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I_Eki_I is the winner of the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship and $50 000 (twitch.tv/nhl) Our very own @Eki has won the first ever NHL Gaming World Championship! Eki, who was unbeaten through the European qualifiers and the European regional finals, showed that he really is the best 1vs1 NHL 18 player in the world at the moment, as he beat every single one of his opponents in the World Finals in Las Vegas. In the finals he met JrPens91 and he won the best-of-3 series 2-0 with the scores of 2-1 and 7-3. Huge congratulations to Eki and coach @plee999 for the success in the tournament. Also congratulations to @Artuzio for his great effort of making it into the top 6. A longer article will be published later. The results of the group stage in the World Finals (twitch.tv/nhl) The final results of the tournament (twitch.tv/nhl)

Hey NHL Gamers! Today marks one of those very special days in the short history of the website we have all been waiting for. In the past few weeks - alongside the ECL 4 Playoffs and our coverage of the IS Cup - interesting and highly promising connections have come together. Thanks to our Staff member Hampus (@The_Alpha_Furyan), who acted as the leading negotiator throughout this process, we are finally able to reveal the first official sponsorship for NHLGamer.com: Summer Cup Season 2, Presented by Webhallen! We could not be more proud of this partnership with one of the leading retailers for consumer electronics, hardware and software in Sweden - running a total of 26 stores scattered across the country. We believe this partner is a perfect match for a populated and innovative eSports platform like NHLGamer. Webhallen can be found here: Online Shop Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube Twitch THE DEAL Webhallen will be accompanying us throughout the duration of Summer Cup Season 2, leading up to the announcement of NHL 18 during E3 in Los Angeles which takes place on June 13-15. While everyone is going to be excited about EA SPORTS NHL 18 feature announcements, trailers and other types of content; Webhallen will act as NHLGamer's recommended retail source for purchasing the game, due to release in September 2017 (estimate). Finally, to honor the best Summer Cup Season 2 teams, Webhallen will be offering the following prizes for Summer Cup Season 2: Summer Cup winners receive one physical copy of NHL 18 (PS4) per player, arriving at launch Members of the 2nd place team receive runner-up prizes, which are to be announced in due time OUTLOOK Last year around 150 players took part in this draft-type league, which was aimed at experienced players as well as community greenhorns. The stated goal of the tournament was to improve networking between our players and to open up ways for prospects to make their way into EASHL's best teams out there. This is the same promise we are going to deliver on with Season 2, only even better. Based on this, there will be a few tweaks to the following aspects of Summer Cup: Team building: No more than 2 players from a single ECL 4 team are allowed to play in the same Summer Cup team. This rule applies to the final rosters, after transfers and free agents. Team names: Due to our new API reporting tool, 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 clearer structure, allowing captains to recognize fitting players more easily. Draft procedure: We are working on improving our draft pick tool and simplifying communication towards and between team captains to reduce idling, allowing us to increase the speed in which draft picks are made. LEAGUE DETAILS Summer Cup Season 2 will take place on PS4 - if you are looking for Xbox action, we would love to see your team sign up for Xbox ECL! Last day to sign up is Wednesday, May 24th. Players instead of teams sign up using the registration tool linked at the bottom of the post. All signed up players are aimed to be seeded into teams with a size of 10 players (may vary). Out of all registrations, NHL Gamer Staff will elect an according number of team captains from the players that offered to take on a captaincy rule in their sign-up post - anyone is allowed to apply for it. Team captains will receive a draft sheet on May 26th, containing all signed up players and relevant information in a structured form. Team captains will be taking part in a live draft event on May 28th, picking their roster until all players are seeded. All games are played 6vs6 using dedicated EASHL teams. The leagues are set to start on the week of May 29th 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! That's all you need to do... sounds easy eh? Let's take this opportunity - together with our new partner Webhallen - to finish NHL 17 with a bang: Sending shockwaves through the community and setting up NHLGamer.com's ambitious goals for NHL 18. @gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. We're starting off our 16 in 16 with a team that is new to competing at the highest tier. The team has been battling and establishing themselves in the Pro division for a few seasons now, and after a successful campaign in ECL 6, they managed to gain promotion. I'm of course talking about the former White Trash, now turned Team Frosty as the NHL team signed a deal with an esports organization bearing the same name (We'll address this in a later article, no worries!). This is a squad that has been grinding it out for several seasons now under the lead of captain @Zip player. Some of the men alongside him have changed, but the strive for success has remained relentless. The team didn't get a lot of confidence from the captains, being predicted to place last in Elite at the end of ECL 7. They surely have a steep hill to climb, but if the form they have shown in some of their preseason games continue, I believe these guys could surprise. IN KenuFHR <-- Monte Carlo Obagol <-- Arctic Chaostive <-- Ea Logic xXSinCosTanXx <-- Nordic Stars IiSvampI <-- Monarchs Jyrkkis_ <-- Gotham Knights OUT Kaltsone --> N/A rGinnu --> N/A plymalkin --> N/A pro-m99 --> Military Service Current roster: Forwards ZipPlayer (C) Kaneyh KenuFHR Chaostive Toukoo01 Defensemen TheFakiiR1 (A) jyrkkis_ IiSvampI xXSinCosTanXx Goalies Mehiiss (A) Jahuuu88 Obagol Interview with captain @Zip player: The team experienced something of a makeover during the summer, what are the underlying reasons and how would you describe the Team Frosty we'll see on the opening night of ECL 7? I suppose that statement is true. In my opinion, the main reason is that we advanced to the very highest level in the ECL. When doing so, a team needs to comply with the level of play in the highest tier. Some of our older players are less active nowadays so we decided to take action immediately. The goal was to renew the team while maintaining the old foundation. On the opening night of ECL 7, you'll see a Team Frosty that trusts their process and we hope to bring our very best to the ice each and every night! Talk a bit about the aggressive recruiting process you guys had going during the summer. Was it a conscious decision to try out so many players? We wanted to be vocal and catch the attention of players. We saw a lot of players along the course of the summer and at some point even our own players were confused about the situation as we were constantly bringing in new guys. I'd say it was our conscious decision to try players who were interested and now I think we have a good group of guys put together. How do you expect your starting lineup to look? I'd like to emphasize that we play as a team. I wouldn't want to speculate on the starting lineup yet, but we're going by the principle that the players who can help the team will play and of course activity will be rewarded. Each of our players have different strengths and one of our main objectives were to build a versatile team that can adapt to any situation. ECL 7 will be the first season with an actual prize pool. What are your thoughts on this? I'm really excited about the growth of the community, both in-game and back office developments have been very positive lately. It would certainly be something, if we one day could have anything even close to a professional league. I believe that money will increase the competitiveness, but currently we aren't talking big numbers so no one will be getting rich yet! It is good for the community regardless. For my final question, I'd like to ask you for a prediction of ECL 7 in the eyes of Team Frosty. What do you think? I'm notoriously bad at predictions, but I'll set some objectives for us. Our first and most important objective is surely to maintain our spot in the Elite division. We'll do everything we can to prove that we belong. Our dream is to make the playoffs on our first season. The road will most likely be long and difficult, but we're up for the challenge! Big thanks to ZipPlayer for his short interview and the best of luck to Team Frosty in their first Elite season! Stay tuned for our next article in the series, in which we showcase a team coming from a very different situation, but according to our Elite captains, are fighting for the same positions as Team Frosty!

Fathers and sons tend to have a certain amount of resemblance. A father or mother is often a personality that the offspring looks up to and wants to mimic in a way. Then again, there might be some characteristics the younger generation is trying to stay clear of. Where am I going with this? Well, I have gotten word that we will be experiencing a very special 'first' today at NHLGamer as ECL Lite division team Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat will feature father @Aitis and his 10 year-old son @viba2008 in their lineup in their games against Burns Beardy Bastards. This will be the first ever father-son duo playing ECL games and is certainly something we at NHLGamer respect greatly. The three founders of Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat - Aitis, @Matti Parviainen and @ninnanunna share godfather responsibilities for each others children and now are also equally responsible for this newest family member, their ECL team. After being established in early 2016, interest in 6v6 games grew quickly. Aitis recruited his cousin @samppa1995 and some other players joined. The club's first ECL tournament was ECL 5, which ended in a second round playoff exit against Raging Monkeys. This season the squad hopes to prove they can compete in the playoffs too and have fared well so far, holding a 4th place spot in their group with 7 wins in 10 games. Aitis describes the team as follows: "Hinkkaajat is a team where most players lack soft hands and hockey sense, but we are a group of guys who believe in the strengths of team play." "The kid has been begging for ice-time since last season" Aitis is your average 37 year-old Finnish guy. His son Viljo, who is 27 years younger, has recently started showing interest towards gaming and a natural step to take is obviously following his father into the ECL scene. What better than joining the team his father is leading in their second ECL season in Lite. "Viljo started playing the NHL-series in NHL14, but first played with our team in NHL17, when Beaverskin asked him to step in for one of our players. Viljo quickly impressed skill-wise and has been in a tough hockey school ever since.", Aitis comments about his son playing for the team. "The kid has been begging for ice-time since last season and thinks it's no wonder we aren't doing better as he isn't playing yet.", he adds. The games tend to start late at night, so that's the main reason Viljo hasn't been in the lineup yet. Come puck drop we will be witnessing dad Aitis81 playing left defender, feeding his son Viljo on the left wing with quick and smart breakouts you only see from a blood-related duo. When asking the youngster about tonights games, he replied that a regular spot in the opening lineup will be obvious after these two clashes. We'll see how it turns out in the evening. We will be watching with excitement and most definitely rooting for the 10 year-old in black and green. You can also join in at the Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat stream at 21 CET.

Meet Kenneth, aka KenuFHR, boss of the ECL since its inception. He expresses his pride in seeing the league exceed the key figure of the one hundred teams and announces that several innovations are approaching. Hi Kenu! Tell me, how many hours a day do you spend managing ECL? « Hey! That’s a great question and the answer really depends on the day. Recently anywhere between 4-12 hours per day, taking into account general NHLGamer related tasks, but of course I take some days off here and there. The time leading up to the new seasons and the events, such as the Finnish Championships (eSM) and the IS Cup are the most time consuming projects and often require a big push. » The symbolic number of the hundred teams has been crossed. Is it a pride, or on the contrary an anxiety because of the management that it will impose? « There’s definitely a big feeling of pride for myself and the whole staff to reach this milestone. We were close with ECL 5, where we reached 96, so we were very hopeful to do it this time around. Of course the large amount of teams brings with it a big responsibility for us to run things smoothly, but let’s call it a inspirational and motivational boost rather than anxiety at this stage. » With so many teams and players, do you think about dealing commercial agreements with hockey brands or video game industry brands or other? « I definitely see a great opportunity in commercial co-operation and we had a good experience with Webhallen and our Summer Cup last summer. We’ve also seen our first eSports contracts for a few players in our league and the Cancun Pirates sponsorship by Bauer Hockey France is an excellent display that there is an interest in our community, teams and players. That being said, we have nothing to announce at this time. » « New and long-awaited features are coming » You called out to the community for help in January, was this call heard? « Absolutely! I was blown away by the amount of people that reached out, the quality of their applications and their work mentality later on. We have over 20 new members to our ECL Staff and the guys have done a great job so far preparing for the season. The challenge is of course to keep this positive spirit and activity going throughout the season and beyond, so let’s all do our best to make the new team feel welcome. We are still looking for more people interested in video production/editing, so if this is something you’d be interested in, please get in touch. » Well, let's talk about the upcoming season. A first surprise with the absence of Aapon, Elite champions. Do we know the reasons of their absence when they had announced to be back trough Facebook some weeks ago? « That was indeed a big disappointment for myself and many others, but these things happen. I believe some key players had decided they wanted to play elsewhere and in some cases this means taking away the glue that was making the team stick together so well in the past. » In your opinion, are there favorites already visible in Elite, Pro and Lite? « The divisions keep getting more and more talented each season and ECL 6 is no exception. I do think there are a few teams in each division with favorite status, but I prefer not to have an opinion about this. My goal besides running the website is to help my team, Monte Carlo, go as far as we can in ECL Pro. » Can you tell us some new things to come this season? « We have got a new member, @Hennisch, to join us and work on the code of NHLGamer and you can expect to see some new and long-awaited features rolling out during the ECL 6 season. With the new bigger ECL Staff we are putting a lot of work into producing more material during the season and seeing the most ECL streaming coverage we ever have before. Of course we are also putting a big emphasis on the very basics, such as reporting and replying to any team enquiries as quickly and accurately as possible. Last season we did that with roughly three active people and the new staff should make things run much more smoothly. It’s only logical to expect a small learning curve at the beginning of the season, so please have some extra patience in the first days, if there’s something. » « ECL 7 on NHL 19? » Finally, will ECL 7 take place on NHL 18 or rather on NHL 19? « As it looks right now, due to a lot of players wanting to take some time off in the summer, we believe it’s in the interest of the community to play ECL 7 on NHL 19. We do, however have a couple other 6vs6 tournaments planned for the time in between. Feel free to disagree with this and let us know if you think ECL 7 should take place during NHL 18. » Anything else to add? « On behalf of the team and myself, I am super excited about how many people and teams are finding their way onto our website and into ECL and we thank you for your interest and support! I would also like to thank my new (and old) staff members for their efforts in the off-season and the coming months - this is only the beginning. » Interviewed by Virtual_Saku

FILADELPHIA is our IS Cup 3: 6vs6 eSM champion! (Picture courtesy of Jussi Jääskeläinen) What a weekend, gamers! GameXpo is now in the books and we can surely say it was a success. Saturday was the end of IS Cup 3 6vs6 and we set all kinds of records! It was most definitely a great stepping stone for the whole 6vs6 community. On behalf of NHLGamer, I’d like to thank everyone who showed up either to the event or joined via stream. Also a massive shoutout to everyone who helped out with the production of the event. Although we faced some adversity, our persistence prevailed and we were able to bring you what we are now proud to call the biggest event in NHL 6vs6 ever so far. While the stakes were high, the players were enjoying themselves. (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) Late on Saturday night, FILADELPHIA was crowned the champions of IS Cup 3: 6vs6 eSM. They are the first ever 6vs6 Finnish champions. FILADELPHIA’s road to the cup: 10 wins, 1 loss and 1 overtime loss earned FILA a 2nd place behind Symphony in their group. Their one loss came in a 1-0 game against Symphony, who they later swept in dominant fashion in the semi-finals. @PleeMaker led the team in scoring through the group stage with 20+10 combining for a total of 30 points. FILA was coming in very confident into the finals event at Messukeskus, as captain @Patzlaf stated in an interview for Ilta-Sanomat that nobody is going to stop them from winning the tournament. FILADELPHIA played their semi-final against Symphony, who managed to steal points from them in the group stage. This time, FILA came out strong right from the get-go and were determined to send their competition home quick. The first game ended up being tightly contested and ended in a 2-1 win for FILA, with an impressive amount of people watching the game both at the event and on stream. The boys in orange also managed to win the second game, now with a larger score margin, 4-1. FILA was now in for a short break as the bronze game was taking place before the finals. The final series were extremely even and long, the players had to focus for an extended amount of time. (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) The finals were a different kind of spectacle for sure. I think it's safe to say we've never seen two teams matching up that well agains each other. All games went into OT and a total of only five goals were scored over the around 15 periods of hockey played. FILA won the first game as right wing @Eki opened the scoring of the IS Cup 3 6vs6 finals early in the first overtime period. The second game of the finals was one for the ages. Both teams went at it full-force and Written In The Stars had came back to play with their backs against the wall. FILA drew first blood and they looked like certain champions but SKY had different thoughts as they tied the game two minutes before the buzzer. Regular time ended 1-1 and we headed into overtime again. The teams played through five scoreless periods despite several scoring chances and bouncing pucks around the crease, only to see SKY right wing @Dominointi bury the series-tying goal in 6th overtime. What a thriller! There was still one decisive game left, both teams very exhausted but ready to go head-to-head for the trophy and a whole lot of cash that comes with it. We saw no surprise as it was yet agains a very tightly contested battle and both teams showed excellent defensive play and outstanding patience with the puck. It took 2nd overtime in game 3 to decide our IS Cup 3 6vs6 champion as @vatalisti, the right defenseman of FILA blasted a rocket from the blueline. The puck chipped the left post and crossed the line at 8:45 into double overtime of game 3 and we had a champion! Vatalisti scored the decisive goal of the IS Cup 3 6vs6 finals. (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) 1. FILADELPHIA 🥇 Championship roster: Forwards Patzlaf (C) @Patzlaf 🥇 I_Eki_I (A) @Eki 🥇 PleeMaker @PleeMaker 🥇 mikaasi @mikaasi 🥇 FIN_Potilas @FIN_Potilas 🥇 Defensemen vatalisti @vatalisti 🥇 Janzuh @Janzuh 🥇 oGBioLan @oGBioLan 🥇 Goaltenders FinKonna (A) @FinKonna 🥇 Zande95 @sibeelius 🥇 2. Written In The Stars 🥈 Written In The Stars had to settle for second place this time - despite their great effort. (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) Forwards Dominointi (A) @Dominointi 🥈 FlyerKungen (C) @FlyerKungen 🥈 Bugimir @Bugimir 🥈 topikeranen @topikeranen 🥈 Defensemen jtorro1234 (A) @jtorro1233 🥈 willekunq @willekunq 🥈 JOHTAJAVIRTANEN @JOHTAJAVIRTANEN 🥈 VesKuLiNe @VesKuLiNe 🥈 Goaltenders JANURI98 @JanneK. 🥈 Hansulinho @Hansulinho 🥈 3. Symphony 🥉 Symphony managed to win the bronze game and secure the bronze medal. (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) Forwards ADETIKKI @ADETIKKI 🥉 indi969 (C) @indi969 🥉 Puantso (A) @Buantso 🥉 Defensemen vSilenttio (A) @vSilenttio 🥉 Ilmari_30 @Ilmari_30 🥉 Entii112 @entii112 🥉 Goaltenders Laurilion @Lauri 🥉 Results of IS Cup 3: 6vs6 eSM Semi-final: Written In The Stars - Dynasty 2-0 (5-0, 3-2 OT) Semi-final: FILADELPHIA - Symphony 2-0 (2-1, 4-1) Bronze game: Symphony - Dynasty 2-0 Final: Written In The Stars - FILADELPHIA 1-2 (0-1 OT, 2-1 OT, 0-1 OT) IS Cup 3 ended in a disappointing 4th place for Dynasty (Picture courtesy of Mika Tuononen) Once again, thanks to all the teams, viewers, staff and everyone who in some way participated in the event. We made history and we will continue on that path onto even greater things to come. Also, congratulations to FILADELPHIA as the recent IS Cup 3 6vs6 champions!

NHLGamers, We’re closing in on the deadline for registrations and the excitement is ramping up. Currently we stand at 90 teams, so we’re nearing the 100-team-mark with two days still to go. Tonight we will be hosting a preseason stream featuring a number of staff members, including @Kenu, @MartindalexC, @nylanderi and @SepiDN. The stream will be a forum for all new and old members to ask anything that comes to mind from our staff. We have a couple of things on the agenda, such as introduction of our new expanded staff and obviously discussing the new season about to start, along with all the fuzz and transfers going on in the community right now. We will be showing some preseason gameplay during the stream too, an opportunity to scout your opponents here! Tune in on our Twitch channel today at 20:00 CET, get your questions ready and put us on the spot! Last but not least, here is a listing of our new ECL Staff members, along with their approximate responsibilities. @Angepaoli - Social Media Representative, Forum Moderator @Bantubox - Forum Moderator @ICappeI - Forum Moderator @chavelski - ECL Elite Assistant, Journalist @cHIIMEERa - Streamer/Broadcast Crew @Crisu_rottis - ECL Pro Lead, ECL League Administrator, Streamer/Broadcast Crew @iRSPe - ECL League Administrator, Journalist @jahajaha93 - ECL Pro Assistant, Journalist, Social Media Representative @Kookasi - ECL League Administrator @Mannheimer1938 - ECL Pro Assistant, ECL Pro Assistant @MartindalexC - Streamer/Broadcast Crew @miisolegend - ECL Lite Lead @nylanderi - Streamer/Broadcast Crew, Journalist @Panarinz - ECL League Administrator @pnordetun - Journalist @ramseyy2 - ECL Lite Assistant @SepiDN - ECL Elite Lead, Streamer/Broadcast Crew @Snapster - ECL Pro Assistant, ECL Lite Assistant @Stylez-Hades - ECL Elite Assistant @Virtual_Saku - Journalist, Streamer/Broadcast Crew @Veikkonator - Social Media Representative In addition, @Hennisch has also joined our NHLGamer team as a programmer. Give our new staff members a warm welcome and stay tuned for more great stuff to come!

