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*Fluw* · 01-11-2024, 02:38 AM

gm cw pass

***Canadice*** · 01-11-2024, 04:34 AM

GM Pass

***Pythonic*** · 01-11-2024, 04:55 AM

gm pass

dankoa · 01-11-2024, 05:32 AM

2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

b. Upsets were a theme this year - which of our finalists had the more difficult road to the promised land and why?
I think the route to the finals for both teams was much harder than we've seen for perhaps any other finalists in recent memory, but I'm going to go with the New England Wolfpack. Taking out Hamilton in round 1, Buffalo in round 2 and then Philadelphia in round 3 is an outrageous run to go on, and they thoroughly deserve their place in the finals after having to navigate a murderer's row like that.

Code:
75 words

d. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?
I'm going to have to lean slightly towards the Winnipeg Aurora in this one. I've got a lot of respect for New England, but there's something about that Winnipeg team and the roster they've put together that makes them really hard to look past. I expect Matsmith Soderberg-Tremblay to have an absolutely monster series and take this one over.

Code:
59 words

3. Written, 3 TPE, Haven’t I Seen This Before? (150 words min.)
Despite being the 8th and 10th ranked regular season teams in the league, our finalists from Winnipeg and New England represent two of the most dominant teams over the past several seasons. What do you think is the secret to their success? What can other teams learn from them? Which one is more likely to be back again next year?

I don't think it's rocket science that both teams have long tenured and well respected management teams, and have been able to build on that consistently to deliver strong outcomes over the last couple of seasons. Ace is a canny operator who has managed in this league for a very long time and knows what it takes to not only build a championship roster, but the types of moves that are needed to refresh and maintain a roster without having to go through full rebuilds and the like. Despite Winnipeg maybe not being the strongest team in the regular season, they did what they needed to do to make the playoffs and enjoyed a great run helped by strong coaching to get them to where they are. Similarly, luketd is a veteran of the SHL who has rejuvenated New England into another powerhouse franchise, who have been able to maintain a level of success for a sustained period of time thanks to smart decision making and shrewd moves. I think the management and coaching staff that these two franchises boast are among the league's best, and I wouldn't be surprised to see this matchup play out again over the next few seasons for this reason.

Code:
205 words

4. Written, 3 TPE, The Char B1 bis In The Room (150 words min.)
This league was until quite recently dominated by a cabal of four teams. Two of them, Winnipeg and New England, are our finalists. A third, Philadelphia, was a finalist last year. The fourth... was Montreal. Does the success of Winnipeg and New England prove that Montreal pulled the plug too soon and should’ve kept the gang around? Or did at least one of the others just get lucky and Montreal made the better decision, without hindsight? What team-building lessons can we learn from this?

As someone who has GMed a team through a hard rebuild and built a roster that went on to win two Challenge Cups, I don't think you can really question moves ilke that until things have fully played out. Montreal made the decision to move on while their window was waning and build an elite prospect pool and roster for the future. An alternative would have been to have kept selling future to keep the window open, but with the team clearly believing that was not a viable strategy, they made the most sensible move available to stock the cupboards for future runs. Ultimately, 3 of the 4 teams mentioned could not win another Challenge Cup for a long time so who knows? There's no point dealing with hypotheticals in these scenarios and there's no point judging moves before they've had a chance to play out. We'll see over a long window whether Montreal's rebuild succeeds and whether or not they made the right decision to pull the plug when they did, at this point in time it's simply too soon to say.

Code:
183 words

8/8

***liebolda*** · 01-11-2024, 08:28 AM

GM Pass

*Eggcracker* · 01-11-2024, 10:23 AM

CW Pass

***trashae*** · 01-11-2024, 11:24 AM

GM PT Pass

***Anthique*** · 01-11-2024, 11:45 AM

GM Off-Season pass.

tomtommen · 01-11-2024, 01:23 PM

3. Written, 3 TPE, Haven’t I Seen This Before? (150 words min.)

Despite being the 8th and 10th ranked regular season teams in the league, our finalists from Winnipeg and New England represent two of the most dominant teams over the past several seasons. What do you think is the secret to their success? What can other teams learn from them? Which one is more likely to be back again next year?

