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NHLGamers, We asked ten team captains or alternates to tell us about their roster and ambitions for this second iteration of ECL Neo. In order to guarantee maximum objectivity we specify that these ten teams were chosen randomly, even Cancun Pirates, it’s promised ;). In a Neo division of 84 teams spread across 9 groups, we wanted to give the word to the teams in order to present themselves. This very succinct presentation will be followed, in a few weeks, to a more in-depth approach once the first games have delivered their verdict. Varissuon Toverit with @Kimiz1993 How did you compose your team? “We have known each other for a long time and have played a lot of games together - now we are here.” What is your game philosophy? “Just play and don’t complain.” What is your main strength? “Our main strength is MO-DO - Gema Tanzen, it’s a song” What is your main weakness? “Our mental strength after losing a game.” What are your ambitions for this season? “We want to proceed to the playoffs.” Redlight Jokers with @Steve How did you compose your team? “After the GCL season, we had a little break. Some guys decided to join other teams, so we had to look for new members. At first, it wasn't easy but at least we can say that we found some great players with a good personality and who can play more positions. We first thought that we didn’t have enough defensemen, but managed to sort out the situation. Our goalie @Christoph Kugler decided to go to Puck Panthers, but luckily he returned to us before the season. We think that we can be competitive for the new season.” What is your game philosophy? “We are Jokers, we want to have fun on the ice and to break some bones by laying heavy hits, LOL. Well seriously, attack wins games but defense wins championships, so we will stay good at D, take our chances on attack in different ways, not only with the same scheme. We are good for some strange and crazy action on the ice. We are not afraid to play against great opponents, because we want to develop our game, step by step. We just want fair games and to have fun.”” What is your main strength? “Our team spirit, we will never give up even if there is a big difference on the scoreboard. We have some talented players who can make a difference, goalscorers, playmakers and some weapons on the ice. All of us have a good mentality, that can push the other player in case of a bad situation. We are so glad that Kuglach is back in the net, because he performed incredibly during the GCL season. One Joker for all, all for one Joker!” What is your main weakness? “If we get a powerplay situation, we are too hectic and we do not play enough to move the opponent in the slot to find the free spaces. On breakaways we look for nice goals too often. A simple goal is too easy for a Joker LOL. In some situations, we play too slow or have too much of a big space between the attacker and defender. But mistakes are a part of the game and we will fight us back. If we have a big lead, our concentration can be lost.” What are your ambitions for this season? “First of all, we want to have a good start for the season, with great games and no troubles. Our goal is to qualify for the playoffs. We have a good team and we think we have a good chance to punch that ticket. We must fight/play as a team. Our second goal is staying tight on defense, which was our big problem in the past. Finally, we wish all teams good and fair games, but as Jokers we have always a trick in our pocket, LOL.” Cancun Pirates with @IsaaDePo How did you compose your team? “To be honest, it started as a joke because we were not supposed to join this ECL and finally with the quarantine, it became something serious. Our team is mainly composed of guys that played for Cancun Pirates during ECL 6 and we added some new faces, two of them will play their very first ECL.” What is your game philosophy? “Tripping penalties and shooting straight on the opponents goalie, mainly. To be serious, we only focus on having fun together, between a bunch of good and long time friends.” What is your main strength? “Having a member of NHLGamer’s staff on our team… And also the great atmosphere that prevails in our group. We really don’t care about winning or losing, except @Steve Yzerman, our captain…” What is your main weakness? “We have so many weaknesses, if not we would play in Elite like our good friends GHETTO FIREBIRDS who were in the same group as us during ECL 6. Well, to be honest we can lose our concentration very fast and very often.” What are your ambitions for this season? “Nothing but having fun, about the results and standings - we don’t care at all. And we will cheer for our buddies Hawks Olympique HC and Grenoble BDL Esport, the two other French teams in ECL 10.” Masiina with @joujami How did you compose your team? “We are all friends IRL.” What is your game philosophy? “We focus on icing a good defense and striking hard on offense.” What is your main strength? “Our defense, definitely.” What is your main weakness? “We need to be better at converting on our scoring opportunities.” What are your ambitions for this season? “We want to qualify for the playoffs.” Black Ice Guards with @miitu87 How did you compose your team? “Voiko nää kysymykset saada suomeksi LOL” What is your game philosophy? “We try to make the guys better players for solo and team play, while having fun, keeping a good atmosphere and helping those of us who never played in the ECL.” What is your main strength? “Our team as group, mainly. I’m so proud of all the guys in my team.” What is your main fault? “Well, my weakness is that I have no idea of what I have to do as a team captain and to handle the whole tournament things, LOL.” (check out this post for advice!) What are your ambitions for this season? “Making my team a friendly and lovely family, and if possible, join the playoffs.” Good Fellas with @Nemli-SVK How did you compose your team? “I had problems with my previous team so I decided to put some good guys together and I’m happy with this new team.” What is your game philosophy? “Be smarter than our opponent.” What is your main strength? “We always try our best to have fun together.” What is your main weakness? “Mainly letting out focus slip and also some bad days sometimes.” What are your ambitions for this season? “We want to be smart and win against rival teams.” Maximum Effect with @feertiiga How did you compose your team? “I just decided to create a team and a lot of my friends wanted to join in.” What is your game philosophy? “To just have fun while playing and keeping a good mood.” What is your main asset? “We have fun while playing and we also have fun while losing.” What is your main weakness? “We are not good at keeping a good overview of the game.” What are your ambitions for this season? “We wan’t to be as high as possible in the standings.” Bauer Rangers GmbH with @SirScheissa1ot How did you compose your team? “We wanted to rebuild something with some good friends.” What is your game philosophy? “Stay strong at defense and work hard at the offense, LOL” What is your main strength? “As a new team, we had very successful times, we reached the playoffs in the ECL9 Neo and the GCL5 Div2. We‘re working hard, playing a lot together and trying to keep improving.” What is your main weakness? “When we are challenged like what happened for us in the GCL, we‘re sometimes playing low-skill hockey.” What are your ambitions for this season? “Our ambitions should be to reach the maximum of ourselves. But the ECL can be very tricky because of the new teams joining. We are one of them, but we‘re thinking the playoffs can be possible.” Fearless Knights with @CzE Toni & @Zimowski95 How did you compose your team? “We have carefully considered and put our team together. So that our boys personalities mesh well in the locker room, but we also need to be a team where you can play at a very high level.” What is your game philosophy? “Forcing our opponents on our playing style and then punishing their mistakes mercilessly.” What is your main strength? "Our team is extremely strong in character and fights to the end. Therefore, it is possible for us to overturn even a high goal differential." What is your main weakness? “Our main weakness is that we don't have one.” What are your ambitions for this season? “Take it game by game and get into the playoffs. From the playoffs everything is possible.” NHL4You Gaming with @Hohner How did you compose your team? “When @Tornado.hr and me met one evening at the party to play we had the idea to build a team together. The name was also quickly found "NHL4you Gaming" NHL4you is our 1vs1 league and under their name we will start our journey. We asked some players from our old clubs as well as some friends and so we put our team together.” What is your game philosophy? “Never give up and keep on fighting.” What is your main strength? “Our main strength is that nobody knows us.” What is your main fault? “We are a new team and not yet so well established - it will take some time.” What are your ambitions for this season? “We want to reach the semi-finals of ECL Neo with this squad of experienced Lite and Pro players.” There you go! We wanted to give the reigns of this article to the captains themselves and hopefully you have now become a bit more acquainted with some of the teams that are battling through our Neo division this season. Remember guys, play hard - have fun!