Hello Gamers! It's that time of the year again that we are proud to present you the preview of the upcoming Elite season and more importantly it's time to start playing ECL again! We are going to have the best coverage of any season so far with not yet published additional content on the way to make the season even more exciting. A slightly slower pace this season will ensure that the pinnacle of ECL will be the ECL Elite finals that will be played 25.4-3.5. The off-season has probably been busier than ever with some teams breaking apart, high profile players such as @Erkki, @Joonas Paatiala and @mikaasi forming a new team Filadelphia, that will be playing in the Pro division for next season and there has been lots of trades and struggles in the other Elite teams as well. Silver Sword Griffins having some degree of overhaul in their team and so on. There's also quite a bunch of teams being promoted from Pro: Evolution, Unlucky boys HC, Pata Hellalla, Falun Coal Miners and in addition to these four, also Nordic Stars and Gotham Knights are being promoted due to Aapon Taikasauva and Mukimiehet falling apart. ECL Elite will work, as usual, with 16 teams and all battling for the top 8 playoffs spots, #9-12 being safe, #13-14 will face the Pro semifinal losers and positions #15-16 will be relegated straight away. As a reminder, the rules have had some modifications, so be sure to check those out as well. "I did not know" is not going to get you off the hook. Rather than doing a preview of just a few top teams, we decided to go trough each and every one of the Elite teams. There's no "players to watch" this time, as I think this extensive preview gives you most of the answers. With the bigger staff we have been able to do more and @chavelski has done small interviews with all of the captains for our reading pleasure. @nylanderi,@ICappeI, @SepiDN, @Crisu_rottis, @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun have made us previews of all of the Elite teams. So without further ado, here are the captains' thoughts and previews. Let's start with our prediction of the standings after the regular season: Carlsberg HC Without a doubt the best team at the moment. After they got rid of their captain @Joonas Paatiala and star winger @Joukki, they acquired one of the best centers in the game, two time ECL champion @Penatski. Is this the season they can hoist the cup? For sure they have all the right players to do it. After reigning champion Aapon Taikasauva disbanded, they only have a couple capable contenders in their way. Taking a closer look at their team, no team should be able to match their offense. The best playmaker in the game (when he wants to) @Penatski, one of the most dangerous snipers in the game @Vilupoika, and the two-way workhorse @Tuukka.R. Also, the best players in their positions, defensive duo @Janzuh and @vatalisti who can provide depth in the goal-scoring if the other teams defense can stop their forwards. If we take a look at Carlsberg's potential weaknesses, could it be a problem that both of their defenseman are so offensive-minded? What about their goalie duo? @Zande95 and @FinKonna are known for not shining the brightest in tight situations. Can the older players of the team calm down the younger players if the things get tough? vatalisti What are your expectations going into ECL 6? To have a tight season and my personal expectation is to make it into playoffs with Car. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We got lucky to add a 2x champion Penatski to our roster, who brings a lot of skill and hunger. which hopefully helps us go far in ECL 6. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, Northern Ascendancy Dynasty Guess who's back? Well, @Buantso is. Because of that, we're pretty sure Dynasty is as well. In ECL 4, Puantso and TehhAhola formed a deadly duo causing all sorts of problems for everyone. If Dynasty wants to make it back to the finals and possibly even lift the cup, what do they need to do? They somehow need to get Puantso motivated, because he truly is the best left winger in the game. If they cant do it, they can't make it too far. Dynasty also added @DieCutterMC, who is a solid addition to their defense. He and @Snapster might not be the flashiest partnership in the back, but they surely can handle their own in the defensive zone. DieCutterMC does not contribute with offense, but we all know that Snapu48 does have some tricks in his sleeve, mainly Kyle Turris dekes. They also don't need to worry about the goalie situation, since @Sandr0hh is one of the better goalies in the game. Snapster What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Championship What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We had a couple players leaving but also a couple players who returned from ECL 4. So to answer your question, we have pretty much the same team as we had in ECL 4 and we did pretty good that season. Top 3 teams this season? I'm assuming you don't want us to name our own teams so here's my top3: Carlsberg HC, Written In The Stars, SJK eSports Evolution This team was labeled as the black horse in ECL Pro last season and that's what they were. They ended up winning Pro in ECL 5 and their offense includes @Jageksi and @topikeranen just like last season, however they lost @Erkki which is a huge loss for Evolution. He was one of the main reasons why they won Pro in the tight final games. With the addition of @SadaPoika to the roster, Evolution is going to be really interesting to watch. SadaPoika knows how to produce points. In addition to him, @Pair4You and @Juizki joined the team as well to keep their roster at a healthy size. This team can surprise many this season and if they get everything together it would not surprise us to see them in the playoffs. Crisu_rottis What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We are gonna push hard for playoff spot, and of course you can always dream about winning the title, but we're taking it one step at a time. Holding the Elite spot is an okay season while getting a playoff spot being a great one. We need to be awake in every single game from the start to the end if we want to succeed. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Eki leaving and SadaPoika coming in, this kid has got some talent I tell you. He's the best bet for the player that is going to be the most important for us. Top 3 teams this season? SJK eSports, Carlsberg HC and Dynasty Falun Coal Miners Promoted to Elite following a great campaign in ECL 5, Falun Coal Miners are no strangers to getting their hands dirty at work. It’s in the Coal Miners DNA to dig deep and go where not many a man wants to go in order to get the job done, surely one of traits they are going to take advantage of this season. On the ice FCM is showing off their grit and hard work mixed with the soft hands you only get after years of cold, dark weekends digging deep in the mines. Falun can put the perfect defense on display with all 6 guys working as a unit covering up for each other to shut down their opponents. On the other end of the rink they can hurt any team if their creative offense is clicking. Now in Elite they need to prove themselves against the best of the best. Led by the Band of Brothers they are as lethal as Easy Company with @The_Alpha_Furyan setting up and pacing the plays and our favourite rockstar idol @LastMandalorian uses his Mike Richards-like center abilities reading the game and creating something beautiful. This first Elite experience for Falun is amazing considering they have had almost the same roster since the very first ECL. These guys really prove consistency and hard work can in fact pay off. Entering ECL 6 they have added a few new faces to strengthen the team, chief among them @IsakTuvesson in net from Lavetten, but also free agent Berger-I88I. @minokin is now in his second season with Falun and has been building some amazing chemistry with @The_Alpha_Furyan at defense. The new season will be really interesting to see if Falun can dig deep enough in order to find that extra boost that will push them to a fight for the playoffs. Either way, they are looking forward to this season to prove that they really belong at the Elite level. The_Alpha_Furyan What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Our expectations with the Falun Coal Miners are primarily that our team quickly adapts to the level of play in Elite. As a newcomer, you don't want to set the bar too high, but at the same time - its not like we're just tourists who are happy to be here. We might not contend for the title, at least not this season, but we do expect to be able to establish ourselves in Elite. If so, we might finally find ourselves on the super secret list of "Elite-level players" that some of the big stars in the community seem to have collected. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? There really isn't a difference. We believe in continuity, chemistry and developing our players to enhance their skills. You'll never find us in contention for the big names in Free Agency, but thats fine with us. In the Mines of Falun, we like that homegrown feel to our game. We've added Berger88 for depth and also a terrific goaltender in IFKPEKING2k15 who'll be a nice complement to our long-time G @Onecorner95. Otherwise, its all the same. Four forwards (@PatzyDrake @pentsaa, @iscojr94 & Mando), three defenders (@Meeertz, me & Mino) and the two goalies. Top 3 teams this season? With the amount of transfers this season, this becomes a hard question to answer. If I had to guess, I'd say Written In The Stars, SJK eSports and Northern Stars. All three look really, really strong. Kattiautomaati Experienced Kattiautomaatti will be looking to deliver this time after being left out of the playoffs last season. Their roster is almost unchanged with only @sumppi90 returning to Kattiautomaatti, and @eyebiz leaving to Northern Ascendancy. These guys will have a word to say when talking about real games, don't underestimate these guys, they hold a lot of experience & skill in their hands and definitely are not afraid to use it in ECL. Their tight roster with a long history will help them thrive towards the playoff spot, but will it be enough this season? The battle for a playoff spot is going to be so tight that only time will tell, but the worst thing you can do is think that these guys are on the way to the Pro division, because these guys are hungry for glory and happy to prove you wrong. Slaivone What are your expectations going into ECL 6? In ECL 4 Kattiautomaatti got promoted to the Elite division. In ECL 5 we finished 10th in Elite. In ECL 6 our goal is to get into the Elite playoffs. We improved our game a lot during the last season. I believe we have good chances to reach our goal and hopefully get as far in the playoffs as possible. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We have just one player-change in our roster compared to ECL 5. eyebiz wanted to join NOR for next season and we got Isumppi90I back from Sjukstugan. Both defenders are really good so not a big change in the roster. We believe that we can improve our game by playing with the same guys as long as possible and minimizing roster changes. Most of the guys have played together for years. janbonator is our 'new guy' entering his second season with us and I think we are still improving chemistry with janbo all the time. I feel like we are well prepared for next season. Top 3 teams this season? Car, SKY and DYN. Northern Ascendancy: It's gonna be really interesting to see how NOR plays this season, since they've acquired two really good players in Haldeem and MukiMaisteri. Northern Ascendancy is known for their offense, especially their deadly counter-attacks. What was their biggest weakness? Defense for sure, so thats why @Haldeem is such a great player to have. You can rely on him in the defensive zone and he's really good at breakout passes as well. MukiMaisteri on the other hand is a great add to any offense. His playing style might not be perfect match NOR's style of quick passes in the offensive zone, but he can score. Also if NOR wants to make it far, their goalie @poliskontroll needs to step up his game. For sure these guys can score, but the big question mark is whether or not their defense and goalie hold in the tight games? MartindalexC What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Semi finals appearance What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? A better LW and D core Top 3 teams this season? SJK eSports, Carlsberg, NOS Northern Stars: Last season Northern Stars suprised almost everyone, after eliminating Carlsberg HC and going to game 7 with Aapon Taikasauva. NOS lead the series 3-1 against Aapon, and even had a one-timer hit the post in game 5 OT. So when Aapo came back and won the series, im sure @cHIIMEERa and his squad felt like the season ended in disappointment. But now it is time for a new season and new chance to hoist the cup for one of the more legendary teams in this league. One of the biggest question marks is how much @plee999 can play since we've heard that he has less time for NHL these days. He has formed one of the deadliest duos for many tournaments with @tbnantti, and it worked perfect last season, since rest of NOS is more defensive minded. tbnantti is really important to this team since he is one of the best to break down the opponent's neutral zone trap, and also setup PleeMaker for a deadly one-timer in the offensive zone. They have an experienced duo on the blue line with @Rullstolskalas and @ma0niii. They don't contribute much in the offense, but especially Maonii is one of the best defensive defenders. They also have a great replacement for Plee in @Floor17, who is a beast in every zone of the ice. Watch out for NOS this season, as they are capable of going far and doing great things! cHIIMEERa What are your expectations going into ECL 6? It will be tough of course, but we're well prepared and have the tools we need to go far. You need to have luck on your side in the playoffs and we're hoping to reach further than last tournament of course, but expect to reach the semis at least. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? No difference at all really, same lineup. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, Carlsberg HC, Northern Ascendancy, SJK eSports Pata Hellalla I think everyone agrees, when we say this team 'blew the bank' last season. Who would have thought that a team that is unknown to many and has imago like a newly started Lite team would have made it into Elite? Eliminating teams like Lavetten and Gotham Knights and finally losing to Pro winner Evolution. In order to secure their Elite spot, Pata Hellalla managed to beat TIKI TALK in an incredibly even relegation series that was decided in the second overtime period of game 7. We saw how good their defense was in the playoffs but can their offense get to a next level and keep scoring like they did in Pro? The opponents just get tougher so @kungenkurwa needs to get his team to produce 110% in every game if they want to survive in Elite. kungenkurwa What are your expectations going into ECL 6? I expect a tough season, there are so many good teams and our pre-season was "farssi saatana" (=a farce) cause one guy disappeared after Christmas and came back online maybe 50 days later. Some other guys spent every night in Lonely Lodge and the rest spent a well deserved holiday. But we are confident we can manage to come back and fight for spots where we don't have to play relegation games with Pro teams. Pata is ready like always and fight for the win every game! What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? This is an easy one. One name: Sebusakari. We're so happy that there is some team which wants him. We're so lucky! Of course this is joke and whole Pata wishes him good luck in this season! Second difference is that we know who is our goalie number one, last season it took almost the whole regular season and three goalies which all failed until we found our number one goalie closer than we thought. It is unbelievable how first timer goalie is better than Sebusakari who had played maybe 500 games in goalie! The third difference is that at the very beginning of last season we knew we are going to get promoted, but now I am sure that almost everybody "knows" we are not going to be champions. Fourth and maybe the funniest thing is that our left defender Carlos "Laraque" Havanna, who never made any mistakes, is now lost all of his limitless confidence even then he is so good in his defensive plays and calm with the puck in every zone on the ice, maybe sometimes too calm. Player to watch out for in Elite: I would not like to name just one guy, there is so many good players in Elite. But if i have to name one I would say an easy one so it's @Dominointi. Top 3 teams this season? Car, SJK, PTH Rusty Blades A team that always seems pretty harmless but still gets those wins one after another. @Supreex is one of the best, if not the best goalie in the whole scene. This guy has been keeping the goal horn from buzzing more than one could wish for. Rusty has always been about simple hockey, has never had the guys with the most elastic hands and this season is no exception to that. Running with pretty much the same roster as last season but with even tighter team play, we will likely see them rise above the playoff line again. @Tanski87 leading the defense with his hard hits and RB's offense doing the hard and tireless work to score those goals. Don't forget @koojiikoojii who's one of the main reasons why their defense works as well as it does. Great defense needs a great center and that is what Koojii is. Rusty is a true representation of the fact that you don’t need the best hands to rise to the top - you just need good teamwork and training! Tanski87 What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Our goal is to be even better as a team than in ECL 5. Position does not matter as long as we are able to give the best possible from us. Championship would be a nice bonus. I do expect a tight battle for playoff spots. There's been a lot of changes in Elite for this season. Many new teams, hungry teams. And some losses in form of well seasoned and highly rated teams. No more last years champion Aapon Taikasauva. No more Mukimiehet, no more Nordic Nightmare. These are saddening losses for ECL. I do expect us to keep our spirit and teamplay as high level as it has been for over two years now. We might not be the most skilled danglers out there, but damn we enjoy being on the ice, playing together, doing our all and chatting while doing it. This is what EASHL is supposed to be. Oh yeah, you guys will see us in the playoffs again. No getting rid of us. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We have not had lot of changes, Epelis being only new recruit. I'd have to say that I believe us to be even harder to score against. And our offensive tools are sharpened. Top 3 teams this season? This is a hard question. I have strong faith in Dynasty this season. Last season was a dissappointment for them, but they will come hard for ECL 6. Carlsberg has been in beast-mode lately, and probably will continue to be. SKY offense is as good as we are used to, but their team defense has seen an improvement. Even thought Dynasty got a special mention I would have to say top three to be Carlsberg HC, Written in the Stars and SJK eSports SJK eSports Last season's runner-up has made bunch of interesting signings in the offseason. They acquired @indi969, @ICappeIand @Ilmari_30from last seasons winner Aapon Taikasauva. Indi969 and Ilmari30 will add needed skill and passing ability to SJK's game. Compared to last season, SJK has bunch of new weapons to break opponents down. Their neutral-zone trap is also one of the best, and they are really good at defending in their zone aswell. Addition of Ilmari30 is huge for SJK since breakout passes are one of his strengths. In the previous seasons, SJKs defenders have a hard time sometimes breaking the puck out, so it will be easier for Dominointi to play as well when he does not have to take care of breakouts himself that much. Indi969 is also a great two-way forward who has a high hockey IQ and he finds open space in the ice. Goaltending was in no way SJK's problem last season, but now there's even less reason to worry since they have ICappeI between the pipes. SJK is a team who is really good in every zone of the ice, so expect them to be Carlsberg's number one challenger this season. If their offense can create good chemistry, they will be really good, as they can't just rely on low shots from the point and throwing passes in front of the net. Against these top-level teams they need to create good quality chances and quickly adapt their game if their normal game plan is not working. Dominointi What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Playoff spot as always What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? It is the same team with different type of players. OUT: @hooneli& @esajorma IN: @Lauri, @ICappeI, @Ilmari_30 and @indi969 Top 3 teams this season? Dynasty, Written In The Stars, Carlsberg HC Silver Sword Griffins Remember Nordic Lighting last season? The team that had many players from different teams and it barely had a team assembled before the start of the season? Well that seems similar to SSG this season. They have some veteran players but it feels like a mix of everything. They will struggle at the start of the season but if @xLVxRitchey can keep his guys motivated and if they keep training and building that synergy they might be able to keep the team in Elite but it definitely won't be an easy season for SSG, as they have lost a chunk of their players in the off-season. xLVxRitchey What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Plan is try to stay in Elite but if we get spot in playoffs it will be good bonus main thing is to have fun What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Lot of new players maybe thats good or maybe bad will see. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, SJK eSports, Dynasty Sjukstugan As per usual, 112 Sjukstugan has experienced a bit of a roster turnover in between ECL seasons. The foundation of @pnordetun, @Bjono and @Gustafsson7 remains though and as long as that core trio remains intact - you can be sure Sjukstugan will remain competitive. Key additions to the roster feature highly skilled, former Synergy leading scorer @Norpee and up-and-coming goaltender @Hullued, who looks poised to evolve into a premiere Elite goaltender. What makes Sjukstugan stand out is their unreal chemistry. The "112 Bros" Pato and Bjono know each other on the ice so well, it is almost like they know what the other one is thinking. One of the more skilled Swedish teams at cycling the puck around the offensive zone, they can strike at the net from anywhere, at any time. Long known for their motto of "grind and score", this classic Swedish franchise will be sure to fight tooth and nail for every single point! Bjono What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We want to play in the playoff and during the road towards that get our game to the level we want, because we know it has been struggling lately. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Well, we have made some big changes both after ECL 5 and before ECL 6. We are only 3 guys on the team from last season: @Pippo, Patovic & Bjono. Top 3 teams this season? 1) Written In The Stars 2) SJK eSports 3) Carlsberg HC Unlucky Boys HC They are skilled young guys with a hunger for more. They finished 2nd in Pro last season and they lost only by inches to Evolution. I would label them as the black horse of Elite - not for the win, but for a playoff spot. @Anhel is the heart of this team and this guy needs to keep the strings in his hands. They lost @sweatyfathoe99 but they still got their core roster pretty much the same as last season. @Jugeh_ is their LD who is a very skilled offensive-minded defender that nets some points and has the potential to surprise in the offensive zone, and that's what they need if they want to advance to the top 8. @Danielcadabra is a great addition to their goaltending and he should be, as they lost @eissi83 to Written In The Stars. Anhel_Kuru What are your expectations going into ECL 6? I think we are a an underdog team. Our goal is to fight for the last playoff spots. Also we want to grow as a team. I think that we are capable of making our goals. I do anticipate that the season will contain ups and downs. Either way, I have faith in our team. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We got Danielcadabra and @RamboViking88 to fill the void made by Eissi and @Petihino1 in the goalie department and we lost @Ilmari_30 and Sweatyfathoe99 as well. We gained @Frilander in return. Top 3 teams this season? Written In The Stars, Carlsberg HC, Northern Ascendancy Written In The Stars A team that is in the top 3 in almost every team's prediction. They have one of the best defenders in Elite with @jtorro1233 on the blue line. You can pair him up with either @Totalii or @JOHTAJAVIRTANEN. One of the question marks with SKY is their other defensemen. Totalii can sometimes have a hard time dealing with high pressure, which can occasionally lead to dangerous turnovers. We will see if they let Johtajavirtanen have a go at proving his place amongst the Elite defenders. Their offense is good with @Joukki, @ADETIKKI and @FlyerKungen but it can be a little too predictable at times. Their biggest question mark is their goaltending situation. Can Januri98 and @eissi83 step up when it matters the most? Jtorro1233 can take their game to another level, but we will see how he handles the pressure. We know that the entire SKY team is really hungry, and they are for sure one of the top challengers for the title. FlyerKungen What are your expectations going into ECL 6? Good question, maybe I'm expecting the toughest battle ever between the last playoff spots in Elite. The season is going to be as tight as usually, so many teams with solid rosters and it's really hard to say who's gonna make it and who's not. Our goal is to reach the finals and win the last game. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Less Ulla, less penalties, haha. We were forced to make changes after "retirements" and other stuff. Two new goalies, eissi83 & JANURI98, new D-man, jtorro1234 and also LW joukki13 came to SKY. In my opinion, we have the chance to be even better as a team than last season. We have top guys in every position, now we just need to have some fun and play hockey! Top 3 teams this season? This is also hard one. I can't say SKY, it would be too boring. I need to bet here a little bit. Top 3 "toughest opponents": Carlsberg HC is one, very strong team, nuff said. Other two teams are not so easy though, but I need to say SJK eSports - it's never easy to win them. Third one is Dynasty, using runner-up lineup from ECL 4. Their rock solid defence is not a joke... Not sure about Ulla though... Gotham Knights After last seasons disappointing loss in the quarterfinals in the hands of Pata Hellalla, Gotham will be looking to establish themselves as an Elite team after gaining a promotion due to disbanding teams. They have a new goaltender @Serg1vratar for this season, who played in Nordic Lightning last season in Elite. He is pairing up with @Kefleri between the pipes. Gotham lost @Frilander to Unlucky boys, but acquired @Janikka, oh boy that's a good signing to your blue line. They also acquired @sweatyfathoe99from UB - that's two good players from UB for Gotham - so they do have offensive firepower with the power trio of @Nakkertoni, @ReDMisTi and @Hanssonni staying in the offense. While holding on to @jyrkkisand @MKivinen95 they managed to keep the core of the team intact whilst acquiring some new players. Expect these guys to give their all and fight for a playoff spot in the tight midtable in Elite. ReDMisTi What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We don't have much expectations, we just try our best and play a balanced season. Of course the playoff spot would be really nice and it's our goal for season 6 What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? We are stronger, we play same kind of hockey as last ECL, but after our "main" guys stayed and we got couple really good players more, I'd say we are better for sure Top 3 teams this season? CAR, SKY, NOS Nordic Stars Being up 3-0 thinking you are in the semifinals in pro, but getting defeated 3-4 in the hands of Falun Coal Miners can be disappointing. Not because of the opposing team being Falun, but getting so close must be heartbreaking. Either way, these guys are up and at it again - this time in the Elite division after disbanding teams making way for Nordic Stars. They lost key players such as @FakiiR1, @Devilfish14, @TackleControl, @vilperi90 and Finbarkov after the season, but acquired @Jauho, @entii112, @taemtaem, @Kookasi and @Amigo. Seems like they're on the way to Pro? While there is basicly no bottom teams this season, this team belongs in the lower part in our prediction. The big question here is, can these guys find the synergy that they need to fight in Elite? Expect them to get better round after round, and give their all to keep their spot in the division. Lead by experienced defender @Seahyena they will hold their own in the defensive zone, but can they produce enough in the offense? Excellent goalie @RaNtA will give them a fighting chance game after game to take the points. Seahyena What are your expectations going into ECL 6? We try to make it to the playoffs and i think after re-signing our top goalie Ranta83 we now have all the tools for that. What is the difference in your team this season compared to ECL 5? Big difference. I knew we have a chance to head into Elite and we prepared this team for that. Almost the whole crew have changed and we try now to play more "Elite type" skill hockey than in the Pro div. Much work to find the perfect chemistry with an almost new crew, but i think we're gonna grow closer and closer to that during the season. Top 3 teams this season? Written, SJK and CAR Personally, I have to say that this is the most exciting ECL season yet. The Elite playoff fight will be so intense and there is so many amazing things happening in our community, such as getting new long waited features thanks to @Lurkins, @Hennisch and @Kenu. Best of luck to all of you and see you out on the ice! Let the games begin! ECL Elite lead, @SepiDN

Hey NHLGamers! The ECL Summer Cup is a draft-type league aimed at both experienced community members and complete rookies. The stated goal of this tournament is to improve networking within the community and introduce new players to the great world of NHLGamer. Our Summer Cup is always a great venue for prospects to open up doors for entry into the upcoming ECL season. The same promise remains for season 3, only this time we’ll deliver better! Last year over 300 players took part in our tournament, we organized a nice draft day stream, which due to technical difficulties didn’t go completely as planned (and presto, we got a night stream as well! 😅). We’ve learned from our mistakes and this season we’ll get the draft done in a swifter fashion. We’re hoping for an even larger number of players this season, so please consider your availability to act as a Summer Cup captain. Unlike last Summer Cup, we will not be having any prizes for this season. We’ve received valuable feedback from our community members and based on this, the decision was made that a Summer Cup without prizes will best serve the original purpose of the tournament – to increase networking and allow new players entry to our community. 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! Let's make this year's Summer Cup at least as memorable as the previous ones! Looking forward to see you on the ice!

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, We are proud to announce that in addition to NHLGamer now being a member of SEUL (Suomen elektronisen urheilun liitto / Finnish Esports Federation), we have also signed a contract that covers the NHL and FIFA eSM - the Finnish Championships - license for two additional years. NHLGamer hereby announces the following eSM tournaments for 2018: FIFA 18: 1 vs. 1 (Summer 2018) NHL 19: 1 vs. 1 (End of 2018) NHL 19: 6 vs. 6 (End of 2018) Yes, you read it correctly - in addition to battling out the 1 vs. 1 Finnish Champion in 2018, we will also be crowning the Finnish Champions in 6 vs. 6 NHL! We are working together with SJK eSports in creating the best live events. More details about participation, prerequisites and prize pools will be released after the negotiations are completed, so stay tuned! Extending this partnership is the next logical step towards establishing NHLGamer and its leagues and tournaments in the gaming landscape. Together with our allies, we will remain dedicated to bringing you - the players - the thrilling and meaningful gaming experiences you are looking for. About the Finnish Esports Federation The Finnish Esports Federation (SEUL) works as the umbrella organization for Finnish competitive electronic gaming. Their mission is to improve and promote electronic sports and the activities of their members. The federation was established in December 2010 to respond to the growing need for an organization to promote esports as a hobby and as a respectable sport. The activities performed by SEUL are divided into the development of esports, protection of player’s interests and communicational work. The development of esports is done partly by utilizing workgroups, which are based on the work of our volunteers. The board is responsible for the day to day operations in co-operation with employees. The federation co-operates with many national organizations such as VERKE, EHYT ry and KAVI, promoting a positive image of gamers and gaming in general. The federation’s participation in international field is strong, since we represent Finland in the International Esports Federation (IESF). SEUL is also on the receiving end of the yearly grants given out by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture for youth programs. eSM 2018 will feature the following games: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, Dota 2, NHL, FIFA, League of Legends, Tekken 7 and iRacing. The official eSM website is available at eSM.gg. About SJK eSports SJK eSports is an organisation that functions under SJK, a football club in Seinäjoki, Finland. SJK eSports is mainly focused in bringing new business concepts into the Finnish gaming scene. SJK eSports is especially commited to the growth of the console gaming scene, and is happy to work alongside NHLGamer to achieve that. About NHLGamer NHLGamer.com first saw the light of day in the end of 2015 by launching the European Championship League („ECL“), a 6 vs. 6 virtual ice hockey league carried out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The platform started off with immediate success, hosting 50 teams in its initial season, and has since grown exponentially into what is the largest community for EA SPORTS NHL gamers in Europe. NHLGamer continuously strives to offer the best experience for any and all gamers who have come to enjoy the competitiveness of playing the EA SPORTS series of NHL games. Today, over 4000 website members not only visit NHLGamer to step on the ice themselves. We also enable them to be on top of all the latest NHL and gaming related news, watch broadcasts of NHLGamer league games featuring the very best players in the world, and enjoy exclusive content such as developer interviews and early gameplay impressions of upcoming titles. While proud of our achievements and the success we‘ve had in creating and maintaining such a great community of talented gamers, this is just the beginning. Our long-term goals include further growth to host even larger leagues with prize pools, and working together with gaming oriented organizations to ultimately establish a platform for professional NHL players at the cutting edge of esports.

NHLGamers, unfortunately, League Administration was forced to take action regarding several rule infractions revolving around ECL 6 team Inter Iceland. What happened? First of all, League Administration noticed a walkover request by one of Inter Iceland's opponents as the team was not able to bring 6 players to the ice - even though the game was already scheduled and could not be re-scheduled anymore. At the same time, Inter Iceland's roster only consisted of 6 players, which violates the 8 player minimum rule. On top of this, we noticed that main captain "Stefan_397" and assistant captain "backupgoalie769" were also captains of a newly founded team called "Untouchable" that aimed to participate in the German Championship League (GCL). Figuring this was another indicator the team is about to break up, League Administration contacted Inter Iceland's captains and was assured the team intended to finish the season with the help of Free Agents. After further investigation, we were able to obtain proof of Inter Iceland inviting a player with his second account. This account belonged to “alexbvb28”, one of Inter Iceland's ex-players that earlier in the season had transferred to another team - Monarchs. We also obtained proof that shows the captain of Inter Iceland, “Stefan_397", having knowledge of this. Second assistant captain “oCharlyo” had already left Inter Iceland and was not involved in these actions. "alexbvb28" had previously inquired about a potential transfer from Monarchs to another team. Since players are limited to only one transfer per season, League Administration informed him that such actions weren't allowed. Apparently "alexbvb28" wasn't willing to accept this, prompting him to create additional accounts, so that he could help his future GCL teammate - "Stefan_397" - finish the Inter Iceland season to avoid any bans. Sources We won't disclose any sources or technical methods to obtain proof that helped us identify secondary accounts, nor their account names on NHLGamer. Rulings League Administration adjusted the ruling to the severity of the infractions violating these rules: Stefan_397 Will be disqualified from ECL 6 Will be banned from participating in all NHLGamer leagues and tournaments that take place or start during 2018 Will be banned from being main captain (C) or assistant captain (A) temporarily (this will be lifted in consultation with the affected player and League Administration in the future) alexbvb28 Will be disqualified from ECL 6 Will be banned from participating in all NHLGamer leagues and tournaments that take place or start during 2018 Will be banned from being main captain (C) or assistant captain (A) temporarily (this will be lifted in consultation with the affected player and League Administration in the future) Inter Iceland Will be disqualified from ECL 6 All ECL 6 matches will be removed Secondary accounts Will be removed immediately Since League Administration only learned of the aforementioned situation at the trade deadline and wasn't able to process it in time, any players that transferred to Inter Iceland at the deadline are allowed to open a case during the next two days (up to and including March 16) via the "Contact League Administration" forum section and request a transfer to another team. It’s difficult to find the right words to close this news story for obvious reasons, but we really want to underline the importance of integrity and not using multiple accounts to compete, in order to have a competitive and fair environment. We hope it is a lesson for all current and future members that like to participate in NHLGamer leagues and tournaments. - League Administration

Floor17- Northern Stars (NOS) ECL Hidden Gems is a concept that was created by @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun (patovic). The idea evolved out of discussions concerning what type of content patovic himself would like to see more of at NHLGamer.com and what kind of texts he'd be most interested in writing. Hidden Gems, for the purposes of this feature, means players that the author feels haven't quite gotten their time to shine at NHLGamer or players that aren't getting full credit for the skill they bring to the table. This is the first edition in a six-part series that patovic has written so do enjoy the witty writing of "pato" and leave a comment with your thoughts on the piece. I might find myself out on thin ice over some pretty deep waters right about now, but the fact is that Northern Stars veteran Daniel Anderzon aka @Floor17 doesn't quite get the recognition he deserves in the ECL community. This is a player who is a 5-time ECL veteran (and lord knows how many 6v6 tournaments before that!) that routinely manages to control all aspects off the game, in all zones off the ice. Not only that, he is a beast at the Versus portion of the game as well, having won one Swedish championship and making it far in various other tournaments. As the great coach Marc Crawford once said: "If you want him to shut down the opponents best player, he will get it done. You want him to score goals? He will get it done. You want him to be a playmaker? He'll get it done. You need him to be physical? He'll get it done. He is so gifted and the list just goes on and on". You can trace the origins of the so-called "floorbandyking" back to the old Xbox team "Swedish Tigers" that featured such legends as ivve83 and unbroken-anders (man, where did those guys go?). Floor17 was truly a dominating force in those early Xbox years and have continued to build his legacy in EASHL ever since. At the beginning of his virtual career, he was considered by many to be more of a pure offensive weapon. This went on for years and especially once he found himself playing with @cHIIMEERa on the Swedish powerhouse Northern Stars. The last few seasons, Floor17 has managed to enhance his repertoire to include an ability to play both wing and defenseman at a very high level, as well as the occasional stint at goaltender. Flash forward to today where NOS had Finnish superstars @tbnantti and @plee999 join the team for ECL 5, it has been quite interesting to see how the old "curveshot master" has adapted to the situation and found an integral two-way role on the roster where he has been a big contributor to the teams' success. To summarize: Floor is awesome at videogame hockey and wins stuff, that is just what he does. It ain't easy winning all the time - if it were, everyone would be doing it! PS. Mean rumours back in the day said that the King of Floorbandy used the "99 overall glitch" in EASHL... and that it was possibly @eyebiz (the old rascal!) who had the hackset to hook him up - but if you ask me? Nah, Floor17 didn't need it then and he doesn't need it now - this man is nothing but skill and determination Floor17 Fact Box [Player profile] Daniel Anderzon, Sweden ECL All-Time Stats: 86GP, 60G, 92A, 152P, +85 Participated in all 5 ECL tournaments at NHLGamer: all five for Northern Stars Favors the RW position in EASHL Swedish Champion of NHL 11 Versus Runner-up (Finalist vs. NHLGamer member @Kribba) in NHL 12 & NHL 13 Versus Text by: @pnordetun Intro and editing by: @The_Alpha_Furyan Art by: @OxtreeLAT

