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Bongo · 10-24-2020, 07:00 PM

My SMJHL squad, the Carolina Kraken are the beasts of the east. There is a lot of parity in the west so I believe the matchups will be difficult. I am confident we will make a deep run, but it'll be hard to surpass the new NEVADA BATTLEBORN powerhouse..

charlieconway · 10-24-2020, 07:04 PM

Quote:For either the SHL or SMJHL, how do you expect the playoffs to play out? Write about a specific team's fate, the finals matchup you think we'll see, or any other elements of the upcoming playoffs you'd like to predict. Remember, FHM playoffs with 12 teams features re-seeding, so the finals may not be a typical East vs. West showdown!

In the season predictions I had Calgary down as West champion and Manhattan down as East champion. I'm not sure I'd stick with those predictions at this point, and it's not only because the seeding is going to work in a way that negates them some what.

- Calgary is good but I think they benefit from playing a majority of their games against a weaker West.
- Buffalo has taken a step back from last season's Cup winning edition but they still have a wealth of talent at hand.
- Chicago has some high quality players at all positions, though I have my doubts they can put it all together.
- Texas is a team I've predicting to take off for quite a while now. It's happening finally, and I think they can pull an upset.
- Manhattan I'm unsure of. I'd put them up there with Buffalo perhaps, maybe a bit above.
- Hamilton is the team I'd consider the current favorite. They have huge amounts of TPE available at F and D, and their goalie is more than sufficient to hold the line against the opposition's offense. They're also a famously well-coached franchise, always seeming to hit above their weight. I have a lot of faith in the Steelhawks braintrust to meet the lofty expectations their fantastic regular season has earned them.

So what happens?

The re-seeding is too confusing and unpredictable to me to make any ironclad predictions. I'll just say that I think Chicago goes out sooner than expected, Texas fares well but falls short, Buffalo makes the finals perhaps but loses to Hamilton. I think the Steelhawks win the Challenge Cup.

(For the fun of it, I'll go ahead and predict a 4-1 series win for the Steelhawks over the Dragons.)

In general, I just don't see the results being much difference than what you'd predict given the regular season performance of these teams. For whatever reason (which could be up for serious debate at this point) it seems like FHM lends itself to fairly expected results; upsets seem rare, ESPECIALLY in a four-game series.

Half of me thinks that's a shame, especially as a player that plays for a team that fits the definition of 'bubble team' to the T. I'd like to see more unpredictability; it's exciting, and mimics real life, which is a quality I value in a simulation.
But the other half thinks: isn't that the way it should be? That it deserves to be? If you've put together an all star team given the same tools at your disposal as the other GMs, then I see justice in you achieving expected results from that. Imagine going undefeated in the regular season only to get bounced in 7 by the lowest seeded playoff team. Does that do justice to either team's composition?

I'm excited to finally make my first SHL playoffs as a player. I hope we really take it to the Syndicate, and manage to score an upset. But I'll be keen as well to see how some of these other matchups shake out, as well as pay close attention to the seeding and whether it lends itself to uneven matchups. If there's room for people to complain about it, then that's what will happen, so look no further than the Thunderdome two weeks from now to see how the project fared.

**Rich** · 10-24-2020, 07:17 PM

I think people are expecting the top teams of the east to do really well in the playoffs, and for good reason. I think it is foolish to overlook Calgary coming out of the west. Sure, they may not have had to play as many games against Hamilton, Chicago, Buffalo, or Manhattan. They’re still a very strong team. I don’t know if I’d be willing to put money on it, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them in the finals this season. It will be really interesting to see if they’re as good as they appear.

XLeafer · 10-24-2020, 07:37 PM

Hamilton is going to do some crazy nerdy shit and win the challenge cup because it is obviously expected to happen with the team they have right now.

SFresh3 · 10-24-2020, 08:49 PM

In the Js I believe it’s going to be whoever can avoid playing the juggernaut that is Vancouver that will be coming out of one side of the bracket. So the 2nd and 3rd seeds, and whoever gets matched up against them from the Play-ins, are definitely breathing a sigh of relief.

KlusteR · 10-24-2020, 09:58 PM

To avenge our less-than-ideal 8th place in the Western Conference, I'm on Team Chaos for the upcoming playoffs. Let the top seeds fall. I want to see an Atlanta vs. Los Angeles Challenge Cup Final. Come on, FHM Gods, don't let me down this time!

(49 words)

**.bojo** · 10-24-2020, 10:08 PM

i expect anchorage to run a train on whoever is in their way because trains are locomotive like boats and the anchorage armada is like a lot of boats therefor it would be like running a lot of trains on the opponent.

MrStennett · 10-24-2020, 10:42 PM

I really think this is going to be Edmonton's season. While Hammy is probably the favorite around the league, if you can keep Morgan in check, I think our deep roster and scoring on all three lines can get us a win.

Thelastheraclid · 10-24-2020, 11:11 PM

I think that because of the new playoff structure Hamilton is going to have an easy road to winning the title. Calgary is probably going to get screwed with the re-seedings rather than going through the overall weaker western conference.

***goldenglutes*** · 10-25-2020, 12:04 AM

ok let's break it down everyone i think we'll be seeing some good games out of the boys and girls and non binary folk of the simulation hockey league but i think ultimately the finals are going to be Hamilton vs Buffalo, and the whole site is going to melt down because it's not an East vs West finals. Gabriel @Gwdjohnson "Gonewild" Johnson is going to score the cup winning goal in game 6 book it

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

***hotdog*** · 10-25-2020, 12:05 AM

I've been running some early test sims and the results don't look great for many of the first round matchups. In fact, I've yet to see a sim where NEW beat EDM, WPG beat CHI, or LAP beat BUF. The NOLA-ATL series is the only one that I've seen have some variation lol. Hopefully those teams can figure something out to spice it up a little bit!

funk · 10-25-2020, 12:18 AM

I think Nevada is going to set out to do what they've been doing all season.

Shock the league, upset the teams whose reigns are coming to an end, lift that goddamn cup.

*Ferda* · 10-25-2020, 01:10 AM

the western conference shl team, the san francisco poop, i mean pride, will be playing against the eastern conference's power house team in the tampa bay bearcooties in the shl challenge cup finals (consolation game). if i needed to bet on a team then i would bet on @Gwdjohnson because he must have tampered with the league for this to happen

**bbjygm** · 10-25-2020, 02:10 AM

I think New England Wolfpack will put up a good fight in their first round of the playoffs, so whoever wins will have done it by the skin of their teeth.

***CaptainCrazy*** · 10-25-2020, 02:57 AM

I really hope Anaheim Outlaws will do well but I'm not so sure. I joined them when 14 games were left to play and I think we won just 4 or 5 and dropped down the rankings. But I really hope we can get back to winning in playoffs.

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