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All of us surely appreciate the progress our beloved NHLGamer platform has made recently. Especially this year, with all the changes in ECL Elite. Before the eighth season of the toughest and most prestigious EASHL 6vs6 league in Europe kicked off, founder and owner @Kenu proudly presented the collaboration with Elisa Viihde, the leading online entertainment service in Finland, and Dr. Oetker, a massive and well-known international food corporation. ECL is slowly morphing into a more well-organized and reported league which should bring a lot of fun to all parties involved. However, even a league with these standards can’t exist without the players and with this series it’s time to get to know them. Now it’s time to get to know the ECL’s Elite. In the first ever iteration of this series, @Lamsa will be in the starring role. The Rusty Blades winger is a true NHL veteran. As he never represented any other team competitively, the first steps of the Rusty Blades are still fresh memories! Counting the ongoing season, Lamsa has appeared in 188 ECL regular season games for RB so far – not counting playoffs and the IS Cup. Actually, Lamsa, @Tanski87 and @Supreex are the only three players left from the original season in ECL3 and they’re still going strong. A lot of things have changed since the founding days of the club. In their inaugural season the team had a large roster so the level of play basically changed every night. Personally, Lamsa started with NHL 96 and jumped into EASHL sometime around 2008 or 09. He prefers playing on the Right Wing and using a Sniper build, but he’s playing with a physical edge too. Lamsas all-time favorite build was the Hitting Sniper, which he still misses dearly. When asked about his biggest strengths the wise Finn just replied: "I can score ugly goals for days.“ Last season (ECL 7), the (skate)blades were too rusty. The team finished in tenth place and missed the playoffs. The offseason wasn't spent resting on their laurels though, as captain @Tanski87 took to the free agent market. The team added two high-end forwards in @MartindalexC and @Foppatofflan as well as defenseman @The_Alpha_Furyan. The new additions fit in nearly perfectly. RB managed to cap off their ECL 8 regular season with a great surge into the playoffs, finishing at 6th place, which means they will be going up against Symphony in the first round of the playoffs. Lamsa can’t say enough good things about the teams new acquisitions. "It’s really, really nice to play with these guys. They are all really good and skillful players – I still can’t believe that we got those guys on our roster.“ The Sedin twins (thats how Lamsa calls his two new linemates) were locked down after a quick tryout period and the new defenseman The_Alpha_Furyan already had some existing chemistry with Lamsa after a Summer Cup stint together. Personally, Lamsa is enjoying this really successful season. His regular season totals add up to 44 points, out of which 28 are goals. This puts Lamsa at a tie for 5th best goal scorer in the regular season of ECL 8 Elite, not too shabby! All in all, the goal-scoring Finn seems to be a relaxed and level-headed person. His PSN-ID is actually his last name, just without those dots above the letters. That’s not creative, but it suits him real well. Heading into the playoffs, the Rusty Blades are at a familiar spot as a minor underdog going up against a tremendously strong Symphony. Their opponents seem to have found a form that is close to unstoppable, so it'll be crucial for RB to get back on track and focus on the things they are good at - the basics and go forth from there. One thing is for sure: Lamsa and the Rusty Blades are prepared. And they are not going down without putting up a fight. ECL Elite Writer @Tim_FlyersFan