I_Eki_I finished #1 in the NHL GWC European Regional Finals and took home the $5,000 and a ticket to the Finals in Vegas (twitch.tv/NHL) Hey NHLGamers, It's been an exciting weekend, as I was able to experience the European regional finals of the 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship on location at the Viasat studios in Stockholm. I'd like to start by thanking @Kane for making me his +1 and thus granting me access to the event - much appreciated! As we mentioned in an earlier news story, all of the eight players that made it to the European finals are a part of our NHLGamer community and it was really nice to get to meet everyone. The eight players made their way into the European finals through the four qualification tournaments: @Hansulinho (Xbox Live: Hansulinho) - EU XBOX #1 bracket winner @plee999 (Xbox Live: PleeMaker) - EU XBOX #1 bracket runner-up @Erkki (PSN: I_Eki_I) - EU PS4 #1 bracket winner @FlyerKungen (PSN: FlyerKungen) - EU PS4 #1 bracket runner-up @Kane (Xbox Live: Kaneyh) - EU XBOX #2 bracket winner @Nieppii (Xbox Live: Nieppi) - EU XBOX #2 bracket runner-up @Darkic01 (PSN: Darkic01) - EU PS4 #2 bracket winner @Artuzio (PSN: Artuzio) - EU PS4 #2 bracket runner-up The European finals were played using double elimination rules, meaning that losing one time puts you in the lower bracket and two losses means you're out. If you were to reach the final without any loses, that would put you one win away from winning the regional finals and $5,000, whereas reaching the finals through the lower bracket would require you to win two games in a row in the final round. The stakes for the games played on Sunday were high, and come June 19th, there's a lot of money on the line! (twitch.tv/NHL) The EU Finalists arrived in Stockholm on Saturday morning and for some players, such as PleeMaker, that meant getting up at 3 AM, as he had to fly out to Helsinki first. The day was spent at the Viasat studios, where the players got accustomed to the environment, were interviewed by the broadcast team, got photos taken etc. The day ended at around 8 PM and the players tried to get enough sleep for what would certainly be one of their biggest days in their NHL gaming careers. On Sunday morning it was off to the studio around 6:30 AM and after some breakfast, warmups and photoshoots it was time to play. The games were played in two rooms: The main stage and upstairs on a smaller stage. The best place to watch the games were outside the main stage room in the couch area and that's where most players and guests would spend their time between games. There were also some friendly games played in the warmup area. I made a small travel/behind the scenes video from the trip and it also features interviews of the two winners this weekend, be sure to check it out and give it a thumbs up if you enjoy it. At the end of the day, two players came out on top and met each other in the EU Regional Finals. I_Eki_I won the very first game of the day against Artuzio 7-2 and would only need one win to come out on top. The final game between these two was not at all as lopsided as the first game of the day, but I_Eki_I managed to keep his edge, taking home the $5,000 by a score of 2-1. The two players to make it into the World Finals: I_Eki_I and Artuzio, being interviewed by Andrea Helfrich (twitch.tv/NHL) Overall, it was really nice to be able to be on set for such an amazing event and I hope the broadcasts catch as big of an audience as possible and we'll see more of this (and hopefully 6vs6) in the future. A big thank you to all of the players and their friends and family members that I met during the weekend. It was also nice to get to meet the broadcast team of Andrew Telfer (TheNasher61), Arda Öcal, Frankie Ward and Andrea Helfrich, who all did an amazing job to bring the games alive. Not only are they professionals and good at what they do - they're also very friendly and approachable. The results of European Finals (twitch.tv/NHL) So there you have it. All of these eight gamers put on a great show and we should applaud them all for making it as far as they did. After this weekend, there could only be two remaining and NHLGamer would like to congratulate this weekends winner I_Eki_I and runner-up Artuzio for their success and wish them the best of luck in Las Vegas on the 19th of June in the World Finals! If you haven't already watched the official stream, you can watch it below via the NHL's official Twitch channel:

Dear NHLGamers, Our website has always been run with quite a small staff compared to the amount of tasks and especially during the last few months and the last ECL, it has been run with 2-3 active people. You may have noticed this as a delay in replies or game report fixes and a lack of the in-depth content that we love to produce for you. On the other side of the table, running such an intensive league with almost 100 teams, plus successfully introducing the RCL and running two big versus tournaments including both online and and live-events, things have taken their toll. This also significantly ties up our hands in actually developing new features, as our hands are tied with tasks that weren't intended to eat away from the development. In order for us to ensure a successful ECL 6 and other exciting things in the future, we are hereby asking our community for help in the form of (but not limited to) the following positions: ECL ELITE LEAD You are in charge of running the daily operations of ECL Elite together with your two assistants. This means making sure games are played on time, reported on time and correctly, fixing possible errors and communicating with the teams to resolve easy conflicts or escalating to the League Administration where necessary. The ECL Elite Assistants report to you. ECL ELITE ASSISTANT (x2) You are proactively helping out with the the everyday tasks of ECL Elite. This means making sure games are played on time, reported on time and correctly, fixing possible errors and communicating with the teams to resolve easy conflicts or escalating to the League Administration where necessary. You report to the ECL Elite Lead. ECL PRO LEAD You are in charge of running the daily operations of ECL Pro together with your two assistants. This means making sure games are played on time, reported on time and correctly, fixing possible errors and communicating with the teams to resolve easy conflicts or escalating to the League Administration where necessary. The ECL Pro Assistants report to you. ECL PRO ASSISTANT (x2) You are proactively helping out with the the everyday tasks of ECL Pro. This means making sure games are played on time, reported on time and correctly, fixing possible errors and communicating with the teams to resolve easy conflicts or escalating to the League Administration where necessary. You report to the ECL Pro Lead. ECL LITE LEAD You are in charge of running the daily operations of ECL Lite together with your two assistants. This means making sure games are played on time, reported on time and correctly, fixing possible errors and communicating with the teams to resolve easy conflicts or escalating to the League Administration where necessary. The ECL Lite Assistants report to you. ECL LITE ASSISTANT (x2) You are proactively helping out with the the everyday tasks of ECL Lite. This means making sure games are played on time, reported on time and correctly, fixing possible errors and communicating with the teams to resolve easy conflicts or escalating to the League Administration where necessary. You report to the ECL Lite Lead. ECL LEAGUE ADMINISTRATION Sometimes things don't run as smoothly as we want. Sometimes it's one teams fault, sometime both teams and sometimes no one is at fault. Either way, in order to run a fair and well-oiled league we need rules and we need people that are both unbiased and ready to tackle these issues. Being a part of the League Administration demands being open for criticism, working as a team and keeping a cool head. Our goal is for the LA-team to be a team with a good (short) response time and to set a clear standard for how we apply the rules. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF We have previously produced a lot of articles, such as season previews, player interviews, news stories about the ECL and about the NHL-video game itself, who's hot and who's not and so forth. We are looking for someone to pick up the torch and help us create this content at a good quality and frequency. The editor-in-chief is in our case in charge of producing these articles, whether it is through writing it yourself or working with your writing team (work-in-progress) to produce the articles in a timely matter. The material produced will be in English and we expect the the editor-in-chief to excel in the English language, as you are also responsible for editing your writers texts where needed. We can probably tell a lot from your application, but please include any previously written articles you think we might find interesting when sending in your application. JOURNALIST You are responsible for producing content as discussed with the editor-in-chief. You are expected to be able to produce quality articles in English by yourself, but your content doesn't necessarily have to be perfect, as it goes through your editor-in-chief before publication. Please send in any articles you might have written previously as a reference. Feel free to sweep us off our feet with your application, in case you don't have previous journalistic references to send in. STREAMER/BROADCAST CREW Streaming is a larger unit and a big possibility to both showcase our fantastic divisions and their best games and expand our NHLGamer brand. You may have noticed that we've been doing some streams from the the Finnish Championships, the IS Cup and all of the ECL Finals. Our streams have been met with some good viewer counts and our Twitch channel currently stands at 700+ followers. Our goal is to expand on this number, have weekly streams and create more interactivity with the viewers. Thus, we are looking for people interested in being a part of creating weekly ECL broadcasts, ideally covering up to three matchups per week and with play-by-play. The broadcasts would ideally be in English, but if there is a demand for the occasional Finnish or Swedish (these two being two major languages among our community at the moment) stream, we're open to your suggestions regarding that. On top of ECL streams, we'd be happy to have some up-and-coming NHLGamers (or legends) streaming for example HUT, VS or EASHL drop-in games. If streaming is your thing and you want to pitch an idea to us - whether it resonates with the above descriptions or not - feel free to get in touch. To sum it up, we're looking for a group of people to work as a team on this and the exact structure will be determined based on the applicants. VIDEO EDITOR/CREATOR There's a great amount of talented players and goalies in the league and we've seen a few cool team montages in the past. We want more of this! We also want to support this on a divisional and league level, to create things such as the TOP 5 plays of the week or similar. It's all up to the community supplying us with clips. Assuming streaming continues growing as much as it has recently, there should be no shortage of material to work with. That being said, the teams working together with the video editor is a must for creating quality content efficiently, as we can't expect a person to go through 100 teams streams to find the gems. (Not that we're saying there can't be more than one video editor.) We also realize not everyone likes to read walls of text these days (even if it's quality text), so we're also interested in creating more video content around the league to mirror some of the written content and also broaden the spectrum of our content. As a video editor/creator you know a thing or two about image and audio quality and cutting together a video using tools such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro X. You don't have to be a professional, but please send us some of your previous work to showcase your talent. PROGRAMMER We're happy to say we've found some help in this department and are excited to get started with a new team member. That being said, the resources are still scarce, so we are interested to hear if there are some fellow programmers out there that have the knowledge and desire to develop for us. You will want to know your way around HTML5, PHP and MySQLi, but we're interested to hear about other skills too. Please send us some of your previous work so we can check it out. SOCIAL MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE We currently operate on Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, YouTube and Instagram and with the shortage in man hours we've barely been able to cover Facebook and Twitter and those could benefit from some more activity too. If you feel you know how social media works and feel like you could contribute in this department, get in touch. Even if you don't want to be in charge of our social media, you can help. How? Be sure to like and share our social media posts that you enjoy. FORUM MODERATOR In order to make sure our forum is a friendly place for young and old, new to the community or veteran, we want to put some more hands on deck for the moderation team. A good written understanding of English, tactfulness and lurking around the forums are good features for this role. Please note: There have been a handful of people who have previously voiced their interest to help. If you're one of them, don't worry, we have not ruled you out, we just want to do it through the below process that is open for everyone. Also note that one may apply for more than one role. Please apply by following the below instructions. How to apply Please send a freely formulated private message to me (@Kenu) here at the forums, ideally by Friday the 12th of January. We're always looking for more talent though, so feel free to get in touch also after that. Please include the following: Name Where you're from (for time zone purposes mainly) Which of the above roles you are interested in (you may also suggest something that isn't listed) Describe your qualities (now's your chance to brag!) that may be of value How much time you can approximately allocate to working on NHLGamer and let us know of possible limitations. (We do understand that schedules change, but a rough estimate of availability is helpful.) Anything else you think might be relevant related to your application. The sooner we get the team roster filled up, the sooner - and more effectively - we can get going with ECL 6! Thanks in advance!

The League Administration would like to take this opportunity to remind all teams and players that the LA does not wish to ban any players or teams and would much rather help the team captains with any issues they might have, so that the team can continue their season despite any issues. By contacting the Support/League Administration as soon as possible* when you run into issues you're unable to resolve yourself, you are not showing weakness - on the contrary, you are taking responsibility and show that you care about your team and are doing your best to get things resolved despite issues. * This does not mean you shouldn't do your best to cooperate with the other team. We always appreciate captains that can be flexible with other teams and are able to agree to compromises and get things done without LA involvement. RADICAL DISQUALIFICATION ECL Elite team Radical have been disqualified and removed from the ECL 7 tournament. On Wednesday the 31st of October the League Administration got information about team Radical folding. The team lost two key players and team captain @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) gave up, leaving the team's internal WhatsApp group. There didn't seem to be any big efforts to fix this situation and instead of the captains asking the League Administration for help, players seemed to be wanting to transfer to other teams. In the process, the assistant captaincy was changed a couple times without proper agreement and the responsibility remains with the original captains. While the main captain is the main leader and in this case was one main reason for the team folding, the assistants (in this case @Joukki (Joukki13) and @Penatski) are also expected to show leadership and responsibility for their team. As such, the team is disqualified and its captains will face the following disciplinary actions: KingOfApes_ (C): ban covering the end of ECL 7, and a 10 game suspension in ECL 8 in addition to a two season ban from being able to take a role of a captain/assistant captain during ECL 8 & 9. Joukki13 (A) & Penatski (A): ban covering the end of ECL 7, in addition to a season ban from being able to take a role of a captain/assistant captain during ECL 8. The rest of the team are able to transfer to another team for the rest of the season and will receive no disciplinary action. The ECL Elite License will not be refunded and the prize pool remains untouched. All Radical games will be voided and the team will be removed from ECL 7. While making its decision, the League Administration looked at and evaluated the following rules: We received some feedback about the rules not being quite conclusive and partially inconsistent in some cases and we agree with the feedback, that we can clarify and unify the meaning of some potentially contradicting sections. In any case the intent of the rules is to hold the captains accountable for their team and the LA believes the ruling reflects that. We will be taking this valuable feedback into account and make adjustments to the ECL 8 rulebook. - League Administration

With the Summer Cup and the NHL19 Beta behind us, we begin to shift our full focus towards the upcoming ECL season and decided to put together an official list ranking the European teams based on ECL 6. The final order of the teams is determined by playoff wins, after which the regular season standings are considered. From now on the ECL ranking system will be updated regularly and you can find the updated list right here at NHLGamer.com. Without further ado, here are the ECL Ranking as of August 5th, 2018: 01. Carlsberg HC 02. Northern Ascendancy 03. Written In The Stars 04. Dynasty 05. Unlucky Boys 06. Sjukstugan 07. SJK eSports 08. Northern Stars 09. Evolution 10. Gotham Knights 11. Rusty Blades 12. Falun Coal Miners 13. Nordic Stars 14. Pata Hellalla 15. Kattiautomaatti 16. Silver Sword Griffins 17. Monarchs 18. FILADELPHIA 19. Almost Famous 20. White Trash 21. SIKA 22. Red Machine 23. Baltic Sea Eagles 24. Deadly Phantoms HC 25. Clowns On Ice 26. Alliance HT 27. Shameful Knights 28. Synergy Hockey 29. Arctic 30. Monte Carlo 31. Quality 32. Raging Monkeys 33. Speedy Bros Hockey 34. Tiki Talk 35. Free From Rodents 36. Bellizzi 37. OG Royals 38. Murohoki 39. Penalty Box 40. Banterfield Battalion 41. Old Farts 42. En Hund 43. Breakers Of The Bone 44. Nordic Nosebleed 45. JPTJ 46. The Beagle Boys 47. EV Duisburg 48. Cowabunga Hockey 49. Style 50. Sektion K 51. Ghetto Firebirds 52. Freddie Mercury Institute 53. Pohjoista Voimaa 54. MotherPuckers 55. Bare Knuckles Hockey 56. Bucketeers 57. Hippo Rangers 58. Etelan Vetelat 59. Korpens Finest 60. SGWEER United 61. Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat 62. Suomen Sonnit 63. HokiDogit 64. 5th Line Heroes 65. EaLogic 66. Elämäm Kiekko 67. Roistot 68. The Black Jacks 69. Finnish Hockey Legends 70. Soldiers of Odens 71. ICEBREAKERS EAGLES 72. Rusty Bulls 73. Kaksikymmentaseitseman 74. Club De Caballeros 75. DELIRIUM 76. Cancun Pirates 77. KulmalaHengaus 78. Slapshot Club Germany 79. Lucky Strike 80. Taidottomat Lupaukset 81. Sorvankylan Pastorit 82. Rising Phantoms HC 83. Last Kings 84. Saucer Hockey AB 85. Last Period 86. Nearbird Fighters 87. Finnish Prospects 88. Ice Phoenix 89. Mentula SKA 90. Squad Vilttiketju 91. Eratauko Hockey 92. Trinidad Tobago 93. Kouvola Screaming Eagles 94. Kaukosen Luistin 95. Sedinsisters 96. Prometheus 97. Unfinished Business 98. Olympic Athlete from RUS 99. Stayhard Stallions 100 . Pink Panthers HC 101 . Puck Panthers 102. Asserklubi 103. Kisumaa 104. Burns Beardy Bastards 105. Ice Aliens HC 106. HC Piranhas Indicates that a team was relegated at the end of ECL 6. Indicates that a team was promoted at the end of ECL 6. With about two months left until ECL 7 we are grateful to all of the 106 teams and their players for participating in ECL6 and strongly believe that our player base will continue to grow as we get closer to ECL 7. Enjoy the rest of August, everybody and we'll see you on the ice!

NHLGamers, ECL 6 is already on the roll and lots of changes have happened during the off-season, the buzz has been ramping up in the last few weeks. It’s all part of the game and that’s what keeps us coming back for more. We’re all looking forward to yet another competitive season of virtual hockey, only this time, it will be the most competitive, most well-covered season yet. Mark my words. As teams have scrambled together their squads for the upcoming season, one question still remains: who will falter to the ground, and who will prevail as the victor? The Pro preview for this season will follow the same formula as for ECL 5. I will be highlighting a top 3-list of contenders for each group (teams will be in alphabetical order) as well as three players to watch from each group. This ECL is the first one we are operating with the extended staff and in Pro we will have @Crisu_rottis as the lead, assisted by @Mannheimer1938, @Snapster and Yours Truly. Without further ado, lets get on with the preview: Top 3 contenders in group 1 Baltic Sea Eagles BSE was one of the highest seeding teams going into the playoffs in ECL 5, but fell short in the first round against Evolution. They will surely look to redeem themselves this season. The roster underwent some minor changes during the offseason with G @Mehiiss and defenseman @Prom99leaving for White Trash. They countered by adding established pro players @FakiiR1, @vilperi90 and @otto aaltonen from Nordic Stars. The biggest question mark right now is their goaltending, can new addition pablojardinero step up to the challenge? Click here to see team page Shameful Knights The Knights roster remains close to the same as last season, with the only mentionable loss of goalie @Hullued leaving for Sjukstugan. Much like Baltic Sea Eagles, Shameful Knights have an inexperienced goaltender in @Stilando. This is a stellar chance to show what he is capable of in the crease. The very consistent offensive trio of @Tapparafan - @Migo_boo - @Ollizhki looks to keep on producing and pushing the Knights far into the playoffs, maybe this is the season they make a run for an Elite spot? Click here to see team page White Trash The roster of White Trash experienced something of a cleanse during the off-season as the roster size was reduced greatly. None of the core players left and it seems like White Trash aims to complete the season with a minimal squad rotation. The most notable addition in the off-season was promising goaltender @Mehiiss. It remains to be seen if this established Pro team can take the next step in ECL 6. Click here to see team page Players to watch in group 1 @selänne8, Arctic Playoff round 2 this time? BiggestEight is back, now as the captain of newly established team Arctic. He is surely hoping to click with his teammates and being able to elevate his game to the next level. Is this the season he will develop into an Elite-level scoring player? Click here to see player profile @vilperi90, Baltic Sea Eagles This experienced, high-scoring forward was added to BSE during the off-season after completing a successful push for elite with Nordic Stars in ECL 5. He has been a very consistent point producer during the last three seasons, all with different teams so I would expect Vilperi to elevate the game of BSE to the next level. Click here to see player profile @Stefan_397, Inter Iceland Scoring power for days in this prolific German winger. Can he repeat his Pro scoring title from last season? Click here to see player profile Underdog Monarchs I've heard that the Monarchs have been practicing hard during the off-season. Taking Lavetten's spot they certainly have their work cut out for them in living up to that name. The team is rather inexperienced, but by adding @pajenc before the season start they certainly make up for that a bit. Expect these guys to clinch a playoff spot. Click here to see team page Top 3 contenders in group 2 Alliance HT Alliance dominated the first season of RCL and played a decent ECL 5. In the off-season they lost @MAYZIIX but added @JaikenK, who is definitely one of the most exciting transfers regarding defensemen in Pro. The Russian team is now looking to be a serious contender and push far into the playoffs. Click here to see team page FILADELPHIA FILADELPHIA is yet another super-team, alike Carlsberg from ECL 4. They are a fusion of players from the disbanded Elite teams Aapon Taikasauva and MUKIMIEHET, accompanied by captain @Joonas Paatiala, who is no stranger to pushing one of these super-teams into Elite. Anything but a promotion will be a disappointment. Click here to see team page Synergy Hockey These guys have been playing this game for a long time and after a disaster season which led Synergy to be relegated from Elite last season, they look to make a push back in ECL 6. During the off-season, Synergy merged with DEAD END KINGS. Are they truly stronger in union? To be continued... Click here to see team page Players to watch in group 2 @Chafak, Red Machine Heart and soul of Red Machine. Known for his skills on the versus-side, he had a tough time last year. However, in ECL the season ended in a Lite title with a dominant scoring performance only matched by a few individuals, now also competing at the Pro level. We follow with excitement as he hopes to continue producing in ECL 6. Click here to see player profile @Erkki, FILADELPHIA Come on, is it even fair? This guy was one of the biggest factors in winning the Pro title for Evolution in ECL 5. Eki will look to keep taking face-offs, sniping biscuits and being what he is - an Elite level player, come ECL 6. Click here to see player profile @JaikenK, Alliance HT One of the most reliable two-way defenders in the game. After a difficult season with Sjukstugan in ECL 5, he is hoping to improve this season with the ultimate goal of earning Alliance HT a promotion. Click here to see player profile Underdog Red Machine Last season Lite champions made some minor adjustments to their roster with the most notable addition being @RutonMosse right before the season start. The youngster spent last season on a hiatus, but man does he have natural skill. However, the team lost goaltender and ECL 5 playoff MVP James_Bontage to OG Royals. Click here to see team page Personally, I have to say that this is the most exciting ECL season yet. There is so many amazing things happening in our community right now that this is a time to be grateful, stay hungry and wait with excitement for things to come. I left many good teams out of this preview and I hope those teams will prove me wrong during ECL 6. Best of luck to all of you and see you out on the ice!

Hey NHLGamers, 'I can feel it coming in the air tonight' is what a wise man once sung. Can you feel it too? I bet you can. With NHL 19 being out for a little over a week, it's time to ramp up our machinery for the next edition of the greatest 6v6 NHL championship there is - European Championship League 7. A whopping 106 teams signed up for ECL 6 last time, once again blasting our previous record of 96 teams in ECL 5 into oblivion. When we headed into the planning for ECL 7 almost half a year ago, we came across plenty of feedback, especially from our ECL Elite players, that were asking for new ways to be rewarded for their outstanding performances on the ice in the form of sponsorships or leagues with entry fees. Internally, we have had many discussions about these two options as well, and started opening doors and laying the groundwork in both directions as one option does not exclude the other. That's why for ECL 7 Elite on NHLGamer.com, we will offer an optional ECL Elite license for the very first time. NHLGamer, the ECL and many of its teams have received broad recognition in the past year, and we are in ongoing and highly promising exchanges with several possible partners that could lift the experience to a whole new level. As this comes with plenty of requirements that need to be fulfilled on our end as well, we decided not to rush things (as always), and aim to figure out the details and finalize our concept for future seasons. As NHLGamer founder @Kenu mentioned in a radio interview a few months ago, 'the future is bright', and we can't wait for you - the community - to finally benefit from our passionate work. In that regard, ECL 7 is the stepping stone, as it will once again take a step further for professionalism. Let's take a look at the sign-up procedures: If you are entirely new to ECL or were relegated from ECL Pro during ECL 6, please look at the ECL Lite registration instructions. ECL Pro teams that were not promoted to ECL Elite or relegated to ECL Lite during ECL 6, please look at the ECL Pro registration instructions. ECL Elite teams that were not relegated to ECL Pro during ECL 6, please look at the ECL Elite registration instructions. In case you are unsure about your placement in ECL 6, both the ECL Elite and ECL Pro sections offer a list of teams that have the right to sign-up for these divisions. If you can't find your team in any of the lists, your sign-up post belongs into ECL Lite. ECL Framework Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. North American players are not allowed to host matches / be captain in the lineup, which means all games need to take place on European servers. This also applies to Russian players - please evaluate your previous connection experience against some of the teams participating in the ECL, especially if you live in eastern parts of your country (which likely connects you to US West servers). In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. 6 vs. 6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL Challenge Club game mode in NHL 19 (will be added in October). Individual requirements: Each player needs to create an account at NHLGamer.com and create his personal player card. Roster requirements: Teams in ECL Elite need to have at least 7 players to sign up. Teams in ECL Pro and ECL Lite need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. ECL Elite license option: Teams in ECL Elite will have the option to pay for an ECL Elite license and play for a prize pool (more details in the ECL Elite section down below). Sign-up period: Teams can register from now until Wednesday 10.10.2018, 23:59 CEST. ECL 7 Kick-off: ECL 7 has two kick-off dates: ECL Lite and ECL Pro are set to begin on Monday 15th of October, while ECL Elite begins one week later, on Monday 22nd of October. The season is unable to start until the Challenge Club is added to NHL 19 with the next game update, which is scheduled for early October. Rules: The ECL 7 ruleset will see clearer definitions in terms of League Administration involvement, to take care of the added ECL Elite license option and other tuning to the good foundation we have created throughout the years. You can find the ECL 7 rules here. ECL Lite Sign-Up ECL Lite welcomes any and all teams that did not participate in ECL 6 as well as the teams that were relegated from ECL Pro during ECL 6. As last season, there will be no limit to the amount of registrations! We will flexibly adjust group sizes to accomodate all teams that are looking to participate. To sign your team up for ECL Lite, we ask that only the main captain (i.e. C) posts within the ECL 7 Lite registration thread. As ECL Pro teams could potentially break up and not particpate in ECL 7, we also offer teams the ability to apply for ECL Pro during this sign-up process. However, ECL Lite quarter-finalists from ECL 6 will take first priority when filling up spots in the ECL Pro division, which means only a few or no spots at all might be available for completely new teams should they apply. We will choose applicants depending on their player strength and other factors such as in-game 6 vs. 6 leaderboard results, history of ECL success and others. Below is the list of prioritized teams (in order) from ECL 6 Lite should there be spots available in ECL Pro: GHETTO FIREBIRDS (1 quarter-final win, 1.61 PPG) Freddie Mercury Institute (1 quarter-final win, 1.5 PPG) Pohjoista Voimaa (0 quarter-final wins, 1.5 PPG) MotherPuckers (0 quarter-final wins, 1.39 PPG) ECL Pro Sign-up ECL Pro is our second-tier division and will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Pro, were relegated from ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Lite during ECL 6. ECL Pro has a fixed size of 32 teams, divided into two conferences. All the qualified teams are listed below: Relegated from ECL Elite: Nordic Stars Pata Hellalla Kattiautomaatti Silver Sword Griffins Made ECL Pro Playoffs: Alliance HT SIKA Shameful Knights Synergy Hockey Baltic Sea Eagles Clows on Ice Red Machine Arctic Deadly Phantoms HC Monte Carlo Raging Monkeys Quality No man's land: Free From Rodents Speedy Bros Hockey Murohoki TIKI TALK Banterfield Battallion Bellizzi OG Royals Penalty Box Old Farts EN HUND Breakers of the Bone Survived ECL Pro relegation faceoff: Nordic Nosebleed Promoted from ECL Lite: EV Duisburg Cowabunga Hockey Style Sektion K To sign your team up for ECL Pro, we ask that only the main captain (i.e. C) posts within the ECL 7 Pro registration thread. In case ECL Elite teams are folding, we will automatically ask the best ECL Pro qualifiers from ECL 6 to fill these spots, according to their playoffs progress (criteria #1) and regular season PPG average (criteria #2). You are not required to apply for these spots. However, you are required to confirm your attendance for ECL Pro to be considered for selection. ECL Elite Sign-Up ECL Elite is our top division, housing the very best 16 European teams in a single group. It will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Pro during ECL 6. All the qualified teams are listed below: Made ECL Elite Playoffs: Written in the Stars Dynasty Carlsberg HC Northern Ascendancy Unlucky Boys Sjukstugan SJK eSports Northern Stars No man's land: Evolution Gotham Knights Rusty Blades Falun Coal Miners Promoted from ECL Pro: Monarchs FILADELPHIA Almost Famous White Trash ECL 7 will allow ECL Elite teams to decide whether or not they want to pay the ECL Elite license to be able to play for a prize pool. The prize pool will only be distributed across ECL Elite teams that contributed to it by buying the ECL Elite license. Here are all the details: The ECL Elite license costs 120 € per team ( e.g. 15 € per player in an 8 player roster) and will be collected and submitted by the team captain. The captain who collects and pays the team license must be 18 years or older Teams can pay via bank transfer (usually no service fee) or PayPal (service fees apply). At this time, NHLGamer is considered a non-profit organization, thus 0% VAT apply to the license fee submissions. NHLGamer will keep 8% of the license fee minus service fees minus VAT to improve and grow the service. For example: With all 16 teams paying their ECL Elite license via PayPal, the prize pool would be roughly 1695,50 € (1920 € license fee - 70,88 € PayPal fees - 0 € tax - 153,6 € NHLGamer fee). ECL Elite teams ranked #3 and #4 will receive 120 €. The ECL Elite winners are set to receive 5/6 of the remaining prize pool and ECL Elite runner-ups are set to receive 1/6 of the remaining prize pool. With the 1695,52 € price pool in the example above, the winning team would receive 1213 €, the runner-up would receive 242,50 € and teams ranked #3 and #4 would receive 120 €. Finnish players are responsible for their own taxation in the case of prize money. For foreign players, a withholding tax of 15% will be automatically deducted from the payment. NHLGamer will report all winnings to the tax authorities. All of the prize pool will be distributed based on the internal ranking of the teams that have the ECL Elite license. I.e. if the best finished ECL Elite license holder team finishes #5 in ECL Elite, they will win the main prize. The ECL Elite license fees will be used in their entirety to organize leagues, tournaments, competitions and for prize money and developing the service. To sign your team up for ECL Elite, we ask that only the main captain (i.e. C) posts within the ECL 7 Elite registration thread. In case there are any questions left, please use the comment section below and we will make sure to get back to you as quickly as possible. Let's get this party started! @gzell60

