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?

This was a pretty ok season for eko van otter - I finally put things together and was able to have a solid defensive season and should win the Dar trophy. Tied for second in forward takeaways, only one behind the leader and with fewer giveaways than the leader, more hits than the other contenders, and twice as much PK time! Awards are hard to come by in this league but bias aside I'm pretty convinced the Dar should be the otter's this season. Tagging @reid for no reason here. Otter was pretty solid on the offensive end, coming in at exactly a point per game, 66 total. The team did about as expected, though I think the playoff win over Calgary was a surprise to the rest of the league. Otter didn't go quite as crazy as he did last postseason, but was solid enough as Guy Zheng carried the team in the first round. Next season will be tough without Elijah Jones alongside the wing, but i'll try my best to carry the forward group on my own and keep up the solid defense at the same time.

4. Written, 2 TPE

HAIKUS - write 2 SHL themed haikus for 1 TPE or 4 SHL themed haikus for 2 TPE.

eko van otter
great two way forward season
should win dar trophy

guy "golden glutes" zheng
expert defensive d man
should win biscuit gold

red kirby - acsolap
got suspended for three games
cost himself stevens

demaricus smyth
meanest man in the whole league
turd incoming soon

5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)

Which SHL or SMJHL team was the best team to not make the finals this season and why?

Buffalo was a really strong team so they're my pick as the best team to not make the finals. As it was last season, and as everyone in the league expected, the league came down to the three great lakes teams battling it out - chicago, hamilton, and buffalo. Only two can make the finals, so whoever is the unlucky one to miss it will be thrust into this claim as the best team to miss it. They're a strong team top to bottom and they'll still be strong next season, so expect to see them (or one of those other two) in this same spot for this same question after S58. 

6. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
What's your prediction for this season's IIHF tournament? Which teams do you expect to do well (or not well)? Which players?

This season, until things change significantly, will be the same as the previous, I reckon. I can't see someone other than United States, Great Britain, or Canada, winning gold, and I'd bet on Canada taking home the big victory this season. Some other teams are like kind of getting close, like Sweden and Japan and Czechia, but I'm not sure they'll have enough fire power to take down the big dogs. Norway has been steadily adding to our group for several seasons now, and we could be right up there in a couple season with our depth of solid TPE earners, but we're probably not quite ready yet. As for players, I think the prominent players on those solid teams will stand out, including Daniel Smeb, Monkey D Luffy, Theo Morgan, Dick Clapper, and Gabriel Johnson. On the other end of the standings, I'd guess that teams like Latvia and Finland struggle a bit this season; hopefully an update scale change will help parity in IIHF just like it should in the regular SHL as well.

12. 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. The season series between these two teams was tied 3-3. Do you think either team has an advantage in this series or do you see it as a true toss up?
d. Would you rather get a lap dance from Hugh Jazz, have a staring contest with Luke Atmey (velv's old player), reach for objects on high shelves with Dale Miller, or play League with Parker Smeb?

a. Well by now, of course, it's already happened - but had I answered this question before the series I would've incorrectly given the edge to Hamilton. I picked Hamilton in preseason predictions and stuck with them in the bracket - despite the even split in the regular season, I thought the home ice advantage and playoff experience would've given the Steelhawks the edge in the series over the Syndicate.
d. Wow - to whoever wrote this, what great choices! I don't play league, so that's out. I'm taller than mills, so I'm sure i'd be a bit of a help at reaching items from shelves but i'm not crazy tall or anything and i don't want to turn into a russian nesting doll requiring increasingly taller people to reach increasingly tall shelves. Lap dance from hugh jazz is a great choice, but I'll go for the starting contest with luke atmey - I'm really good at staring contests.

15. Trivia, 3 TPE

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