Leaderboard

NHLGamers, We'll make short work of the intro on this one and let you get down to the nitty gritty - ECL 10 Elite is rolling on and we've never been this excited about a season! Last time we checked out "The Big Two", which have been ruling the scene for quite some time already. Now it's time to move on to new subjects, which are the following: You’ve heard their names before. Odds are you’ve faced them. In fact, they were both mentioned in part I of this preview. If any teams are to challenge favorites HAVU Gaming or Linköping HC for the title in ECL 10 Elite, odds are it’ll be either ECL 9 Pro Champions and IS Cup 4 silver medalists hReds (formerly “Delusion”) or JYP Jyvaskyla (formerly “Symphony”). hReds has had quite the journey on their way to being considered an Elite title contender. Originally established ahead of early NHL 20-tournament IS Cup 4 under the team name “Delusion”, skilled forward trio Joakim @Joukki Nyholm, Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen and Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen took the tournament by storm and led the team all the way to the finals where they were eventually defeated by HAVU. As there are no shortcuts to ECL Elite, next up for this team was ECL 9 Pro – a tournament they made short work of by finishing as the #1 overall seed during the regular season. It wasn’t until they came across Vesa Pompa HC – another new Elite team – in the playoff finals that they were finally challenged. Even so, Delusion took the series and were crowned ECL 9 Pro Champions – ensuring a spot in Elite for ECL 10. With Casper @ICappeI Lundgren having been the team’s “loan” goaltender in IS Cup, gifted up-and-comer Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen manned the pipes for ECL 9 and performed outstandingly in his first Pro season. Chances are he’ll turn quite a few heads come the start of the Elite season so if you’re looking for a #HiddenGem, this guy is one to consider. On defense, veteran LD Janne @Janzuh Nyquist has been with the team since its inception and acts as the defensive fail-safe for the teams’ offense-first play style. ECL 10 will be Janzuhs fifth Elite season. On RD, the transfer of gifted offensive defender Ilmari @iilmarii Töyrylä from hReds to JYP after ECL 9 opened a hole that was filled by Teemu @Xteemuz Polttila. While a talented defender in his own right, xteemuzz would objectively be considered the wildcard on this roster. Finally, the team made another change as it was time for KingOfApes_ to fulfill his duty to the motherland and enlist in the Finnish military services for a time. To compensate for Apes assuming “inactive” status, the team brought in dangling wunderkid Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen from the since-then folded team Butterfly Effect. The Butterfly boys were on the verge of greatness in both IS Cup 4 and ECL 9 Elite but fell short on both occasions, leading its players to migrate to other teams. JYP Jyvaskyla has had an equally interesting path to becoming ECL 10 pre-season favorites. Bursting onto the scene as Symphony in IS Cup 3 (eSM 2018), former Aapon Taikasauva captain Santeri @indi969 Pendolin led a star-studded roster to a bronze medal in their first tournament together. For ECL 7 Elite, Aapon became Symphony and indi969 recruited what would become a cornerstone of the team: center and puck-possession wizard Antti @tbnantti Kuittinen. Right away in their first Elite season as Symphony, the team made it all the way to the finals. After losing a tough battle against FILADELPHIA, the team lost a key piece as Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen left to join Written In The Stars for ECL 8. The team failed to replicate their success in ECL 8, falling to Rusty Blades in the Quarterfinals and once ECL 9 rolled around, the only player left from the ECL 7 finals run was indi969 himself and backup goaltender, since promoted to starter, Lauri @Lauri Piipponen. Another first-round exit in ECL 9 lit a fire within indi969 and together with tbnantti, the center having now played five tournaments with the team, they set out to re-build the team and return it to its former glory. Bringing RD iilmarii back after two seasons with Delusion, adding 1v1 virtuoso (and Finnish Champion) Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola to be their LW, Oskari @SIbeIius Grönroos as their starting goaltender and the highest scoring defender in ECL 9 Elite, Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen, to act as their LD certainly has given them the tools to once again compete for a title. To add to what has been a very successful off-season for the team between ECL:s 9 and 