NHLGamers, As expected, the teams predicted to finish at the top of the standings got off to a good start. Well, most of them anyway. Reigning champions Linköping HC (4-0-0) began their ECL 10 journey with a bit of a scare as their initial opponent, German powerhouse Brayce Phantoms, came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game and nearly took home the opening game in overtime. However, LHC’s designated goalscorer Paul @PleeMaker Arontie stepped up and made sure to secure the win. Lifted by the opening win, the team came out and secured a second one as well. Momentum is certainly a thing in hockey and judging by how LHC leveraged their opening wins into their second matchup versus one of their top competitors, it seems to be a thing in its virtual counterpart as well. Consensus top-4 team hReds didn’t know what hit them until it was too late as LHC, for lack of a better word, crushed the recent Pro champion to the tune of 7-0 and 5-1 wins. With 16 points each through the opening four games, PleeMaker (9+7) and partner-in-crime Erik @Eki Tammenpää (7+9) are right at the top of the leaderboards for player statistics. Sitting just above the LHC forwards, notorious HAVU duo Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha with 23 points (11+12) and Risto @Dominointi Järvi with 18 points (6+12). With stats like that, it’s no surprise really to learn HAVU Gaming also opened their season with a perfect record at 6-0-0. The foes vanquished were Vesa Pompa, Almost Famous and Unlucky Boys and the opening week included dominant wins of 8-0 (vs. aF) and 7-1 (vs. UB). Only three teams remain undefeated in the league (not counting Färjestad BK who have yet to open their season) with the third outside of LHC and HAVU being new esport signee JYP Jyvaskyla (4-0-0). Led by powerful left winger Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola and his 12 points (7+5), the team has defeated Unlucky Boys HC twice in overtime and GHETTO FIREBIRDS twice – one win coming in overtime. Even if the wins haven’t come with the dominance or flair one might have expected from JYP, opening the season with a perfect record can never be anything less than a good start. The fourth team among the “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, hReds, hasn’t come out of the gates roaring like the other three. Disappointing losses to LHC aside, the team suffered overtime losses to SJ Gaming (3-4) and KOVA Esports (0-1) and have gone 2-2-2 to open their inaugural season in ECL Elite. Coincidentally, SJ Gaming (4-2-0) and KOVA Esports (3-1-0) are two of the teams to have the best openings beyond the unbeaten trio. Albeit early, Checkmate (2-0-2) also deserves a mention here as the points they collected was enough to put them in 6th with the first week completed. At the bottom of the standings we find Färjestad BK (yet to play), Luleå Hockey (0-1-1), Unlucky Boys (0-2-2) and Vesa Pompa HC (1-3-0). PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK In Thursdays matchup between Linköping HC and hREDS, @PleeMaker delivered this outstanding goal, which we name the performance of thew week. FORWARD OF THE WEEK Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha, HAVU Gaming With 11 goals, 12 assist and 23 points in just six games and a five-point lead clear of the second best skater, how could this go to anyone other than the captain of HAVU Gaming? FlyerKungen continues to cement his status as the premiere point-producer in EASHL 6v6 competition right now. Honorable mentions: Risto @Dominointi Järvi (HAVU), Erik @Eki Tammenpää (LHC), Paul @PleeMaker Arontie (LHC), Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola (JYP). DEFENDER OF THE WEEK Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta, Linköping HC No other defender has scored more than one goal thus far this season, whereas loimmu has already lit the lamp three times. Add five assists to that and you get a phenomenal start for a defender with 8 points (3+5) through 4 games. Honorable mentions: Wille @willekunq Juntunen (HAVU), Eemil @Eemil Koski (HAVU). GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK Alex @MonkeyHeadAF Falck, KOVA Esports Making his ECL Elite debut, MonkeyHeadAF hasn’t looked out of place at all. In fact, he’s been one of KOVA’s top performers as the team got off to a solid start (3-1-0) this season. With two shutouts, a save percentage of 87,5 % and 1,25 goals allowed per game, MonkeyHeadAF has certainly made his mark on the young season. Honorable mentions: Oskari @sibeelius Grönroos (JYP), Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen (HAVU).

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!