead.
e. For the first time since joining the league I actually believe my player had a season worthy of an all star nomination. I was probably the next one to be invited if someone decided to not go. It sucks but those chosen were also deserving. That's why I mention it would be nice if it was 6 goalies instead of 4 making it.
4. Participation Trophy 2 TPE
That's a tough one. On one hand I don't think a team like MTL that only won a game this season should have a representant. But on the other hand if we would purely go base on performance most players would be selected from like 5 or 6 teams, that's not ideal either. I think there is a fine line but I don't see a perfect solution. The current format seems to work, I would only add a criteria that a team has to win 10 games to send someone. More often than not these teams are full of IA, so that would create an extra few spots for more deserving players.
Link your Milestone claim as task 1 for up to 3 TPE towards your 8 total.
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Post your claim in the milestones thread for tpe earned per stat, and then link that post in your ASW submission. This is done because the person who grades ASW will be a different person than double-checks milestones.
2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Shiny Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 topics related to the All Star Game to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Before last players are picked Edmonton is the only team that has 4 players selected for the game. Among those only defensive pairing from a single team Isaac Forty-One and Emil Egli. They both were traded to new teams this offseason. Would you let them play one more time with each other or would you highlight them with their new teammates Dirty Boots and Brandan Laroux who also made it to the game?
b. Inferno and Panthers got to send two forwards each, Shōyō Hinata and Binko Koivu from Atlanta and Adam Prpich and Derek Martin from Los Angeles. Would you let them show of their chemistry and potentially dominate the game by letting them play on the same line or is All-Star game prime opportunity for them to show their creativity and skill even when playing with other top players?
c. Should the starting goaltender be the one who arguably had better season? Or as the stakes aren't as high as usually would you think it is better to offer the experience for the goalie who has had less appearances? Or maybe honor the one who has had more? Who should start and why?
d. Aleksandr Iskandrov and Wide Peepo Happy 3 Koivu get to play on their home arena as Hamilton is hosting the event this season. Does it matter more for the fans or the players that they get to play in front of home crowd?
e. Why should YOUR player have made the all star game, and why should you be the last man in? (If your player did make the all star game, tell us why they were picked.)
A: You can look at this whole game one of two ways. Either it is a for fun, doesn't matter, akin to the current NHL style All Star Game. Or you can dial it all back to a 90s NHL style like I do and pretend that teams actually try. Therefore you keep the chemistry between 41 and Egli for maximum effectiveness.
B: Like above it comes down to how you want it to go. Personally i'd have them work together for the sake of chemistry and the drive to win. It is as simple as that. Having Prpich, who lead the league in scoring and won the Challenge Cup this season rock out with Derek would work masterfully.
C: As the saying goes "Ride the hot hand" The bragging rights in winning the all star game when everyone is trying their hardest is massive alone. Its the theme that I am running with and just as well they should in a simulation. The players all gut it out for their pride and being called the Better Conference.
D: Fans are going to naturally gravitate to their hometown players as they are beloved and hockey is a very tribal sport to the die hards in the crowd. For the Players, that extra motivation to shine the brightest is a massive boost that cannot be over looked. Hard to pick, but even just having them play is a boost to both parties.
E: Brooklyn Physt made the SMJHL All Star game because she lead the league in Points for a Defenceman both in the Regular Season (Only one to hit 60PTS), and the Playoffs. As well she broke the 100 barrier for both hits and blocked shots, proving to be an all round 200' player.
11. Graphic, 2 TPE, Bring your own banner
Create either a league or a team Hall of Fame banner for player you think should have one. Can use existing templates or give it your own creative touch.
Post your claim in the milestones thread for tpe earned per stat, and
then link that post in your ASW submission. This is done because the
person who grades ASW will be a different person than double-checks
milestones.
9. Written, 3 TPE, Most Decorated (150 words min.)
Make a case for a player or user of your choice to win an award or multiple awards.
I will make the case for the captain of the Colorado Raptors, Jussi Mutou to win an award (or all of them) because he deserves it. Jussi goes down as one of the greatest Raptors of all time. He broke franchise points, goals, and playoff points records with the Raptors. Jussi Mutou was selected as captain of the team three consecutive seasons. His last season with the Raptors, he lead the team to its very first Four Star Cup. And the season before that, he took the Raptors to the finals, losing in devastating fashion in game 7. Jussi put together a storied and illustrious junior career that won't be topped for awhile. Now he heads to the professional league with the Montreal Patriotes where he hopes to do the same thing: win hockey games by leading by example. Jussi Mutou is was the life of the locker room and his spectacular effort to lead Colorado to a Four Star Cup is unrivaled.
