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NHLGamers, With the Pro season past the halfway point, it's time to take a look at the action that's been going on in our second highest division. The competition is fiercer than ever and as we're closing in on the playoffs, the stakes will only get higher. Let's get on with our midseason report: Top Teams Riven Johdolla has had a tremendous season so far. They were leading Group 1 and have successfully taken command of the top three positions in the point totals department. Also, their defenders are the leading players in the defenders point totals and +/- statistics. The success of young and hungry Riven Johdolla isn't a big surprise at all. The fact that they have several players leading the statistics of their positions isn´t a coincidence and has a significant connection to the overall performance of the team success like you may expect. In the last few days, Riven Johdolla has experienced some minor fluctuations in their positioning, but looks to be heading towards the playoffs with a high group stage finish. Team Frosty has also had a strong start in Group 1. In the games I have seen from them, their overall teamplay has been very well organized. Most of Team Frosty's games have seen very minimal scoring - both scored for and conceded. RPEAT Esports and Leksands IF recently made an incredible climb to the top positions in the standings after having the youngsters of Riven Johdolla lead the Group 1 earlier last week. In Group 2 Black Horse and HanaaHC are leading the pack - as they have been doing for a while now. HanaaHC I saw last week against Shooting Stars and the strong team spirit of Hanaa was apparent as the joy those guys play with was visible through their performances. Nordic Stars and ZSC Esports are also determined to fight for the leading positions in Group 2 as we are proceeding to the second half of the regular season. Playoff Battles Recently I saw the games of two teams battling for playoff positions: Exen esports (Group 1) and Shooting Stars (Group 2). Both were good in their games and still have chances in their near future, but utilizing their scoring opportunities must be way more clinical than before. Differences between the teams in contention of the last playoff spots are minimal in both groups, so none of the teams around those positions can afford to drop points. Another interesting team is Vaxjö Lakers, who are also battling for playoffs in Group 2, which is quite surprising after an exciting campaign in the eSHL. Kaupallinen Yhteistyo lost several key players recently, which has sent the team into something of a whirlwind. However, newly acquired goalie @JanneK. has been off to a hot start with the team and is a crucial component as they are battling for playoff position in Group 1. In the same group, Enigma is in pursuit of a place in the playoffs. Enigma should have been a title candidate but has surprisingly found that Pro competition wouldn't be a cakewalk for the skilled team. Notable players Some of the most notable players during the first half of the season has been without a doubt the attackers of Riven Johdolla, including @Vattu__, who has represented the white and blue for the last two seasons in the Lite Division. In Riven Johdolla, vattu_ seems to have found the right group of guys around him that have helped him to elevate his game to the next step. So far he has combined for nearly as many points as last season and there are still games left to go. There have been goalies in good form in several teams including Team Frosty, Exen Esports, Riven Johdolla, and Shooting Stars. We've seen many low scoring games and despite none of few goals - there have been opportunities to score a whole bunch. One of the key goalies has been @JanneK. from Kaupallinen Yhteistyo as mentioned earlier. He is a really important player as the team is battling for a their place in the postseason in Group 1. @Nieppii from Enigma has also showed his Elite-proven skill this season. He previously represented Symphony, but has recently moved to Enigma. The team is still battling for a playoff spot and Nieppii has been a key player in that push. In Group 2, Vaxjo Lakers LW @EDHOLMINHO has been in great form and is his teams leading scorer by a wide margin. In a somewhat underperforming team, he has been a glimpse of hope. Edholminho has maintained his level regardless of his teams performance. