Leaderboard

Art by @iRSPe, photo credit to Andy Hall on Unsplash. Guardians of The Crease is an interview series created by @jahajaha93. The series was inspired by earlier discussions between community members regarding goaltenders getting too little credit for their hard work. The goaltender position is very different to play compared to the other skater positions. Being a successful ECL goaltender requires patience and understanding of the game on a completely different level. This interview series is here to shed some light on the mystical goaltender position and simultaneously bring forth some of the great personalities competing in our league. Our first guest will be ECL 5 champion @ICappeI, who spent last season with SJK eSports. He is a rather new face in the community, but has quickly become one of the best goaltenders around. In only his 3rd ECL season, Cappe managed to make a successful cup run with Aapon Taikasauva. The team had a very solid goaltending tandem in Cappe and @swagx88, the two sharing the responsibility in the regular season, but Cappe taking control come the playoffs. A solid defensive display paired with Cappes stellar goaltending amounted to 6 playoff shutouts in 18 games, topped off with the Elite championship title. ECL 6 started well in net for SJK, with 5 W's in 6 games and a high save percentage. However, the team went on a bit of a cold streak towards the end, resulting in an 8th seed into the playoffs. SJK surely had the roster in place for a cup run in ECL 6, but consistency proved to be a problem. Cappe played yet another solid season in net, but his team suffered a disappointing first round exit against Dynasty. ICappeI enjoys flashy, sometimes unorthodox saves like the ones displayed by Dominik Hasek in his prime. Who? Name: Casper Lundgren Age: 24 Nationality: Swedish Previously represented teams: Free From Rodents, Nordic Lightning, Aapon Taikasauva and SJK eSports. Casper "ICappeI" Lundgren is a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens. "A cold Pepsi Max" -ICappeI on his pre-game routine. What caused you to play the goalie position in EASHL? I played EASHL with my friend @Phillelindberg only and he was a better forward than me so we decided that it was better for our club that i stayed in the net. After a couple of games we found out that it kind of sucked to only play two players and four bots so we tried to check with people in the swedish NHL group on Facebook. @AndreasNo who plays in Free From Rodents played with us and recruited me to play with their team in ECL. So basically I was too bad to play forward so I ended up in the net instead. How long have you been playing goalie for? I started playing EASHL in November 2016 and made my first appearance in ECL in Nov/Dec in ECL 3. How do you practice? Did you have someone showing you the ropes? I studied some goalies in the beginning (ECL 3 playoffs) For example: @SpiderRoyal and @FinKonna. What is your favourite part about playing goalie? To feel that you make a difference in the games when it matters the most. That you can win games for your team just because you are on your highest level. We all know goalies are a bit special. Do you have any special routines when playing? A cold Pepsi Max is the most important pre-game routine that I have. I also listen to music when i play important games, it helps me focus instead of hearing the players talk to each other. Pick two defenders you'd want playing in front of you. (Not your own) @nylanderi and @jtorro1233. Best defence I’ve ever played behind. But if I had to choose players that I haven’t played ECL with I’ll go with @Janzuh and @Snapster. I think that those two are so good in both ends of the ice. One guy you'd hate to face on a breakaway. @Norpee, no doubt. He’s one of the players I hate playing against, he’s so smart. Is there a real-life goalie you try to mimic? Dominik Hasek. I want to dominate in the net as he did. Any story behind your gear setup? No, not really. I want the pads to be white, black and have a little bit of the team colour on them. There isn't a special thought behind this setup, ICappeI likes keeping it simple with a touch of team colour on the pads. Hot seat Glove or blocker save? Glove. Breakaway or one-timer? Breakaway Favourite takeout food? Pizza, mamma Mia! Condiments on the side or on top of the dish? On the side. Most famous person you ever met? Good Q, i’ll stick to hockey and say Rasmus Dahlin. Best thing to do on a day off? Sleep. Favourite sport other than hockey? Football. In the spirit of the FIFA World Cup, who do you think will win? Argentina, Messi will be the top scorer. Thank you for your time Cappe and good luck with the upcoming Summer Cup! It's been nice to learn about the mindset of one of the greatest goaltenders in our scene. The series will continue, so stay tuned for some more stories from our Guardians Of The Crease. If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more similar content, please make sure to show it by liking and sharing. See you guys out on the ice!