Hello NHLGamers, It has been a pleasure for all to see the pace of expansion in the NHLGamer community. There’s well over 4000 of us here today. With the number of players, teams, leagues and tournaments and the organization thereof, NHLGamer – to us at least, fully qualifies as an esports organizer. Fortunately, that is also the perception outside of NHLGamer. To illustrate that point, NHLGamer was invited to organize two major NHL/FIFA events in Finland last year, broadcasted on TV, with responsibilities ranging from online qualifications to live commentary in said broadcasts. The events themselves were a great success, including the experience and the lessons learned from all the inevitable small bumps on the road. One of the goals of NHLGamer has been to bring together on one platform as much of the competitive EASHL userbase as possible, whether competitiveness meant having fun in the Summer Cup, or pursuing the toughest objective – winning the ECL Elite. The growth we have seen in just a few years is a delight to many, but it does not come without new challenges. The community had a fantastic response to the pronounced need for additional staff. Nothing but a heartful thank you will do service for that. It signals that you, the players, share our vision and goal. Though to avoid the pitfalls of complacency, we must recognize there is still a long road ahead. If you would also like to see NHL-gaming mature to its full potential as a legitimate and well-recognized esports, but don’t feel like a staff responsibility is really your thing, don’t worry. There are issues that must be confronted on a team-level if the objective in horizon is a (semi)professional esports league. It has been wonderful to see many teams starting up their social-media channels and beginning to create an identity, be it through writing, logos or just pure memery. It is an extremely important task, branding many would call it, because sponsorship is not charity. Companies do not hand out sponsorship to various places from their marketing budget based on whatever individual preferences. This is an important point; sponsorship deals come from the marketing budget. They always expect a return on investment, or ROI in short, for all marketing. Otherwise it is just a waste of money. In the case of sports teams and especially esports, the value of a team is mostly made of its visibility. There are various tools and methods for companies of numerating the visibility or the value of it, but those details are outside the scope of this article. What this means is that if you would like to see your team grow in status, or just help the community grow and be recognized, as a whole (preferably both!), you must create value. Big and medium-sized companies always have some kind of a brand identity, an image of the company that it tries to reinforce through various methods. Astronomical sums can be used for this purpose, for sometimes the brand is the only thing the company is valued of. Let’s take an example from a brand very known in sports: Nike. Unlike many would think, Nike does not produce a single shoe. It licenses the production to subcontractors and instead spends almost a billion dollars a year for marketing and reinforcing its brand, including the careful selection of athletes, teams and organizations it sponsors, those that are seen fitting for its brand image. Perhaps a plural should be used, because there can simultaneously be different images being portrayed to different audiences. Some avid readers might be worried of this corporate talk, reflecting on the dull-and-boring interviews of athletes we see nowadays. While those without a doubt stem from the wishes and requirements of financial backers, it is to be remembered that on the quest for the end of the rainbow, the road is painted in many colors. Last year the amount of Twitch users surpassed that of Netflix or any other on-demand streaming service. As of February 2018, Twitch had over 2 million monthly broadcasters and 15 million active daily users. The typical characteristics of a Twitch user is a male between 18 and 34 years of age. What it means for the esports community, NHLGamer included, is that a company is far more likely to see marketing value in an esports team, if it is trying to target a similar demographic for its products. That’s why an energy drink company is far more likely to sponsor an esports team than a spring water company would be. This of course reflects to the desired or sought-after images that potential sponsorship targets portray; Ninjas in Pyjamas works much better in esports than it would in horse polo. NHL-gaming has large untapped potential as an esports. While hockey is not a major global sport it still gives an enormous base of audience, who do not play the virtual game themselves, but are already completely familiar with the rules and various nuances of the game. Therefore, were the community to grow in quantity and professionality, it does not take a long leap of imagination to one day see ECL Finals on live television. One discussed topic around the community lately has been the concept of buy-in tournaments, where the teams pay a certain amount to enter a tournament in hopes to get their hands on a bigger prize pool. We will be talking a lot more about this in the near future, but for the time being, let us at least confirm to you today, that this concept is definitely on our road map and you will be able to participate in these kinds of tournaments right here at NHLGamer. “Why so serious?” – the big question of our generation. You don’t have to be serious to be successful. Sports is an entertainment business and it is very hard to entertain if you are not having fun. An image of a group of laid-back guys having a blast and left-handedly crushing their opposition is not a bad sales pitch at all. Keep developing your own brand of hockey. Do not hesitate in finding ways to increase the visibility of your brand and contacting potential sponsors or partners. There is simply nothing to lose. NHLGamer is an expanding canvas and everyone has been given a brush. You have the power to define the outlines of the picture that forms; every drop of paint is a step closer to our goal. Good luck and have fun! Yours truly, NHLGamer

Hello, gamers! Let's skip the storytelling part because nobody cares about ancient history, right? ECL Talk rises from the ashes! Last time we tried the whole 'ECL Talk' thing we described it like this: "NHLGamer Presents: ECL Talk is our brand new broadcast program for the official ECL news, trades and other things that are associated with NHL gaming." This time, we're reintroducing the concept with more people working on it. Now we have a bunch of NHL gamers mostly from the ECL Staff doing the program for our very passionate NHL gamers out there in the community - you guys. Obviously it's a new chapter in NHLGamer's journalism production so we'll take this as a learning process. The more we can get community members to share their very own "NHL: On the Fly" kind of thing with us, the better content we can produce for you guys. Keep reading, the best parts are yet to come. How, when, where?! Each episode will first be streamed live on NHLGamer's Twitch channel and will be best experienced live, as you can comment and ask questions throughout. If you can't make it to the live broadcast, you'll be happy to know that each episode will be found later on Twitch and Spotify! We will also post a recap article from every episode, so you won't miss the most important things even if you don't have time to listen to the whole thing. To keep everything in order, easy and simple - we're going to have the same base structure for every single ECL Talk episode. Let's take a peak at that: Every episode will be split into five different sections. This way we can keep each episode easy and fun to listen to during live broadcast and especially when you're listening to one afterwards. As ECL Talk will work as a sort of an ECL recap from each division, our aim is to talk about everything that is happening in all of our three divisions, but as you probably know already - we have over 120 teams to cover in each episode, so some details might get forgotten. We'll try our best, that is guaranteed! The sections for each episode will be something like this: "Intro" Each episode will start with introducing our panelists and the main subjects of the broadcast - you know, the basics: how everyone is doing, how the ECL standings are looking right now and what we're going to talk about. Who knows - maybe there'll be some cat videos too? "Marketplace" Confirmed transfers or free agent messages on the forums will be mentioned. We'll also have to discuss the most notable transfers; why did "player A" leave "team X" and what will their role be in their new team. "Hot & Cold" Hot & Cold is a team of the week kind of thing where the panelists will discuss the best players and teams of the past weeks, without forgetting the worst ones! Hot & Cold will also feature the coolest highlights from the recent ECL weeks. Use #ECLHighlights on Twitter to get your shiny plays onto ECL Talk's highlight reel. And just to be clear, we're talking about dazzling goals, big game-savers, glitches or something like that so please try to keep your highlights shorter than 30 seconds. The highlights might not be as enjoyable on Spotify. "Watchlist" Each panelist will have their own watch list that they will talk about during an episode. Things like "how team X is doing", interesting match-ups, what will happen in the future and things like that. "This & that" General discussion on the latest subjects in our community: standings, stats, forums, social media, interviews, live Q&A and maybe some giveaways? Our first episode will be airing on Sunday, 28th of October at 17 CET and is expected to end by 19 CET.

What's up, gamers? Do you know that feeling when you have missed something you used to do some time ago, but for certain reasons you haven't been doing that thing for a long time. It can be writing articles for NHLGamer, it can be some old hobby, listening to some childhood favourite band or you know - playing virtual hockey on the very highest level in ECL Elite. I happen to know a few guys who can certainly agree with me on this one. I used to be one of them for a long, long time. Can you guess who I'm talking about? SIKA - one of the oldest competitive EASHL teams in Europe is back in ECL Elite! Very few teams can say that they've been out there for almost 10 years, but SIKA is truly one of those teams. Obviously their roster has changed during that long 10-year road but hey - how many teams actually manage to keep their core players and team itself together for that long? They've seen lots of ups and downs, different players, friends and brothers, leagues and tournaments during that long road. Personally, I can say that it takes a lot from you. It was like a family, and to be honest, it still feels like one. *Wiping a tear* In ECL6, SIKA played in the Pro division. Their regular season was solid as they finished with a record of 22-6-1. Arctic was SIKA's first round opponent in a series that SIKA managed to win in six games. In Round 2 they lost a thrilling 7-game battle to White Trash where the winner was decided in overtime after SIKA failed to convert their two powerplays before conceding the season ending goal in double overtime. However, anything can happen in life and due to some off-season transfers and teams disbanding, SIKA managed to find a backdoor entrance to Elite. IN Rankaisija <-- Old Farts MrNipsuli <-- Free Agents OUT imosi1 --> Break from NHL vSilenttio --> Symphony Current Roster: Forwards yrjoo (A) @yrjoo Albatrooss @Albatross Naikou88 @Naikou88 Defensemen MCH_98 (A) @MCH_98 MrNipsuli- @MrNipsuli Rankaisija_ @Ranksu Goaltenders SpiderRoyal (C) @SpiderRoyal RingDaKing30 @Ylijumala Alright, lets get to business. I had the honor of interviewing my long time friend and former teammate - the man, the myth, the old but gold in its true meaning: @SpiderRoyal Shall we start with an easy one - how are you and the lads? What does SIKA think about the new NHL-game? Me and the lads are doing just fine, thanks for asking! Ready to go after a nice warm summer, quality time with our families and a needed break from the hockey scene. We all purchased the pre-order version of the new NHL 19, so we've been grinding the new game from day one and we like the game a lot. Not sure about the new patch, but more games are needed before jumping to conclusions. The game feels fresh, for me at least. Can't wait for the new season to begin! It's been over a year now since SIKA was last seen in ECL Elite. What kind of thoughts does the comeback bring to you personally? Is it time for some changes in the schedules and work ethic maybe? Yes, finally SIKA is back! SIKA in my opinion is an Elite team and finally we're back where we belong. Still I'm haunted by the fact that we got relegated after a season of many disasters, and even more shocked that we couldn't get back up to Elite, as we're always shooting ourselves in the foot in the playoffs. Getting promoted isn't easy even if you have a very solid team. For me personally getting back to Elite is a huge boost, not that I wouldn't be motivated playing in Pro, but playing in the Elite this upcoming season brings an extra flavor to the dish! As the founder of SIKA I'm in it for the ups and the downs. Being on the bright side of things this time makes me very happy and hungry for success. Schedule wise of course we have to play even more and prioritize that 6's is the #1 game mode for us if we want to gain success. Less HUT and FUT, that's for sure We all have pretty similar schedules as to when we can play, so that won't be an issue. The work ethic definitely needs to be stepped up a notch. We are discussing learning our style, studying opponents, how to play in different situations, minimizing the differential between the good day and the bad days...all that comes with when you take a step up in the work ethic aspect of the game. SIKA has seen a lot during the recent years so obviously terms, such as "rebuilding" or "re-tooling" are not new for you. With dozens of seasons and offseasons behind, how did the team do this time around - could you tell me about how well you accomplished your goals set this offseason? The terms "rebuilding" and "re-tooling" aren't new to us at all. That might very well be the reason we fell off our course for the past 2-3 seasons. Too many new faces who weren't loyal after all and not having that solid #1 lineup to go with. The offseason started with a couple of bangs! vSilenttio, our captain and GM, went to play with Symphony. imosi1 retired. So you could say that we were in a little bit of a shock at the beginning of the offseason. Losing two of our full breed SIKA's was a pity, but we understood why they left. Saying that, losing two of our brothers might be actually the best thing that could have happened to us. We all stepped up a lot, everyone got more involved in team matters and the atmosphere is more united and relaxed than maybe ever before. Everyone has their own role now and the workload is spread very evenly. We're all a part of rejuvenating SIKA. Two new signings needed to be done after vSilenttio and imosi1 left. Rankaisija and MrNipsuli- came to the rescue. Rankaisija being a highly skilled veteran defender, "a leader" if you will and MrNipsuli- being something of a "gods gift". Especially MrNipsuli- has surprised us all, not often you find an Elite defender from the 1vs1-scene lingering around among the free agents. I'd also like to shoutout MCH_98 for elevating his game to a totally new level! The growth of MCH_98 skill-wise after vSilenttio left the defense has been mindboggling. The forwards are now locked in their own positions and they get to play their own favorite position. Forwards: Albatrooss, Yrjoo and Naikou88 have all been in SIKA for a while now so they are no strangers to each other. Not forgetting the goalies: Me[insert old guy joke here] and RingDaKing30 sharing the playtime 50-50 and LOCKING UP! So to sum it up: Offseason went way better than expected From there it's easy to jump to one of the most exciting subjects. ECL7, Elite division, it's license and the season in itself. What is SIKA planning to do in the next three months? We aim to get better everyday and show everyone why I earlier stated that SIKA belongs to ECL Elite. SIKA has never been shy to show games to the viewers and we'll stream EASHL and ECL on a daily basis. Everyone can come see us grow as a team and see why we believe in ourselves so much! The license for this upcoming season is huge! This is exactly what we as a community needed and SIKA supports it all the way. Finally, the last burning question - will SIKA play in the ECL7 playoffs? And how do you see the other teams out there - what teams do you see as the biggest championship contenders? Our minimum goal is the playoffs, our dream is to win it all! Why play if you don't believe in yourself?! Of course we are aware of the reality, but there is no reason we can't achieve the biggest price if everything clicks. Also I think almost any team in the Elite can win it all, if everything goes as planned. I'm hopeless optimist I know Soooo many good teams in Elite, but if I had to say top-3 teams and I couldn't name ourselves, I'd say: FILADELPHIA because of Eki "The Champ", PleeMaker (wrap-arounds me to death every year), Zande95... Are you kidding me?! Written in the Stars: Favorite status every year. Now with Dominointi and Hansu... Lord have mercy! Dynasty: Gets better every year! Thanks for your time, SpiderRoyal. Good luck for the upcoming season! Unfortunately we received some sad news coming from the Monarchs camp last night - Monarchs will not be participating in ECL 7, as the team will be folding. Some of the Monarchs players will transfer to Sjukstugan and represent them in ECL 7. More news regarding this once Sjukstugan is up! In tomorrow's ECL Elite 16 in 16, we will be looking at another team that made a rapid climb through the divisional ladder.

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. In the second edition of our 16 in 16 it's time to take a look at a team that's been around from the very start of ECL as we know it. This team is a close-knit group of friends and and even brothers. They are the ones who dug coal together. I'm talking about your favorite Swedish pickaxe wielding warriors - Falun Coal Miners. When it comes to ECL, Falun has pretty much seen it all. The team has battled through hard times in Lite, grinded it out in Pro and proven their skill in Elite. They're still missing one thing, though - a playoff run at the highest level. Now as they're starting their second season in Elite, the Miners are sure hungry for more success. The team has made some promising acquisitions during the offseason, but as we know, the players brought in won't be the strength of Falun - their strength lies in the chemistry built over time. IN BiggestEight <-- Arctic Aschebas4hor <-- EV Duisburg Panserhagen <-- Bucketeers OUT iscojr94 --> Break from NHL IFKPEKING2k15 --> Monarchs minokin --> Sektion K Current roster: Forwards PatzyDrake BiggestEight Pentsaa (A) Berger-I88I Panserhagen Defensemen The_Alpha_Furyan (C) LastMandalorian (A) Meeertz Goaltenders Onecorner95 Aschebas4hor For the interview part, I managed to get a hold of assistant captain and founding member @LastMandalorian. Enjoy the extensive answers and great insight provided by him: Let's start off light. How did the summer treat you guys? You played some NHL with the boys, did you come up with anything else? Summer was good! Personally I was able to enjoy my first paid vacation, so I could really lean back and charge my batteries. As far as team activities goes, FCM actually ended up winning the OEHL tournament early in the summer - our first 6v6 title so far! We also put a lot of hours into FIFA 18 Pro Clubs after the game went on sale during the World Cup. Joining forces with some boys from Synergy Hockey on our created squad "FC Miners", we were able to get some good 11v11 sessions together. Also, some guys from our team that hang out regularly outside of gaming went to Spain together for vacation. I know Falun has a nice background to it and there have been a bunch of brotherly ties and close friendships within the team. Can you give me a condensed version of how the team has grown and what the road has been like to come this far? Well, the Coal Miners were originally founded by me, my brother and a bunch of his classmates from University. We were all studying in Falun - a former mining city - at the time... hence the name. In the early days, only me and my brother had any experience at all from 6v6 league play, but through the years we've all grown to become experienced "veterans". As the level of play, commitment and seriousness has increased, some of the founding members have retired from their lineup spots (which is okay, we all have our own level of dedication) but we've picked up some really good signings along the way to fill out those spots, most of whom we met during the different Summer Cups. But the major part of the team still consists of IRL friends. @PatzyDrake, me, @Meeertz, @iscojr94 and @The_Alpha_Furyan were all there right from the very start, @Onecorner95 - a former bandmate of mine - joined just a few weeks into the first season and last seasons signing, @Berger l88l, is a childhood friend of mine. As we made the transition to the divisions system after ECL 3, Falun started off in ECL Lite, with a less successful season. You weren't a part of the team then, but as a founding member, did you have any concerns that it might be the end of your beloved club? After a tough ECL 3, both me and my brother felt we wanted a new challenge. I remember that specific season was an extra long one and it really took a toll on those of us who handled the captaining - keeping everyone motivated and getting people to every game. Right then and there, I think we were all kind of exhausted and it felt like different levels of dedication amongst the guys had begun to appear - it seemed like we wanted different things out of the game. So, joining Sjukstugan (112) for ECL 4 Pro was a mixture of relieving ourselves of the responsibilities of the captaincy and stepping up to a higher level of competition. Everyone on FCM were very understanding. Me and Alpha were both really, really happy when the guys decided to carry on without us in Lite though, and I know my brother followed most - if not all - of their games through Twitch, filling in as an "assistant coach" of sorts during that season. What was the thought process like when you rejoined FCM after a short stint in Sjukstugan? It was a mixture of me wanting to switch back to the skater position (I spent ECL's 3 and 4 playing goalie) and us finding that passion/energy for doing our own thing again. Reaching the Pro finals with Sjukstugan really energized us to try and do the same thing on our own terms. It also helped motivate us that Falun was, at the time, actually set to fold and not continue for ECL 5 - we had a streak to keep alive! Most of the FCM player group had already signed with other teams closing in on the start of ECL 5, but they didn't need much convincing to come back. It was a genuine feeling of "getting the old band back together". It created a really strong spirit in the team that season in Pro, and I think it is what has helped us get this far. You guys had a difficult start to you first Elite season, as you went on a bit of a losing streak. Did some frustration set in or did you guys know you were going to turn it around? What will you change going into your second season at the top tier? I think the biggest reason for the 1-9-0 losing streak at the start of ECL 6 was the tough schedule: our five first opponents were considered top teams. But I would be lying if I said it didn't affect us. After a solid pre-season (probably our best one so far) I think we considered ourselves to be better than our results ended up showing. So we decided to make changes. Major changes. Core players switched positions, Berger-I88I (a former point-scoring dynamo from the EHL days) was brought in and our upcoming schedule showed teams projected to be more on our level. It worked out! Berger-I88I ended up playing most of the remainder of the season: scoring 13 goals in 14 games. PatzyDrake found another level in his game stepping up as our new #1 centerman and me and my brother could make the most of our chemistry playing together on the main defensive pairing. This year I think we are just overall more prepared for the level of competition. First season was about learning and surviving, this season is about taking the next step. We have high ambitions going in. Lastly, did you guys have any transfers happen in the offseason? In that case, who left and who joined? This offseason has seen quite some movement, especially for us. @minokin left to go back to his old team of IRL friends (Sektion K), backup goalie @IsakTuvesson(IFKPEKING2k15) went back to Monarchs and co-founding member @iscojr94 decided to hang up the skates (at least for now). But we're really excited for the pickups we've made. BiggestEight (@selänne8), a guy me and my brother played with during the EHL, is one of the purest goal scorers in this scene, IMO. He's been in the top tier of goal scoring for the Pro division multiple times and I'm really excited about what he could do at the Elite level - especially since we already built some chemistry together this summer in the OEHL. Other than "Bigi", we've recently brought in a reliable Norwegian all-round player in @Panserhagen from our OEHL finals opponent Bucketeers and an experienced German goaltender in Aschebas4hor (@Asche) - both of whom has fit in nicely with the team. Thanks to the duo @LastMandalorian and @The_Alpha_Furyan for taking the time to answer my questions! Good luck to FCM in the upcoming season, see you out on the ice! Tomorrow we'll be taking a look at another team going into their second consecutive Elite season. It's a team that had a large player turnover this summer, so we'll be in for something exciting and fresh to watch this upcoming ECL season. Can you guess which team is up next?

Hey NHLGamers, The ECL 5 Elite Finals have been played and it turned out Aapon Taikasauva were absolutely unstoppable this season and they secured their championship with a 2-1 win in game 5 against SJK eSports. NHLGamer would hereby like to congratulate Aapon Taikasauva for being the new ECL Elite Champions! If you wish, you can watch all five of the finals here: https://www.twitch.tv/nhlgamertwitch/videos/all These are the series results: Game 1: SJK eSports @ Aapon Taikasauva | 0-4 Game 2: Aapon Taikasauva @ SJK eSports | 4-0 Game 3: SJK eSports @ Aapon Taikasauva | 2-1 OT Game 4: Aapon Taikasauva @ SJK eSports | 3-2 Game 5: SJK eSports @ Aapon Taikasauva | 1-2 Aapon Taikasauva Championship roster: G: #33 E. Larmi (aka swagx88) G: #49 F. Hardy (aka ICappeI) D: #27 S. Voynov (aka xDoumi) D: #29 W. Nylander (A) (aka nylanderi) D: #40 T. Torro (A) (aka jtorro1234) F: #9 S. Tuuba (C) (aka indi969) F: #55 L. Snapster (aka Puantso) F: #91 T. Domi (aka ShaneC27) F: #96 G. St-Pierre (aka Penatski) Aapon Taikasauva's road to the cup: 24 wins, 2 losses & 4 OT-losses during the regular season, ranked 1st Quarterfinals: 4-2 victory against Rusty Blades Semifinals: 4-3 victory against Northern Stars Finals: 4-1 victory against SJK eSports ECL 5 is not over yet though, as Pro and Lite Divisions are still fighting for their championships and promotions, with some really intense match-ups ahead. Make sure to keep an eye on further coverage! A more detailed ECL Elite season recap including award winners will be released in due time - stay tuned.

