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Hey NHLGamers! We hope you've had the chance to wind down with some nice holidays among family and friends - perhaps even briefly shifting to some other games outside of NHL! We have heard your feedback around the ECL schedule being a bit hectic, especially now around the holidays. Thus, we have agreed to add some time to finish the current rounds as follows: ECL Neo: January 7th 23:59 CET ECL Lite: January 7th 23:59 CET ECL Pro: Playoffs - January 7th 23:59 CET Relegation Battles - January 9th 23:59 CET ECL Elite: January 6th 23:59 CET There will be a one day administrative day before the following round. Good luck to all teams!

NHLGamers, To cap off the decade, we’re excited to be able to bring you guys some interesting news in the form of a new partnership. It’s been in the works for quite some time already but today we announce our collaboration with Goalie Guild Gaming (G3), which is operated by The Goalie Guild (TGG). Having been founded in September of 2019, G3 is already making waves and implementing a change in how esports is seen worldwide. The objectives of both NHLGamer and G3 align perfectly and having existing connections in the form of dual members such as Justin Maravegias (@TheCreasePolice) and Problematic Esports co-owner Kasimir Kaskisuo (@Kazzazzin) makes this the perfect time to make the partnership official. “We’re truly excited to finally announce the partnership with The Goalie Guild and Goalie Guild Gaming! Having kept in touch with their founder, Justin Goldman, for months and learning about all of the great things TGG is working to accomplish, I’m convinced that working together will be very lucrative for the current and future virtual goaltenders out there!” -Kenneth Lehtinen (@Kenu), NHLGamer Founder Goalie Guild Gaming not only supports the growth of all NHL esports, it actively researches the benefits of gaming for goaltenders in concert with other partners like mindSpark Learning, Between The Pipes and more. This includes game mechanics, industry connections, and future job opportunities as well. By bringing some of the top esports goalies in the world together to collaborate with new ideas, a constant stream of communication is taking place every day between members and partners on platforms like Discord, Twitch, Instagram, and Facebook. “It is so exciting to partner with NHLGamer in order to support and promote goalies in their community. We take great pride in our strong professional and personal ties to Finland, Sweden, and other European countries, so this is a natural fit and a great opportunity to grow NHL esports. I strongly believe that diversity and equity in goalie education should include the gaming and esports communities as well.” - The Goalie Guild founder Justin Goldman (@TheGoalieGuild) on partnering with NHLGamer. The strong friendships that already exist between these organizations, as well as the support each club will continue providing one another, is set to create a more positive and successful global NHL esports scene. By formalizing and structuring NHL esports programs, partnerships like these will provide more opportunities for esports athletes and gamers of all ages and skill levels to develop, compete, and evolve. Also starting in 2020, G3 will be rolling out new content focused on providing our community with free education on goalie-specific strategy and performance. Links: G3 Esports Club The Goalie Guild

NHLGamers, A week has passed since the latest and first edition of our Player Spotlight-series was released. Back then we asked Robin @Rubituss Söderqvist seventeen questions. Today we are back with the next article in the series and this time we are featuring Antti @Anhel Kuru. We asked him seventeen questions and you might recognize some of them from the last article, but there are some new ones too! Let's get to it: 1. What was your first experience with the EASHL mode in NHL like? -My first experience with EASHL happened on NHL 14. I was very young at the time so I can barely remember anything special but one strange thing that I can remember is that I played as a LW with a right-handed stick. 2. What's the best thing with competing in the ECL? -Hard to say one thing but maybe the feeling when you've won a tight game against an extremely skilled team with your friends stands out from the rest. 3. This season is Unlucky Boys fourth season in the Elite division, what's the secret to your success? -I think the secret lays behind our roster. Because our roster has been nearly the same for several years, we know particularly well how each and every one of us play. Our team spirit is also great due to playing together for so long and I think it plays a large role in how we are performing on the ice. Everybody plays for the burger on the jersey. Obviously in my opinion each one of us are really skilled individuals too. 4. A lot of you guys have been playing together for a while now, how did the history of Unlucky Boys HC start? -Unlucky Boys HC was founded in NHL16. I created the team with a great friend of mine, @iilmarii. He was new to the whole NHL series and we started to play 2's with good success. After a while it started to be boring and we wanted to leave the bot games behind us. I contacted @JimBoo after meeting him in a drop-in match and he was the third member of our team. Then we just signed both players from drop-in lobbies (like for example our RW @Wenger) and some half-familiar PSN friends like @Sweaty__99. The core of our roster has remained closely the same since the beginning which is very impressive thinking back now. Of course the burger has and will always be our symbol too. 5. If you would be a manager for a day and had to pick one defender, one forward and a goalie to build a new ECL Elite team around. Which players would you choose? You can only choose one from your own team. -Starting from the easiest pick, as forward I would pick Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha. Well, what couldn't I say about his level of play. He has also always been his teams captain which ensures that he is a leader both on and off the ice. For defender I would go with his linemate Wille @willekunq Juntunen because I think he is the best defender out there. Casper @ICappeI Lundgren would be the goalie. I was lucky to meet him at the IS Cup 4 final event and the man is pure class. 6. What would you rather be, an average player in the real-life finnish league or the worlds best EA Sports NHL-player in both 1v1 and 6v6? -I would rather be the best EA sports NHL -player. 7. Do you play or have you played hockey? -I can barely skate so no. 8. What’s your best hockey memory? -Maybe a bit boring answering quite same what @Rubituss said but my best memory is from World Junior Championship in 2016. Me and my dad were watching the final against Russia and it was one of the craziest games ever. I will always remember the winning goal from Kasperi Kapanen. Torille! 9. What’s your favourite team? -Kiekko-Espoo 10. Jari Kurri or Wayne Gretzky? -As a Finn this is an easy question, Jari Kurri. 11. What do you do on a day off? -Studying, listening to music and hanging out with my friends. 12. If you would have to spend one day playing NHL and had to listen to one song only, during the whole day, what song would you pick? -Probably Sonne by Rammstein. I love the song and it gets me focused. 13. How did you come up with your PSN ID? -Anhel was my nickname for some time and Kuru is my surname. Then I just combined them. 14. Who’s the best player in ECL according to you? -@FlyerKungen 15. What do you do when you don’t play NHL or watch hockey? -I'm a final year student in high school so most of my time goes to studying. Besides that I like going to the gym. 16. Which team will win ECL 9 Elite? -This is a tough one. I'll say HAVU in game seven against Linköping. 17. How are you going to spend christmas? -Spend time with my family and support Finland on the World Junior Championship. We thank Anhel_Kuru for taking the time to sit down with us for this interview. If you are lucky, next week you might be the one that gets to answer some of these questions. Who would you like to hear more from? In the meantime, NHLGamer wishes all of you a very merry christmas!