Hey NHLGamers, Yet another ECL season is in the books and we got to enjoy some outstanding games, teams and players. We would like to launch our season recap series by taking a look in the rear-view mirror at what happened in our Lite division. This season we broke the benchmark of 100 participating teams, which resulted in a 60-team Lite division with six 10-team groups. In this Lite division recap, we’ll be reviewing the performance of those teams highlighted in our predictions article. Group 1: Ghetto Firebirds - The Firebirds proved that they belong in the mix of teams that can compete for the chance for the promotion to the Pro division. They had a nice bounce back after being relegated from Pro at the end of ECL 5. Captain @Aantri led his team to a convincing 1st place finish in their group with a record of 14-3-1, the captain amassing a decent 53 points along the way. The team started the playoffs quite well with a 4:1 series win in the first round, following a 6 game series in the second round. They fell just short of a promotion by losing their quarterfinal against Sektion K with a series score of 1:4. Sektion K - Sektion K finished only 3rd in their group, but former Lavetten player @Edhoolm97 in the center position together with goaltender @Tauri led their team all the way into the semi-finals where they lost in a game 7 thriller to one of the preview favourites, Cowabunga Hockey. They gained their promotion by knocking out the top 3 seed SGWEER United. Group 2: Freddie Mercury Institute - Freddie Mercury Institute had to deal with quite a tough group and finished only 4th in the regular season. They were still ranked as the 12th seed in the playoffs and punched their ticket for a chance of a promotion by qualifying into the round of the last 8. However, this story didn’t have a happy ending as Style crushed their dreams by winning the series 4:1. SGWEER United - This German-Swedish connection came back strong after a painful 1st round exit in ECL 5. They topped their group again and managed to advance to the second round in the playoffs. In the second round SGWEER faced eventual semi-finalists Sektion K, whose impressive defensive efforts were poisonous for SGWEER’s very strong offense built around top-scorer @Gregson91. Group 3: Style - The double OEHL champion established a strong presence in the ECL scene by finishing 2nd in their group. Left wing @Panarinz put in a huge effort in their long playoff run, which ended in a 4:2 semi-final loss against the champions to be EV Duisburg. On their playoff run, Style managed sweep another favourite Suomen Sonnit in their second round matchup, which is certainly an impressive show of strength from the Swedes. Korpens Finest - Listed as the team to watch in group 3, Korpens Finest proved their given status by finishing on top of their group with a regular season record of 13-3-2. Heading into the Playoffs as only the 10th seed, they eliminated The Black Jacks - also from group 3 in the first round. However, their second round matchup against GHETTO FIREBIRDS ended in a disappointing loss. Group 4: Bare Knuckles Hockey - Bare Knuckles Hockey had a nearly perfect regular season with a record of 17-1-0. The only loss they had to mark was in their last matchup against Kaksikymmentaseitseman. Ranked 1st of all playoff teams, high-scoring right wing @Tero Paikkari (Teroe94) and his group struggled early in the first round, with the series extending all the way to a game seven. This monster of a team was taken down in the second round in another seven game series in the hands of MotherPuckers. Etelan Vetelat - Etelan Vetelat perfomed quite well as a newcomer into the ECL scene by gaining the 2nd place of their group. After losing both games in their very first regular season matchup against Bare Knuckles Hockey, they won nearly all of their remaining games. Seeding 9th into the playoffs, Vetelat got eliminated in the hands of the later champion EV Duisburg in the second round. Group 5: Cowabunga Hockey - Cowabunga Hockey was listed as a favourite for group 5 and they didn't hesitate to show us why. With a record of 15-2-1 they were the 2nd seed for this seasons Lite playoffs and had one heck of a playoff run. Nearly the same six guys tied their skates for the entire season and brought the team all the way into the finals - only to have their dreams obliterated by EV Duisburg in a sweep. Despite their difficult matchup in the finals, we are sure Cowabunga will be motivated for their next season in ECL Pro, coming back even stronger. Hippo Rangers - The Hippo Rangers had a very strong performance as a newcomer and only tiebreakers kept them from topping their regular season group. After sweeping KulmalaHengaus in the first round, they were forced to pack their bags and head for the beaches in a 2:4 series loss against Pohjoista Voimaa in the second round. With a combo of good offense, strong defense and a small but experienced squad they were a force to be reckoned with and may still be next season. Group 6: Suomen Sonnit - The Finns were on every list for this season's favourites in the Lite division. After a decent regular season (14-3-1) they handed out a sweep in the first round, only to get it handed back by Style in the second round. They had a match winner in goaltender @Theoikeakarim, who had an incredible season with just under 2 GAA in both the playoffs and during the regular season. They will learn from their mistakes and assuming we'll see these guys in Lite next season they will probably be one of the favourites to get promoted. HokiDogit - HokiDogit impressed everyone with their performance in the regular season (11-3-4) but they failed to gain confidence out of it. Unfortunately for them, they lost directly in the first round against the Bucketeers. They played a good allround game during the regular season, having good defense and decent scoring from all roster players. With more practice and experience from tight playoff games they will not make the same mistakes again and you can expect them to come back even stronger. Under the radar: EV Duisburg - The Germans flew under the radar in the beginning of the season. After turning down an offer of being promoted to ECL Pro in the offseason, EVD came back to Lite as they wanted to prove to themselves that they are worth the Pro spot. Their road to victory began as the 8th seed (finished 3rd in the group stage) and a 4:1 victory over Soldiers of Odens. @FoxGoalie and his crew eliminated Etelan Vetelat (4:2), Pohjoista Voimaa (4:0) and Style (4:2) on their way to the cup by finishing it in style with a finals sweep over Cowabunga Hockey (4:0). AWARDS Playoff MVP: @FoxGoalie Most Points: @Fin_torspo90, Cowabunga Hockey, 28 Goals, 35 Assists, 63 Points in 18 games Most Goals: @Tero Paikkari (Teroe94), Bare Knuckles Hockey, 39 Goals, 21 Assists, 60 Points in 18 games Most Assists: @Tinkesakara, Cowabunga Hockey, 17 Goals, 37 Assists, 54 Points in 18 games Most Hits by a Forward: @Zuominen, Unfinished Business, 112 Hits in 16 games Best +/-: @Duran93, Bare Knuckles Hockey, +51 in 18 games Most Points by a Defenseman: @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games Most Goals by a Defenseman: @lejo199, Asserklubi, 8 Goals, 8 Assists, 16 Points in 16 games Most Assist by a Defenseman: @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Tobago, Trinidad Tobago,134 Hits in 24 Games TOP 3'S OF ECL 6 LITE Top 3 Forwards Regular Season: 1. @Fin_torspo90 , Cowabunga Hockey, 28 Goals, 35 Assists, 63 Points in 18 games 2. @Tero Paikkari (Teroe), Bare Knuckles Hockey, 39 Goals, 21 Assists, 60 Points in 18 games 3. @Gregson91 , SGWEER United, 28 Goals, 32 Assists, 60 Points in 16 games Top 3 Defender Regular Season: 1. @C4__N4R__V4, SGWEER United, 4 Goals, 24 Assists, 28 Points in 18 games 2. @CCBow-501, SGWEER United, 2 Goals, 21 Assists, 23 Points in 16 games 3. @MonkeyHead_AF, Cowabunga Hockey, 4 Goals, 18 Assists in 18 games Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season: 1. @Jonitski, Cowabunga Hockey, 15 Wins, 88,54%, 1,44 GAA, 4 SO in 18 games 2. @Perkkari, Hippo Rangers, 15 Wins, 84,21%, 1,50 GAA, 3 SO in 18 games 3. @George, Bare Knuckles Hockey, 15 Wins, 80,13%, 1,81 GAA, 4 SO in 16 games Top 3 Forwards Playoffs: 1. @Tinkesakara, Cowabunga Hockey, 16 Goals, 28 Assists, 44 Points in 25 games 2. @Edhoolm97, Sektion K, 22 Goals, 19 Assists, 41 Points in 20 games 3. @Panarinz, Style, 18 Goals, 21 Assists, 39 Points in 18 games Top 3 Defender Playoffs: 1. @xXPsykoSkillsXx, EV Duisburg, 3 Goals, 20 Assists, 23 Points in 24 games 2. @HambergD, Sektion K, 3 Goals, 15 Assists, 18 Points in 21 games 3. @Lortto, Hippo Rangers, 3 Goals, 13 Assists, 16 Points in 10 games Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs: 1. @FoxGoalie, EV Duisburg, 20 Wins, 90,40%, 1,04 GAA, 10 SO in 25 games 2. @Jonitski, Cowabunga Hockey, 16 Wins, 86,57%, 1,60 GAA, 4 SO in 26 games 3. @Gunde021, Style, 12 Wins, 86,47%, 1,55 GAA, 3 SO in 18 games This season we'd also like to make the introduction of the top 6 of the season. This will mean a selection of six players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. This season, the selections were made by staff members who have been following ECL Lite. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Lite division in ECL 6: @Panarinz (Style) - @Tinkesakara (Cowabunga Hockey) - @Edhoolm97 (Sektion K) @xXPsykoSkillsXx (EV Duisburg) - @C4__N4R__V4 (SGWEER United) @FoxGoalie (EV Duisburg) The NHLGamer staff congratulates EV Duisburg for winning the Lite division and furthermore Cowabunga Hockey, Sektion K and Style for their promotions to the Pro division. We want to thank all participating teams for their efforts and hope you all enjoyed the season! If you have any suggestions on how we could improve our website, please let us know by contacting any staff member. The recaps of our other divisions will be published soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Hey NHLGamers, we want to remind you that the deadline for the Summer Cup registration is only 1 day away (Wednesday, 6th June 2018 23:59:59 CEST). Over 370 players will already take part in this Summer tournament and we would be proud to break the mark of 400 participants. This tournament will increase your network within the community and especially newcomers are welcome to enjoy the possibilities which NHLGamer has to offer. We are doing a live-draft event on Saturday, starting at 16:00 CEST, where every team captain will complete their roster piece by piece by hopefully drafting a great bunch of players who will have a ton of fun together. If you missed our original Summer Cup 3 post, here is the structure of this upcoming event: SUMMER CUP 3 FRAMEWORK Team building: No more than 2 players from a single ECL 6 team are allowed to play on the same Summer Cup team. This rule applies to the final rosters, after transfers and free agents. Team names: The Summer Cup will be played in dedicated EASHL teams which will have "NG" as a prefix - for example "NG Golden Knights". Sign-ups: To rule out unfortunate circumstances when it comes to player positioning, holidays and other aspects, the sign-ups will follow a clear structure, allowing captains to recognize fitting players more easily. Draft procedure: The team captains will be taking part in a snake draft, where all of the signed up players will be drafted during one night. LEAGUE DETAILS Summer Cup Season 3 will take place on the PS4 version of NHL18. Last day to sign up is Wednesday 6th of June 2018. Players sign up using the registration tool linked at the bottom of the post. Due to the latency issues experienced by the North American players in Summer Cup 2, Summer Cup 3 is only for European players. All signed up players are aimed to be seeded into teams with a size of 10 players (may vary). Out of all registrations, NHLGamer Staff will select an according number of team captains from the players that offered to take on a captaincy role in their sign-up post - anyone is allowed to apply for it. Team captains will receive a draft sheet on Thursday 7th of June, containing all signed up players and relevant information in a structured form. Team captains will be taking part in a live draft event on Saturday 9th of June picking their roster until all players are seeded. The draft will be streamed live on our Twitch channel. All games are played 6vs6 using dedicated EASHL teams. The Summer Cup is set to start on the week of June 11th and aimed to be finished in July. Full rules will be released after registration is over. HOW TO PARTICIPATE To participate, make sure you are logged in or create an account first, visit the sign-up page and fill in all fields of the registration form like below - make sure the player positions in your Player Card are up-to-date so captains know who they are drafting! You can update your Player Card on the "Edit Player" page. Sign-up page: Click here! Be a part of this record breaking crowd and sign up for this years Summer Cup!