10; just days before ECL 10 Elite opened its doors the team signed a deal with professional hockey team JYP Jyväskälä of Finnish Liiga to act as their esports representatives. How about that? You won’t ever see HAVU or Linköping shaking in their boots. It’s just not what they do. But if they ever did, it’d be because of either hReds or JYP Jyvaskyla. Outside of Linköping, ECL 10 Elite features an additional two SHL teams: Färjestad BK and Luleå Hockey. Or, as the ECL historians would call them; Bucketeers and Northern Ascendancy. Färjestad finished outside the playoffs in ECL 9 Elite but bounced back with a respectable top-4 finish in recent tournament eSHL – helped in part by the recruitment of HAVU defensive pairing Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto and Wille @willekunq Juntunen. The adjusted roster displayed a renewed sense of focus and energy, with cerebral center Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson continually creating space for his teammates while allowing the HAVU defenders to attack at will. On the wings, Mattias @Tacterz Hjelm and Robin @Rubituss Söderqvist dodged, dipped, ducked, and slipped their way through opposing defenders and racked up respectable point totals between the two of them. As expected, the HAVU defenders returned to their former team upon the completion of eSHL – leaving FBK with a problem on their hands. Who would replace such a skilled defensive duo? The answer was a creative one. The team moved gifted RW Rubituss to slot in at LD and recruited Harri @Totalii Joona from Checkmate to act as the teams RD – the Finnish defenders’ 7th straight season in ECL Elite. On forward, Rubituss’ RW spot was filled by none other than Sebastian @eBasstian Nagel, recruited from ECL Pro team (and fellow eSHL participant) Växjö Lakers. At LW, Tacterz decided to take a step back and act as more of a reserve. This problem was quickly solved by adding another Växjö player, goalscoring machine and reigning SCL champion Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg. With all the changes made to the FBK roster, predicting how they will finish in ECL 10 is no easy task. But judging by the gameplay they have shown when this writer has faced them in regular EASHL, they could very well surprise quite a few people and end up a playoff team. For Luleå, not much has changed in the roster since their disappointing quarterfinal exit in eSHL against Leksand. The team looked poised to build on their impressive, yet somewhat surprising, top-4 finish in ECL 9 but instead took a step backwards during eSHL while never finding the team chemistry necessary to move forward. Since eSHL, Luleå has focused on re-establishing their basics in practice – “walk before you can run again”, as one player put it – and are entering the tournament with the hopes of re-discovering their ECL 9 magic. Left wing Ville @hpkfani Luukkonen is still to be considered the teams primary scoring threat, yet persistent rumors suggest the team still has one big, final piece of the puzzle to add. Stay tuned for more. Vesa Pompa HC, Gotham Knights and Ghetto Firebirds joined Delusion in advancing from Pro – all of them defeating “their” Elite opponent in the relegation/promotion battle. Gotham Knights make their long-awaited return to Elite after spending ECL:s 8 and 9 in Pro as a top team and title contender. The team, led by captain and center Joni @ReDMisTi Kaikkonen, has been together for a long time and is one of the precious few teams in the community that have been around ever since ECL 1. The re-branding to “Gotham Knights” took place in ECL 5, whereas before that the team was known as “Refuse To Lose”. Other key players for the team include dangerous wingers Emil @Hanssonni Hansson and Joni @selänne8 Kurtti. Expect Gotham Knights to be hungry for success and with enough steps forward from the teams’ defense and goaltending, they very well might achieve it. Ghetto Firebirds is another one of those teams that have been around for a long, long time – battling their way all the way from Lite in ECL 4 to finally reach the coveted Elite division in ECL 10. What a journey it has been for the team and what an experience for captain Keka @KepakkoFIN Muyima and players Joonas @Taettonov Siira and Ville @Vilze Systä, who have been around ever since the team first saw the light of day, to finally see the proud Firebird with an ECL Elite logo next to it. Stories like Ghetto Firebirds’ is really what the ECL divisional system is all about. With a healthy portion of skill, a powerful dedication to teamwork and an uncompromising attitude towards putting in the necessary work, advancement through the system is within your grasp. Look for