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NHLGamers, JYP Jyvaskyla is a traditional hockey club hailing from Central Finland and with their announcement today, the club is becoming the first Finnish Liiga-club to venture into NHL esports. “We’ve been planning our entry into esports for a long time already, it was really a matter of opportunity and Symphony struck us as a very potential team that wanted to work with us. We wanted to spice up our marketing with something new and an own esports team in the NHL scene is the perfect way to go in the current state of things. This allows us to present new opportunities in cooperation for our partners and serve our customers in a multitude of new ways.” - Taneli Maasalo, JYP Jyvaskyla about entering the NHL esports scene. “JYP is a prestigious club that has created a great brand. When they showed interest in us, we quickly found a similar note and decided to go ahead with the partnership. It’s also great to represent the first Liiga-team in NHL Esports.” - Team captain Santeri @indi969 Pendolin The roster that will be representing JYP is that of former Symphony, which received a major overhaul since ECL 9, which wasn’t up to standards for the team that usually pushes far into the postseason. Most notably, the team boosted their left flank by adding left defenseman Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and left wing Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola to their lineup. “Our NHL roster has a lot of likeness to our Liiga squad, where we have a bunch of veteran expertise combined with youthful talent. Symphony has established themselves as a playoff contender in ECL Elite and we want to be there in helping them take the next step. There’s a lot of potential, which is proven by earlier performances like the 2nd place in ECL 7 for example.”, says Maasalo. Follow JYP Jyvaskyla on social media: Twitter / Team Twitter Facebook Instagram

NHLGamers, Welcome to our season preview for the ECL 10 Lite division. A little over two months ago we saw Sulkavan Sudet crowned as the champions of ECL 9 Lite, which also earned them a direct promotion to the Pro division. Additional teams that got promoted to Pro were runner-up Riven Johdolla, MOCKBA and Clumsy Penguins. To all of these teams, NHLGamer extends warm congratulations and wishes good luck with the upcoming season! The offseason is now over and excitement in the dressing rooms is rising. Great individual skills, seamless teamwork and winning goaltender stole the cup for the ’’Wolfpack’’ last season and those are the requirements yet again as the level of Lite hockey gets better and better every season. After hundreds of games and countless hours of NHL20 many teams feel this could be ’’the season’’. We have also seen some interesting movement in the transfer market as teams are searching for the final piece to their respective puzzles. This season, ECL 10 Lite has four groups with 16 teams each. We took a closer look at the groups and decided to highlight some of the teams and players to keep an eye on this upcoming season. Keep in mind that this is not a listing of the best teams in the division, but a collection of teams that I've deemed worthy of a closer look going into the season. Let's begin: Elamam Kiekko ’’Kikko’’ performed below expectations in ECL 9 Lite when they had a tough time getting to the playoffs and finally were beaten in the first round against Syntax Error with the series score 4-2. Even though underperforming in the latest season, Elamam Kiekko still has the quality to be one of the challengers for the cup this season. They added some quality to their roster by recruiting @kApollo from Pro team Freddie Mercury Institute and @Johtava from Kaukosen Luistin. If the team can find their best form during the competition, we will see Elamam Kiekko going far. Fysical Previously called Farminaattori, this team now carries the name Fysical that was presented for the first time in IS Cup 4. Most of their players in the current roster played for team Kesaloma in ECL 9. Kesaloma managed to get to the playoffs where they lost to runner-up Riven Johdolla in the first round with series 4-1. Fysical made an addition to their roster by signing ex-Black Horse player @Ollizhki, who had a fine season in ECL 9 Pro and possesses leadership quality stemming from a long run with former team Shameful Knights. Hokurit Hokurit had a good season in ECL 9 Lite. Especially in the playoffs they showed real character by beating Hundred Acre Wood and Huippupassi. Their journey ended in the third round of playoffs where they lost to MOCKBA with series 4-1. During the offseason their best scorer @Jondeezz and top defender @Maestroffi decided to leave the team which begs the question - can Hokurit repeat their success and take a small step forward to achieve a promotion. The club saw the arrival of @haaga and @pinppikeisari, who now have a chance to prove their value for the team that has the potential to be in the top 4 this season. NOVA New club NOVA is an interesting Russian based team that is built of players from Russian teams such as Virtuoso and Nearbird Fighters. Their captain SPB_AlexZver_22 has described NOVA as a team that plays fast and attacking hockey and he believes that the team is currently at the level of best Lite teams. Even though NOVA hasn’t played any official matches yet, many of the teams that have faced them in the club games can agree that the potential is definitely there. Old Farts The legendary Old Farts have been in the scene from the very start of ECL history. Last season in ECL 9 Lite ended in a minor disappointment as they lost to