Hello NHLGamers, We are a few weeks in to the ECL 8 Lite Playoffs and have now reached round 3. We've had the opportunity to watch a bunch of exciting games in the first two rounds and a some of the matchups have taken surprising turns! Round 3 of the ECL 8 Lite playoffs is to be played between Thursday, 21st of February and Wednesday, 27th of February. From now on we'll be polling Lite captains for the outcome of upcoming playoff series. We did just that for the 3rd round and below the matchups you can see our calculated result presented. Here are the matchups for round 3 of the ECL 8 Lite playoffs: (1.) Prowlers vs. Poston Fruits (36.) Prowlers 55% (3.) Dystopia vs. Western Express (31.) Dystopia 91% (5.) Blackdawgs vs. LammasLauma (28.) Blackdawgs 64% (11.) We Kings vs. Beast Hockey (27.) We Kings 73% (12.) Saucer Hockey vs. FarmiNaattori (26.) FarmiNaattori 91% (14.) Oton Letkutemppu vs. Me Carvoset (25.) Me Carvoset 55% (16.) Cheers Hockey vs. Reaperr (22.) Reaperr 55% (18.) Chatbox vs. Vesa Pompa HC (20.) Vesa Pompa HC 70% There you have it, guys! We're excited for the upcoming round and expect to see some tight games. Who do you think will advance? As always, play hard and fair out there, see you on the ice! ECL Lite Writing Team, @Willander97 & @Tonimo92

Hi NHLGamers, After an exciting 1st round of the playoffs we now have 8 teams that will be facing off in the quarter finals. From this point on, it is also worth noting that teams will be seeded according to P/G. The ECL 8 Pro Quarterfinals will be played between Monday, 18th of February and Sunday, 24th of February 2019. Here are the matchups for the ECL 8 Pro Semi-finals: Previews release later today. (1) The Next Gen vs. Black Horse (13) An incredibly strong TnG is in for their toughest challenge yet. Despite their dominant offense and a strong possession game, they had a tough time overcoming GHETTO FIREBIRDS in the first round. We'll need to see improvement if they want to move on from this matchup against Black Horse, who overcame their first round opponent Silver Sword Griffins in outstanding fashion. The Black Horse offense built around former Elite goaltended turned center @Hullued has been clicking and we expect that to continue. (2) TIKI TALK vs. SIKA (11) TIKI has found their stride as they are playing some fast-paced, effective hockey once again! It may not be pretty, but the bottom line is it gets the job done. Captain @itspardytime is surely the heart and soul of the team and if he can keep the ranks together playing as the good unit they have been so far, they'll have their way in this series. Their opponent SIKA is a scrappy team that's trying to find their way back to performing at the top level but aren't quite as far along the way as TIKI currently. The expectation is for them to have a tough time in this series, but if their defense is solid enough, there's a chance for an upset. (3) Gotham Knights vs. POGGERS (9) Gotham overcame their first round opponent SPARTANS convincingly with a series score of 4-1. They're a strong all-round team and a tight-knit bunch that is eager to bounce back after a tough last season at the highest level. @ReDMisTi and @selänne8 (BiggestEight) have been their most dangerous offensive weapons, so POGGERS need to keep them in check. On the other side we see a highly skilled and multitalented team, who consist of somne proven players. Their offensive trio of @Chafak, @Yoloberg and @JaKurrii is among the best in the league. It is notable that POGGERS won both head-to-head games in the regular season. (5) Checkmate vs. Mentula SKA (6) In the first round, Checkmate crushed all doubt that chemistry wasn't there for them. @Tuukka.R lead them in scoring while the team performed well defensively in an excellent effort besting Speedy Bros Hockey 4-1. On the other side we have Mentula SKA, who have put forth an outstanding effort after being one of the last teams gaining promotion after a Lite campaign in ECL 7. Keep your eyes on duo @Hanssonni and @JiiPee87. Results from the relegation matchups: (G1 #13) EV Duisburg vs. Bone Breakers (G2 #16) 1-4 (G2 #13) Cowabunga Hockey vs. Murohoki (G1 #16) 4-1 (G1 #14) Clowns On Ice vs. Pata Hellalla (G2 #15) 0-0 (Still to be played) (G2 #14) Freddie Mercury Institute vs. Tiffen (G1 #15) 4-0 We wish all teams good luck in the quarterfinals and also a big congrats for staying in Pro: Bone Breakers, Cowabunga Hockey and Freddie Mercury Institute! Signing off for now, ECL Pro Writer @Panarinz

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