NHLGamers, We are proud to introduce our ECL 5 Lite where we will have 49 participating teams. These 49 teams consists of well known franchises from previous ECL season, teams which played 6vs6 games as early as NHL12 and newcomers - so this ECL 5 Lite season holds an interesting mix of teams. This will be our Lite preview and it is based on what I know of these teams so feel free to hit 'Comment' on the article if you agreed or disagreed. Prediction for the Regular Season Top-5 1. Almost Famous In pre-season games this team have shown a tremendous amount of success. They have managed to beat Elite teams left and right. Their heart and soul player is se_ve420 and I believe he will decide if this team goes far or not. Almost Famous is real contender to win Lite, but can they find consistency in their performance in the big games? 2. Face Wash Hockey This might be one of the oldest teams I know of. FWH have true depth in their roster so they can call up anyone on main roster for ECL play. At this point I have got to bring up a few players which are, in my opinion, true legends of the 6v6 scene. Taemtaem, ARSI_69, NorppaAsd, Korkkiruuvi_82 - I bow to your history. It brings back memories of one of the older 6v6 finals between Woodhands vs. Face Wash Hockey. Good times! Question mark here is; can these skilled players shake the rust off their hands and find that group chemistry they were known for back in the day? 3. Deadly Phantoms HC This is another "old-time" team who has regrouped and added more skill to their previous player core of willywonkaa, The_Rayman80, doksdel. On paper, DPC has some really impressive players and when you a player like XxTHENEXTONE87xX its an easy prediction to make that this team will be one of the major contenders for this season. 4. Try Another Hole TAH is a fast-paced team that will tear you apart if you don’t defend against them as a 5-man unit. This team features on of ECL Lites best offensive duos in hegyttaja and ankkalasvegas. Recent addition juntunen88 makes them even stronger, not to mention he is an ex-Infinity player so, what more do I need to say? This team will improve their overall game over the course of the ECL season so be afraid, be very afraid. Furthermore, in my book this team would have been a Pro team, but they decided to stick to Lite which tells you how down to earth these guys are. 5. Breakers Of The Bone I am going to quote one of the best Javelin throwers from Finland here: When the interviewing reporter asked Seppo Räty after the javelin qualifiers in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics: “How could your throw be so successfull when you'd only had one big competition to prepare before these games”? Seppo answered, “... and 20 years.” This quote fits perfectly with this team. They have so much experience from big games and from playing together in older NHL versions. One of the big "inside" questions here is does the Nevala brothers still play or not? Oh and Seppo Räty? He won an Olympic bronze medal in Atlanta. Players to watch 1. CalciChew69, LW – Penalty Box One of the best offensive LW’ers in early years of the 6v6 scene. ‘Calci’ has tons of creativity, tremendous individual skills and is overall very dangerous in the offensive zone. His trademark is to create a scoring change out of nothing. He might lack some physicality, but he can definitely beat you 1-on-1. This is his comeback year in EASHL. 2. Yoloberg, C - Face Wash Hockey Yoloberg is known as a good Versus and HUT player. ‘Yolo’ is a mobile, transitional two-way playmaker who looks poised and reads the game well most of the time. Strong skater who likes to carry the puck on his own and if you give him just glimps of free space and time he’ll punish you. All-in all, a very competitive playmaker who can be relied upon in all situations to make a difference. 3. JaKurrii, C - Red Machine An extremely talented two-way center, JaKurrii has a large dose of hockey sense and soft hands. His technical skills are very good and his trademark is smooth puck handling and ability to find his linemates in tight spots. People might also know him as a successful HUT player. 4. |tokFan|, C - The Beagle Boys Complete two-way center who first and foremost is a true competitor. TokFan always plays like there is 10 seconds left on the clock, he never takes a shift off and works hard to never have a bad game. He plays to win, not for himself, but for the team he captains. He’s also exceptional in the faceoff circle. 5. Lidaas_79, RW – Nordic Nosebleed Dynamic offensive forward who backchecks very hard and understands playing smart and puck-possession hockey. Lida will battle hard on all three zones and shows willingness to do whatever it to takes to get puck to the back in the net. You could call him weak version of ‘Lämsä’. 6. willywonkaa, G – Deadly Phamtom HC This goaltenders track record goes back all the way to NHL12. He might be one of the oldest goaltender in the game but he plays his angles conservatively, moves very well and doesn’t move or play too aggressive. willywonkaa tracks the puck well and doesn’t allow many rebounds. Cornerstone to his team success. 7. Jahajaha93, RD – Almost Famous Having a breakout year in NHL 18 for sure if you look at his pre-season games. Has improved his overall game by a large margin compared to last year. His name doesn’t always flash on the scoreboard, but he does everything well in the defensive zone and can carry the puck if needed. Next JaikenK maybe? 8. Britn1, LD/RD – Elämäm Kiekko Defenseman who has good overall skills. He's a little better defensively than offensively, but has yet to flourish as a two-way defender. The tool box is there but we haven’t seen it transition to the ice fully. Overall a patient player who positions himself well. Doesn’t like to hit, but plays the body enough to consistently steal the puck. Could be his breakout year too! 9. ankkalasvegas, C – Try Another Hole, A true two-way center who will be a Top-10 faceoff guy. Really special guy to have for the penalty killing. Has the complete set: strong physical presence, strong defense, solid skill and his trademark goal, slapshot on the breakaway. Weak side could be that his physical play sometimes leads to him taking too many penalties. Has a real chance to win "Best Player"-trophy for ECL 5 Lite. 10. RutonMosse, RW – Soldiers Of Odens, Still a young prospect who has all the tools to be "the real deal superstar", but have yet to find consistency in his game. He’s very strong with the puck and possesses some creative, quick hands - allowing him to get fancy with the puck on the rush. Could easily be the overall goal scoring winner in this seasons Lite division. Underdogs: Teams to watch 1. Soldiers OF Odens They have a monster offensive upside, but will their skaters work out how to play as a 5-man unit? This team can go to the end if they remember to defend properly. 2. Elämäm Kiekko EMK have kept their original roster and they have clearly improved their game. Nowadays you can’t find many holes in their game. With this squad, consistency will be the biggest issue but I believe these boys are a playoff team for sure. 3. Finnish Hockey Legends FHL has a good grasp of the game and knows how to play the game right way. Really impressive possession game, but lack of experience in tight games could be an issue. Very interesting team! Phew, the more I dig in to teams, the more questions pops up. This has the potential to be a really special season for ECL Lite. We're seeing so many old teams return to the ice who are facing off with all our exciting newcomers. This season will decide if the ‘old timers’ have what it takes for this tight ECL league or if NHL 18 is the game of the "new generation". As I mentioned many times in this preview, consistency will be the key word for many teams this season. Lets enjoy this and keep the game clean, I wish everyone good luck and see you on the ice. Please note: Company of Geeks has sadly decided to withdraw their participation last night at the doorstep of the season. Best regards, @Ranksu for NHLGamer.com Editing: @The_Alpha_Furyan

Good day NHLGamers, Hope you enjoyed our ECL 5 trailer - it has been in the works for quite some time. Be sure to share it and spread the word if you liked it. We can tell you that a lot of effort went into making it and while a great many people have been involved in its execution from start to finish (including of course our featured talent @Bjono, @pnordetun, @cHIIMEERa, @Hansulinho & @Dominointi who couldn't have been more professional during the shoots), no one more so than @LastMandalorian. From developing the concept months ago, to setting up the film shoots, to traveling around Sweden and Finland to actually film it - all the way through editing the material and picking the right music. Hats off to you, sir - a job well done. Hockey returns 133. That is the exact amount of days since the European Championship League was last in action. 133 days (or more than 3000+ hours) of waiting for this next shot at virtual ice hockey glory. It is true that while this years Summer Cup did satiate some of the community need for competitive gaming, there is nothing quite like ECL hockey. The fourth ECL season was a season of change for many reasons. A new system featuring divisions was implemented. Instead of one lone winner, three champions were to be crowned. As a result more teams than ever before chose to sign up; a trend we hope (and expect) to continue as the ECL continues to expand its reach. When the dust settled and the smoke had cleared after ECL 4, the NHLGamer "Hall of Champions" that already featured Nordic Blizzard (ECL 1), MUKIMIEHET (ECL 2) and X Factor (ECL 3) had been expanded to include Laser HT, Carlsberg HC and J P T J who managed to bring home the titles for Elite, Pro and Lite respectively. Furthermore, we got to see the first ever Xbox ECL with OHO SORI winning the title in 5 games against The Black Jacks. We think it was a good start and would like to support this community initiative of bringing more competitive tournaments to the NHL landscape on Microsoft's console. That is why we will also give you the opportunity to sign up for Xbox ECL 2! ECL 5 - PS4 While ECL 5 will be bigger and hopefully more competitive than ECL 4 it will not feature the same amount of change to our structure, something we hope will offer a welcome sense of continuity with regards to how much things changed last season. In short, this means the rulebook, the divisions and most of the things that worked really well in ECL 4 will continue to be implemented in ECL 5 as well. This also means that, while we did find the ongoing discussion and community vote concerning the ECL point system - mostly a debate between the merits of employing a 3-point system versus a 2-point system - interesting and balanced, we will not change from the current 2-point format at this time. We welcome continuous discussion on this topic as the ECL continues to evolve. Furthermore, we are sure that one of the biggest questions for some teams and members at this stage is "where will we play this season?" as the poll concerning if you should be able to apply for Pro or not turned out to be quite divisive. This has perhaps been the biggest question faced by the staff ahead of this season. The baseline we are working from is this: if you earned your place in either the Pro or Elite divisions last season, you still have the right to it. We will not be employing any type of forced demotion in either of these two divisions. In a vacuum, this means we already have our 16 Elite teams and 32 Pro teams ready to go. Outside of this "vacuum", the truth is that many of these Elite and Pro teams have experienced significant changes during the off-season between ECL 4 and 5. Therefore, if you are either a Pro or Elite team (based on how ECL 4 ended) - you need to confirm your participation in the division you ended up in last season. If you do not confirm your spot before the last sign-up date, that spot will need to be filled by the Staff. Read on to find out how to sign up for ECL 5 and how to apply for these open spots. Framework Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. North American players are not allowed to host matches / be captain in the lineup, which means all games need to take place on European servers. This also applies to Russian players - please evaluate your previous connection experience against some of the teams participating in the ECL, especially if you live in eastern parts of your country (which likely connects you to US West servers). In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. 6 vs. 6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL challenge game mode in NHL 18. Individual requirements: Each player needs to create an account at NHLGamer.com and create his personal player card. Roster requirements: Teams need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. Sign-up period: Teams can register until October 13, 23:59 CEST. ECL 5 Kick-off: ECL 5 is set to start on October 16. Rules: TBA Sign-up procedures There will be different ways of signing up to ECL 5 this time - the procedures are explained in detail in the section below. Generally speaking: New teams that did not participate in ECL 4 at all or teams that were relegated from ECL 4 Pro: Please read the "ECL Lite" paragraph below. Teams that were able to stay in ECL Pro, were relegated from ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Lite during ECL 4: Please read the "ECL Pro" paragraph below. Teams that were able to stay in ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Pro during ECL 4: Please read the "ECL Elite" paragraph below. ECL Lite ECL Lite welcomes any and all teams that did not participate in ECL 4 as well as the teams that were relegated from ECL Pro during ECL 4. As last season, there will be no limit to the amount of registrations! We will flexibly adjust group sizes to accomodate all teams that are looking to participate. To sign up your team for ECL Lite, we ask the main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Lite registration thread: ECL 5 Lite Registration You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes. Due to the fact that only 31 teams are ECL Pro qualified at this time - and other teams may be folding - we also offer teams the opportunity to apply for ECL Pro during the sign up process. However, ECL Lite quarter-finalists from ECL 4 will take first priority when filling up spots in the Pro division, which means only a few or no spots at all might be available for completely new teams. When looking at Pro applications, we will choose applicants depending on their player strength and other factors such as in-game 6 vs. 6 leaderboard results. Below is the list of prioritized teams: ECL Pro ECL Pro is our 2nd division and will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Pro, were relegated from ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Lite during ECL 4. ECL Pro has a fixed size of 32 teams, divided into two groups. All the qualified teams are listed below: To sign up your team for ECL Pro, we ask the team's ECL 4 main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Pro registration thread: ECL 5 Pro Registration You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes. In case ECL Elite teams are folding, we will automatically ask the best ECL Pro qualifiers from ECL 4 to fill these spots, according to their playoffs progress (criteria #1) and regular season PPG average (criteria #2). You are not required to apply for these spots. However, you are required to confirm your attendance for ECL Pro to be considered for selection. ECL Elite ECL Elite is our 1st division, housing the very best 16 European teams in a single group. It will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Pro during ECL 4. All the qualified teams are listed below: To sign up your team for ECL Elite, we ask the team's ECL 4 main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Elite registration thread: ECL 5 Elite Registration You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes. Xbox ECL 2 To help in building a larger competitive Xbox community, we will host the second edition of Xbox ECL. The first season was based on a community initiative that started off with few individuals asking for a NHLGamer branded tournament taking place on Xbox One. Thanks to these members who contacted other teams on their platform of choice to spread the word, interest was starting to pick up, and the first season ended with a total of 5 teams. While this is undoubtedly a small number compared to the amount of teams on PS4, we know that plenty of players joined NHLGamer during recent months. And thanks to the dedicated players that were doing their best to set up the first season, we expect participation to grow in the long run. Xbox ECL 2 won't be based on the divisions format that is taking place on PS4, and instead will instead offer a league format used in Xbox ECL and ECL 1-3 on PS4 - however, our long term goal is having divisions on Xbox One as well. Framework Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. North American players are not allowed to host matches / be captain in the lineup, which means all games need to take place on European servers. This also applies to Russian players - please evaluate your previous connection experience against some of the teams participating in the ECL, especially if you live in eastern parts of your country (which likely connects you to US West servers). In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. 6 vs. 6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL challenge game mode in NHL 18. Individual requirements: Each player needs to create an account at NHLGamer.com and create his personal player card. Roster requirements: Teams need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. Sign-up period: Registrations will be open indefinitely until 8 teams have agreed to participate. Afterwards, sign-ups will be open for another two weeks to make for a larger competition. Rules: TBA Sign-up procedure To sign up your team for Xbox ECL 2, we ask the main captain (C) only to go to the Xbox ECL 2 registration thread: XBOX ECL 2 Registration You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes. Final notes ECL and its divisions format is in a process of continuous evolvement. When NHLGamer.com first announced the switch to setting up three skill-based divisions, our main goal was to transform the diverse EASHL landscape to encourage the development of true franchises. Thanks to all the dedicated players out there, this is already bearing fruit: Established teams are building a core roster while also paying attention to the plenty of ambitious newcomers in the NHL community. We see social media channels popping up on a weekly, if not daily basis. We see lots of new streamers on Twitch and other platforms, showing off ECL to all the NHL fans out there. We see allies supporting our project more frequently than ever before. We see how the community is evolving and shaping up to be a professional and organized force in the gaming landscape. This is something we will continue to support in the future. We believe that, even though we might see a few teams folding this or even next season, which potentially requires us to restructure some of the divisions, in the long run we will see a healthy and fluid framework for the greatest 6 vs. 6 experience that's out there. It's not our achievement. It's your achievement. We welcome everyone to continue this road of success. We welcome everyone to play with the best. @The_Alpha_Furyan & @gzell60 for NHLGamer.com Facebook (NHLGamer)Twitter (NHLGamerCOM)YouTube (NHLGamer Official) Instagram (NHLGamerOfficial) Twitch (NHLGamerTwitch)

Hi NHLGamers, I'm so glad you've found your way here! For this season of ECL Pro, we will start up a "Team of the Week"-segment. In other words, we'll be showcasing the best ECL Pro teams for both groups that week, but also a Top 6 lineup of individuals that excelled during said week. The articles will be released each Monday (excluding this article). Beware that we are only counting the stats for games played during each game week. Group 1 - Team of the Week - 1 Wasps Gaming The Wasps had a great run of form recently, playing only 4 games last week they managed to snag all 8 points and all wins were in regulation time. Even though they are most known because of their offense, it's their defense that's won them all 4 games. They've only let in 3 goals in the games played, accumulating 2 shutouts along the way. An honorable mention in their offensive line is @JaKurrii who has been racking up some points in all four games. They also lie at the top of the table in group 1 and have a few of their players in the top 10 of points, assists and goals. This is why they're our team of the week for group 1. Group 2 - Team of the Week - 1 Checkmate Checkmate have really started the season on the right track. They've won their first 6 games of the season against at least two teams with serious playoff ambitions of their own and in that making a clear statement that they were deserving of the Pro spot. Goalie duo @Lage and @Tomsuu (a_pantera) have both stood their ground and got shutouts, their defense has set up a blockade at the blue line - those are the facts that make us believe you will probably see Checkmate fighting for that first place spot in group 2 and succeding in doing so. Checkmate won't be sparking off offensive fireworks but instead rely on their defensive stability and strength on counter attacks, they're very good in those categories and will punish you as soon as they get the chance. Pro division - Players of the Week - 1 @Tzon93 - @JaKurrii - @Tim_FlyersFan @puke85 - @gzell60 @DUNZA @Tzon93 (Speedy Bros Hockey) is ranked 3rd under all goal scorers so far and is a significant factor in the good start of his team Speedy Bros Hockey. He's the classic fast paced winger all GM's would love to be able to flash on their left wing. @JaKurrii (Wasps Gaming) is the key factor in the early success of Wasps Gaming. We all know how important a reliable, hard working and scoring center is. On top of all that, this guy can also win faceoffs (58%)! Let's see if he can continue his dominant performance in the face off circle and lead the Wasps lineup into more heated battles. @Tim_FlyersFan (Deadly Phantoms HC) is a playmaking machine on the wing and he is used to scoring on command too. You should never lose track of him because he's going to make you pay from it real fast. He is speedy, he is filthy, he is dangerous without massive drawbacks on his defensive play. Look out for top cheese all day baby! @puke85 (Wasps Gaming) lead his team Wasps Gaming to a very strong start and is a dominant force in the defense. He has recorded 6 points already in 4 games played (3 Goals, 3 Assists) with a +8 rating. @gzell60 (Deadly Phantoms HC) is the go to guy if you want to have a playmaking defenseman who throws sauce on the tape all day. He makes plays in all three zones while quarterbacking his team throughout the whole game. Gzell can make forecheckers look almost nonexistent in the blink of an eye. @DUNZA (Synergy Hockey) 4 games, 4 wins, 3 shutouts...do I need to say more? Can this guy be beaten? He's only facing around 8 shots per game but saved nearly all of them, is that even fair? Early Pro MVP candidate? That's all for now, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to be featured next week here's the recipe: work hard, play hard and do your best to make it happen! Be sure to tune in next week to see if you, your team or one of your teammates made it into our "Team of the Week". Special thanks to @Mannheimer1938 who co-wrote this article with me.

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. Hi there, NHLGamers! Almost Famous is next in line for our 16 in 16 series as the team was voted to finish 11th by the captains in the division. It is their inaugural season in Elite, but despite that, the roster doesn't consist of complete rookies at this level. They have a few players who possess some experience of playing in Elite. One of these is captain @Aze, who I'll have a short discussion with at the end of this article. Almost Famous is quite a young team, as the team only has two seasons under their belt. Despite this, they have already accomplished a great feat, being the first ever ECL team to gain promotion in consecutive seasons, progressing through the divisions framework from Lite to Elite. The team was played it's first season in ECL 4, but didn't start to reach it's form as we know it until ECL 5, when the project aF really took off. MUKIMIEHET (RIP) disbanded and captain Aze took control of the team, which had originally been his brainchild already in the early spring of 2017. Unofficially, the team has maintained their core throughout their short history, as captain @Aze, although seeing things through in MUKIMIEHET still ran things in a background role during their first season in Lite. IN SepiDN <-- Evolution kikiukko <-- Rusty Blades SadaPoika <-- Evolution Chafak <-- Free Agent Nampa77 <-- Sjukstugan OUT DevilFish14 --> Break from NHL Realpulunen --> Etelan Vetelat Rimpe37 --> Gotham Knights Current Roster: Forwards Ikavalko (A) @Ikavalko SadaPoika @SadaPoika Chafak @Chafak Nampa77 @Nampa77 Defensemen AzeStiNE (C) @Aze jahajaha93 (A) @jahajaha93 kikiukko @kikiukko Goaltenders Vaporik @Vaporik SepiDN @SepiDN taiguri9 @kasper.kampe What do you expect from ECL 7? I'm hoping for a lot of tight games during the season. If the preseason is anything to judge from, that is what we'll see too. There's been a number of transfers and several new teams in the division, so it'll be exciting to see who will make the biggest impact. Who would you name as a key player from your team? Well, goalies are never too overrated so I could say our goalie trio @SepiDN, @Vaporik and @kasper.kampe will be the ones we either live by or die by this season. There will be tough games for sure, so you will need a good goalie in order to give you a chance to win everyday. What are your thoughts on the ECL Elite license? I think it's a step in the right direction, so yes, it's brilliant. I don't think it's a sustainable solution as it is but a fine middle-ground for now. Talk a bit about the moves Almost Famous made during the summer and recently. We ended up having quite a lot of turnover as SadaPoika and Nampa77 joined our offense, kikiukko joined our defense and we brought in Elite proven goaltender SepiDN. We needed additions to our offense, depth for defense and a goalie who adds more activity in net and has shown ability to play at the Elite level. They have fit in very well, great players and great guys. Who would you say is a favorite to win it all in ECL 7? FILADELPHIA and Written. Both teams have top versus players in their teams, so it'll be interesting to see which mode they will invest in more, 1v1 or 6v6. I believe FILA made some amazing acquisitions in the offseason and is arguably the strongest team on paper. Written also made some moves and will undoubtedly perform at the top-level as expected. Who'd you say is the "Hidden Gem" in Almost Famous? @Ikavalko is one of the most entertaining players in the scene and has a lot of potential. It'll be nice to see how he will utilise it all and perform in Elite. Thanks Aze for your time and good luck to Almost Famous for the next season! Our second Sunday article will be taking a look at a team that's trying to shake off the rust accumulated over the summer, can you guess who we're talking about?

Update #1 - Feb. 19, 00:15 CET Unfortunately, Nordic Eagles aren't able to participate in ECL 6 anymore. Due to this, League Administration decided to move Kaksikymmentaseitseman from ECL Lite Group 2 to Group 4. Captains were informed via PM. We apologize if this causes any inconvenience. _____ Hey NHL Gamers, it's time for the 6th edition of ECL, again by far the most influental 6vs6 experience in at least all over Europe. This time we finally crossed that 100 teams barrier, and end up with a total of 110! That's up 11% from ECL 5's 96 participants. And quite frankly, there does not seem to be any sign of slowing down. ECL Lite and ECL Pro will start playing tomorrow, February 19, while ECL Elite will start on Wednesday, February 21. The schedules will be released shortly on the main page, so keep an eye out for that to see which team you will be facing first! Without further ado, here's everything you need to know. ECL 6 Rules The rules for ECL 6 can be seen here: As plenty of details have changed, we suggest you give them a good read before season start! League Administration All league related decisions will be made by League Administration. To open up a case, create a new question in the "Contact League Administration" helpdesk. Please note: Teams are expected to solve issues on their own before contacting League Administration - the rules include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always the last resort to solve any disagreements. ECL 6 Elite 14 teams confirmed their participation for ECL 5: Carlsberg HC Dynasty Evolution Falun Coal Miners Kattiautomaatti Northern Ascendancy Northern Stars Pata Hellalla Rusty Blades SJK eSports Silver Sword Griffins Sjukstugan Unlucky Boys HC Written In The Stars To fill the two open spots that are caused by the disbandment of both MUKIMIEHET and Aapon Taikasauva, rule 4.3 from the ECL 6 rules gets applied. Four ECL 5 Pro quarter-finalists come into question: THE UNITED KNIGHTS (0 PO wins) Nordic Stars (3 PO wins) Gotham Knights (3 PO wins) Inter Iceland (2 PO wins) Based on these numbers, League Administration offers the remaining two ECL 6 Elite spots to Nordic Stars and Gotham Knights: ECL 6 Pro 23 teams (excluding Nordic Stars and Gotham Knights, which were moved to ECL Elite) confirmed their participation for ECL 6: Alliance HT Almost Famous Baltic Sea Eagles Banterfield Battalion Bellizzi Clowns on Ice EN HUND Free From Rodents Inter Iceland JPTJ Monarchs Murohoki Nordic Nosebleed OG Royals Raging Monkeys Red Machine SIKA Shameful Knights Speedy Bros Hockey Synergy Hockey Sypperstaars TIKI TALK White Trash This means a total of 9 spots had to be filled with ECL Lite sign-ups. As ECL 5 Lite quarter-finalists that also signed up and applied for ECL Pro, Deadly Phantoms HC were prioritized and moved to ECL 6 Pro. For the 8 remaining spots, we were looking at ECL Pro applications from these 16 teams: Arctic Asserklubi Breakers Of The Bone EaLogic FILADELPHIA ICEBREAKERS EAGLES Ice Phoenix Kaukosen Luistin Monte Carlo MotherPuckers Old Farts Penalty Box Pohjoista Voimaa Quality Suomen Sonnit The Beagle Boys According to rule 4.2 in the ECL 6 rules, League Administration not only looked at in-game leaderboards and records, but also considered EASHL history as well as notable achievements, recent games and ECL experience (games played, points, wins etc.). At the end of our evaluation, these 8 teams were considered suitable and are moved to ECL 6 Pro: Arctic Breakers Of The Bone FILADELPHIA Monte Carlo Old Farts Penalty Box Quality The Beagle Boys ECL 6 Pro - Final conferences ECL Pro will be played in 2 conferences with 16 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in a 30 game regular season in which the top 8 teams out of each group will go to the playoffs (16 teams total). To determine the final groups, all teams were seeded into 4 different pots. From there, the teams were randomized into two conferences: ECL 6 Lite The remaining 62 teams will be participating in ECL 6 Lite. For obvious reasons, I'm saving the entire list at this point and we'll go straight to the conferences. ECL 6 Lite - Final conferences ECL Lite will be played in 6 conferences with 10/11 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in an 18/20 game regular season in which the top 5 teams out of each conference, as well as the two best 6th ranked teams out of all conferences will go to the playoffs (32 teams total). To determine the final conferences, all teams were randomly assigned to the six conferences: Team management tools All teams have been created, and the captains mentioned in the sign-up posts will shortly be unlocked for the team management tools on the main page (click on your username in the top right corner to access them). All players need to be invited to the team rosters ahead of your first game. Please note that all invited players need to accept the invitation (there will be a popup alert on the main page for them) before they show up on the team roster and can start playing! In case you have any questions, please use the comment section below this news story. Good luck to all teams and have fun! @gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers, Well, that was quite an intense experience wasn't it? Several months of competitive virtual hockey in the bag with more than a few highlight reel goals, slick saucer passes and bone crushing hits along the way. If you are anything like me, the time between ECLs is spent recovering from the emotional rollercoaster of the previous tournament while at the same time anticipating the next one. Judging by the activity in the NHLGamer forums, the amount of new members and teams registered plus the crazy Free Agent season we've seen so far - ECL 4 looks to surpass all previous tournaments in terms of participation and activity. Almost 80 teams registered, that is insane! Thank you all for making this community what it is and making sure we stay on course in building the ultimate gathering place for competitive NHL gamers. Keep up the great activity and know that the next step on the NHLGamer journey, ECL Divisions, is right around the corner. Here is all the information that is available right now concerning ECL 4 and the format it will feature: ECL Divisions FAQ. With 45 teams registered for the Pro division and 15 for Elite, the NHLGamer staff does have some work to do in balancing the divisions and making sure the numbers stay even in terms of division size. Look for an update this week with the finalized division placements, the tournament start date plus the schedule for the season. With that said, before we get started with ECL 4 it is time to properly close the book on our previous tournament. What better way to do that than to celebrate the greatest individual achievements of ECL 3? As you've most likely guessed based on the news story title, it is time for the ECL 3 Regular Season Awards (featuring the Playoff MVP)! In total, there will be 9 individual trophys handed out (6 for skaters, 3 for goalies) for the regular season and 1 for the playoffs. Most of these you might have seen before in this story where we presented the trophys for ECL 1, 2 and Summer Cup. However, you will notice two new additions for this particular tournament. Enjoy! (If someone isn't tagged, it is because I did not know their forum name.) ECL 3 - Regular season: Most Points - @Joukki with 86 goals and 87 assists for 173 points in 42 games. This is joukkis second award for Most Points as he previously snagged the award in ECL 1. Most Goals - Joukki again with his 86 goals; featuring 13 PPG, 1 SHG and 16 GWGs. joukki won this award for ECL 1 as well, so this is his second goal scoring title and fourth individual trophy in total. Most Assists - Puantso, who breaches the 100-plateau with 106 assists in 39 games played. This is the second trophy for most assists by Puantso as he won the title for ECL 1. NEW Most hits - Tanski87 of Rusty Blades delivered a crushing 327 hits in 46 games played. He wins this new award by a margin of more than 70 hits. Most Points by a Defenseman - @Rullstolskalas with a total of 14+63 = 77 in 46 games played. The first defenseman scoring title for longtime Northern Stars defender "Rulle". Best Plus/Minus - This category was completely dominated by Aapon Taikasauva who had the Top 5 spots. Winning the award is @indi969 with +179 in 44 games. Best Save % - Just like before, the requirement to win this title is that the goaltender in question plays at the very least 50% of his teams games. Playing in 24 out of 46 games for Northern Stars, MZK-TrophyHunter qualifies and delivered a commanding 83.71 % in those games. Most Wins by a Goalie - By many considered to be one of the top EASHL goalies in the world, @FinKonna finally manages to snag an goaltending award with his spectacular 37-8-1 record for ECL 3. NEW Most shutouts - @SneakPeaker of X Factor and @SpiderRoyal of SIKA shares this new goaltending award with 9 shutouts each. ECL 3 - Playoffs: As is custom, we only award one individual trophy during the playoffs - the Playoff MVP. This one goes to championship winners X Factors #1 center, @Penatski. With 46 points in 24 playoff games (featuring an impressive 8 points in 4 games during the finals) he finished among the top point scorers for the playoffs and was judged to be the primary X Factor in his teams success. Yes, I know. Sorry. Jokes aside, congratulations to you Penatski - well deserved! To finish this one off, we once again hand the mic over to X Factor captain, @nylanderi, for some choice words about his top playoff producer; "What a player. Great two-way forward, with TOP hockey iq. In the regular season X Factor scored 199 goals... and Penatski had a point in 165 of them. He always found a way to create scoring chances without ever hurting our defense. Although he is really young, he plays a truly mature game. He came through for us in the playoffs with so many crucial OT goals. Penatski deserves this trophy without a doubt" That is all for now. Look for the ECL 4 update this week! Later skaters! NHLGamer.com

