Leaderboard

Hello NHLGamers, For this season of ECL Elite we are tweaking the recurring segment that looks to detail the ‘hottest’, ‘coldest’ and… ‘mildest’? teams in Elite over the past week. There will be more of an emphasis towards the quantitative approach, so expect more graphs and fewer walls of text. Each article in this series will be released on Mondays and will thusly be based on the days in between each power ranking iteration. In addition to this it should be noted that each ranking will invariably be in some way biased as it is, at the end of the day, a subjective list. Note: Each article will be based off of results starting from the Monday, all the way up to (& including) Friday. Ergo, any games played over the weekend will generally end up being a week 'late' so to speak. The logic behind the ranking is admittedly a sort of internal subjective ranking that weighs up results, opposition 'strength' as well as thoughts on the general play during some games. As such a ranking is not 100% quantifiable in nature there will be some bias that creeps in. One thing I would like to make abundantly clear however is that points are not the be all and end all within these rankings; for instance, just because 3 teams have the same record does not mean they won't be ranked wildly differently, as the context behind said results are of great importance and simply cannot be understated. Previous rankings: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 - 1. Written in the Stars (6-1-1) [=] 2. Rusty Blades (5-0-1) [+5] 3. FILADELPHIA (6-2-0) [+1] 4. Team Frosty (3-3-0) [+4] 5. Dynasty (5-2-1) [=] 6. Deadly Phantoms HC (4-4-0) [-3] 7. Unlucky Boys (6-2-0) [+5] 8. Symphony (2-2-2) [+1] 9. Butterfly Effect (4-5-1) [-3] 10. Northern Stars (2-1-1) [+3] 11. Bucketeers (3-2-1) [+3] 12. Resurrection (4-4-0) [+3] 13. Almost Famous (1-3-0) [-11] 14. AIK Hockey (2-6-2) [-4] 15. HC Wildcard (0-3-1) [+1] 16. Synergy Hockey (1-4-1) [-5] Standings Timeline *The "playoff cut-off point", as well as the "relegation zone" lines are rough estimations of where the respective areas of Elite will fall once the regular season has been wrapped up. So, in other words, if a team is able to get over the green line, they 'should' stand a very good chance of making the playoffs, whilst if a team cannot make it past the red line, then there is a good chance that they will have to fight a relegation battle in order to assure their Elite spot for next season. Analysis Whilst Northern Stars and Unlucky Boys were able to stave off a full-blown cardiac arrest, HC Wildcard have not been as fortunate and as such are requiring a strong finish to not end up being the team propping up the rest of the standings once all things are said and done in little over two weeks time. Written had a momentary wobble thanks to Symphony and Northern Stars, nevertheless their challenge for the number one spot is almost as solitary as it comes. That said, it is technically possible of course that they don't end up rolling into the playoffs with the number one seed in tow, although at this late stage of the season it would require something akin to a biblical miracle. One trend of note is that it appears as though we are beginning to see a few 'divisions' within Elite. Outside of Written, who may as well have set up their own space program at this point, we have the next best 'top 3' involving FILADELPHIA, Dynasty and Rusty Blades. These teams harbour the best chance of anyone catching Written, on top of this they are the only teams who have a points per game average substantially above the playoff 'guaranteeing' level of 1.07. Moving on to the next 'block' we have the teams who currently round out the remaining playoff positions. Namely, Symphony, Deadly Phantoms HC, Team Frosty and Almost Famous. Unlike the block that precedes it, this fringe playoff group have not been afforded the same level of security as the 'top 4' simply based on the fact that if they slip up, even momentarily, they can very easily fall into the group hot on their heels. A group that, quite frankly, can only be described as an all-out brawl, as we have all the remaining teams in Elite (minus HC Wildcard) all within spitting distance of 8th place, even Synergy (who currently sit at a measly 12pts through 16 games) if they happen to go on a run and win ~4 in a row. Finally, of course, we come to the lowly HC Wildcard who, admittedly, started out very well, but have since appeared to sputter out and become almost comatose. Unlike Synergy, who still remain in contention mathematically, if HCW were able to win every remaining game on their schedule (a tough ask at that with their opponents being SYM, TF, DPH, RB & DYN) they would only finish with 29 pts, which would result in an exceptionally low likelihood of them making the playoffs, so while it is not impossible per se, for all intents and purposes it may as well be. Projection The section looks to, well, project where a team will finish based off of all the games they have played thus far. -- And with that, we can now conclude the third edition of ECL 8 Elite's power rankings. Hopefully next week we will see the stratification continue so that we can pick out any further trends with ease. ECL Elite Writer @MartindalexC

