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NHLGamers, Just a few weeks after the French professional team Grenoble Brûleurs de Loups entered competition, a new French organization continues the nations ECL surge. From this day onward, Hawks Olympique HC becomes Remparts de Tours Esport. As we know, the French community is a rather small part of the NHL Gaming scene, not being as dynamic or widespread as the community in say Finland or Sweden. The fact remains that things are progressing, and they have been doing so rather quickly. In the wake of Grenoble BDL Esport, a new professional team is entering the competition. The Remparts of Tours, Division 1 club (first national level after the Magnus League) therefore become the second French club to enter into agreements with a collective of gamers and to join the ECL. "It's a big day for the Remparts de Tours", states Stéphane Raisin, Chairman of the club. "We are proud to be the first D1 hockey club to invest in esports, the second in France. Like Grenoble, we are enthusiastically approaching this new adventure allowing us to explore an exciting territory. Our online team will be supported and considered in the exact same way as the one that thrills the Tours arena in the French championship." Our French community members are excited but also quite surprised that things can move so quickly. "Our community has existed for several years, on the initiative of Hawks HC first and later the Cancun Pirates.", explains Yann @Virtual_Saku Maillet. "Let's say that everything really started to come together two years ago and I must admit that in recent weeks, a certain frenzy has started to surface. Almost all of us are grouped into a Facebook messenger group. Before ECL 10 we were about 40 and we are almost 80 now. It is unexpected to see this craze, but it is also a pride to see that our arguments manage to convince professional clubs and allow us to generate added visibility. This, in turn, has led to discovering new players that we did not even know a few weeks ago." For the Hawks and their captain Freddy @Izzo Baribeau, it is above all a feeling of pride that prevails. “The arrival of the Remparts de Tours is excellent news for French esports, it is a continuation of Grenoble BDL Esport. Frankly, I am very proud. The whole team was immediately excited and very motivated. The project was presented to us in a very professional way, which proves that the French gaming community is taken seriously. The Remparts de Tours is a popular club with a very strong fan base, and a plan to get involved and to make the most of their notoriety in esports too. We can't wait to start under our new colors. Thanks to Yann for helping make this happen and to Kenneth @Kenu Lehtinen of NHLGamer for the help behind the scenes." Remparts de Tours Esport will be playing their very first games under the new colors this evening, at 20:30 CEST against Slightly Below Average, 15th in ECL Lite Group 2. Follow the games on the Twitch channel of Remparts de Tours Esport.

Like we hinted at in last week’s recap, the big (h)RED machine seems to be waking up. After opening their season uncharacteristically weak, hREDS have rattled off eight straight wins – including four consecutive wins in their last four games. The hot streak has catapulted the team into the top four, which now consists of the foursome many expected to be there: HAVU Gaming, JYP Jyvaskyla, Linköping HC, and hREDS. A quick look at the leaderboards for individual statistics further enhance the domination by these four teams. The top six is made up of three LHC forwards and three HAVU forwards. The remaining four are two hREDS forwards and two JYP forwards. At the other end of the spectrum, we find Almost Famous and Luleå Hockey who both went 0-4 the past week, picking up no points in the process. Luleå is riding a nine-game losing streak overall (0-7-2) whereas aF (1-7-1) has had an increasingly tough go of things lately as well. Another team that is struggling is Vesa Pompa, one of the teams promoted from Pro. The reigning SCL champions did manage to pick up an overtime win against another Swedish team, Färjestad BK, in the NHLGamer-featured broadcast matchup between the two, but have gone 1-5-0 in their past six games and lost three out of four games the past week. One suspects these three teams are happy to turn the page on the past week and start a new chapter. When sorting by “points collected per game” for teams, we can deduce that Roots Gaming especially have been doing well beyond the top four. With a record of 4-1-1 the past week, the team has continued to build on what had already begun to look like a strong campaign. We are only at the halfway point, but Roots seems to have already positioned themselves as a sure-fire playoff team. Beyond Roots, teams Checkmate and BRAYCE Phantoms are also putting together strong seasons – both hovering above one point collected per game. One team that took off this week and seemed to leave a bad start behind them was Unlucky Boys HC. After losing eight of their first ten games, the team announced their intentions to climb by going 4-0-0 in the early goings of the week, defeating both Luleå Hockey and KOVA Esports without surrendering a single point. Their upward trend came to a screeching halt when they were faced with reigning champions Linköping HC yesterday, though. LHC collected all four points – further cementing themselves at the top of the standings for what seems to be another successful season. Newcomers Gotham Knights and GHETTO FIREBIRDS both continue to acquit themselves well at the top tier of ECL competition, tallying roughly a point per game thus far into the season. Färjestad, KOVA, and SJ Gaming have also performed adequately so far and put themselves in solid contention for a playoff spot. PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK While it is in no way enjoyable to highlight these plays, at least not for this particular writer (Editors Note: the author represents Luleå Hockey), HAVU Gaming does deserve some credit for the highlight reel-worthy goals they scored against Luleå Hockey this past week. Enjoy. Or don’t. I certainly won’t… FORWARD OF THE WEEK Paul @PleeMaker Arontie, Linköping HC EASHL hockey is about scoring goals and as of right now, nobody does that better than Linköping HC left wing PleeMaker. With 32 goals in 14 games, he holds a commanding lead in the overall goal-scoring race – helped by his scorching performance last week where he tallied 11 (!) goals and 2 assists in just four games. With that, he is our forward of the week. DEFENDER OF THE WEEK Wille @willekunq Juntunen, HAVU Gaming HAVU Gaming had a busy week, playing four opponents for a total of eight games. Willekunq made sure to make the most of these games, amassing 10 points (4+6), and catapulting himself up to the top of the leaderboard for defender scoring. GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen, Unlucky Boys HC Thrown straight into Elite by way of recruitment from ECL Pro team We Kings, “new” UB goalie Viltzup (he played for UB last season) certainly showed right away he can help the team win games. With an 85,19 save percentage, a 4-2-0 record, one shutout, and 2,00 goals against average, Viltzup is your goaltender of the week. Sure, he probably wishes he could forget about the LHC games yesterday – at least one of them – but overall, this first week for Viltzup in ECL 10 Elite was a roaring success.