the Firebirds to come out swinging with their stingy defense and hard-working offense – eager to prove they belong at the pinnacle of European 6v6 hockey. Vesa Pompa HC was an expected addition to Elite, if you can ever really say something like that. If Delusion was the clear favorite in ECL 9 Pro, Vesa was definitely the second team on that ranking. And wouldn’t you know it – those are the exact teams that ended up in the finals. After giving Delusion a solid fight but failing to retrieve the Pro title, captain Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann and his team faced off with Brayce Phantoms in the relegation/promotion battle. The reigning SCL champions Vesa managed to defeat the four-time German champions Brayce in OT of Game 7 after coming back to tie the deciding game up in the final minute. With a core built around Lehmannens, fellow defender Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander, star winger Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund and lightning-quick goaltender Edvin @Thunborg5 Thunborg, the team guest starred as Malmö Redhawks in the eSHL. A tournament in which they, with the help of HAVU forwards Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha and Risto @Dominointi Järvi, made it all the way to the finals against Linköping where they gave the eventual champions a good battle before securing a silver medal. Replacing two such prestigious forwards was no easy task but Vesa quickly found a solution by retaining their Finnish forwards Mikke @Nampa77 Nampajärvi and Olof @Spearzz_ Forsbacka, while adding Butterfly Effects former captain Jere @jergelii Jortama as the teams’ centerpiece. With a winning attitude and success in many of their previous tournaments, Vesa is a prime candidate to challenge the top teams for a solid playoff spot. That'll be it for this time, we still have a handful of teams to go, which we'll take a closer look at tomorrow! Next up; the final part of the ECL 10 Elite preview where we break down the remaining handful of teams. Some who took the hard way, some new organisations and finally, some familiar faces making a return. Stay tuned!

The arrival of the global pandemic known as COVID-19 has brought about quite a few changes to life as we know it. While these changes – the arrival of the phenomenon “social distancing”, for example – won’t be permanent, they have certainly had an impact on most of us, if not all of us. Perhaps you have a friend or relative that has fallen ill. Perhaps you yourself have been battling the virus. Perhaps you’ve lost your job as a consequence of the radical changes in consumer behavior around the globe. Perhaps you’ve even lost someone close to you. In short, things aren’t great. And what’s worse is that no one can accurately predict how long we’ll be in this predicament. Still. As Harvey Dent of The Dark Knight (2008) would say – you know, before he turned all evil and homicidal – “The night is darkest just before the dawn. And I promise you: the dawn is coming”. As we wait for the sun to come up and illuminate our path forward, we could all use a distraction. Something to take our minds off headlines of pain and suffering. So, with every sport from Formula 1 to curling canceled or put on indefinite hold – not to mention our favorite sport of ice hockey – and guidelines in most countries suggesting that we stay at home as much as possible, what could be better than some competitive esports? I mean, not to make light of the current situation but… as gamers, we’re kind of used to staying inside and maintaining distance to people. No? All kidding aside, with the whole world essentially put on pause we can and should consider ourselves lucky that we are still able to do what we love on a daily basis: play and compete in NHL 20. And who knows – while we are busy battling our rivals for supremacy in the four separate divisions of the European Championship League, we might even be able to offer a sliver of happiness to someone who is going through a tough time; be it a spectator or a player. If you ask me, that’s not "nothing". The competitive aspect should of course not be forgotten. After all, this is NHLGamer and 6v6 EASHL hockey is what we do. So, let’s talk competition. For the purposes of this article, that means taking a long, hard look at the 16 teams set to participate in the premier division of European 6v6 gaming, ECL Elite. For the seventh edition of this ultra-tough division – the first three seasons of ECL did not feature divisional separation – we begin by taking a look at two teams that are no strangers to winning. Teams many would say stand the best chance of claiming the coveted title of ECL Grand Champion. And