Quote:1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Reflection on your season - how did your player fare on the ice this season? Did you meet or surpass your individual player goals or did you come up short? Whether you excelled or disappointed - what can you attribute that to? What will you try to do better next season?

Aron Hernadivic had an okay personal season, slightly decreasing on his previous season’s point totals to 30 points. Hernadivic still focused on his two-way game, finishing with a +24 and only taking 6 penalties in minutes. Additionally, Hernadivic focused more on defence this season, playing more than a minute a game of short-handed time. When compared to the previous season, hernadivic’s goals increased from 11 goals to 13 goals while his assists decreased from 20 assists to 17 assists, his plus minus increased by +8, the amount of penalties he took decreased, and he played more penalty minutes this season.
Overall, Aron’s advanced stats were also in his favour, boasting positive CFREL and FFREL stats, as well as great shot suppression numbers. Buffalo as a team struggled with poor shooting percentages, affecting the amount of points they were able to put up individually. I expect Hernadivic to take a massive step forward next season, ideally achieving 40 plus points while staying strong defensively.
163 words, +3

Quote:2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
Of the 10 most recent finals series, which do you think is the most memorable and why? Which will be remembered in history as the best/most important/most memorable series or victory? S46: BUF over NOLA, S47: WKP over CGY, S48: BUF over WPG, S49: EDM over NEW, S50: CGY over TBB, S51: HAM over EDM, S52: MAN over SFP, S53: HAM over EDM, S54: NOLA over HAM, S55: BUF over NOLA

Some of the finals sure have been legendary. It was previous to my time, but BUFs in S46 over legendary users like evok, JoeK and Squall was fine, as was the reverse sweep Calgary had over Tampa bay. The reverse sweep also gave us the legendary cum banner, which is by far the worst championship banner on the site. However, my favourite and most memorable finals was in Season 55, with Buffalo again beating NOLA in 7 games. This series should’ve been over in 4, with Buffalo outshooting NOLA by 20+ shots a game. However, Cain kept em in it and it went to overtime of Game 7. Their co GM had a breakaway to end it on former NOLA user Evok, yet couldn’t clutch it out, and BUF picked up the puck going the other way, with Monkey D Luffy ending it. This game also brought upon the player role restrictions, so thanks NOLA for doing that! Ultimately should’ve went with 9 aggressive forecheckers.

166 words, +3

Quote:6. 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 think this answer is easily Chicago. They pushed us the hardest, yet failed to close the deal. This team took a 3-0 series lead before losing 4 straight, a trend I think I attribute to Chicago never really winning a playoff series before. This was likely a great learning experience for them, although with looming cap difficulties, this may have been their best shot at a Cup. I definitely do think they were stronger than us on paper, but didn’t have enough playoff experience in big moments. Calgary is the other answer, but they couldn’t even win a single playoff series and so I don’t think they can be considered here. Perhaps the Dragons should focus more on playoff hockey and less on meaningless regular season results.

128 words, +2

Quote:13. 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. Both of these teams have an impressive set of skaters - without factoring in any coaching or tactical strategies, which team do you think has the better roster of skaters on paper?
b. Do you foresee the teams making any strategic adjustments during the course of the series? Should the teams be quick to switch tactics or stick with what they've been using?
c. These two teams hail from the Great Lakes Division. Which of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) do you think is the Greatest and why?

a. I think it’s Hamilton, and ultimately I don’t think it’s close. Although Luffy is the best player on paper, Hamilton’s depth is unmatched, boasting better individual players than Buffalo in the bottom half of the roster. The only clear strength Buffalo has on Hamilton is in net, and FHM has shown that goalies performance does not always correlate to TPE differences.
B. I think Buffalo will have to make changes. Hamilton is just simply too overwhelming right now can with 2k players on every line. They come at you in waves and I’m not sure Buffalo, or anyone else, would be able to handle it in a 7 game series I see Hamilton keeping their strats up until Buffalo pushes them to the brink, and I’m not sure that happens.
C. Lake Erie is ultimately the best lake. The beaches on Erie are pretty unmatched, especially on the Ontario side with places like Port Dover, Turkey Point, etc. Being great summer destinations. Lake Superior is also impressive with its sheer size making it one of the world’s largest freshwater lakes, but I still favour Lake Erie. Ontario, and Huron would be the middle tier, with Lake Michigan being the absolute cesspool worst lake.

Quote:14. Written, 2 TPE - The Procrastinator I think it’s Hamilton, and ultimately I don’t think it’s close. Although Luffy is the best player on paper, Hamilton’s depth is unmatched, boasting better individual players than Buffalo in the bottom half of the roster.
Special! (100 words min)

Not totally sure who deserves series MVP, A Jobin and Aaron Wilson both have good cases. Jobin stopped like 80 of the last 83 shots he faced in games 4 and 5, helping HAM win the series sooner than they likely deserved. Aaron Wilson was also elite defensively, posting multiple games over 90 DGR. In the whole playoffs, I think Luffy wins playoff mvp, likely off his 30 point in 23 games performance. Doyle could also be in contention, but I think Luffy is the only candidate that will be considered that doesn’t play for the Steelhawks. Ultimately I think both AWil and Jobin get missed, and that finals mvp goes to someone flashier like theo Morgan and his stupid insanely lucky shooting percentage.
124 words, +2

Quote:16. CW TRIVIA, 3 TPE max - 1 TPE for participation, 0.5 TPE for each correct answer.

Word: fishy, +3