Hi there NHLGamers, We'll be finishing off our Season Review-series with a look at our Elite division. I'd like to congratulate our champions Carlsberg HC for a very convincing showing and a great season. All teams fought hard and showed that Elite is certainly a very competitive division with the best 6vs6 players in Europe, possibly in the world. You'll have enough reading to do below, so allow me to introduce the season ranking of ECL 6 Elite: 1. Carlsberg HC - Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 12) Seems like having @Penatski at center will pretty much guarantee you a trophy? After a little dodgy start to their ECL 6 season they bounced back in an amazing way. Finishing the regular season with 8-1-1 in their last 10 games (Best of all teams) and, as you all know, by lifting the ECL 6 Elite trophy. Defense really does win you championships and they showed us just that in the playoffs. Goaltender @Zande95 stepped up big time together with the strong defensive pair @Janzuh and @vatalisti, resulting in only one goal conceded per game in the playoffs. 2. Northern Ascendancy - Regular season record 19-5-6 (Playoff wins 9) After a great regular season, finishing 4th, Ascendancy stepped their game up even more in the playoffs. They faced off against big favorites Written In The Stars and surprised everyone when they moved on to the finals after only 5 games, timely goals and patient play was the decisive factor in that series. Their forwards @Foppatofflan and @hpkfani(MuKiMaisteri) led the playoff assist, point and goal column with MuKiMaisteri topping the regular season point and goal column as well. In addition to second-to-none scoring, their goaltender @poliskontroll was a real difference maker this season. Having been one of the top goalies in the scene for a long time, his team can rest assured that he will make the saves needed to push his team towards victory. 3. Written In The Stars - Regular season record 27-2-1 (Playoff wins 5) SKY managed to play a nearly perfect regular season, finishing with a record of 27-2-1. Contrary to popular belief, their defense really shut the door this season and was second to none, resulting in the team conceding less than a goal per game during the regular season. For the duration of the regular season, the team allowed only 177 shots against in total, which is by far the lowest of all Elite teams. A big reason might be their strong puck possession game, which allows them to control most of the action during the games. @Joukki turned out to be a great addition in scoring power and having a weapon like @jtorro1233 in defense providing secondary scoring was key to the success of SKY this season. 4. Dynasty - Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 5) Dynasty iced the highest scoring offense of the regular season. They were really firing on all cylinders with @jumalpeku, @Buantso (Puatso) and @Tehh (TehhAhola) all finishing above 2 points per game. Their powerplay also caught fire in the regular season, a 22,5% success rate will surely strike fear into the opposing teams penalty kill unit. The season ended early in a semi final loss against Carlsberg HC (series score 4-1), a team they managed to beat in both their regular season games. 5. Unlucky Boys - Regular season record 17-6-7 (Playoff wins 3) Being one of the teams gaining promotion from Pro for ECL 6, UB didn't have the easiest starting point for this season. The team was surely hungry and willing to show that they could compete at the highest level of ECL. Their lineup remained nearly the same as in the Pro division, so the chemistry was certainly there, now it was just a matter of translating it to a higher level of play. A 5th place regular season finish and challenging Nordic Ascendancy in the first round of the playoffs can be regarded as a successful entry to Elite. 6. Sjukstugan - Regular season record 19-10-1 (Playoff wins 2) ECL 6 for Sjukstugan was a step in the right direction. Their first showing in Elite ended early without making the playoffs, but this season they were determined to show the competition they are to be taken seriously. Acquisition of rising star goaltender @Hullued certainly helped, as he topped all goalies in regular season wins and put up a good SV% of 83,19%. On other fronts, the team managed to perform well, having five skaters going above one point per game during the regular season. Sjukstugan managed to put up a fight in the first playoff round against Carlsberg HC, series ending 4-2 in favor of CAR. 7. SJK eSports - Regular season record 18-9-3 (Playoff wins 1) Before ECL 6 it seemed as if SJK was announcing big player acquisitions weekly and as expected, they went into the season with an absolutely stacked lineup. Captain @Dominointi had managed to gather a team of absolute studs, who started off the season well, topping the table after around 10 games played. However, around the halfway point of the season something happened, and the team went cold all of a sudden, finishing the regular season with 2-7-1 in their last ten games. Their season ended in a disappointing 4-1 series loss in the first round against Dynasty. 8. Northern Stars - Regular season record 17-12-1 The season of NOS was very similar to that of SJK. A strong opening half of the season was followed by a lackluster finish to the season. The Stars managed to redeem themselves a bit towards the end, however, stringing together a few important wins and gaining themselves a spot in the playoffs. A big part of their difficulty was losing the prominent scorer @plee999 to Gotham Knights at the deadline. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Evolution - Regular season record 12-12-6 After gaining promotion at the end of ECL 5 as the result of a Pro championship, the race was on for Evolution to prove that they belong at the top level of this league. There must also have been some healthy competition between all the promoted teams to prove who deserved their spot the most. The goalie and defense situation remained the same, while some acquisitions were made in the offensive end during the offseason. Most notably EVO lost @Erkki (I_Eki_I), who helped them hoist the cup, dominating the center lane. New acquisition @SadaPoika led the team in scoring, but the team-wide difficulty to produce sufficient offense ended up being their downfall. 