so, without further ado, what better way to start than by focusing on… THE BIG TWO Their dominant run as we know it began in November of 2018, in IS Cup 3 (eSM 2018). That’s when the team known as FILADELPHIA secured their first championship title. They did so by defeating a team known at the time as Written In The Stars. Make a mental note of that because the rivalry of these two teams had only just gotten started. Mere weeks after winning the IS Cup 3 title, “FILA” added another trophy to their collection – none other than the ECL 7 Elite title: their first championship win in Elite. Only this time their opponent wasn’t Written In The Stars, it was newly established team Symphony. However, as the calendar year of 2018 ended and 2019 began, the balance of power shifted. ECL 8 Elite saw FILA face off in the finals against Written In The Stars; a re-match of the IS Cup 3 finals. Only this time it was “SKY” who brought home the championship. SKY proceeded to win the “just for fun”-tournament Spring League and followed that up by signing a contract with professional esports organization HAVU Gaming. Next up was the last event of EA SPORTS NHL 19; the summer tournament of FCL (eSM 2019). Once again, we were treated to a matchup in the finals between FILA and HAVU. The now green-and-black HAVU continued their dominant end to NHL 19 by defeating FILA and bringing home their third straight tournament win. Picture: HAVU Gaming celebrating FCL Championship 2019. Photo credit: SEUL / Arttu Kokkonen Along came the fall and EA SPORTS NHL 20 – but HAVU weren’t done winning. The first tournament of NHL 20, IS Cup 4, saw HAVU bring home their fourth (!) straight title – defeating newly created team Delusion in the finals. FILA finished a (for them) disappointing third and with that decided changes needed to be made. Delusion goaltender Casper @ICappeI Lundgren was brought in to replace previous net-minding stalwarts Oskari @sibeelius Grönroos and Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu. With that, it was time for the balance of power to shift once more. With the arrival of ICappeI, FILA proceeded to sign an esports deal with Swedish hockey organization Linköping HC of the SHL – the highest tier of professional hockey in Sweden. Switching from the orange stag of FILA to the White Lion of Linköping, LHC dove head-first into ECL 9 and decisively mopped the floor with most opponents. Sporting an ECL Elite-record 27-2-1 (tied with SKY from ECL 6), LHC claimed the #1 overall seed in the regular season and worked their way through Symphony and Luleå Hockey in the playoffs to reach the finals… where none other than, you guessed it, HAVU awaited them. With HAVU up 3-1 in the best of-7 series, LHC dug deep and found another gear – turning the series around and winning their first title since ECL 7. Linköping surfed their new-found wave of success all the way to winning the inaugural eSHL championship – including a win in the finals against a Malmö Redhawks team that featured HAVU players Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (RW), Risto @Dominointi Järvi (C), Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen (G, reserve) and Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen (LW, reserve) on loan. Picture: Linköping HC celebrating eSHL Championship 2020. Photo credit: Elias Gammelgård To summarize: in the last eight tournaments organized by NHLGamer (not including the differently formatted Summer Cup or the inaugural edition of the SCL where neither team had a chance to participate), FILADELPHIA/Linköping HC have won four and Written In The Stars/HAVU Gaming four – including four finals where they’ve been pitted directly against each other. That’s a near unprecedented dominance not seen on the NHL esports scene since Swedish teams Northern Stars and Unknown were lining up tournament wins in the previous gen (pre-NHL 16) of the game. The way Linköping and HAVU have made competitive NHL 6v6 gaming a two-horse race in the past 18 months (or NHLs 19 and 20, for those keeping track) almost defies explanation – bringing about comparisons to the famous rivalry in Spanish football league La Liga between standout clubs FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. And wouldn’t you know it? Whenever these two behemoths of NHL gaming get matched up against each other, especially in the playoffs, you will usually find at least 5-10 comments in the NHLGamer Twitch stream – because let’s face it, their matchups should never not be broadcasted – calling the matchup the “El Clasico of NHL gaming”. It does have a nice ring to it. And the rivalry is just as fierce. I’m talking about the battle between bearded beasts ICappeI and