Hi NHLGamers, We are back with a small look into the third week of the Pro division. This season we are doing a player of the week segment, to highlight an individual and his team because of their success during said week. We will also do a small interview with our nominee and try to get to know the person better and get some insights of the team and the league in question. Without further ado we would like to present you our third Player Of The Week: PSN-ID: Hassu85 Team: POGGERS Position: Goaltender Games played this week: 6 (vs God Tier, Silver Sword Griffins, Clowns On Ice) Shots faced: 56 Goals against: 5 Save percentage: 91,07% Shutouts: 3 Our writer @Panarinz was sent out to get a few comments from this weeks main man: A good week for your team and especially for yourself, with 3 shutouts in 6 games! What do you think was the reason for your success this week? - Hard to tell. Our roster had a lot of changes from the past season. We also didn’t train almost at all before the season, but now the game has started to fall into it’s place. We have rock solid defense, and what can you expect if you have @JaKurrii as a mastermind of the offense and @Chafak and @Yoloberg as wingers? What is your aim for this season? as a team and you personally. - If I can help the team even a little bit, we will win the whole thing. How did you come up with your PSN ID? - In my hometown everyone calls me Hassu, even my parents. What is the best player build in this version of the game for goaltenders? - When NHL 19 came out, I chose one build right away and I have sticked with it. It’s a secret. What is your strengths as a goalie? - I think I can read the game pretty well. I usually know what the next happen now. Which team will win ECL 8 Pro? - Poggers or Checkmate. If you want to be featured next week, remember to work hard and help your team to success! Signing off for now, ECL Pro writing team @Panarinz & @Mannheimer1938 Additional art by @CzE Toni

NHLGamers! We've gone three fourths of the way through the qualifiers of the Capitals Esports Face-Off. We're happy to announce that we will see plenty of European colours in the final event, as @Eki and @Eken45jr paved their way through in the first qualifier as we already wrote. It is also with great pleasure we bring the news that @MrNipsuli managed to make it through on the second qualifier weekend, the other finalist from that qualifier was Regs84. The third qualifier was played last weekend and unfortunately no European players made it through that time, but 3 out of 6 is a great record nonetheless. @PleeMaker has been a goal away for qualifying, and it seems like he won't be pursuing another run at this tournament as the Bolts Chel Challenge qualifiers are hosted simultaneously as the fourth qualifier next week. Confirmed Capitals Esports Face-Off Finalists: Eki eken45jr Regs84 MrNipsuli- THEY_SPEAK_OF_ME Cheez Whizzzzz A short recap of what the Capitals Esports Face-Off is all about: The Esports Face-Off is a versus tournament open to both EU and NA players on PS4. The tournament is played in a double elimination format alike the NHL GWC. Four online qualifiers will be organised prior to the final event. On top of competing for a $10,000 prize pool, the top 3 players will have the chance to attend the 2019 Chel Classic, representing the Washington Capitals in a 3vs3 showdown against the top 3 players of the Bolts Chel Challenge. The Capitals Esports Face-Off will continue as follows: February 2nd - Fourth Online Qualifier February 22nd - Final Event March 19th - 2019 Chel Classic More info and registrations over at https://smash.gg/tournament/capitals-esports-faceoff/details Congratulations to Eki, eken45jr and MrNipsuli- on behalf of all of NHLGamer! Your NHLGamer Editor, @jahajaha93

Gamers! Another week has come to an end and it is time that we reveal the third ECL 8 Lite Player Of The Week. This past week has been great for many players but we have decided that @Jassoonsunlasso has earned the award. PSN-ID: Jassoonsunlasso Team: Me Carvoset Position: Center Games played this week: 6 (SKA from Neva, Campo De Juego, Western Express) Goals: 17 Assists: 16 Points: 40 +/-: 25 We gave the main man a call and asked him a few questions. Congratulations on being named POTW this week! What are your feelings about that? - Surprised and happy because we have secured a playoff spot! You have played 6 games this Week and scored 33 points (17+16). What is the key for you to score goals consistently? - About the goals.. i don't know? Every pass is a missed goal opportunity? Being in the right spot at the right time? Good passes from forwards and defensemen make it happen. You guys have been playing good so far this season. Why? - We've been having fun in chat during games, that's why I guess! Cap @Juanzaar switched me from RD to C in the middle of the season and after that I think our teamplay has gone to another level! Last but not least our Angry goalie Tepazor who has been sick for the last 3 weeks (IRL sick lol) is the right man between the posts! If you have to name one player in Lite that you would want to have in your team, who would it be and why? - This question is hard! Maybe @Pagemz because his shooting is 7.5% as F! We could help him to get it up! But i have to choose @Bantubox from Saucer Hockey. He's almost as good of a trash talker as me! We have so much fun when we are in the same party! All day every day! Once again we would like to congratulate Jassoonsunlasso on this award and we wish him good luck in the future. Until next time! @Willander97