10. Gotham Knights - Regular season record 13-14-3 Gotham came in swinging, having a rather favorable schedule to start the season as they faced Silver Sword Griffins, Pata Hellalla and Nordic Stars in the first three rounds. However, the team struggled to find consistency and quickly started drifting towards the wrong side of the playoff line. Gotham managed to make a big signing, acquiring @plee999 from Northern Stars at the deadline. The youngster went a bit over a point per game but didn't quite find his stride with the new team. 11. Rusty Blades - Regular season record 13-15-2 Rusty Blades had solid season after a very rough 0-6-0 start. They won the games against the weaker teams but couldn't gain enough points against the top tiers to qualify for the playoffs. Nevertheless they are always hard to play against and keep the games tight. Therefore they managed to keep their playoff hopes alive for a long time and are happy to stay in the Elite division for ECL 7. @Lamsa was 3 points shy of the top 10 scoring list. 12. Falun Coal Miners - Regular season record 12-14-4 Falun had a good first season in Elite, finishing 12th and just above the relegation zone. They showed that with very small roster changes and almost no Elite experience they can still do a great job and fight to stay in the division. Good defense backed up by goaltender @Onecorner95 was their way to secure their spot in Elite for next season. 13. Nordic Stars - Regular season record 9-15-6 If you only take a look at the numbers, you wouldn't even guess that Nordic Stars had to play in the relegation. It seems that they couldn't gain enough points out of their efforts and kept the games quite tight. @Kookasi led the team in scoring, falling just short of placing in the top 10 scoring list but individual strength doesn't keep you in the Elite division. The whole squad has to improve their game if they want to make it back to the highest division, after losing a tough relegation matchup against White Trash. 14. Pata Hellalla - Regular season record 6-17-7 Pata Hellalla had quite a disappointing season. The worst defense in the Elite division (101 GA) had to fight hard all season long. They gained some impressive wins over some top-guns of the division, but always seemed to struggle in translating that to every other game. With five points (2 wins) in the last ten games, there were still some hope of staying in the Elite division when they managed to qualify for the relegation faceoffs. After a devastating sweep at the hands of Almost Famous, @kungenkurwa has to take care of his team and prepare them for the Pro division. 15. Kattiautomaatti - Regular season record 7-19-4 After a good start with three wins out of four games, Kattiautomaatti had to deal with 20 consecutive losses. That statistic alone could be enough to tell that this season didn't go as planned. Nearly all of Kattiautomaattis wins were against the teams in the bottom region of the standings. Their lacking in the offensive zone (1,13 GF/GP) is certainly a key reason, costing them the Elite spot. @Slaivone and his group have to regroup the team to fight back in the Pro Division. 16. Silver Sword Griffins - Regular season record 7-20-3 Griffins had an off season this ECL. A squad packed with ECL experience and even a few Summer Cup trophies in their ranks, they had everything to play for this ECL Elite season. Simply put, they didn't score enough goals and ended up conceding too many. With a weak start to the season losing their first 8 games it was difficult to manifest a comeback. SSG managed to improve their form towards the end of the season, if only one or two results would have gone the other way they could have stayed in Elite next season, but that's the unforgiving world of hockey for you. AWARDS Playoff MVP: @vatalisti Most Points: @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 40 Goals, 34 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games Most Goals: @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 40 Goals, 34 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games Most Assists: @jumalpeku, Dynasty, 23 Goals, 45 Assists, 68 Points in 28 games Most Hits by a Forward: @Buantso, Dynasty, 149 Hits in 26 games Best +/-: @jtorro1233, Written In The Stars, +49 in 28 games Most Points by a Defenseman: @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 4 Goals, 27 Assists, 31 Points in 26 games Most Goals by a Defenseman: @DieCutterMC, Dynasty, 7 Goals, 13 Assists, 20 Points in 20 games Most Assist by a Defenseman: @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 4 Goals, 27 Assists, 31 Points in 26 games Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Tanski87, Rusty Blades, 198 Hits in 29 games TOP 3'S OF ECL 6 ELITE Top 3 Forwards Regular Season: 1. @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 40 Goals, 34 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games 2. @Penatski, Carlsberg HC, 35 Goals, 39 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games 3. @Foppatofflan, Northern Ascendancy, 29 Goals, 40 Assists, 69 Points in 30 games Top 3 Defenders Regular Season: 1. @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 4 Goals, 27 Assists, 31 Points in 26 games 2. @jtorro1233, Written In The Stars, 6 Goals, 19 Assists, 25 Points in 28 games 3. @MartindalexC, Northern Ascendancy, 5 Goals, 19 Assists, 24 Points in 30 games Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season: 1. @Hullued, Sjukstugan, 19 Wins, 83,19%, 1.96 GAA, 4 SO in 30 games 2. @poliskontroll, Northern Ascendancy, 19 Wins, 78,91%, 2,20 GAA, 1 SO in 30 games 3. @JanneK. (JANURI98), Written In The Stars, 16 Wins, 85,98%, 0,93 GAA, 6 SO in 16 games Top 3 Forwards Playoffs: 1. @Foppatofflan, Northern Ascendancy, 7 Goals, 17 Assists, 24 Points in 17 games 2. @hpkfani (MuKiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 15 Goals, 7 Assists, 22 Points in 17 games 3. @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_), Carlsberg HC, 12 Goals, 7 Assists, 19 Points in 16 games Top 3 Defender Playoffs: 1. @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 1 Goals, 13 Assists, 14 Points in 16 games 2. @jtorro1233, Written In The Stars, 1 Goals, 9 Assists, 10 Points in 10 games 3. @Janzuh, Carlsberg HC, 1 Goals, 7 Assists, 8 Points in 16 games Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs: 1. @Zande95, Carlsberg HC, 10 Wins, 86,45%, 1 GAA, 6 SO in 13 games 2. @poliskontroll, Northern Ascendancy, 9 Wins, 82,69%, 1,58 GAA, 2 SO in 17 games 3. @JanneK. (JANURI98), Written In The Stars, 5 Wins, 74,64%, 1,80 GAA, 1 SO in 10 games This season we'd also like to make the introduction of the top 6 of the season. This will mean a selection of 6 players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. This season, the selections were made by staff members who have been following ECL Elite. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Elite division in ECL 6: @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri, Northern Ascendancy) - @Penatski (Carlsberg HC) - @Foppatofflan (Northern Ascendancy) @jtorro1233 (Written In The Stars) - @vatalisti (Carlsberg HC) @poliskontroll (Northern Ascendancy) Thanks to @Panarinz and @Mannheimer1938 for putting in work and helping to get this article done, also to all players and teams making ECL possible. We had a great season and will have many more even better ones to come. For now, take a little break and prepare for the Summer Cup. See you out on the ice!