Hansulinho in net, the two-way talent in two of the strongest defender pairings of all time (Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto & Wille @willekunq Juntunen for HAVU; Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta & Joel @jtorro1233 Tourunen for LHC) and the matchup of six of the best forwards NHL esports have to offer: the above mentioned trio of FlyerKungen, Dominointi and Puantso facing off against Erik @Eki Tammenpää, Paul @PleeMaker Arontie and Joonas @Juunas Paatiala. With ECL 10 fast approaching and both teams looking as strong as ever, can anyone really be blamed for predicting another matchup in the ECL Elite finals between HAVU and LHC? I certainly wouldn’t put it past them. Next up; the second half of the ECL 10 Elite preview where we break down the remaining 14 teams. The challengers, the new arrivals and which teams and players to keep an extra eye out for.

NHLGamers It's time for our season preview of the ECL 10 Pro division. A bit over two months has passed since we saw Delusion crowned as the champions of ECL 9 Pro when they managed to beat Vesa Pompa HC in a final series that included an enormous amount of individual talent and two teams that both eventually paved their way into the top tier. Top tier play is on the list of requirements yet again for the champions as the game and our growing community makes the 6v6 scene more competitive season after season. To cap off last season we saw all top 4 Pro teams fight their way to Elite and also really tight games in the Elite Qualification Series which proves that the quality of play in Pro division is at a really high level right now. At the moment we are living in especially hard times globally. The COVID-19 pandemic will most probably have some influence on ECL competition in this starting season in terms of rescheduling and also if teams are forced to use back-ups in cases of sickness (which we pray does not happen). This might be a factor that sways the power ranking between teams one way or another. That is an interesting topic and the consequences of COVID-19 remain to be seen. We're definitely hoping not to see too much effect on the ECL this season, it's a prevalent topic that needs to be addressed in these times. ECL isn´t the “island away from the rest of the world” so this is a point we should not ignore ahead of this starting season. To sum it all up: Teams that were relegated from ECL 9 Elite and weren’t able to fight their way back in the Elite Qualification Series are Leksands IF and TIKI TALK. Teams that proved their worth in ECL 9 Lite and earned the promotion to ECL 10 Pro are Lite champions Sulkavan Sudet, runner-up Riven Johdolla, Clumsy Penguins and MOCKBA. To fill the missing teams in the division, NHLGamer staff have accepted applications from teams Rookie Mistakes, Kouvola Screaming Eagles, Company of Geeks, HanaaHC, Djurgarden Hockey and Team Frosty for the open spots in ECL 10 Pro. ECL 10 Pro has a total of 32 teams divided into two groups. We took a closer look at some of the most interesting teams at this point in the season and decided to bring you basic information about them and highlight some key players to follow. We are also predicting their success in the regular season during the forthcoming season. Group 1 Leksands IF After a disappointing season in ECL 9 Elite, Leksands IF was able to put up quite a show in the first eSHL season and the playoffs, where they first won ECL 9 Elite semifinalist Lulea Hockey and fought bravely against Linköping HC in a semifinal series that ended 3-1 (BO5) in the favor of the eSHL (and ECL 9) champion. Success in eSHL must have brought some confidence back but it didn’t show in the Elite Qualification Series, where the team saw another bottom of the table finish and was thereby relegated. Despite the recent setbacks the team has faced, Leksands IF is still seen as the favorite eSHL team to succeed this season in ECL 10 Pro (Challenge accepted Vaxjo Lakers HC, Orebro eHockey and Djurgarden Hockey?). There is no doubt that if Leksands IF can find their stride again, they will be fighting for the cup this season. Captain @Mumsi- is once again expected to lead the team to a promotion battle as he did back in their Synergy Hockey days in ECL 7 Pro, with familiar faces by his side. A notable player is missing from the roster, as it appears that long-time defender @Egyptologen (J-Foppa) has left the team. Placement after regular season: 1-2 Player to watch: Experienced defender and club icon @Supremski is the backbone for the whole team. With so many good attacking teams it is one of the main requirements for success to have good defenders that can do well in the own zone and Supremski