Update: Due to the fact that one ECL Lite group was having an empty slot, we decided to accept a late registation by J P T J. Furthermore we decided to merge two ECL Lite groups into one (per lottery), so we end up with the same conferences as ECL Pro. All changes are reflected below. Hey NHL Gamers, First of all, some of you have been asking for an ECL 4 kick-off date already, and we can confirm we will be starting on Monday, the 20th of February. Secondly, all of us here in the NHLGamer Staff are overwhelmed by the amount of registrations for the new division format: 79 teams in total! Back when we were discussing the framework for divisions, the following quote was dropped in the Staff chat: "Expecting 80 or more teams is likely ridiculous". Turns out we were quite wrong about it. The community has never been more alive, and we are incredibly happy about this. Having said that, the Staff had to make a couple of decisions. Unfortunately, Fat Cats, which were nominated for the Elite division, decided to withdraw from ECL 4. According to the announced tie-breakers (most playoff wins -> best regular season PPG average), Rynnäkköviikset will join ECL Elite and fill up spot #16. This is the final ECL Elite lineup: Unknown (previously Northern Ascendancy) Dynasty Synergy (previously Synergy Hockey) Written in the Stars Northern Stars Laser HT SIKA Limitless (previously X Factor) MUKIMIEHET TIKI TALK Aapon Taikasauva Nordic Lightning Refuse To Lose Nordic Nightmare Finnish Roosters Rynnäkköviikset For ECL Pro, we received a total of 44 registrations for 32 spots, which means we needed to move 12 teams to ECL Lite. Some choices were more obvious than others, but in the end, we believe we made the right decisions. As announced earlier, we have taken ECL and EASHL records, as well as team/player reputation and consistency into account, and ran a lottery with 10 pre-seeded teams (Nordic Stars, Carlsberg HC, Germany's Finest, HC Checkmate, Kattiautomaatti, murohoki, Rusty Blades, Silver Sword Griffins, Sjukstugan, White Trash) - followed up by another lottery with the 22 remaining teams. Here are both ECL Pro conferences for ECL 4: ECL Pro A Sjukstugan White Trash Carlsberg HC Rusty Blades murohoki Nocturnal Hunters The Beagle Boys Ace Holes HC HC Magic Zone The Lights Out (previously Lunatic Lions) Shameful Knights Bare Knuckles Hockey Origins Free From Rodents Unlucky Boys HC Baltic Sea Eagles ECL Pro B Silver Sword Griffins Germany's Finest (previously UKnighted HC) Nordic Stars Kattiautomaatti HC Checkmate Company of Geeks Bellizzi Pata Hellalla Inter Iceland Showtime Royal Club Nemesis (previously Voodoo People) Huppati HC Thunder Tigers Alliance HT AK 47 All remaining 32 teams will join ECL Lite and compete in two conferences with 16 teams each. These are the ECL Lite conferences: ECL Lite A Ice Phoenix Pohjoista Voimaa HC Scorpions Vemppaosasto Lavetten Banterfield Battallion HC Palosaari Clowns On Ice Anonymous HC Elämäm Kiekko Die TwitchProleten Dynamo Danglers GHETTO FIREBIRDS Papat Bone Breakers A Dream Valhalla ECL Lite B Wolfsrudel EV Duisburg Prometheus HC Ancient Warriors Pungbrock HC Falun Coal Miners Teletapit DEAD END KINGS EN HUND PSHL Roadrunners The Youngsters Last Kings Hawks Hockey Club iNF4M0US Blues HC J P T J What do you think about the conferences? Let us know in the comments below! NHLGamer.com

NHLGamer, in co-operation with Ilta-Sanomat, SJK eSports and SEAMK will be organizing the Finnish Championship in NHL 19 and FIFA 19. The sponsors of the tournament named IS Cup 3 are ED and PlayStation. IS Cup 3 includes three tournaments: NHL 19 1vs1, NHL 19 6vs6 and FIFA 19 1vs1. Purchasing an eSM license will grant a player eligibility to participate in all of these tournaments. Please note that participation also requires Finnish citizenship. The total price pool amounts to 15 000 €. The first event of the eSM tournament series will be held in the beginning of November (2.-3.11.) at the GameXpo-exhibition at Messukeskus in Helsinki. The second event will be held at the OmaSp Gaming House in Seinäjoki, after which the final tournament is back over in Helsinki at Kauppakeskus REDI. www.is.fi/cup will be the place to follow the progression of the tournament throughout October, November and December. Three main events The first IS Cup 3 final event will be the NHL 19 6vs6 final at GameXpo on the 3rd of November. At this event, the four top teams from the online qualifiers will be competing for a price of 4500€. The FIFA 19 1vs1 event will be held at the OmaSp Gaming House in Seinäjoki, the event takes place on the 24th of November. Six players will qualify through online qualifiers, and two players will receive invites from the organizers. These players will battle it out for the price of 2500€. The NHL 1vs1 tournament takes the IS Cup back to Helsinki, as 16 players (four invites) will be fighting for a price of 8000€ at Kauppakeskus REDI on the 15th of December. A qualifier tournament will be held on the 2nd of November at GameXpo, the two top players will secure spots in the final. The remaining ten spots will be secured through online qualifiers between 8.-28.11. How to participate The online qualifiers will be organized by NHLGamer. There is no maximum amount of participants in the online qualifiers. As stated, an eSM license and Finnish citizenship will be required to participate. The license costs 5€ and can be bought at http://www.esm.gg/pelaajalisenssi/. One license will grant eligibility to all tournaments and events. Registration takes place at NHLGamer.com. Schedules for the tournament can be viewed at NHLGamer.com. For now, the schedule is an estimate. The final schedule will be confirmed after the registration is closed. For more information on how to sign up, visit www.is.fi/cup. For all of our international members - don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you! Sign up for ECL 7 now and stay tuned for more exciting announcements in the near future!

Hi there NHLGamers! You might have spotted some social media posts some weeks back about founder @Kenu being interviewed for a broadcast on Aito Hitti – A Finnish radio station, part of a network that according to their website has around 800 000 frequent listeners. Unfortunately, the interview was done only in Finnish and we felt that we shouldn’t exclude our international audience from learning what our founder had to say. Therefore, in this article I’ll briefly be recapping some of the main points discussed in the almost 20 minute segment about NHLGamer. The interview focused on some basic things about NHLGamer, such as the conception of the community and the idea behind it and the ECL. Besides that, also some of the hottest topics in the community were discussed - such as money tournaments in the scene and the evolution of these. Some of our community members have been with NHLGamer all the way since late 2015 when the site was released to the public. However, the idea was conceived already in 2009, when EA Sports discontinued their NHL-series for PC. Kenu had been creating popular mods (SM-liiga Pack, later FHR) for the PC version of the NHL-series for around 10 years together with a small group of people. When the possibility to create such mods was suddenly missing, there was a need to start doing something else. After creating the Finnish Cup's and taking a brief stint at the EHL-series at ConsoleHockey, Kenu and @Lurkins decided to combine forces in creating what we now know as NHLGamer.com. This domain wasn't always theirs, though - a guy called Petri Wathén, PW, had a platform for organising NHL tournaments at the start of the century, but as his interest faded, some of the remaining staff decided to acquire the domain. In recent years, NHL gaming has come a long way and as mentioned above, one of the topics discussed was the introduction of money tournaments into the NHL gaming scene. A good example of this is the NHL Gaming World Championship, which was introduced this spring. The qualifiers for this tournament are currently in progress, with community members @Hansulinho and @FlyerKungen already advancing to the regional qualifiers in Stockholm, Sweden. (After the interview took place, also @Erkki, @plee999, @Kane and @Nieppii have secured their spots in Stockholm. That's 6/6 for our community. Keep it up!) Currently, the EASHL community hasn't seen major money tournaments, but rest assured - they will be coming right here on NHLGamer. For those of you that are able to understand the interview without a translation, you'll find the interview above. The current ECL season was also discussed. Kenu mentions the increase in teams within the last few seasons and the fact that games are tighter than ever. All of the divisions hold very talented teams and the divisions framework introduced in ECL 4 has worked very well in assigning teams to appropriate skill levels - creating tighter matchups and more interesting and exciting seasons. It's been great to see the growth of our community with new members joining every day. It's also been great to witness how people are coming together and building lasting friendships. A beautiful sense of belonging was present at the recent IS Cup (November 2017), where we saw some tough competition but also how close our community members actually are. An interesting question briefly discussed was wether the Finnish Liiga has shown any interest in NHLGamer. At this stage there have been no talks, says Kenu, but it's absolutely not out of the question. Professional ice hockey teams such as Ässät, HIFK and Pelicans - to name a few - are active in the gaming scene. No teams are currently represented in virtual ice hockey, but as money is starting to be discussed in the scene, interest might spark. The consensus at the end of the interview was that the future for NHLGamer and virtual ice hockey is bright. As sponsors and organisations are getting the smell of money, it will create more interest. It's now up to us to show what we as a community can do in order to make this bright future happen.

BiggestEight - Free Agent (FA) ECL Hidden Gems is a concept that was created by @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun (patovic). The idea evolved out of discussions concerning what type of content patovic himself would like to see more of at NHLGamer.com and what kind of texts he'd be most interested in writing. Hidden Gems, for the purposes of this feature, means players that the author feels haven't quite gotten their time to shine at NHLGamer or players that aren't getting full credit for the skill they bring to the table. This is the third edition in a six-part series that patovic has written so do enjoy the witty writing of "pato" and leave a comment with your thoughts on the piece. Alex Ovechkin, Teemu Selänne, BiggestEight… There’s a number of "big eights” in the hockey world but virtually, we’re talking about the best one right here today. The gamer we’ll be taking a look at for the third edition of Hidden Gems is BiggestEight, aka @selänne8. The great BiggestEight really caught fire and put his name up on the boards during his two seasons with HC Checkmate in ECL 3 and 4, scoring an amazing total of 81 and 96 points respectively. ECL 5 saw him repeat a nice point-total of 76 points, albeit now representing Baltic Sea Eagles. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that he is living up to the name that his PSN-ID is suggestive of. In the group stage of ECL 4 Pro he finished 2nd in points behind Tapparafan - and was 1st in goals, GWG and shots on goal with a full 49 shots (!) more than the next player. This is surely a feat that isn’t all too far-fetched for the real-life counterpart of Alexander the Great either. In the all-time leaderboard BiggestEight can be found at 5th in points and 3rd in goals with only PleeMaker and Joukki pacing him in the goals-column. Always dangerous in the offensive zone and especially from his office at the left faceoff circle from where he lets the one-timers rip. Word on the street is that he lives by the motto: “the top corner is always open.” BiggestEight has yet to succeeded come playoff time, though. The reason could obviously be the high level of competitiveness at the tournaments hosted here at NHLGamer but BiggestEight has yet to make it past the first round in the playoffs. Once again we find similarities between him and the real-life counterpart on the Washington Capitals. However, it appears possible that ECL 6 is the time and place where this promising offensive juggernaut could be seen sniping top-cheese deep into the playoffs. It all depends on which team is able to snag this Hidden Gem before the registrations close. In the end, maybe it’s just a matter of trying a new stick manufacturer or applying a different tapejob to his stick - all will be revealed in ECL 6 so stay tuned for more goals from BiggestEight. BiggestEight Fact Box [Player profile] Joni Kurtti, Finland ECL All-Time Stats: 151GP, 209G, 165A, 374P, +86 All-Time overall leader in shots on goal Favors the LW position in EASHL Looking for his first strides in a 2nd-round playoff matchup come ECL6 Text by: @pnordetun Editing and additional content by: @jahajaha93 Art by: @OxtreeLAT

Lamsa - Rusty Blades (RB) ECL Hidden Gems is a concept that was created by @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun (patovic). The idea evolved out of discussions concerning what type of content patovic himself would like to see more of at NHLGamer.com and what kind of texts he'd be most interested in writing. Hidden Gems, for the purposes of this feature, means players that the author feels haven't quite gotten their time to shine at NHLGamer or players that aren't getting full credit for the skill they bring to the table. This is the second edition in a six-part series that patovic has written so do enjoy the witty writing of "pato" and leave a comment with your thoughts on the piece. After the first edition of Hidden Gems, which was more of a "old school" type gem, we return with this second installment that is focused on a player that manages to be a veteran and a new addition to the community both at the same time. I am of course talking about good ol' @Lamsafrom Rusty Blades - a man so good on the offensive side of the puck that all of your team better be prepared to focus 110% when going up against Rusty Blades. The franchise itself has only participated in ECLs 3, 4 & 5 but wow (!) have they been taking some major steps in the right direction. After making their debut in ECL 3 to mixed reviews (IMDB rating: 6,1), they went back to the drawing board and decided to grind out some serious practice. And by "some", I mean a lot. I am not sure if any team played more EASHL games than Rusty between ECL 3 and 4 but they managed to do exactly what they set out to do - build a foundation for their style of play and learn how to play against (and defeat) the very best ECL teams. Under captain @Tanski87, Rusty have perfected the art of "brunk and dump hockey" mixed with some tic tac toe and have managed to make it the key to their success. In all this, Lamsa is the true catalyst: leading the way with all the different types of goals, assists and dirtyness only a true Kantor can bring. While being underrated on the defensive side of things - he describes himself as a defensive playmaker - Lamsa is most comfortable scoring points using his straight-forward style (the anti-skill hockey?) that has resulted in 155 goals and 101 assist in 112 games played. The fact that Lamsa is Rustys go-to guy in the scoring department get quite obvious when you consider the fact that in ECL 3 (Legacy) he scored 20 points more than anyone else on the RB squad. For next season, ECL 4 (Pro), he finished a full 33 points ahead of #2 and finally, in ECL 5 (Elite) he managed to repeat the feat once more by scoring 14 points more than his closest teammate. Now, Rusty has managed to build what many call the ultimate teamplay-focused team where every skater is a key cog in the machinery and they have certainly become one of the best at what they do, but when the chips are down and they need that one key play - Lamsa is most likely smack in the middle of it. Before ECL 5 I am sure many were curious how RB and Lamsa would hold up against Elite competition, but both of them certainly managed to put a sock in the mouth of their detractors. Rusty Blades by finishing 8th overall, making the playoffs and pushing Aapon Taikasauva to six games in their playoff series and Lamsa by scoring 25 goals and finishing tied for 9th in Goals amongst all Elite skaters. I think we can safely establish once and for all that, unlike the Dent Act and Roberts Rebellion, Lamsa is not built on a lie. Lamsa Fact Box [Player profile] Lauri Lämsä, Finland ECL All-Time Stats: 112GP, 155G, 101A, 256P, +33 Participated in ECL 3, 4 & 5 at NHLGamer: all three for Rusty Blades Favors the RW position in EASHL Part of Rusty Blades squad that got promoted from ECL Pro - ECL Elite after ECL 4 Runner-up and silver medalist for the 50 Shades of Blades in Summer Cup 2 Text by: @pnordetun Intro and editing by: @The_Alpha_Furyan Art by: @OxtreeLAT

Greetings, gamers! After a well-deserved breather following last season’s Game 7 thriller, it’s time to rust off your blades, as ECL 5 Elite is set to start with a bang. Twelve teams from ECL 4 Elite, four teams from ECL 4 Pro and only 8 playoff spots to compete for – we are looking at another season of action-packed excitement. The offseason was very busy with major roster shuffle in several teams. However, the balance of power has not seemed to shift that much. As an introduction to the new season, here’s a prediction of how the teams stand, mostly based on personal observations and EASHL performance during the pre-season. The teams are listed alphabetically within their respective categories. The Contenders The reigning champions Laser HT are now known as SJK eSports. Team captain Dominointi, who represents the eSports organization personally as well, is expected to be on full form early on, having continued his successful season with a victorious Summer Cup. SJK goes into the season with no major changes in the lineup – and with a champion status, nothing points out they would not be contenders for the new season. Written In The Stars has been one of the strongest teams in the pre-season. DieCutterMC from Dynasty is a great fit to the team. They will look to repeat their start from last year and only a few have doubts they will succeed at that. A blend of slick moves and unorthodox plays; at times, juggling on the fine line between effective and entertaining. Carlsberg HC is back in the Elite division, to which it undoubtedly belongs. There were two very interesting additions to Carlsberg HC in the form of Vilupoika and KingofApes. With one of the best offensive rosters in the league, this team intends to win the last game of the season and light the lamp on the way through. MUKIMIEHET introduced Pair4You back into the lineup. The core of the team has stuck around together for a while already, and with a well-balanced offensive and defensive style of play, the cup is within the reach of these guys. The Challengers Aapon Taikasauva saw a lot of changes over the summer. In came Nylanderi, Penatski, Puantso, Cappe and ShaneC27. They have all the tools to make it a championship team, but the tournament is short and with so many changes, time is not on their side. With arguably the highest potential of improving their game throughout the season, they probably don’t top the Challenger list only alphabetically. Dynasty was as close as it gets to winning last year, but a lot of roster changes happened over the summer and it will probably take a while to get back the routine level to where it was. To highlight the changes made, the starting roster is expected to feature only 2 skaters who finished the season with the team in ECL 4. Nevertheless, Dynasty is still one of the best defensive teams out there – come playoffs, anything is possible. Northern Ascendancy drained the swamp, being no more known as Unknown. Instead, the team is known for their fast, creative and lethal counter-attacks. One of the best teams in neutral zone transitions, and often catch opponents out of formation. Very strong when given the chance to play with their strengths. Nordic Lightning is one of the teams with most roster changes during the offseason. From the brink of folding the club, Terrorsenko|91| managed to get a squad together. The hard work has only just begun though; most teams in the Elite division have a solid head-start in preparation and Nordic Lightning faces a tough task should they try to clinch a playoff spot. Likely to rely on defensive play and quick rushes up the ice. Nordic Nightmare come into the tournament as a bit of a mystery. The team has been a rare sight during the pre-season, but reports say they’ve been building chemistry over the summer in a whole different genre of games. However, the changes to the lineup weren’t big during the offseason, and they should be on form quickly. Northern Stars was another team to make a big double-signing, when PleeMaker and tbnantti inked their names on a contract. Last season they were a very productive duo, and will be interesting to see how they adapt to the new environment. If they can get everything clicking, Northern Stars has the potential to win the tournament; but as I see it, they are not there yet. Synergy, another long-standing franchise from Sweden, finds themselves in a rather similar spot to past tournaments; ready to challenge any team on the ice, and beat them on a good day. Known for strong cycle plays and utilizing all 5 skaters in all phases of the game, the experience level emanates from the blue-and-yellow uniforms. Missing out on the playoffs would be a disappointment. TIKI TALK starts another season with an under-dog status. Patient defense and success with their stingy counter-attacks, and TIKI TALK is right on their game. Team captain itspardytime has been around for a long time and knows how to rob the points from bigger teams. Nevertheless, a playoff spot is probably out of reach. The Arrivals Kattiautomaatti N/A, author's team. How will Katti do in Elite? Share your thoughts in the comments section! Rusty Blades was eventually rewarded for their strong season in Pro with a last-minute Elite spot for ECL 5. These Finns start the season with a virtually unchanged lineup. They are a strong defensive team with good goaltending, often able to catch out match favorites. Silver Sword Griffins is one of the four new teams in Elite this season, and they’ll be looking to cement their place at the highest tier. SSG has a very balanced lineup, including three winners from the previous Summer Cup. The structure and organization of their game is more developed and rigid than with most other teams. Contending for a playoff spot. Sjukstugan makes their entry into the Elite tier in an uncomfortable position after losing their n. 1 goalie right on the doorstep of the new season. With some additional roster shuffling in the offseason, Sjukstugan could be facing a rocky start with their new campaign. Stories to Follow In a big picture, there are always interesting finer details. There are several new teams ready to leave their mark in Elite, Carlsberg HC even looking at setting a standard on what can be achieved straight after promotion. On an individual player level, there is so much to follow. Here are a few stories that I will be following with interest: 3+2=?: Can tbnantti and PleeMaker continue to be the offensive powerhouse we saw in the past, will the new roster start clicking, and will it make NOS great again? Rusty on both ends: Can Lamsa keep up his goal scoring numbers for the Rusty Blades, now at the highest tier? Can Supreex do the same goaltending-wise in the other end of the ice? The League Sheriff: SadaPoika was an interesting addition by Sjukstugan; not least because he is the only forward in the Elite league to regularly play with an enforcer build. What are looking forward to this season? Do you have a team or a player you will keep an eye on? Who wins, who relegates? Tell us your thoughts! Keep those streams running, and as always, good luck & have fun!

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. In the third part of our 16 in 16 series we are going to take a look at a team that's been along for quite a while already. During the three seasons of ECL divisions, this team has already suffered one relegation and had the joy of one promotion. You could say it's been a rollercoaster. The team under our close investigative eye is Gotham Knights. Gotham Knights hasn't always been around as it is currently. The team started off as Refuse To Lose when EASHL made the transition to the new gen consoles in NHL 16. Refuse To Lose competed without any mentionable accomplishments until the summer of 2017, when @ReDMisTi, and @Kefleri decided to join forces and create Gotham Knights as we know it. ReDMisTi brought @Hanssonni and @MKivinen95 with him from RTL and the team recruited some new faces to bolster their ranks. Since the beginning, Gotham has wanted to prove that they can compete at the Elite level. It's something that will be even more of a theme now in NHL 19, as the team goes into their first consecutive season at the top tier. IN Nieppii <-- Sypperstaars erholtzi <-- Red Machine swagx88 <-- FILADELPHIA OUT PleeMaker --> FILADELPHIA Serg1vratar --> Free Agent ktewjh --> Rusty Blades jyrkkis_ --> Team Frosty EemilK02 --> Raccoon Rampage Sweaty__99 --> Unlucky Boys Current roster: Forwards ReDMisTi (C) @ReDMisTi Kefleri @Kefleri Hanssonni (A) @Hanssonni Puteli88 @puteli88 Defensemen Mkivinen95 @MKivinen95 Nieppii @Nieppii Goaltenders swagx88 @swagx88 erholtzi @Erholtzi After this introduction of the team, I'd like to get into some questions to team captain and former teammate of mine, @ReDMisTi: What are your expectations going into the 7th season of ECL competition? Our expectations are that we can play a good season. We're trying to keep the playing level high and minimizing the amount of bad days. Staying in Elite is an absolute minimum, but reaching the playoffs is our goal. Do you guys have one player you'd like to showcase as a potential difference maker? I can’t name just one key player, we will play as a team and therefore every player is a big part of our success. Would you like to share your thoughts on the ECL Elite License? I guess the idea is good for sure. Remains to be seen who will pay up and who won't. Can you talk a little bit about the moves Gotham made during the summer? We had a few players leave, and a few players joined so it’s going to be interesting to see what kind of impact the transfers have on our game and the league. I guess we still play the same kind of hockey we did last season. Who would you say are the favorites to take home ECL 7 Elite? FILADELPHIA has easily been our toughest opponent for now, I’m surprised if they are not in finals. Do you have a "Hidden Gem" in your team? Yes, @Nieppii is one of the best versus players in Europe and now he wants to be one of the best 6vs6 defensemen too. We're talking about a really skilled player and he can easily become one of the best D's after a bunch of training and facing the worlds best players in ECL Elite. Are you going to play offensive or defensive hockey? Hard question, a good defense is the key for sure, so we want to defend hard but at the same time keep the puck as much as possible. We don't want to be just a counter attack team. We're staying versatile, so I'd say we're 50/50. Thank you for your interview and good luck with the new season! Ranked to finish 13th by our ECL Elite captains and making a comeback to the Elite level, we'll have an exciting one for you guys tomorrow. You'll be given the pleasure of seeing two long-time NHLGamers having a chat about the upcoming season and the return of a dearly missed writer. Check back tomorrow evening for more of the goodness we've called ECL Elite 16 in 16!