NHLGamers, The Pro season is in the books and what a wild one it was! We got to see some great individual efforts but what ended up prevailing was working as a unit towards a well-defined goal - the ECL Pro championship. Que the "we not me" and "offense wins games, defense wins championships" clichés. We had 32 teams going into the season, with 30 of them finishing and two dropping out because of various reasons. ECL 6 was the most well-covered season on NHLGamer so far, as we stepped up our streaming game and tried to broadcast as many playoff matchups as possible on our Twitch-channel. We saw some really exciting games and a bunch of nerve-racking game 7 finishes. We also saw some intense game 7 OT action. At the end of the season, some teams had to face a tough disappointment as they might not have achieved the level of success they had hoped for. On the other hand, some others managed to overcome all obstacles and pave their way far into the playoffs and eventual promotions and a championship. On behalf of the NHLGamer staff, I congratulate Monarchs once again for their impressive run that ended in the championship of ECL Pro. This season recap will be in form of an official NHLGamer ranking, with some words concluding the essential factors in the season performance of each team. Without further ado, let's get to it: ECL 6 Pro division ranking (Sorted by playoff wins, P/G and relegation faceoff wins): 1. Monarchs (Group 1) Regular season record 22-2-2 (Playoff wins 16) Oh man, these guys came in with a bang in their inaugural ECL season. As most of us know, their season ended in a party as they conquered the throne in a thrilling playoff run, finishing with a game 7 victory over FILADELPHIA. Captain @chavelski managed to put together a strong defensive unit with an offensive upside, especially in sensational offensive defenseman @Philip Strom (Strumpan87), rookie winger @Tacterz and experienced center @pajenc. 2. FILADELPHIA (Group 2) Regular season record 27-1-2 (Playoff wins 15) FILADELPHIA were strong favourites going into the season, as many community members seemed to believe they are competing in the wrong division. Although they managed to dominate the regular season in convincing manner, the playoffs weren't quite the cakewalk they expected. Despite all that, the team has to be satisfied with their performance, as they finished the season with only 7 regulation losses in total, the least out of all Pro teams. Their extremely skilled forwards played a huge part in their success, as names such as @Erkki (I_Eki_I), @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf) and @mikaasi aren't complete strangers to racking up points in the Elite division either. 3. Almost Famous (Group 1) Regular season record 21-3-2 (Playoff wins 11) (by @Mannheimer1938) Almost Famous started their journey in ECL5 in the Lite division, a season which ended in a final loss against Red Machine. They flew a bit under the radar before the season but impressed everyone with edging out all the top guns of their group. The signings of @Rimpe, @Devilfish14 and @Vaporik seems to have increased the skill level significantly. After finishing 2nd in group 1, they had a nice playoff run which was stopped by the champions to be Monarchs in a thrilling game 7 overtime loss. 4. White Trash (Group 1) Regular season record 17-6-3 (Playoff wins 9) After a few good showings in the Pro division, we certainly expected White Trash to bring their A-game this season. A few new signings were made and the team seemed to find a good flow as the regular season got going. White Trash had a tough playoff run with both their first and second round matchups going into game 7. The season ended in the semi finals against FILADELPHIA. 5. SIKA (Group 2) Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 7) SIKA is one of the most established NHLGamer teams around right now. After experiencing a tough relegation in ECL4, they have been trying to work their way back up to the Elite division for two seasons now. The sole goal for this season was certainly a promotion, but once again, they fell just short. It can be concluded that this season was a disappointment, but the performance still grants the team a 5th place ranking on this list. 6. Red Machine (Group 2) Regular season record 16-10-4 (Playoff wins 6) Named the dark horse of group 2, Red Machine managed to fight their way into the playoffs after a difficult start to the season. Their high-scoring offense made up for a rather mediocre defensive showing. The issue might have been not having a natural center in their lineup. Despite not repeating the dominant performance seen in the Lite division last season, Red Machine must certainly be happy by finishing at 6th place in our season ranking. 7. Baltic Sea Eagles (Group 1) Regular season record 14-6-4 (Playoff wins 5) As one of the more established Pro teams, Baltic Sea Eagles were hoping that this would be their season. The regular season went somewhat according to plans, as they managed to secure a playoff spot as the 10th seed in total. The team struggled with scoring all season long, but their defense showed up in a big way, which made up for their difficulties up front. The season ended a bit early at the hands of Almost Famous in the second round. 8. Deadly Phantoms HC (Group 1) Regular season record 15-10-1 (Playoff wins 4) After being promoted from Lite in ECL 5, Deadly Phantoms HC were surely looking to establish themselves as the new German powerhouse team on NHLGamer. It was quickly noted that they were in Pro to compete, and with a great defensive mentality, they were able to overcome opponents such as White Trash and Shameful Knights in the regular season. 