represents the cream of the crop in this sector at this level. Enigma This team that was named Sandstorm last season has made a brand change and is now called Enigma. Last season, Sandstorm suffered a loss in the first round of the playoffs against GHETTO FIREBIRDS in a tight series that ended 4-3. The name isn’t the only thing that has changed from last season, though. Only captain @MozjaTG (Mozja-) remains from last seasons roster. However, compared to their roster in ECL 9 Pro the quality hasn’t dropped at all. For example, the team lost their best scorer @yrjoo but in exchange former Symphony player @Nieppii returns to Pro hockey after a couple of seasons in Elite. Also former team captain @Crisu_rottis returns to strengthen the defensive line after a season with Almost Famous. It is really interesting to see how the fresh squad will blend as a team and find chemistry. The roster of Enigma has the potential to do great things this season but in the end it is all about teamwork which we will see more in depth when the season starts. If the team can get their motors running the way they want to, it's likely that Enigma will do way better than they did last season and be a real threat to any team in the later stages of the season. Placement after regular season: 1-2 Player to watch: @Nieppiiis probably the most reputable player signed by a Pro division this season and possesses great offensive upside. He is expected to help Enigma with his experience, personal talent and points. Kaupallinen Yhteistyo Some eyebrows were raised when relatively unknown Kaupallinen Yhteistyo was promoted to ECL Pro 9 last season through their Pro application but after proving all doubters wrong, there's no question they are a force to be reckoned with this season. In their first ECL season ever, Kaupallinen Yhteistyo managed to finish in 3rd place in their group and fought their way to the second round of the playoffs where they lost to Elite promoted GHETTO FIREBIRDS. As the team roster remains almost unchanged from the ECL 9 Pro season with the addition of @Frilanderfrom Unlucky Boys HC, it is expected that Kaupallinen Yhteistyo will take the next step forward this time. Last seasons success also gave the team a chance to play in the Elite Qualification Series where they won their group but finally lost to BRAYCE Phantoms in the decisive final series. Signs from the previous season and the Elite Qualification Series tell that forwards @Jooonasaurus, @Limbe65 and @Katuhessu (KrisutusB) have found that special chemistry that could make them the most effective attacking trio this season. With the recent form the team is showing, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise anymore to see Kaupallinen Yhteistyo fighting for Elite promotion at the end of the season. Placement after regular season: 1-2 Player to watch: @Jooonasaurus is a player whose reputation precedes him. After a very good run in the Qualification Series, he is expecting to be one of the leading forwards both performance-wise and statistically this season. RPEAT Esports Former Nightmare/Supernatural now skates under the banner of Finnish eSports organization RPEAT esports. Nightmare had a disappointing season in ECL 9 Pro as they were left out of the playoffs by a small margin. After the season, team captain @Kozek77(Kozeehh) and the new alternate captains @illbiocandyand @Aze (l-AZE-l) started reforming the team to redeem themselves. Only three players from last seasons Nightmare squad will continue the journey with RPEAT esports. When taking a closer look at the new faces arriving, it’s obvious that RPEAT esports aims high this season but also looks towards the future. Former Dynasty defender @DieCutterMC will bring experience to the defense while young gun @Timez (Timoccio) and ‘’hidden gem’’ (quote from RPEAT NHL twitter) @vJokkee- are determined to make the breakthrough at the Pro level. Is it going to happen in this season already? This team has the hunger for success and the potential to surprise many strong teams this season. It may be too early to talk about a team that is chasing a promotion for real, but the season will show us what's to come. Placement after regular season: 4-6 Player to watch: Center @Timez(Timoccio) was the key player for ECL 9 Lite runner-up Riven Johdolla last season. He is the most interesting prospect to follow in his first Pro season in a team that can help him become star player in the future. Alliance HT If BRAYCE Phantoms has the highest reputation of German teams, then Alliance HT is the legend of the Russian EASHL scene. Last season in ECL 9 Pro was really tough for them as they were one of the teams that fell to the relegation