NHLGamers, Our first broadcast of the week sees us crossing the midway point of the regular season and we've set you up with some interesting battles. In the first matchup, an underperforming Unlucky Boys HC goes up against a tough team to beat - Roots. In the second matchup, energetic KOVA Esports will take on a desperate Almost Famous. Dynamic duo @Tougie24 and @Cyn will be casting the action tonight. Unlucky Boys HC vs Roots RECORD 6-8-2 vs 8-3-3 TOP SCORER Antti @Anhel Kuru (12+7=19) vs Miko @Migo_boo Nurmi (10+11=21) GOALTENDER Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen (4 W, 85,19 SV%, 2 GAA, 1 SO) vs Joonas @swagx88 Kuossari (8 W, 85,55 SV%, 1,79 GAA, 2 SO) Unlucky Boys HC have had an uphill struggle all season long. We're used to seeing them in playoff spot contention, but the ream led by centerman Antti @Anhel Kuru had a catastrophic start to the season. Familiar face Ville @Viltzup Poutiainen returned to guard the crease last week and might have been what the team needed in order to turn a corner. 4-2-0 in his first week show signs of improvement. Roots, on the other hand, have been a steady performer. The black and green have played a bunch of low-scoring games this season, a feat that can be attributed to their great and very organized game, but in their own end also to at times sensational play by goaltender Joonas @swagx88 Kuossari. In this matchup, I would keep my eye on the guys between the pipes. KOVA Esports vs Almost Famous RECORD 7-7-2 vs 3-9-2 TOP SCORER Valeri @Valluxet Reihel (18+9=27) vs Eemi @Sokkelo__ Soikkeli (11+10=21) GOALTENDER Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck (7 W, 83,33 SV%, 2,44 GAA, 2 SO) vs Joni @Jonitski Rintamäenpää (3 W, 77,83 SV%, 3,36 GAA, 2 SO) Both of tonight's matchups start in very similar situations. In this one, KOVA Esports has the edge as they have despite having a multitude of fresh faces in their roster, performed very well in the first half of the season. Their scoring has lied heavily on the shoulders of power duo Valeri @Valluxet Reihel and Väinö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen, but we all know that they have depth in their lineup too. Almost Famous hasn't been able to get going at all. After a turbulent offseason, the struggles have piled on as they can't seem to find consistency and have currently fallen into last place. However, their last broadcast showing resulted in 3/4 points against SJ Gaming, maybe tonight will be the turning point for their season? Tune in for all the action starting tonight at 20:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/nhlgamer, alternatively ISTV, and Ruutu for our Finnish viewers.

NHLGamers, We’re a passionate community of gamers and fans that are constantly growing - it’s with great pleasure we tonight announce the first Danish traditional sports club to join the ECL! Herlev Eagles will effective immediately be assuming the place of Kouvola Screaming Eagles in ECL Pro. KSE is a team with history dating back to ECL 5, when they debuted in the Lite division. The team recently gained promotion to the Pro level and has been giving competition a run for their money so far into their first season at that level. We reached out to team captain Oliver @oSandello Sandell for some comments regarding the contract: How was the contact with Herlev initiated and what factors attracted you to the club the most? “Without a doubt, we can give all credit to our Danish superstar Martin @vibholm10 Vibholm. He has represented Herlev in multiple Danish championships with great success, which gave us a line of communication to the organisation. He also used to play real hockey in their second team. The rest of the team was really excited when Martin came to us with this idea of putting together the first professional Danish NHL esports team, and it all went smoothly from there. Furthermore, both sides agreed that a Danish eagle species combining with Finnish eagles could only be a good thing.” As you'll now be representing an organisation, how do you think it will resonate with your gameplay and mentality, if at all? “I don't think we will change anything gameplay wise. We have always prided ourselves with solid team play and will continue to play the same brand of hockey. Mentality wise this was obviously a great boost to the team morale. It feels great to know that the organisation has put faith in our talent, and we are looking forward to showing that we are worthy of their investment.” "Our entry into esports contributes to strengthening and expanding the foundation on which we have worked purposefully to build over the past few years. It provides increased opportunities for both sponsorship revenue and creating a greater community around Herlev Eagles. This basically helps to strengthen our brand and make us even stronger." - Statement by Herlev Eagles Herlev Eagles Herlev Eagles is a Danish hockey club founded in 1968. The team has been competing at the highest tier in the nation (with some stints in lower divisions) for a majority of their history. In 2019-2020, the Eagles were on track for one of their most successful seasons in recent history, but due to the pandemic their eventual playoff push was cut short.

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