9. Clowns On Ice (Group 2) Regular season record 17-10-3 (Playoff wins 3) Clowns On Ice is the second German Pro division team this season. The team went on a hot streak right off the bat, managing to split points with teams such as FILADELPHIA and SIKA. Captain @Tim_FlyersFan lead the team from the front, amassing a total of 76 points in the regular season but he also received help from a wide roster, as the team iced a total of nine skaters and three goalies during the season. The season was certainly an improvement from ECL 5, as this time they managed to make the playoffs and grab a few wins from higher seeded White Trash. 10. Alliance HT (Group 2) Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 2) Having added @JaikenK to their roster, Alliance were looking better than ever on paper prior to the season. Their season started a tad slow, but once the team started rolling, they advanced from victory to victory, amassing a total of 22 wins in the regular season. However, the playoffs brought a disappointment as they were eliminated in the first round by Deadly Phantoms HC. 11. Shameful Knights (Group 1) Regular season record 18-6-2 (Playoff wins 2) Shameful Knights were expected to come into the season with the sole goal of gaining a promotion to Elite. The established Pro team was one of the strongest competitors in our season prediction. With almost no roster changes happening between ECL 5 and 6, we expected the team to prove that a strong unit and their effective offensive trio @Tapparafan - @Migo_boo - @Ollizhki will prevail in the hunt for the cup. 12. Synergy Hockey (Group 2) Regular season record 17-10-3 (Playoff wins 2) The Swedish veterans were expected to be one of the strongest teams going into the season, however, a difficult start and some internal turbulence raised some doubts. The team bounced back rather well and showed that they are deserving of a spot in the playoffs. Baltic Sea Eagles in the first round proved to be too tough of a challenge, as they were eliminated with a series score of 4-2. 13. Arctic (Group 1) Regular season record 15-10-1 (Playoff wins 2) As a newly established team, Arctic flew under the radar for most of the season. It took some time to find their game, but the team finished their regular season going 10-0-0 and proved to everyone that they are a force to be reckoned with. A massive disappointment awaited, as SIKA beat them 4-2 in the series, resulting in yet another first round exit for captain @selänne8, got to feel a bit bad for the guy at this point. 14. Monte Carlo (Group 2) Regular season record 15-10-5 (Playoff wins 2) Monte Carlo was put together out of some very established players by @J0HTAJA, who was certainly hoping that he could lead this group to a long season run with his experience and knowledge of the game. The team struggled with scoring from time to time while showing good defensive play and great goaltending by @Masapunda, @Lage and @Pettersson12 - ultimately resulting in an average regular season record and a first round exit agains Almost Famous. 15. Quality (Group 1) Regular season record 12-12-2 (Playoff wins 1) Few teams had a season as turbulent as the newly established Quality. Team captain @Yoloberg had managed to piece together a team of skilled players who had little to no experience of playing together. Some transfers were made during the season and the team didn't find its final form until after the deadline. The acquisition of @KattenJansson97 boosted their offensive game, barely gaining them a playoff spot. FILADELPHIA in the first round proved to be too much of a challenge as the season ended with a 4-1 series score in the first round. 16. Raging Monkeys (Group 2) Regular season record 16-12-2 (Playoff wins 0) Raging Monkeys came into the season as one of the teams promoted from Lite at the end of ECL 5. The team was surely hoping to prove that they belong at the Pro level - a goal that we can agree they have met. The playoff spot they managed to grab as the 15th seed in total was a bonus at the end of their inaugural Pro season. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Speedy Bros Hockey (Group 2) Regular season record 11-11-8 In their second season, Speedy Bros were surely hoping to make their first playoff run in team history so far, but they ended up falling just short in a very tough group 2 playoff race. Their offense was largely carried by the duo @Tzon93 and @Klassikko_, who between the two of them scored 63% of the teams goals. 18. TIKI TALK (Group 2) Regular season record 13-14-3 As the result of a tough ECL 5, Tiki Talk was relegated from Elite. Their roster experienced something of an overhaul, but the team never really found their stride, resulting in a disappointing season. 19. Free From Rodents (Group 1) Regular season record 10-11-5 The experienced Swedish team was looking to make their first first playoff appearance in the division era of ECL, but ended up falling just short due to going on a cold streak towards the end of the regular season, finishing with a 1-7-2 record in their las ten games. 20. Bellizzi (Group 2) Regular season record 13-15-2 Bellizzi had a difficult season, as their scoring didn't find a way to get going (56 GF) and their defense didn't show up (102 GA) to the level required. Despite their troubles, the team managed to grab a surprising amount of wins and wasn't too far from reaching a playoff spot in group 2. 21. OG Royals (Group 2) Regular season record 12-14-4 The Royals made a comeback after a short hiatus. Captain @AzByCxx managed to put together a decent lineup of promising players, but the team didn't perform according to expectations, resulting in a low ranking on this list. 22. Murohoki (Group 1) Regular season record 10-12-4 As an established Pro team, Murohoki would surely have hoped for a better result to their season. The team put in a balanced effort on both ends of the ice, falling just 2 points short of a playoff spot in group 1. They will look to improve their powerplay numbers for next season, since icing a powerplay with a success rate of 5% won't exactly intimidate the opponent. 