Kaukosen Luistin in the first round of playoffs with the score being 4-1. Farts had one of the most interesting player roulettes during the offseason when many of their former ECL players left and five new faces came in. Captain @Ankkalasvegas brought in @Tuuski_36 and @Nixa_da_fck from Jortikan Tossut and experienced @vilperi90 who represented Angry Cats and HC Wildcard last season. Also @Jauho from Savo Bears will get the honor of wearing the legendary shirt this season. These signings will definitely bring more aspects to the way the Farts can play. This could very well be the season when we see Old Farts playing for the promotion. Poston Fruits Last time Poston Fruits were playing in ECL 8 Lite. They managed to get to the third round of the playoffs where they lost to Prowlers who were the #1 ranked team after regular season. When the season ended the team separated but now after a year, Fruits are back in the game. Many players from their ECL 8 roster are now playing for different teams but Captain @Jobeyz now has some Pro experience with Freddie Mercury Institute on his resume and has built a promising squad by adding @Jaks_10 from Kaukosen Luistin, @Peksi22 from Bellizzi and @kkostiiii from Saucer Hockey. If they manage to find chemistry, they could surprise many top teams this season. Sack Brothers Sack Brothers were presented for the first time in ECL 9 Lite where they managed to get to the second round of playoffs where they lost to Pro promoted Clumsy Penguins with a series score of 4-1. Despite the early exit, this team proved that with the right formation of ’’Sacks’’, they will be battling for the Pro spot in the future. They made a very interesting signing during the offseason as former Jortikan Tossut defender @luosttin joined their ranks. Luosttin gathered most points as a defender in regular season of ECL 9 Lite and scored an unbelievable 19 goals in 19 games from the D spot. With firepower already existing in Sack Brothers roster it is expected that they will be one of the deadliest teams in the offensive zone. Suomen Sonnit After pausing for the ECL 9 Lite season Suomen Sonnit decided to make a comeback. In ECL 8 Sonnit lost to Pro promoted Cheers Hockey in playoff round 2 with series 4-1. The core group is pretty much the same as in ECL 8 but with the additions of @Thounimeister from Oton Letkutemppu and @Jusa from MOCKBA. Suomen Sonnit is now seen as a real threat to the teams that are planning to succeed this season. There is always that one team that is a little bit underrated when the group winners are predicted and I believe that this season that team is Suomen Sonnit. The UnderRated A newly formed team that was previously named UnderRated Lekstuga. In ECL 8 Lite UnderRated Lekstuga was beaten in the first round against Me Carvoset. Since then the team roster has changed a lot. Captain @Psych0 has recruited the whole squad in a short time including four players from Pro team Prowlers eSports who had a difficult season in ECL 9 Pro but managed to win the relegation battle. With Pro experience in their core group The UnderRated will be a real threat to any team in the competition. Below you can also see the groups in which these teams have been put for the upcoming season. We want to wish all teams an exciting season and will be following your progress closely. Play hard - have fun! Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4

NHLGamers, To all the teams joining on their first ECL adventure through the Neo and Lite Divisions, thank you. More and more of you are entering the competitions organized by NHLGamer and your enthusiasm is heartwarming. Here we are going to provide a guide for those of you new here and who may need a little help. First and foremost, your best advisor is the Rulebook (Updated ECL 11 Rulebook to be released 17th of November), which brings together all of the useful information. Each captain (and their alternates) are warmly advised to read it. If you have any questions, the NHLGamer's Staff is at your disposal, and the forum can also help you find answers to your questions. 1- How to enter my team into our assigned division? You don't have to, it's the NHLGamer Staff who does it. In the case that your logo has not been assigned to your team yet, a little patience, it will come. In the case of you wanting to add a new logo or change your existing one, please send a new logo to our support team (.PNG, minimum 500x500) for it to be assigned. Once your team has been assigned to its division, you will then be able to invite your players to join via the home page of our site and your personal tab. If one of your players does not appear in the list of free agency, a probable cause is that they have not yet created their account, instruct them to do so. As such, it is advisable to give your player a name identical to that of your avatar on NHL 21. Once everyone has joined you can appoint yourself as captain and appoint your alternates (if not already correct). 2- Your role as captain and alternate As captain and alternates, you are the representatives of your team towards your opponents and towards the NHLGamer community, so bear your assigned role with pride and act accordingly. You are in charge of organizing matches and monitoring the calendar. You are also responsible for your players' compliance with the rules, in particular the ethics and code of conduct towards members of the community. 