series. Alliance HT managed to keep their spot in Pro by sweeping Resurrection in the series. A couple of weeks ago it was still unsure if Alliance HT was going to participate ECL this season and for example ECL 9 captain @MAYZIIX was part of the TIKI TALK roster in the Elite Qualification Series before the registrations. It seems the worries have been left behind and they have made a flying start in RCL 6 Div 1. However it is expected that Alliance HT will have another hard season ahead. Longtime player and former captain @Denisovl17l (Denisov_D_l17l) who represented the team back in ECL 6 Pro returns to help the team in these hard times. But is it enough to avoid relegation this season? Placement after regular season: 13-16 Player to watch: Goalkeeper @crooks(Crooks_Tc) will play a big role for his team. He will have to play at his top level every night to help Alliance HT in a season that is expected to be difficult for them. Not an easy task for a keeper that is heading into his first ECL season ever. Group 2 Reality Check It is believed that many have marked Reality Check as the favorites for the title race this season. Last season in ECL 9 Pro, Reality Check had a decent regular season finishing 5th in the standings. They started the playoffs strong by beating Children of Ice in the first round and gave a good fight against eventual runner-up Vesa Pompa HC in the second round, losing the series 2-4. During the offseason, the squads roster saw a couple of changes when center @valta15, defender @Ninjawiq (Hakkapeiiitta) and goalie @Jann3_67_ , who all played a big role in last seasons team decided to leave. To fill these boots team saw the arrivals of @Hüüli(huulihoelkka44) and @jimboslizer from Rakish, @Talonmies69 from Children of Ice and @vokial2(SolidElli) from HC Wildcard. Reality Check was one of the teams that took part in the Elite Qualification Series. With the current roster they managed to be the best team in the group stage but in the end they couldn’t find the way to win Almost Famous in the final series. However Reality Check showed that roster changes haven’t hurt the team and proved to their competitors that they are ready for the new season and chase for the cup. Placement after regular season: 1-2 Player to watch: The preseason indicates that @James (Jamssonii) will replace Valta15 at the center position and the game looked promising in the Elite Qualification Series. Wingers are also expected to benefit from the playmaking skills of Jamssonii. Nordic Stars Nordic Stars had an excellent regular season in ECL 9 Pro where they finished third in their group. Everything seemed to go the way the team wanted until the first round of the playoffs where they faced Black Horse and lost the series 0-4. Actually one of the Black Horse players that ended up ruining their season was @Iltapeli (apetttaja) who is now part of the Nordic Stars roster. Nordic Stars are a team that likes to play a lot of NHL20. With around 1400 club games played they are certainly one of the most active teams in ECL currently and it shows on the ice. Players like @Vire30 and @Jerax13 do incredible things with the puck on the ice and the way Nordic Stars sometimes plays is really entertaining to watch. It is expected that Nordic Stars will do very well in the regular season this time as well but the question is - have they found a way to play winning playoff hockey? If the answer is yes, then there are not many teams in the league that can stand in their way. This could very well be the season for Nordic Stars that will make them forget last seasons disappointment. Placement after regular season: 1-2 Player to watch: @Iltapeli (apetttaja) scored 49 goals in 38 games last season in Black Horse. Nordic Stars' style of fast attacking hockey will suit him well and he could break his own personal goal record this season. TIKI TALK Legendary TIKI TALK were close to avoiding the relegation battle in Elite last season. They were tied in points with POGGERS but with fewer wins TIKI TALK headed to the relegation series where they lost to GHETTO FIREBIRDS. The team had a second chance to return to the top division in the Elite Qualification Series but they couldn’t find their game when it was needed and ended up losing all of the games in the group stage. If TIKI TALK can get through the hard times and find their best form and chemistry with their fresh squad, ‘’ESA’’ can be one of the best teams in the regular season, favorites for the promotion battle and challengers for the cup. Talking about legendary, team captain and scoring machine @itspardytime is once again one of the most interesting players to follow during the season. Last time TIKI TALK played Pro in ECL 