23. Penalty Box (Group 2) Regular season record 12-15-3 Penalty Box played a rather mediocre season, averaging around 0,9 P/G and having balanced statistics in both scoring and defense. To their credit, they managed to ice the second deadliest powerplay in ECL Pro. 24. Banterfield Battalion (Group 1) Regular season record 11-14-1 Banterfield has experienced a large player turnover, but maintained their original core of founding members @Heero, @Mikka and @Dunu. In their second Pro season, they managed to avoid a relegation faceoff, but their season ended early as they failed to make the playoffs. 25. Old Farts (Group 2) Regular season record 12-17-1 After a short break, Old Farts were hoping to come back with a bang and grab a playoff spot in the Pro division. Despite having a lineup full of experienced players, the team didn't have the x-factor, which could have pushed them into the playoffs. On a positive note, they were the least penalized team in ECL Pro. 26. EN HUND (Group 2) Regular season record 8-17-5 EN HUND had a disappointing season. As an established team, they would surely have hoped for a bit of a better result to their season. Their scoring worked just fine, but letting in close to four goals per game doesn't take you that far in a competitive league. 27. Breakers Of The Bone (Group 2) Regular season record 7-16-7 Breakers Of The Bone managed to secure a promotion from Lite in ECL 5 after an impressive playoff run. However, the Pro division turned out to be a completely different mountain to climb. Few things went their way this season and they will surely look to improve come ECL 7. 28. Nordic Nosebleed (Group 1) Regular season record 6-16-4 (Relegation faceoff win 4-0) The Swedes were promoted from Lite at the end of ECL 5. Much alike Breakers Of The Bone, Nordic Nosebleed also had a tough time acclimating to the increased tempo and general skill level. They ended up in the relegation faceoff against JPTJ, but managed to secure their Pro spot for next season after a 4-0 series win. 29. JPTJ (Group 1) Regular season record 8-17-1 (Relegation faceoff loss 0-4) JPTJ had a disappointing second season in ECL Pro. Some of us still remember their inaugural season in ECL 4 when they set scoring records in Lite. The second highest tier has proven to be a challenge and this second season didn't go their way. The season ended in a relegation but we're hoping for a bounce back in ECL 7. 30. The Beagle Boys (Group 1) Regular season record 3-21-2 (Disbanded after regular season) The Beagle Boys gained promotion at the end of ECL 5, but didn't manage to elevate their level of play to match the requirements set by the Pro division. The season was difficult as the team managed to win only three games in total, finishing with a P/G average of only 0,31. The team announced that they are disbanding after the season. AWARDS Playoff MVP: @pajenc Most Points: @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 37 Goals, 57 Assists, 94 Points in 28 games Most Goals: @mikaasi, FILADELPHIA, 44 Goals, 41 Assists, 85 Points in 30 games Most Assists: @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 37 Goals, 57 Assists, 94 Points in 28 games Most Hits by a Forward: @vilperi90, Baltic Sea Eagles, 168 Hits in 26 games Best +/-: @mikaasi, FILADELPHIA, +76 in 30 games Most Points by a Defenseman: @vSilenttio, SIKA, 6 Goals, 29 Assists, 35 Points in 26 games Most Goals by a Defenseman: @JaikenK, Alliance HT, 13 Goals, 21 Assists, 34 Points in 27 games Most Assist by a Defenseman: @vSilenttio, SIKA, 6 Goals, 29 Assists in 26 games Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Rissanen, Breakers Of The Bone, 175 Hits in 26 games TOP 3'S OF ECL 6 PRO Top 3 Forwards Regular Season: 1. @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 37 Goals, 57 Assists, 94 Points in 28 games 2. @mikaasi, FILADELPHIA, 44 Goals, 41 Assists, 85 Points in 30 games 3. @Tim_FlyersFan, Clowns On Ice, 41 Goals, 35 Assists, 76 Points in 28 games Top 3 Defender Regular Season: 1. @vSilenttio, SIKA, 6 Goals, 29 Assists, 35 Points in 26 games 2. @JaikenK, Alliance HT, 13 Goals, 21 Assists, 34 Points in 27 games 3. @Philip Strom (Strumpan87), Monarchs, 10 Goals, 19 Assists, 29 Points in 26 games Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season: 1. @roory366, Alliance HT, 20 Wins, 84,14%, 1,44 GAA, 6 SO in 27 games 2. @chavelski, Monarchs, 18 Wins, 81,60%, 1,27 GAA, 6 SO in 18 games 3. @Stilando, Shameful Knights, 18 Wins, 84,92%, 1,57 GAA, 6 SO in 26 games Top 3 Forwards Playoffs: 1. @pajenc, Monarchs, 16 Goals, 28 Assists, 44 Points in 24 games 2. @Tacterz, Monarchs, 23 Goals, 20 Assists, 43 Points in 24 games 3. @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 15 Goals, 23 Assists, 38 Points in 21 games Top 3 Defender Playoffs: 1. @Philip Strom (Strumpan87), Monarchs, 7 Goals, 22 Assists, 29 Points in 24 games 2. @oGBioLan, FILADELPHIA, 1 Goals, 19 Assists, 20 Points in 21 games 3. @vSilenttio, SIKA, 3 Goals, 13 Assists, 16 Points in 13 games Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs: 1. @chavelski, Monarchs, 16 Wins, 77,22%, 1,70 GAA, 3 SO in 24 games 2. @swagx88, FILADELPHIA, 15 Wins, 81,92%, 1,52 GAA, 6 SO in 21 games 3. @Vaporik, Almost Famous, 11 Wins, 77,39%, 1,94 GAA, 4 SO in 17 games This season we'd also like to make the introduction of the top 6 of the season. This will mean a selection of 6 players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. This season, the selections were made by staff members who have been following ECL Pro. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Pro division in ECL 6: @pajenc (Monarchs) - @Erkki (I_Eki_I, FILADELPHIA) - @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf, FILADELPHIA) @Philip Strom (Strumpan87, Monarchs) - @xDoumi (FILADELPHIA) @chavelski (Monarchs) Conclusively, I'd like to extend a thank you for all participating teams and everyone who is making this league possible. Congratulations to all teams gaining promotion at the end of the season and to those less fortunate - come back stronger next season. Have a nice summer break and see you out on the ice, come Summer Cup 3!