I don’t know if there’s really any secret formula that Winnipeg Aurora and New England Wolfpack are using to be in their position. They both have had management that has worked to gather together the most active and competitive bunch of players that were possible achievable. And you need the hard working players as well. Not only the fancy playmakers and scorers. You need them all. And both the Winnipeg Aurora and the New England Wolfpack have accomplished this this particular season. They have done it earlier seasons as well, but I only believe that the New England Wolpack will continue to be a top notch team. Winnipeg Aurora’s window is closing. This might be their last chance since they’ll be hit hard by regression after the season. They might, due to their position in the SHL, be able to pick up players from free agency, but I do not believe they will be able to replace all regressed skills within free agency. And the lack of depth in their prospect pool would translate that pool to a bucket. New England is in better shape and still can dip into free agency if needed.

Words: 194

4. Written, 3 TPE, The Char B1 bis In The Room (150 words min.)
This league was until quite recently dominated by a cabal of four teams. Two of them, Winnipeg and New England, are our finalists. A third, Philadelphia, was a finalist last year. The fourth... was Montreal. Does the success of Winnipeg and New England prove that Montreal pulled the plug too soon and should’ve kept the gang around? Or did at least one of the others just get lucky and Montreal made the better decision, without hindsight? What team-building lessons can we learn from this?

I like to be honest and I am going to be honest as well. I do believe that Montreal fucked up and went into rebuild mode way too soon. As many teams tend to do. I also believe that teams that enter rebuild like that should be punished in some way. I know it is the american style of sports, but there’s nothing I loathe more than a rebuilding team getting shite on purpose. And in Montreal’s case there are players that are m Winnipeg better and even made this cup run possible. And on the Winnipeg team all but 4 players are in regression. So it’s clear that you need some experience and culture in the roster. Something that Montreal won’t get back in several seasons. I do believe we are talking about the new Ottawa Senators from 93 here. I just hope they don’t Nordique into oblivion. Winning titles as another team but forgotten.

Words: 156

10. Written, 3 TPE, IIHF Underdogs (150 words min.)
Predict an upset for this season’s IIHF tournament, and explain why you think your chosen underdog matches up well against that specific opponent!

This season in the IIHFs I do firmly believe that Norway will emerge as a top contender. That wouldn't be an underdog you say? Because they have been getting one bronze and two silver medals in the last three seasons. Well, with so few players compared to all other nations every time Norway plays it is as the underdog. And that Norway continues to do so well is a testament to the desire and effort Norway’s players put into it. The management works hard to drill the players. Old experienced players give their all in the final stage of their careers. And with some really good talents emerging as well they will keep upsetting the other teams. Keep pushing. Keep making it hard to face the Norwegian team. Keep making the opposite goalie collect puck after puck from the net while the goal song fills the stadium. Tournament for tournament. Player for player. As long as we can.

Norge. For alt vi har og alt vi er.

Words: 167

Total of 9 = 8 TPE

**RomanesEuntDomus** · 01-11-2024, 03:28 PM

Quote:1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

Text

Quote:2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.
a. Two old faces are back in the ring, proving reports of the dynasty’s demise were greatly exaggerated! Pick either of our finalists, and tell me what about them impresses you the most!
b. Upsets were a theme this year - which of our finalists had the more difficult road to the promised land and why?
c. Which of the finalists had the more impressive conference finals victory, and why?
d. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?

a. My money would be on New England in this one. They've arguable had the tougher road to the finals, beating two of the top teams in the league in Phildadelphia and Buffalo, while Winnipeg went up more against other middle of the pack teams, who themselves had managed to pull off upsets in earlier rounds.
b. As I said in my previous answer, I think New England clearly had the tougher road to the finals on paper. Of course there are no easy opponents in the playoffs, especially the later rounds, and dispatching of a team like San Francisco, who just eliminated the top regular season team in the entire leagu, as Winnipeg did, is no easy task. But beating both Buffalo and Philly and not even having to go to seven games for that was hella impressive.
c. Sorry for repeating myself here but those questions are kinda lending themselves to it. Once again it has to be New England. The Philadelphia Forge were such a strong team in the regular season, beating them in six games was just super impressive. One might argue that New England is actually a better team than their own regular season standings position indicates, but that doesn't change the fact that they beat one of the leagues best team in the Conference finals.
d. -

Quote:4. Written, 3 TPE, The Char B1 bis In The Room (150 words min.)
This league was until quite recently dominated by a cabal of four teams. Two of them, Winnipeg and New England, are our finalists. A third, Philadelphia, was a finalist last year. The fourth... was Montreal. Does the success of Winnipeg and New England prove that Montreal pulled the plug too soon and should’ve kept the gang around? Or did at least one of the others just get lucky and Montreal made the better decision, without hindsight? What team-building lessons can we learn from this?