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4. Written, 2 TPE, Participation Trophy (100 words min.)
Currently every team gets to send at least one player to the All-Star
game. Are this seasons selections good in terms of team variety? Would
you prefer more even selection from all of the teams or more focus to be
put on individual performances despite the teams they represent? Do you
think it is important for each team to get representation?
Personally, I would prefer all star selections to be based on merit rather than equal representation. If one team is more dominant or stacked than another, they should have more all star selections. The very best players should be playing in the all star game, as they are the best of the best. So if a certain team or conference has more all stars, so be it. I think it would be a much better fan experience if the top level talent are on the ice showcasing their skills. It would also be great for the league to present the best of the best for players instead of a more equal selection of players from array of different teams.
Jack St. Clair is finally making his first All Star appearance after waiting in the wings all these seasons. Getting first line minutes and PP time is the obvious answer why, but it goes much deeper than that. There is one constant in JSC's career that goes back to S68 when he played for the Quebec City Citadelles and that is his linemate and friend Edward (EGGWARD) Elric. They even play on the same line for Team Canada. So its pretty clear who I think should have been named to the All Star Game. A 100 point season which was 5th best in the West and 2nd overall in assists you'd think he would have been a lock. But of course you have to have one player from each team which doesn't leave a lot of room. Derek Martin who had 3 more points got the nod over Elric and I suppose there is an argument to be made that that's deserved. Its unfortunate that Elric couldn't get the last man vote in either but that's more a popularity vote more than anything.
2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Shiny Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 topics related to the All Star Game to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Before last players are picked Edmonton is the only team that has 4 players selected for the game. Among those only defensive pairing from a single team Isaac Forty-One and Emil Egli. They both were traded to new teams this offseason. Would you let them play one more time with each other or would you highlight them with their new teammates Dirty Boots and Brandan Laroux who also made it to the game?
b. Inferno and Panthers got to send two forwards each, Shōyō Hinata and Binko Koivu from Atlanta and Adam Prpich and Derek Martin from Los Angeles. Would you let them show of their chemistry and potentially dominate the game by letting them play on the same line or is All-Star game prime opportunity for them to show their creativity and skill even when playing with other top players?
a. You have to let them go for the team they spent the season with for sure, especially because that team may no longer have a player at all if you start switching them, although the GMs have the list so they could avoid moving them before the all star game if they really wanted to avoid it. (57words)
b. I think if you have multiple players from the same team, you put them together as much as possible, one part for the team and fans to enjoy the moment of them together, but also the players getting to enjoy the experience with someone they are around all year makes it a little bit sweeter in most cases. (58 words)
3/8
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3. Written, 3 TPE, The Teammate One (150 words min.)
Tell me about your teammate who made the all star game! Who are they, why were they an obvious choice to make the All Star roster, and what do you expect from them this ASG? (If more than one of your teammates made the game, pick one of those players other than yourself. If you are the only player on your team selected for the all star game so far, write about your team's candidate for last man in instead.)
As I made the game myself I will talk about my team mate brandan laroux who is a bit of a shock breakout this season. He has always been aiming to be a mainly offensive focused player on the blue line, which the team did their best to work around and put him into positions to succeed despite being young earlier in his career, and it worked out to middling results to this season. He did his job at the very least, but definitely was not someone in contention for top 10 in points or the sheer shooting talent he has shown this season. It’s really just a case of it all coming together, the powerplay working around his shot more than before, and him fulfilling his end of the deal by putting a metric ton of shots on net and showing his playmaking ability as well when put into the focal point was really a joy and got him to the all star game! (165 words)
6/8
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4. Written, 2 TPE, Participation Trophy (100 words min.)
Currently every team gets to send at least one player to the All-Star game. Are this seasons selections good in terms of team variety? Would you prefer more even selection from all of the teams or more focus to be put on individual performances despite the teams they represent? Do you think it is important for each team to get representation?
To start I think it is very important for all teams to be represented, not just for sheer representation, but also because the way the league is set up, some divisions are much more difficult than others and the league plays A LOT of intra division games, which has a huge impact on those teams not only in not getting as many free games against rebuilding teams but also the bottom teams despite having the potential to do better in other divisions getting put into a tough spot. I think until the league has more teams in each division to equalize the divisions by just increasing the variety in each by number, or switching the schedule to be either conference or full league balance, it doesn’t make much sense to remove that representation since it wouldn’t be fair to a lot of teams. (143 words)
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