ECL 5 Player Awards In anticipation of the upcoming ECL 6, the time has come to celebrate the heroes of ECL 5 one last time before the board is re-set and we start from scratch again. Below you will find the winner of every statistical award among forwards, defenders and goaltenders. Credit goes to @Panarinz, @ramseyy2, @MartindalexC and @nylanderi for collecting it all. Furthermore, we'd like to reassure all NHLGamer members out there that we have all the stats-based award winners from ECL 1, 2, 3, 4 and Summer Cup 1 & 2 listed in a collection at the NHLGamer vaults - to be released at a later date. We are working on a feature that will allow us to have these trophies visible in your player profile as well. One last note: If you find yourself with a trophy but without a tag to your name, it is because we couldn't find your forum name. Most likely due to it not being the same as the gamertag listed. Anyway, without further ado, here are you ECL 5 individual award winners: Elite Playoff MVP: @Buantso 13g + 19a = 32p in 16 games [2 points/GP], Aapon Taikasauva Most Points: @MartindalexC 79p in 28 games [2.8 points/GP], Northern Ascendancy Most Goals: @MartindalexC 36g in 28 games [1.3 goals/GP], Northern Ascendancy Most Assists: @Foppatofflan 44a in 28 games [1.6 assists/GP], Northern Ascendancy Most Hits by a Forward: @jumalpeku 201 hits in 30games [6.7 hits/GP], Dynasty Best +/-: @jtorro1233 46+ in 28 games & @Penatski 46+ in 30 games, Aapon Taikasauva Most Points by a Defenseman: @jtorro1233 38p in 28 games [1.4 points/GP], Aapon Taikasauva Most Goals by a Defenseman: @Egyptologen 6g in 27 games [0.2 goals/GP], Synergy Most Assist by a Defenseman: @jtorro1233 34a in 28 games [1.2 assists/GP], Aapon Taikasauva Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Tanski87 260 hits in 30 games [8.7 hits/GP], Rusty Blades Best Save %: @Casper 85.71 % in 16 games, Aapon Taikasauva Best GAA: @Casper 1.25 gaa in 16 games, Aapon Taikasauva Most Wins: @s_w1ld_rus 21 wins in 30 games, Written In The Stars Most Shutouts: @Hiiruh 5 SO in 21 games, SJK eSports Pro Playoff MVP: @Erkki 20g + 26a = 46p in 24 games [1.92 points/GP], Evolution Most Points: @Stefan_397 88 points in 30 games [2.93 Points/GP], Inter Iceland Most Goals: @sweatyfathoe99 54 goals in 28 games [1.93 Goals/GP], Unlucky Boys HC Most Assists: @Playmaker 60 assists in 30 games [2 assists/GP], Inter Iceland Most Hits by a Forward: @vilperi90 207 hits in 30 games [6.9 Hits/GP], Nordic Stars Best +/-: @vilperi90 @FakiiR1 & Finbarkov +53 in 30 games, Nordic Stars Most Points by a Defenseman: @FakiiR1 43 points in 30 games [1.43 Points/GP], Nordic Stars Most Goals by a Defenseman: @The_Alpha_Furyan 14 goals in 28 games [0.5 goals/GP], Falun Coal Miners Most Assists by a Defenseman: @FakiiR1 31 assists in 30 games [1.03 Assists/GP], Nordic Stars Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Ampuhaukka 214 hits in 30 games [7.13 Hits/GP], Speedy Bros Hockey Best Save %: @IsakTuvesson, 85.08 % in 16 games, Lavetten Best GAA: @RaNtA, 1.60 gaa in 30 games, Nordic Stars Most Wins: @Hullued, 25 wins in 30 games, Shameful Knights Most Shutouts: @RaNtA, 7 shutouts in 30 games, Nordic Stars Lite Playoff MVP: James_Bontage - 15 wins, 87.80 %, 1.11 GAA, 8 Shutouts, Red Machine Most Points: lozt_amigo 32+36 = 68 in 18 games [3.77 pts/GP], Face Wash Hockey & @Ikavalko 24+44 = 68 in 18 games [3.77 pts/gp], Almost Famous Most Goals: @Chafak 39g in 12 games [3.25 g/GP], Red Machine Most Assists: @Ikavalko 44a in 18 games [2.44 a/GP], Almost Famous Most Hits: @Lidaas79 66 hits in 11 games [6hits/GP], Nordic Nosebleed Best +/-: @Ikavalko & se_ve420 +64 in 18 games & @jahajaha93 +64 in 14 games, Almost Famous Most Points by a Defenseman: @Philip Strom 13+17 = 30 in 18 games [1.66 pts/GP], Nordic Eagles & @Realpulunen 11+19 = 30 in 12 games [2.5 pts/GP], Almost Famous Most Goals by a Defenseman: @Philip Strom 13g in 18 games [0.72 g/GP], Nordic Eagles Most Assists by a Defenseman: @hilleri84 23a in 14 games [1.64 a/GP], Try Another Hole & @jahajaha93 23a in 14games [1.64 a/gp], Almost Famous Most Hits by a Defenseman: @kamenski 113 hits in 14 games [8 hits/gp], Penalty box Best Save %: @willywonkaaa 88.82% in 16games, Deadly Phantoms HC Best GAA: @Groppman 1.14 GAA in 14 games, Raging Monkeys Most Wins: @willywonkaaa 16W in 16 played, Deadly Phantoms HC & taiguri9 16W in 18 played, Almost Famous & @Yveri_1985 16W in 18 played, SGWEER United Most Shutouts: @willywonkaaa 7 shutouts in 16 games, Deadly Phantoms HC Until next time, @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers, I am hoping that what I am about to share will get the community buzzing and bring some serious excitement for what is to come. But first, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. Some of you out there I already know and some of you are new to me. My name is Kim Kallio but amongst gamers I am probably more known as “Hc”, or “Ho0Ceri”. While I have played the NHL series for almost 20 years, I first started creating leagues and tournaments for the NHL gaming community in 2011. Many in the community might know me from the Facebook page I started back in February of 2014; NHL Suomi (currently NHL 17 Suomi). My goal then was – just like it is today – to make the online NHL scene bigger and better. After running my Facebook page for several years, including both HUT and Versus tournaments, I am happy to say I have gotten to know a lot of people and players who are all dedicated to the same objective I am: Improving the NHL gaming experience for all of the community. Today, I am excited to announce I will bring my passion, knowledge, experience and dedication to NHLGamer.com where my main task will be to run 1vs1 tournaments of the same sort I have been running at NHL 17 Suomi, only on a larger scale. I look forward to combining the full power of NHL 17 Suomi and NHLGamer.com to create the biggest and most competitive 1vs1 leagues in Europe. I also look forward to interacting with all of you in the near future. Keep your eyes open for a 1vs1-tournament announcement in the near future, NHLGamers.

Good afternoon NHLGamers, Me - The_Alpha_Furyan - and the rest of the NHLGamer staff bid you welcome to another installment of our ECL Season Preview. To get an idea of what we will be doing in these previews, you can check out our previous one for Season 3. While that preview focused more on listing all the participating teams and simply predicting which ones would come out on top from the regular season, this one will try to dig a little deeper and supply a more in-depth look at each and every division - something the community has been vocal about in their feedback to our writing staff. Text, scouting and predictions by The_Alpha_Furyan Art by OxtreeLAT We kick off our 3-part installment by looking at the Lite division, where we find a total 32 teams (one more team was allowed late entry to even out the amount of Lite teams) - lots of them new to the community and to myself personally. This preview might be a bit biased towards the teams I know and have seen before but that should also provide some great motivation for all other teams to prove me wrong and fight for those top seeds. Prediction for the Regular Season Top- 5. 1. HC Ancient Warriors This team is on par with most Pro teams out there and should without a doubt be a contender to win the Lite title. If not the champions, they are likely to gain a top seed in the regular season and make their way through the playoffs to secure one of the promotion spots. 2. Bone Breakers I will admit to not knowing the full story of this team outside of their appearance in ECL 3 where their participation didn't extend all the way through the season. From what I've been told by multiple sources though, they were quite the force to be reckoned with back in the Consolehockey days and could be one of the top contenders for the ECL 4 Lite title. 3. DEAD END KINGS Featuring quite a few former players from Elite division team Synergy, DEAD END KINGS will be looking to establish their own legacy with this new team. Keep an eye out for this team right from the start as I predict they will come out of the gates hungry to prove that they belong in the Pro divison. 4. iNF4M0US Any team that is good enough to beat Laser HT under any conditions has my respect and that is just what this team did. No idea what the circumstances were for that game but like I said, beating LHT certainly establishes some credibility. 5. EN HUND Able to keep most of their roster together after a disappointing end to the ECL 3 season, EN HUND should be rejuvenated playing in the Lite division. Featuring many former members of Elite division team SIKA, EN HUND has both the experience and chemistry neccessary for both a strong regular season and a long playoff run. Championship favorite Going with my top pick for the regular season here as I predict HC Ancient Warriors to win the Lite championship. They're one of the best Lite teams I have personally played against and have been practicing hard ever since ECL 3, trying to get themselves ready for ECL 4. Getting past some of the other more experienced teams won't be a walk in the park though and who knows - we might see a complete upset coming out of Lite. Players to watch 1. esdor15, Lavetten, Forward One of the very best HUT players NHL 17 has to offer makes his ECL debut for team Lavetten and it should be an interesting one. With the right mindset, willingness to improve and translation of his Versus/HUT skill to EASHL - esdor15 could easily be one of the breakout players from ECL 4 Lite. At this point I am not sure what position he will occupy in the lineup but my guess is forward to maximize his offensive skill. 2. Stylez-Hadez, HC Ancient Warriors, C/RW/LW The captain and leader of my predicted ECL Lite championship team, HC Ancient Warriors, deserves a mention here. Stylez is originally from the Versus side of NHL 17 where he has been a Top-100 player for quite a while while only getting his first taste of ECL last season with Sjukstugan. When playing against Ancient Warriors in EASHL lately they've been very competitive and I have to believe that is largely due to their captain. 3. Nephenzy, DEAD END KINGS, C/LW Another captain on this list, Nephenzy is an experienced ECLer with two seasons in Synergy and one season in Northern Ascendancy under his belt. While capable of playing everywhere (as evidenced from last season where he played every position in the lineup for NOR), we will most likely see Nephenzy lead his team to a top seed in Lite from the center position. 4. PatzyDrake, Falun Coal Miners, LW One of the more experienced ECLers in the entire ECL Lite division, PatzyDrake has amassed exactly 60 goals and over 100 points through 3 ECL seasons thus far. A constant presence on the FCM left wing, this sniping powerforward is just as effective ripping a one-timer as he is dangling his way to the net. Will try to juggle his IRL career as a semi-professional handball player with his responsibilites as the go-to guy for FCM - remains to be seen how many games he will be able to play for ECL 4. 5. TEAMSEILA, EN HUND, D TEAMSEILA, the hardest hitting defender in ECL, barely missed out on winning the "Most Hits" trophy for ECL 3. While his strenghts lie in his physical game and defensive awareness, this ex-SIKA defender is also a capable leader with the ability to chip in offensively when needed. Will try to lead his team EN HUND to ECL Lite glory this season. But seriously, what is with the capital letters - both username and team name?! Teams to watch 1. Lavetten This team will feature many experienced Versus and HUT players with parts of the squad getting their EASHL feet wet in ECL 3 for team HC Solhem. While that adventure didn't turn out the way the team had hoped, look for the members of that squad to want revenge while playing this time for Lavetten. With the signings of esdor and dallinhoo, Captain (and winner of the Swedish Versus championships) juniorzalaz has put together a strong team. 2. Falun Coal Miners Got to give a shoutout to my old team here as well. With brothers and FCM owners/captains The_Alpha_Furyan & LastMandalorian both leaving for Sjukstugan - this team of real-life friends will be looking to prove themselves in ECL 4 Lite. Led by ECL veterans Meeertz (D), onecorner95 (G), PatzyDrake (LW) and iscojr94 (C), Falun will first be looking to establish a new team identity without the ever-constant crack of the whip from their previous captains. Look for this team to take a while to gel before taking off in the back half of the season. 3. Elämäm Kiekko The sweetheart team of ECL 3, these happy-go-lucky Finns certainly displayed a tremendous attitude during their first season. Despite losing more games than they won, they kept their spirits high and made sure to entertain the community as much as they could. Lets see what their sophomore season brings in terms of success on the ice! That is all for Lite. Look for our second part of the ECL 4 Season preview, Pro Division, tomorrow. For that installment (and for the Elite preview on Sunday) I will be enlisting the help of a new mystery Staff member-in-training... Keep an eye out! Later skaters, The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. New name, new roster, new style, new captain… you get the picture. After winning ECL 4 there were perhaps mumblings about how likely Laser HT would be able to repeat such a feat, especially considering the quite frankly preposterous numbers that @Dominointi was able to put up (94pts in the regular season and 39pts in 17 for the playoffs). Obviously, there was some truth to the speculation as they made the finals for a second straight season but could only manage to win one game against a very dominant Aapon Taikasauva. They then went on to whimper out in 5 games to Dynasty in the first round of ECL 6. These lacklustre results paved the way for an exodus of players from SJK over the summer, leaving but 5 players behind. After the dust had settled, @indi969, @ICappeI, @Ilmari_30, @Selarit and @Lauri were faced with the daunting task of putting together a team that, at the very least, could compete in Elite. As such, unlike a lot of teams in Elite this season, Symphony has a quite uncommonly high player turnover, so with that in mind to help us gain an understanding of who has joined and left the team, we have contacted their captain indi969 and new addition @vSilenttio to give us a snapshot of how they are coming along in their preparation for ECL 7. IN ADETIKKI <-- Written In The Stars Puantso <-- Dynasty Tbnantti <-- Northern Stars Entii112 <-- Nordic Stars nylanderi <-- Break from NHL vsilenttio <-- SIKA OUT Dominointi --> Written In The Stars Hansulinho --> Written In The Stars VesKuLiNe --> Written In The Stars OriginalPumaz --> Dynasty Leksa94 --> Dynasty Current roster: Forwards ADETIKKI @ADETIKKI indi969 (C) @indi969 Puantso (A) @Buantso tbnantti @tbnantti Defensemen vSilenttio @vSilenttio nylanderi @nylanderi Ilmari_30 @Ilmari_30 Entii112 @entii112 Selarit @Selarit Goaltenders ICappeI (A) @ICappeI Laurilion @Lauri As the “old but new” team in elite (with plenty of top tier elite talent to boot) how are you approaching your debut season and what was the logic behind your offseason moves? @indi969: I think we have a really good team at the moment, consisting of lots of old SJK players and lots of new guys also. I think we can go really far in this next tournament. In continuation of the last question, are you done tooling with the team now or are you still looking for some extra pieces? If you are indeed finalised, what will your starting line-up look like? @indi969: At the moment, I'm not 100% sure are we done yet and i don't know about the starting lineup. It'll remain to be seen! With all of this in mind, what are your expectations for the upcoming season? And who do you think are the current favourites to win it all? @indi969: There are many good teams in Elite this year, i think its gonna be harder than ever to win this next tournament. We are of course trying to do it. For favourites it's too lame to say your own team so I'm gonna go with Written In The Stars Symphony had probably the largest player turnover in Elite this offseason, surely many players knew each other from before, but how have the guys started gelling and building chemistry? As a new guy, how easy was it to join the team? @vSilenttio: I joined the team in April, so there's been some time to get to know the guys. We've been working on our chemistry hard all summer, you know, defensive positioning and all that stuff. I'll be blunt and say that it was a bit tough coming into a totally new team where the game speed and overall expected level of play was at a totally new level. However now as things have started rolling, I'd say I haven't had this much fun with this game since maybe NHL 14 and ECL 3. I'd like to extend a massive thanks to the team captains for making it so easy for the new guys to join the team! You're making your first strides on the Elite ice after quite a while this season, for the first time in a team with somewhat high expectations. What kind of thoughts does that bring to mind and how do you expect Symphony to handle this season? @vSilenttio: That's something I've thought about myself too. What kind of impact am I going to be able to make after a few seasons spent in Pro, and I didn't really play as much as I've wanted during NHL 18. At least the expectations are very different than ever before, and the IS Cup has started very well, so mine are high too. In the ECL, our only goal is the championship. Every guy is zoned in and gives a 100% every night, the work ethic and the morale within the team is what I've always wanted, so I'm sensing good things. Thanks indi & Sile for your answers and good luck with the upcoming season! ECL Elite 16 in 16 so far: 1. _______________ 2. _______________ 3. _______________ 4. Symphony 5. Dynasty 6. Northern Ascendancy 7. Sjukstugan 8. Northern Stars 9. Unlucky Boys 10. Rusty Blades 11. Almost Famous 12. _____________ (To be released) 13. SIKA 14. Gotham Knights 15. Falun Coal Miners 16. Team Frosty What do you guys think the top 3 will look like?

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. Hello, gamers! As October is now here, I think it's time for all of us to shake the rust off and get prepared for ECL7. Get it? Rust? Rusty Blades? No? I'll get my coat. Rusty Blades are known as one of the grittiest teams of ECL Elite. Atleast that's how they stepped into the Elite division a few seasons ago in ECL5 when they surprised pretty much everybody by ending the season with a good record of 15-11-4, leaving teams like MUKIMIEHET, Kattiautomaatti, Sjukstugan, Silver Sword Griffins and Nordic Nightmare behind them. The Blades scored only 2.00 goals per game during that season, but still they found their way to the playoffs. Not bad for a debut Elite season. What happened for them in ECL6, though? Were the few overtime losses the difference? The Blades scored a few goals more than they scored in ECL5 and even conceded fewer goals but still, the separation to 8th placed Northern Stars, was seven points. Harsh. Once again, a fact which proves that ECL Elite really is an elite level virtual hockey league. IN ktewjh <--Gotham Knights Migo_boo99 <-- Shameful Knights OUT Kikiukko --> Almost Famous Epelis --> Club One Wuorio --> Tiki Talk Current roster: Forwards Lamsa @Lamsa koojiikoojii (A) @koojiikoojii Migo_boo99 @Migo_boo Defensemen Tanski87 (C) @Tanski87 kinnune @kinnun3 ktewjh @Janikka Goaltenders Supreex (A) @Supreex I managed to snag an interview with team captain & founder @Tanski87 for this piece, let's get to it: Last time Rusty Blades played competitive hockey on NHLGamer was on the 2nd of April, so that's about five months ago. Still from what I've seen and heard it seems like you guys managed to keep practicing all summer long. What has Rusty Blades been doing all this time - any new signings or losses perhaps? Is there any rust left for ECL7 after a long, hard working offseason? We just love to play this video game together. We have a nice group who are fun to play with. That is why we play so much and often. There was a couple of changes during the long offseason. First we lost @Fuhrer Vuorio to Tiki Talk. @epelis kinda took original member Wuorios LW spot during the season and Wuorio thought it was his time to find some new wind. Good luck to Tiki Talk and thanks for your time with us. We later lost the well seasoned Epelis while we tried @imosi on our roster. That didn't work out sadly, but we acquired a talented youngster in @Migo_boo to fill the empty spot. @kikiukko went to Almost Famous to get some more ice time at his main position RD. I'd say NHL19 will probably be the best game in the history for NHL gaming, as the game itself seems a little bit better once again and money will be involved on the highest level as well. How does all this new stuff feel for you guys - NHL19's gameplay and the ECL license? It's really nice that the game is going forward and this community is growing. We've seen a lot of growth with this as some esports organisations have already backed up a few teams and a few individual players have signed legit contracts. Rusty Blades has been known as a hard competing, never waivering team that plays a simple and some might say ugly game. What is your direction from now on - any new game plans? Will the Rusty Blades compete in the upcoming ECL7 playoffs and if so, with what teams? A simple and ugly game does not keep you in Elite. I think we have something more. As a team we are hard as nails and we do not do drama, no matter how hard it gets. We keep it together. This season I believe we will be better than ever. I have high faith in these guys. Thanks for your time Tanski! Hope you can shake off the rust and compete hard this year! Stay tuned for more ECL Elite 16 in 16 later today, as we take a look at a fringe playoff team, who has been fighting it out in Elite for some time now. Can you guess who was predicted to finish next in line?

The German hockey club Düsseldorfer EG will branch out on to the virtual ice in the near future. As the first club of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the club with tradition dating back to 1935 will soon go into competition mode with its own esports team that will be taking part in several online leagues. The team "DEG eSports" currently consists of twelve experienced online ice hockey players from Germany and Austria. DEG eSports is now looking to follow in the footsteps of SJK eSports in taking a shot at establishing a successful franchise in the 6vs6 community. The team, established by long-time DEG fans Tobias Anton and Steffen Seibert, will mainly focus on competing in the ECL and GCL but also aim to compete in other leagues as opportunities present themselves. All of the teams games will be streamed live on the DEG eSports Facebook page. The members will be representing Düsseldorfer EG both virtually and in real-life events, which will be announced later. The club also promises that various other representatives of Düsseldorfer EG might join in on the fun from time to time. Stefan Adam, Managing Director of DEG Eishockey GmbH: "Esports is a young and dynamic sport, it's a community that is gaining more popularity among hockey fans. We are pleased to announce that we are pioneers with DEG in this environment, with our own esports team. It is a very interesting development in a completely new environment for us, which we are very excited about actively pursuing." Tobias Anton, team captain of DEG eSports: "It's a great thing for us to be the first official team of a DEL club. Our goal was to build an ambitious troupe of DEG fans, but also involve skilled players without the regional background. Our goal is to gain success as fast as possible in the ECL and play for the title in the GCL." Prior to the press conference held by Düsseldorfer EG, I had the pleasure of discussing this new venture with team captain Tobias Anton: Hi there, Tobias! We're very happy to hear about your new opportunity and you must be just as excited. I'm very interested in how the project took off. Could you please comment on that a bit? Well, it all started in June, when we made the suggestion to the german hockey club Düsseldorfer EG. I made a nice presentation with all interesting stuff about esports, questions like "Why esports?", "Why with us?", "Why is it a win-win situation?". They quickly invited us to present our concept live in their offices and after a short negotiation, they finally agreed to go ahead with this project. Now, here we are at the end of September, as representatives of DEG eSports. How did you come up with the idea? Actually, I got this idea after EV Duisburg won ECL6 Lite - they've played together for years, however they aren't an official part of the Duisburg hockey club. I liked the idea to make a team for my favourite hockey club, but I wanted to be serious about it. I am a kind of person who likes to think big, always on the lookout for the next cool thing I could launch. I started off by writing a post in a DEG facebook group, hiring players for a team with the idea of becoming an official esports team one day. Most of the reactions were negative. "You'll never do that', or "Maybe start smaller and not with big ideas like that" - but one guy immediately had the same fire, so we started this club together. I took more of a back-office role in writing to the hockey club and making a presentation as my teammate recruited more players - he knows the community better than I do. So, where do you go from here? How will you be co-operating with Düsseldorfer EG? On social media, we will run our own Facebook page and Twitch channel, but work together with DEG's official press department. So, some of our posts will be presented on their channels (FB, IG, Twitter...), we will have a presentation in the stadium and many more things planned so stay tuned! Today, we're having the press conference and if things go our way, we'll be airing our first training matches on our Twitch channel on Wednesday and Thursday. Do you think the club will expand into other esports in the future? After all, I don't think that the club will expand into other games or sports - it's a hockey thing, it's a regional thing, and there are no plans to do more than that at the moment. Thanks for your time Tobias and good luck in your future games to the team! Congratulations on behalf of the NHLGamer community to @Tümä and the boys!

Hey NHLGamers, The finals of Summer Cup 3 ended up being as exciting as it gets; Four games ended with a one goal margin, three of them in overtime and a great display of defence and goaltending on both ends of the ice! After the first two games, it was looking like NG KELAMIEHET were going to sweep the series, but NG HANAA showed us why they had made it into the finals and got the necessary two wins to force a game 5 and took that into OT as well. In the end NG KELAMIEHET was the better team in game 5 and @jjonij was the one with the pleasure of putting in the OT winner. Below you'll find the scores of the games int the finals: Game 1: NG HANAA - NG KELAMIEHET 0-2 Game 2: NG KELAMIEHET - NG HANAA 1-0 OT Game 3: NG HANAA - NG KELAMIEHET 1-0 OT Game 4: NG KELAMIEHET - NG HANAA 1-2 Game 5: NG HANAA - NG KELAMIEHET 1-2 OT NG KELAMIEHET Championship Roster Goalies #98 @JanneK. (Januri98) - A Defencemen #3 @Aze (AzeStiNE) - C #7 @Bullbaz #19 @Charly (oCharlyo) Forwards #8 @vizka13 #9 @Filariou #10 @Nipsu84 #65 @jjonij #91 @FlyerKungen - A #92 @JykkeL If you would like to watch the Summer Cup 3 Finals, you can find our recorded stream below: Congratulations to both the winners and the runner-ups for an amazing accomplishment! The Summer Cup 3 Awards will be communicated at a later time. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who made this tournament possible - my fellow staff members, all the captains, players and last but not least, all of the people who watched and took part in our broadcasts!