That's a very interesting question. I wouldn't go so far as to call these four teams you mentioned a "cabal" though, of course there are some teams who did very well in recent seasons, but the group isn't as clear and homogenous as dominant groups of teams in the past. Things aren't as lopsided anymore and you had teams like Seattle as a part of this group as well, you have Edmonton who just recently entered it and then you also have teams like Buffalo or Atlanta who are quietly up there on a consistent basis as well. With that being said, I do think there is an argument to be made that Montreal blew it up to early. I for once was a bit surprised when it happened, I did expect them to have enough in the tank still to compete for a bit longer. But then again, getting ahead of the cycle could turn out to be a brilliant idea in hindsight. Otherwise they might've just ended up with the same group of teams again, if everyone started and concluded their rebuild at roughly the same time. Might be better to be ahead of the curve here.

Quote:Task

Answer

***TheGreatToeJam*** · 01-11-2024, 06:32 PM

J GM Pass

Evok · 01-11-2024, 08:04 PM

Pass from WJC fileworker

***Leafs4ever*** · 01-11-2024, 08:18 PM

HO CW Pass

Guy Incognito - D - #24
Texas Renegades
Season 76
47-17-2
Regular Season - [G 7] [A 13] [Pts 20] [+/- +27] [PIM 36] [Hits 37] [SB 125]
Playoffs - [G 0] [A 2] [Pts 2] [+/- +4] [PIM 0] [Hits 0] [SB 12]
[Image: ERs3IrD.png]

***SchwarzNarr*** · 01-11-2024, 09:34 PM

cw pass

***sliceruser*** · 01-11-2024, 10:41 PM

Code:
1. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1.5 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer. This is completed through a Google form linked below. Make sure to spell your answers correctly or you will not get credit. Post your verification word in your CW post.

verification word: Mograine

Code:
2. Written, up to 4 TPE - Grab Bag: Pick up to 4 Challenge Cup related topics to write about! Each topic is worth 1 TPE. Each answer must be 50+ words.

a. Two old faces are back in the ring, proving reports of the dynasty’s demise were greatly exaggerated! Pick either of our finalists, and tell me what about them impresses you the most!

b. Upsets were a theme this year - which of our finalists had the more difficult road to the promised land and why?

c. Which of the finalists had the more impressive conference finals victory, and why?

d. If it ain't broke don't fix it: Who you got? Who wins? Why?

a. It has to be WPG that impresses me the most. Several finals appearance and continued perseverance even after a number of near wins in the finals. No matter how many times they fell they rose back up and made changes to keep being the top team they knew they could be and it clearly has paid off. -57 words

b. it would have to be NEW that had the tougher road to the finals, BUF and PHI both looked near unstoppable on their side of the league and many including myself expected one of those 2 teams to be in the finals meanwhile on the flipside the strongest team was knocked out before WPG had to face them. -58 words

c. Once again it has to be NEW that had the more impressive conference final victory. The Forge have been one of the top teams of the last several seasons but looked to be a team you expected to be finalists more so than the Pride. To top this off they did not go down easily as the series was a back-and-forth affair that saw PHI with some good wins. - 69 words (nice)

d. These 2 teams have been heavyweights and favorites of the last several seasons for a reason, both are fully capable of winning this series and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes the distance and is a 7-game series. Despite this I would have to lean WPG, they had a shaky regular season but have such a strong roster and haven’t looked beatable so far. -65 words

Code:
4. Written, 3 TPE, The Char B1 bis In The Room (150 words min.)

This league was until quite recently dominated by a cabal of four teams. Two of them, Winnipeg and New England, are our finalists. A third, Philadelphia, was a finalist last year. The fourth... was Montreal. Does the success of Winnipeg and New England prove that Montreal pulled the plug too soon and should’ve kept the gang around? Or did at least one of the others just get lucky and Montreal made the better decision, without hindsight? What team-building lessons can we learn from this?

I am a relatively newcomer to the SHL community and my first glimpse into the league was at the tail end of the Montreal era right before they sold off seeing Mads Mcbride and Grogu Mandoson moving to WPG. MTL would surely be capable of having another season or 2 of contention but realistically if they held on for another season or 2 I do not believe they would have been strong contenders so I do not believe this was a rash choice and actually was the right call. As far as NEW and PHI are concerned from what I have seen they had a more complete roster with a few younger players that allowed them to continue their success the extra couple seasons meanwhile in WPG they have been continuing their dominance by giving up future for established players on teams whos windows are closing. The previously mentioned Mads Mcbride and Grogu Mandosson are the standouts and this season picking up Matsmith Soderberg-Tremblay in free agency.

-167 words

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