3- How to contact the support or your opponents? For any need to reschedule a game, you are required to refer to the rulebook which specifies all the conditions, and above all, you are first required to contact your opponents. It is strongly recommended not only to contact the opposing captain but also their two alternates. It is possible by clicking the Message all captains button on the opponent's team page. You can also contact our support in case of a question, any statistical problem or a disagreement with an opponent, by using the support tab. 4- Your match has been interrupted, what to do? The first thing to remember is that quitting a game is formally prohibited and that it can lead to disciplinary action, up to and including exclusion from the league. In the case of a game that does not come to an end because of a disconnection, here again, the rulebook gives precise instructions. In short, you must first record the stats of the match before you leave (preferably by taking a few pictures), then contact the opposite team. A new match must be restarted to bring the game to a conclusion. Note: in case of a serious network issue, you are allowed to quit the game during the first minute of play, keep in mind that communicating any problems to your opponent is mandatory. 5- How to report a match on the site? You will need to take photos of the individual and collective stats as well as the three stars of the game. The API tool (available through the captain's account tab on the home page) will allow you to report the games. As an agreement, the winning team captain reports his game. The API tool is a great help and does almost everything on its own, you will only need to add the goals and penalties as well as the three stars of the game and some elements. If the API does not work you will have to go through the so-called old tool, which isn't more complicated but a bit longer of a process. Again the Rulebook is a valuable tool. We advise you to take some pictures of every game played even if it is not your turn to report it, just in case your opponent would have forgotten or if any problems arise. As a conclusion, we thank you again for joining our competition. This was only a scratch of the surface and we - as well as the members of our community - are at your disposal for any questions. Do your best, have fun and remember that, even if everyone takes this very seriously, it's just a game. Get ready for the faceoff!

NHLGamers, We’re pleased to announce that Finnish esports up-and-comers SJ Gaming are taking a step into new territory by signing an NHL roster. Former POGGERS will be assuming the name and colors of SJ Gaming in order to represent the org in the upcoming ECL 10 Elite. Despite being a newcomer at the Elite level, the squad managed to come close to playoffs, being only two points out and eventually finishing 12th in an extremely tight division. The team has made some roster changes over the offseason and being backed by an organisation gives them an added boost of confidence. “When we heard that SJ Gaming was in the search for an NHL roster we agreed that this is the right move for us. An agreement was rather quickly reached with the representatives of SJ Gaming. Negotiations flowed with ease due to quick reaction from our team and the help from Kenneth at NHLGamer.” - Team captain Tero @Terodee Dahlström “We’ve been contemplating entering console gaming and especially the NHL-scene for a long time already and had some earlier negotiations that fell through at the last moment. We stuck with the process and eventually found a team that fit our organisation.”, says SJ Gaming manager Niklas Pehkonen In ECL 9, POGGERS finished at an eventual 12th place in the standings, but due to an incredibly even season, the team was only two points shy of a playoff spot. The biggest challenge was the fact that the team roster was too small, an issue which according to the captain has since been addressed: “We’ve recruited a total of three new starters, which of course is a lot but in my opinion, our game looks better than ever right now. In addition we wanted a larger roster, so we’ve got a few more backups that are ready to fill in whenever needed.” Follow SJ Gaming on social media here: Twitter / Team Twitter Facebook Instagram

NHLGamers, We have received the devastating news that a beloved member of the community - Sami @Ampuhaukka Luoma passed away at the young age of 41 this past Friday. Sami was a family man and a long-time community member, who enjoyed spending his pastime playing the NHL series in good company. Over the years several of us had the privilege to play alongside this man and he touched many of our lives in one way or another. To honor Sami's memory, some of his past teammates and friends have shared some of their memories below: - @Tzon93 - @l-Furyan-l - @Lamsa A word from @Kenu on behalf of NHLGamer: I would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family, friends and teammates of Sami in this tragic loss. I was in touch with Sami in early January and he spoke about his plans to build a team together with @pelimies80 and he had some questions around the upcoming season. It's hard to accept that that discussion was the last chance I got to talk to him. I didn't know Sami well, but I did talk a lot of ECL with him throughout the years and also remember trying out for his team back in the day. He was always polite, positive and fun to talk to and I he will be missed. During his career of 227 games as a right defenseman in the ECL Sami racked up 26 goals and 125 assists, totalling 151 points. Aside from the the ECL, he was also active in a lot of our other leagues. You can see his full career stats below. The staff at NHLGamer extends our heartfelt condolences to everyone touched by Sami during his lifetime. Please also share your memory in the comment section if you wish to do so.