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

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

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

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

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

taco