8, itspardytime scored a league leading 150 points in 48 games and led his team to the finals where they eventually lost to POGGERS but later managed to get promoted to Elite. Placement after regular season: 3-4 Player to watch: It seems that @Sagee95 will start the season on defense. It is interesting to see how this talented player who is more known for his attacking abilities will convert to defense and how it will affect TIKI TALKs way of play. Shooting Stars There seems to be a really interesting rivalry building up between German Championship League powerhouses Shooting Stars (previously EV Fussen Esports) and ZSC Lions Esports (previously The Black Jacks). In ECL Pro 9, ZSC Lions Esports managed to get to the playoffs while Shooting Stars were left just below the playoff line. However in GCL 5 Div 1 playoff semifinals Shooting Stars defeated the Lions with a series score of 4-1. So it is maybe fair to say that the Shooting Stars have the upper hand at the moment. For some time ‘’The pride of Germany’’ BRAYCE Phantoms have waited for a worthy opponent at their own soil and Shooting Stars have shown that they are slowly building up to up to the task. After a very good GCL season, Shooting Stars are expected to improve from ECL 9 and even though many will not expect miracles from this team, we could see a real surprise from them at the end of the regular season. GCL 5 Div 1 runner-ups may be one of the most underrated teams at the start of the season. Placement after regular season: 4-6 Player to watch: It seems that defender @x Holtbeast (xReuTschNer98x) step into the boots of @Krinke this season in the center position. Results from GCL 5 Div 1 show that he fits well into the teams attacking trio and with interest we follow how it will turn out in the ECL rink. Sulkavan Sudet Looking back at the ECL 9 Lite seasonm Sulkavan Sudet made an almost perfect run to be the division champions. Attacking trio @Oxdoggi, @Kemppane_and @Luokkala_with the help of backup forward @Stapletonetore apart opposing defenses from start to finish. With such an impressive display someone could think that these guys played in the wrong division but it is actually going to be their first season in the higher divisions. The only players that have previous experience from Pro are defender @Pirkkalope and new signing @Okke40(hifk_FANI). Sulkavan Sudet also added some depth to their defense by signing @Maestroffi from Hokurit who also had a good season in ECL 9 Lite. Obviously Pro is going to be a harder challenge for the talented wolfpack but it is interesting to see how well the team can adapt their style in Pro and how far it will take them. However, just like with the other teams that got promoted from Lite, expectations are at a moderate level. Placement after regular season: 6-8 Player to watch: The teams style of attacking hockey can sometimes leave room for really promising counter-attacks and that is when goalkeeper @TeikDaun can steal the show. The keeper faced some critic last season because of his relatively low save percentage but we are talking about one of the best goaltenders this season. Prowlers Esports Prowlers Esports was one of the teams that got promoted to ECL 9 Pro through their application at the registration stage. The team had really hard last season where they were the bottom of their group. However Prowlers gathered their ranks and beat Horror Hockey in the relegation battle. After the season most of the players in the team left and captains @eKvaarn and @Forsberg__21 (Lawner_) had to make complete rebuild. Scouting through the new signings it seems most of the new faces will play their first Pro games this season. With an inexperienced squad, the expectations are low, but the squads real potential is still hidden and they have a long season ahead to glue as a team and improve their game. However it is expected that Prowlers Esports will once again be facing relegation to end the season. Placement after regular season: 13-16 Player to watch: @Forsberg__21(Lawner_) has had good seasons at the Lite level. Last season was hard for the whole team but now with the experience of some Pro hockey in his pocket it is probable that Lawner_ will lead his teams points stats at the end of the regular season. Well there you have it! We hope that yo enjoyed our small preview and similarly will enjoy the starting ECL 10 Pro season. Remember to follow all the teams on their respective social media channels including Twitch and/or Youtube. NHLGamer will keep you up to date on the progress of the season and more articles about the division will follow as the standings start to take shape. Play hard - have fun! Pro writers, @Oliverigood & @JakePlay77