Good day NHLGamers, It is time for NHLGamers second edition of ECL action on the NHL 18 iteration of EA SPORTS hockey games: ECL 6. While I am sure most of you can't wait to get going - I know I am - as usual I'd like to start off the official registration post by taking a quick peek in the rearview mirror to remember what came before this sixth championship on the Playstation 4: ECL 1 Amount of teams registered: 50 Format: Four groups of 12-13 teams, 22-24 regular season games, shared playoffs Winner: Nordic Blizzard ECL 2 Amount of teams registered: 48 Format: Eight groups of 6 teams, 10 regular season games, shared playoffs Winner: MUKIMIEHET ECL 3 Amount of teams registered: 47 Format: Two groups of 23-24 teams, 44-46 regular season games, shared playoffs Winner: X Factor ECL 4 Amount of teams registered: 78 Format: Three separate divisions of 16 (Elite), 32 (Pro) & 32 (Lite) teams, 28-30 regular season games, divisional playoffs Winners: Laser HT (Elite), Carlsberg HC (Pro), J P T J (Lite) ECL 5 Amount of teams registered: 96 Format: Three separate divisions of 16 (Elite), 32 (Pro) & 48 (Lite) teams, 30 regular season games (Elite & Pro) - 16-18 (Lite), divisional playoffs Winners: Aapon Taikasauva (Elite), Evolution (Pro), Red Machine (Lite) Registration - ECL 6 Now that we've taken a trip down memory lane and witnessed the evolution of the European Championship League, it is time to get down to brass tacks in terms of ECL 6. It will be our third straight ECL featuring the divisional system implemented at the start of ECL 4. For ECL 6, the divisions will continue on in the same format as they were for ECL 5. This means all three divisions - Elite, Pro and Lite - are coming back, more competitive than ever. If you are completely new to the ECL and are registering for the first time, I suggest you check out this news story, detailing all the basics of ECL in a sort of "who are we and what to we do around here"-type post. So far we have seen the initiative to introduce divisions pay huge dividends and we are constantly seeing more and more teams around Europe discovering what the ECL is all about and what a fun challenge it can be to join. While it is too soon to make any predictions in terms of team registrations, we hope to match our excellent numbers for ECL 5 and perhaps even surpass the 100-team barrier. Which division to register for For both new and returning players and teams, the matter of registrering for the correct division might become a little confusing. At its core, it is quite simple, but we are of course here to explain what you should do. The following statement is taken from the ECL 5 registrations post but has been slightly edited to match the purposes of ECL 6: Framework Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. North American players are not allowed to host matches / be captain in the lineup, which means all games need to take place on European servers. This also applies to Russian players - please evaluate your previous connection experience against some of the teams participating in the ECL, especially if you live in eastern parts of your country (which likely connects you to US West servers). In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. 6 vs. 6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL challenge game mode in NHL 18. Individual requirements: Each player needs to create an account at NHLGamer.com and create his personal player card. Roster requirements: Teams need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. Sign-up period: Teams can register from now until February 15th, 23:59 CEST [2018]. ECL 6 Kick-off: ECL 6 is set to start on Februrary 19th. Date may vary between divisions. To be confirmed. Rules: TBA before season start. See ECL 5 rules for reference. Sign-up procedures There will be different ways of signing up to ECL 6 - the procedures are explained in detail in the section below. Generally speaking: New teams that did not participate in ECL 5 at all or teams that were relegated from ECL 5 Pro: Please read the "ECL Lite" paragraph below. Teams that were able to stay in ECL Pro, were relegated from ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Lite during ECL 5: Please read the "ECL Pro" paragraph below. Teams that were able to stay in ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Pro during ECL 5: Please read the "ECL Elite" paragraph below. ECL Lite ECL Lite welcomes any and all teams that did not participate in ECL 5 as well as the teams that were relegated from ECL Pro during ECL 5. As last season, there will be no limit to the amount of registrations! We will flexibly adjust group sizes to accomodate all teams that are looking to participate. To sign up your team for ECL Lite, we ask the main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Lite registration thread: ECL 6 Lite Registration You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes. Due to the fact that a few teams from ECL Pro could potentially be folding and/or not want to claim their spot - we also offer teams the opportunity to apply for ECL Pro during this sign-up process. However, ECL Lite quarter-finalists from ECL 5 will take first priority when filling up spots in the Pro division, which means only a few or no spots at all might be available for completely new teams should they apply. When looking at Pro applications, we will choose applicants depending on their player strength and other factors such as in-game 6 vs. 6 leaderboard results, history of ECL success and others. Below is the list of prioritized teams from ECL 5 Lite should there be spots available in Pro: ECL Pro ECL Pro is our second-tier division and will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Pro, were relegated from ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Lite during ECL 5. ECL Pro has a fixed size of 32 teams, divided into two groups. All the qualified teams are listed below: To sign up your team for ECL Pro, we ask the team's ECL 6 main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Pro registration thread: ECL 6 Pro Registration You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes. In case ECL Elite teams are folding, we will automatically ask the best ECL Pro qualifiers from ECL 5 to fill these spots, according to their playoffs progress (criteria #1) and regular season PPG average (criteria #2). You are not required to apply for these spots. However, you are required to confirm your attendance for ECL Pro to be considered for selection. ECL Elite ECL Elite is our top division, housing the very best 16 European teams in a single group. It will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Pro during ECL 5. All the qualified teams are listed below: To sign up your team for ECL Elite, we ask the team's ECL 6 main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Elite registration thread: ECL 6 Elite Registration You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes. @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com Facebook (NHLGamer) Twitter (NHLGamerCOM) YouTube (NHLGamer Official) Instagram (NHLGamerOfficial) Twitch (NHLGamerTwitch)

Hey NHL Gamers, the ECL 5 sign-up period ended yesterday, and we are very proud of the fact that a total of 98 teams will be participating in the first season taking place on NHL 18! This is up 24% from the 79 teams that signed up for ECL 4 - a truly amazing growth. Without further ado, let's look at the final division structure. ECL 5 Elite - All teams 15 teams confirmed their participation for ECL 5: Written In The Stars Northern Ascendancy (previously Unknown) Kattiautomaatti Sjukstugan SJK eSports (previously Laser HT) Silver Sword Griffins Carlsberg HC Aapon Taikasauva Dynasty Northern Stars Nordic Nightmare MUKIMIEHET Synergy Nordic Lightning TIKI TALK Due to the fact that Limitless were folding, one spot in the Elite division had to be filled. To make this decision, League Administration was looking for the most successful ECL 4 Pro team that wasn't promoted to the Elite division by regular means. Round 2 of the ECL 4 Pro playoffs featured 4 possible contenders: White Trash (4 PO wins / 1.18 reg. season PPG) Shameful Knights (5 PO wins / 1.43 reg. season PPG) Unlucky Boys HC (6 PO wins / 1.5 reg. season PPG) Rusty Blades (7 PO wins / 1.54 reg. season PPG) Based on these numbers, League Administration offered the 16th ECL 5 Elite spot to Rusty Blades. The invitation was accepted by the team's captains. ECL 5 Pro - All teams 23 teams (excluding Rusty Blades, which were moved to ECL Elite) confirmed their participation for ECL 5: Alliance HT Baltic Sea Eagles DEAD END KINGS SIKA Inter Iceland J P T J Bellizzi Nordic Stars Shameful Knights Lavetten Gotham Knights (previously Refuse To Lose) Pata Hellalla Hawks Hockey Club White Trash Speedy Bros Hockey (previously Finnish Roosters) Evolution (previously Nocturnal Hunters) Bare Knuckles Hockey Sypperstaars (previously Rynnäkköviikset) Free From Rodents Unlucky Boys HC AK 47 Nemesis Murohoki This means a total of 9 spots had to be filled with ECL Lite sign-ups. As ECL 4 Lite quarter-finalists, these three teams were prioritized and moved to ECL 5 Pro: EN HUND Banterfield Battalion Black Panther Party (previously HC Ancient Warriors) For the 6 remaining spots, we were looking at all the remaining ECL Pro applications from these 14 teams: Red Machine The Beagle Boys Soldiers of Odens God Tier Clowns on Ice GHETTO FIREBIRDS THE UNITED KNIGHTS Dirty Animals Slapshot Club Germany Squirt Hockey Face Wash Hockey Falun Coal Miners Phantoms HC Company of Geeks To ensure a competitive and sustainable Pro division, League Administration not only looked at in-game leaderboards and records, but also considered EASHL history as well as notable achievements, recent games and ECL experience (games played, points, wins etc.). At the end of our evaluation, these 6 teams were considered suitable and are moved to ECL 5 Pro: God Tier Clowns on Ice GHETTO FIREBIRDS THE UNITED KNIGHTS Squirt Hockey Falun Coal Miners ECL 5 Pro - Final groups ECL Pro will be played in 2 groups with 16 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in a 30 game regular season in which the top 8 teams out of each group will go to the playoffs (16 teams total). To determine the final groups, 10 pre-seeded teams were randomly assigned to the 2 groups. Afterwards, the remaining 22 teams were assigned to the groups. Here is the result: Group 1 AK 47 Alliance HT Bare Knuckles Hockey Black Panther Party Evolution Falun Coal Miners God Tier Gotham Knights Hawks Hockey Club Inter Iceland Lavetten Murohoki Nemesis SIKA Squirt Hockey White Trash Group 2 Baltic Sea Eagles Banterfield Battalion Bellizzi Clowns on Ice DEAD END KINGS EN HUND Free From Rodents GHETTO FIREBIRDS J P T J Nordic Stars Pata Hellalla Shameful Knights Speedy Bros Hockey Sypperstaars THE UNITED KNIGHTS Unlucky Boys HC ECL 5 Lite - All teams The remaining 50 teams will be participating in ECL 5 Lite: Elämäm Kiekko The Beagle Boys iNF4M0US Pohjoista Voimaa Terrific Tigers HC Aurinko Ice Phoenix Rising Phantoms HC EV Duisburg Papat Nordic Nosebleed Company of Geeks Red Machine Soldiers of Odens Lucky Strike Freddie Mercury Institute Puck Panthers Nottingham Chiefs Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat Nordic Eagles Try Another Hole SGWEER United Rusty Bulls Finnish Hockey Legends Raging Monkeys Nearbird Fighters Mentula SKA Dirty Animals Slapshot Club Germany Squad Vilttiketju Deadly Phantoms HC Almost Famous Bucketeers DarrasStars Cold Turkeys Rasend Krokodil Face Wash Hockey Kouvola Screaming Eagles NuggetZ South Sweden Panthers Roistot Hc Nappiaivot KulmalaHengaus Donec Reges Phantoms HC Penalty Box Burns Beardy Bastards RAKETTIPUTKET Breakers Of The Bone PUNANEN REHTORI ECL 5 Lite - Final groups ECL Lite will be played in 5 groups with 10 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in an 18 game regular season in which the top 6 teams out of each group, as well as the two best 7th ranked teams out of all groups will go to the playoffs (32 teams total). To determine the final groups, 15 pre-seeded teams were randomly assigned to the 5 groups. Afterwards, the remaining 35 teams were assigned to the groups. Here is the result: Group 1 Face Wash Hockey Finnish Hockey Legends Freddie Mercury Institute Lucky Strike NuggetZ PUNANEN REHTORI Puck Panthers Raging Monkeys Roistot Terrific Tigers Group 2 Cold Turkeys EV Duisburg Ice Phoenix Kouvola Screaming Eagles Nottingham Chiefs Penalty Box Phantoms HC Rasend Krokodil Red Machine Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat Group 3 Company of Geeks Deadly Phantoms HC Donec Reges HC Aurinko iNF4M0US KulmalaHengaus Pohjoista Voimaa Rising Phantoms HC Soldiers of Odens Try Another Hole Group 4 Almost Famous Breakers Of The Bone DarrasStars Elämäm Kiekko Mentula SKA Nearbird Fighters Nordic Nosebleed Papat South Sweden Panthers The Beagle Boys Group 5 Bucketeers Burns Beardy Bastards Dirty Animals HC Nappiaivot Nordic Eagles RAKETTIPUTKET Rusty Bulls SGWEER United Slapshot Club Germany Squad Vilttiketju ECL 5 Rules The rules for ECL 5 can be found here: All players, whether they are captains or not, are obligated to be aware of all the rules. Make sure to memorize all rules outlined in "8. Game rules" due to the 30 second limit for stoppages in-game. Throughout the tournament, the rules may be updated. Any updates will be conveniently listed at the very top of the ruleset. Make sure to check out if anything changed once in a while. League Administration members All league related decisions will be made by League Administration. To open up a case, create a new question in the "Contact League Administration" helpdesk: https://nhlgamer.com/community/forum/27-contact-league-administration/ Please note: Teams are expected to solve issues on their own before contacting League Administration - the rules include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always the last resort to solve any disagreements. Team management tools All teams have been created, and the captains will shortly be unlocked for the team management tools on the main page (go to https://nhlgamer.com and click on your username in the top right corner to access them). All players need to be invited to the team rosters ahead of your first game. Please note that all invited players need to accept the invitation (there will be a popup alert on https://nhlgamer.com) before they show up on the team roster and can start playing! In case you have any questions, please use the comment section below this news story. Good luck to all teams and have fun! @gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

Battle Royale After what can only be described as a thriller of a tournament, Laser HT has been crowned the champion of the 4th European Championship League in a plot that would have left even Stephen King hanging on the edge of his seat, while desperately holding onto his MUKI. The start of the season was Written in the Stars, but the scripture had too much TIKI TALK in it, and was thus shattered around with a banhammer, also known as Kenu's Taikasauva, with other teams picking up the fragments for points as the season progressed - eventually turning it into a Nordic Nightmare for them, on the first round of the playoffs. How we saw nightmares on Round 2 is anyone’s guess, as on Round 1 they had triumphed against an Unknown team. In an extremely competitive regular season the Northern Stars were fading and only two Swedish team made it to the playoffs, but unfortunately lacked the Synergy to shut down the beam team of to-be-champions. One team seemed to regard the playoff-line non-existent, and in their nearly Limitless limitlessness almost eliminated themselves out of the limited-for-eight playoffs. No Dynasty was made this season, either, as they continued an impressive record of 3 Game 7 losses in the past four tournaments, reportedly leading to a violent burst of Nordic Lightning in the vicinity of Kouvola. All the while, at the bottom of the standings, there was a team that Refused to Lose only four times during the tournament. Other relegations were the Animalia of Elite; Finnish Roosters and SIKA (pig) will be seen in the Pro division next season, together with Rynnäkköviikset. Promoted teams The teams that were promoted from Pro to Elite for ECL 5 are: Carlsberg HC, Kattiautomaatti, Silver Sword Griffins and Sjukstugan. We will inform of any changes to the divisions and teams after ECL 5 registration, if need be. Awards A big thank you to @The_Alpha_Furyan for compiling the statistics for all three divisions. Here's a list of the best performers in Elite during ECL4. Forwards Most points: Dominointi [39+55 = 94p in 28 games - 3.35 Points/GP], Laser HT Most goals: PleeMaker [49g in 30 games - 1.63 Goals/GP], Limitless Most assists: Dominointi [55a in 28 games - 1.96 Assists/GP], Laser HT Most hits: PleeMaker [145 hits in 30 games - 4.83 Hits/GP], Limitless Best +/-: Haldeem, Penatski, tbnantti, PleeMaker & nylanderi [+43 in 30 games], Limitless Defensemen Most points by a Defenseman: nylanderi [12+22 = 34p in 30 games - 1.13 Points/GP], Limitless Snapu48 [4+30 = 34p in 30 games - 1.13 Points/GP], Dynasty Haldeem [6+28 = 34p in 30 games - 1.13 Points/GP], Limitless Most goals by a Defenseman: nylanderi [12g in 30 games - 0.40 Goals/GP], Limitless Most assists by a Defenseman: Snapu48 [30a in 30 games - 1.00 Assists/GP], Dynasty Most hits by a Defenseman: friilander [140 Hits in 30 games - 4.66 Hits/GP], SIKA Goalies Best Save% (min. 50% of games played): Ranta83 [80.58% in 30/30 games], Unknown Best GAA (min. 50% of games played): Sandr0hh [1.93 GAA in 16/30 games], Dynasty Most Wins (W+OTW) by a Goalie: Ranta83 [19 Ws in 30 games], Unknown Most Shutouts: Danielcadabra [4 shutouts in 12 games], Written in the Stars DUNZA [4 shutouts in 14 games], Synergy VilberttoCarlos [4 shutouts in 18 games], Nordic Nightmare FinKonna [4 shutouts in 30 games], Limitless Playoff MVP Dominointi, Laser HT Words of a Champion Now, let’s hand over the pen to Risto “Dominointi” Järvi, the captain of Laser HT and the MVP of the tournament: “For the regular season our objective was only to make the playoffs. It got very tight in the end, but we managed to battle ourselves to 7th. A couple of players left the team at the end of last season and we got the replacements for them from Nordic Blizzard. I think it made each players’ role in the team much more clear. We played the regular season quite a bit differently than what people perhaps expected or had seen from us before. I played quite a lot up the ice, looking for stretch passes while the wings gave close support on the breakouts. I feel like it helped a lot, at least against certain teams. The team probably wasn’t on equal level skill-wise compared to last autumn, but this season we played strong as a team from the get-go, which I think was the primary reason for our success. Nowadays in this game you have to play as a team if you want to succeed, the level of competition is simply so tough. In the playoffs we were just trying to keep our own end clear of goals, with the front of the net being the keywords. We knew that if we kept our defence tight, we had a chance to win every game, as we pretty much always manage to score at least a few goals. We couldn’t go into a goal-scoring competition - something that would not have ended up well against every team. On the first round of the playoffs we faced Synergy, a team we’re very familiar with. For the most part we knew how they’d be playing and where we would need to strike at. The first games were tight, but we managed to clinch them and eventually won the series. On the second round we were up against Nordic Nightmare, a team that eliminated us last year when playing for Nordic Blizzard, so we were looking for a revenge. We thought of our approach carefully because Nordic Nightmare has a unique style of play for Elite. Our game-plan was to strike them on the breakout and try to prevent their quick counter-attacks. We knew they’d be playing very straightforward hockey and blocking shots would be important. Of course, we supposed our opponent would also know how we’d be playing, so we tried to mix that up a little as well by getting more pucks to the defencemen and more shots from the blueline. We played well and deserved to progress on to the finals. In the finals we were up against a very familiar team, Dynasty. We knew them to be a great defensive team and to add to that they have a lot of skill on every position. Their goalies were top of the league, too. We set out to play brave hockey and apply strong pressure to the defencemen, always shooting the puck and crashing the net when there’s an opening. The first four games of the series were tight, but somehow it felt we had that slight edge, even though the stats were very even in every game. The weekend break started with us leading the series 3-1. After the break we had games 5 & 6, and quite frankly, we had no chance. The opponent had changed their approach and our tactic was not working at all. Deserved wins for Dynasty and off we went for a game seven. For the deciding game, we agreed to just play our regular game, not try anything too complicated and just park the bus in the neutral zone. After some thrilling events and a lot of screams and shouts, we clinched it 2-1 and won the title. The series could not have been tighter – that’s just how it ended this time. Overall, I think Leksa played a fantastic tournament. Counting both the regular season and the playoffs, I don’t think he had a single off-game. I will tip my hat to the performance of our goalies in the playoffs, especially Hansu in the finals. The defence was rock solid throughout the playoffs, too. Vesa and Wille were excellent in the finals and Selarit played as well as he always does. As for the future of the team, I can’t tell. We agreed that we’ll look at it again before the beta, but most likely we’ll be continuing with the same lineup.” The Decider Scored by who else than Risto "Dominointi" Järvi in the closing seconds of the 3rd period of Game 7. Broomsticks and Magnets Every year the game franchise makes small but significant changes to online gameplay. One year it's short-side one-timers, the other it's far-side one-timers. One year poke-checks are overpowered, the other it's stick-lifts. I'm yet to witness a year, however, in which the rock-paper-scissor of the meta game would've have found, say, rock unbeatable. This year there were some tricks to be found in terms of puck control, the kind of tricks your user manual doesn't tell. Some individuals and teams started picking up on these towards the latter parts of ECL 3, one of the masters of such arts winning the MVP award of the tournament. These type of players and their rather spectacular-looking play-style I call Magnets. Some teams spent their off-season between ECL 3 & 4 figuring out how to deal with Magnets, and one of the answers was a Broomstick. By now, the Broomstick technique has spread wide and has arisen some heated debates, and I know there are teams that refuse to play against each other because of this. The Broomstick is of course the crouch block position you can go to by pressing L1. The most obvious advantage is that you can't get penalized; you can't trip, slash or interfere with a player while doing so. While I think anyone would agree using the function in the game as intended should be allowed, many would say spamming it the way it is possible to spam, is effectively abusing a glitch. Personally, I'm inclined to disagree that it should be forbidden or whatnot. The Broomstick is much more effective along the boards than it is anywhere else as a means to strip the puck. Now, if we look at board play and puck control in general, is it balanced, or does the offensive or defensive player have an advantage? I think definitely the player with the puck has the advantage; with the puck your player is much more agile, you can actually move your stick through the boards while controlling the puck etc. So, effectively, I find the Broomstick a balancing, not a breaking factor of gameplay. Furthermore, I find the gray area on the defensive side to be larger than on the offensive side. In real hockey, too, you're effectively allowed to do things on the defensive side of the puck that you're not allowed to do when attacking. Also, you can still be a great player in this game even if you never used the whole function. Thank You I had absolutely no stake in organizing ECL 4 and thus would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to those that did – Kenneth, Samuli, Max, Väinö, Hampus, Jānis and Teemu, it was yet another great tournament to take part of, thank you very much for your effort on behalf of all of us players, and let’s try to build on this as a community going forward. From now on I’ll be back on-board with the staff as well. Have a great summer everyone, hope to see many of you in the SC - you still have a day left to register have you not done so already, but if not, see you in the autumn with ECL 5!

Hi there NHLGamers, As you might have heard by now, our very own @Eki and @Artuzio have signed new contracts with an esports organisation called Sampi. I had the chance to have a discussion with both guys regarding their new contracts and how all of this went down. Most of you might have noted that Eki was already signed to Helsinki Reds, so this is a transfer for him. Artuzio, however is now signing his first ever pro contract. NHLGamer congratulates both! Team Sampi is most likely a very unfamiliar name to all of you, not simply because of the fact that is isn't a big organisation, but it wasn't officially founded until September 1st 2018. The founder of the franchise is professional football player Jakub Jankto, who currently represents Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A. "Jakub contacted me a few weeks ago and told me about his plans of launching an esports franchise. He mentioned that he used to compete in EA Sports FIFA some years ago, but financial restrictions came in the way. I think he even won a Czech championship in 2012. Jakub also got the chance to pursue a professional football career. He has a desire to help young gamers achieve their goals without restrictions.", says Eki about how the contract talks with Team Sampi begun. Artuzio says that in addition to NHL, the organisation has players competing in FIFA and Rocket league. competitive NHL will be one of the main focuses of the organisation. « Team Sampi made me an offer I couldn't refuse » -Artuzio on signing with Team Sampi I asked Artuzio about how he feels about his new organisation: "After the European Qualifiers of the NHLGWC I started receiving offers quite consistently, but I didn't want to rush it. Team Sampi made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so I'm very excited to represent them and start making a name for my new team!" What will your roles be representing the new organisation? "The organisation is so new right now, so I'm not completely sure what my role will be, but the main objective of Team Sampi is to support us players and provide the possibilities for us to compete at the very top.", said Eki. Both Eki and Artuzio will be focusing most on attending various tournaments and competitive play, they will be streaming occasionally but it isn't a requirement of the organisation. As this is now a transfer situation for Eki, I wanted to go a bit into the reasons behind the transfer and what he had to say about his former organisation Helsinki Reds. "Team Sampi offered me a contract I couldn't refuse. I have nothing bad to say about Reds, it was a good time. I learned a lot about the esports business and got to participate in all kinds of events thanks to them. It was a completely new thing for me. As Helsinki Reds was so close by, they were very involved in my gaming, creating stream graphics and hosting events. Team Sampi will be different in the sense that they merely aim to support their players and stay in the background. As of now there are no plans on hosting events or such. We will simply focus on winning and gaming." A piece of advice from the champion - Eki, as you now have some experience in the scene and have signed your second contract, what kind of tips would you give to gamers out there waiting to get their shot and sign a deal? "Once you have some success, you might get be getting several offers. I'd suggest staying patient and not just signing any deal. I've heard of players with really bad deals, so be careful and don't just sign a deal for the sake of representing an organisation." "Vegas didn't go as planned and I feel I am better than that, so I'll be looking to attend as many tournaments as possible and gain a lot of success in NHL 19. Versus is my main focus due to my contract, but I'll be looking to compete in some 6v6 action too!", states Artuzio after being asked about his ambitions for the new iteration of NHL. Eki's Car situation - I recall you saying you'll be buying a car if you win the NHLGWC, what kind of car stands in your driveway? I asked Eki. "I didn't get a car, says Eki with a laugh. I received the money a few weeks ago and decided to save it. It was the smart thing to do." Not only an unbelievably skilled gamer and new found the poster boy for the EA Sports NHL series but a responsible young adult too, who would've known? Huge thanks to both Eki and Artuzio for taking the time to have a chat with me. On behalf of the community, I wish both luck in their upcoming competitions. We're excited to see what the future brings!

Hello and welcome everyone! Let's start off by saying that we are both really happy to see so many new teams and it's also great to see a bunch of older teams sticking together! Not too many seasons ago we used to have one big league with teams from all skill ranges. This resulted in some games ending 20-0 and it was not fun for the less skilled or new teams. Divisions were created to give you some good matches with even teams, as well as building sustainability to the whole league and it has been a great success as we now have over 60 teams participating in the Lite division and over 100 teams in the whole league. It's great to have you all here, potentially fighting for that Pro promotion and eventually trying to reach the Elite division and win the grand prize. For other teams, the goal might be to do well in Lite and whatever your goals are, we hope you have a good and fun season with us this season. We will have best coverage of any season so far with streams, hot/cold mid-season reports and many other news stories coming up. There's also a dedicated staff members this season for each division and for the ECL Lite it's @miisolegend, @Mannheimer1938, @ramseyy2 and @Snapster. The official ways to contact your League Administration and get your cases solved as easily as possible are: - For all cases that needs to be solved you can open a ticket in the league administration section here. - If you make a mistake in the match report you must report it at the match report section. Failure to report match report mistakes might lead to disciplinary actions. Please refrain from sending private messages as a way to reach the staff whenever you can use the above mentioned Helpdesk, as we are putting our efforts into handling your messages as a team effort. Moving on to the Lite preview. There are so many new teams that there's bound to be lots of surprises along the way so if you are not mentioned in the preview, please surprise us and put your teams name on the map during the season and prove us wrong! Here are @miisolegend's top predicted teams in every Group: Group 1: Ghetto Firebirds Former ECL Pro team Ghetto firebirds are back in Lite but are hungry to get back to Pro and prove they are worthy of the spot. Last season didn't really go as planned but I think this firebird will rise from the ashes and show that they still have the fire in them. Section K is a good runner up in this division but I still think that GF will rise on top with their good roster package and gained experience in the previous seasons. Player to watch: Vilze92 Group 2: Freddie Mercury Institute This team beats Pro teams consistently and has won pretty much every Lite team they have faced in recent games. When we (Korpens Finest) have played against FMI it has always been tight games because of their solid defense and skilled forwards. Definitely a team to watch out for! Player to Watch: Kickingapollo Group 3: Style Two time OEHL champion (5vs5 scene) Swedish team Style plays aggressive hockey along with a good tight trap and they have that skill to make those 2 on 1 situations count. In my opinion Style will be one of the top contenders for a Pro promotion. Player to watch: Panarinz Group 4: Bare Knuckles Hockey This group was very hard to predict in terms of which team is going to go to the playoffs but there's one that stands out on top. I'd put my money on Bare Knuckles Hockey. Solid team with many seasons of experience in the ECL. If they can keep their game together they will definitely stand on top of this group Player to watch: GoDe45- Group 5: Cowabunga Hockey This group seems to be the toughest on paper, having teams such as Saucer Hockey Ab and Soldiers of Odins in addition to Cowabunga Hockey. Cowabunga Hockey has been crushing some of the Lite teams like cockroaches and has beaten Pro teams and Elite teams alike during the off-season. Cowabunga is probably the number one contender for Pro. Offensively this is a really skilled team and they have one of the best, if not the best goalie in Lite. Player to watch: sokkelo__ Group 6: Suomen Sonnit This was also a hard group to predict with several skilled teams like HokiDogit and Finnish Hockey Legends, but I'm gonna predict Suomen Sonnit coming out on top here. We (Korpens Finest) have faced this team many times and they are good at playing high pressure hockey, leaving little to no room for your defenders to clear the puck. Easy plays by defenders and great goaltending on top of that and we can expect a good result. Pro team in ECL 7? Remains to be seen. Player to watch: tseikei Underdogs/Teams to watch 1. Saucer Hockey Ab (Group 5) 2. The Black Jacks (Group 3) 3. EaLogic (Group 5) 4. Korpens Finest (Group 3) 5. Roistot (Group 2) 6. Club de Caballeros (Group 3) Feel free to comment and give your own opinion on the the subject in the comments section. Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone in the following season. Let the games begin! Best Regards! @miisolegend

Hey NHLGamers, The ECL 6 Elite Finals were decided tonight and Carlsberg HC took the decisive win against Northern Ascendancy in game 5 double overtime and won the series 4-1. Hereby NHLGamer would like to congratulate Carlsberg HC for becoming the ECL 6 Elite Champions, and thus the ECL 6 Champions! If you missed their playoff games, you can check them out here: https://www.twitch.tv/nhlgamertwitch/videos/all These are the series results: Game 1: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC 0-2 Game 2: Carlsberg HC - Northern Ascendancy 2-1 Game 3: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC 2-1 OT Game 4: Carlsberg HC - Northern Ascendancy 3-0 Game 5: Northern Ascendancy - Carlsberg HC 1-2 Carlsberg HC's Championship roster: G: #88 J. Onion @sibeelius (Zande95) G: #92 J. Tancredi @FinKonna D: #12 T. Brady @vatalisti D: #19 P. Sniska @Pontus T (Terasniska) D: #82 M. Nyqi @Janzuh F: #89 J. Bones @Vilupoika F: #94 M. Apeno @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) F: #96 T. Malone @Penatski Carlsberg HC's road to the cup: 22 wins, 6 losses & 2 OT-losses during the regular season, ranked 3rd in ECL Elite Quarterfinals: 4-2 VS Sjukstugan Semifinals: 4-1 VS Dynasty Finals: 4-1 VS Northern Ascendancy Thank you to all ECL teams and fans this season! We will be releasing Summer Cup information within the next few days, as well as the full recaps of ECL 6 Elite, Pro and Lite, so be sure to check out the site regularly.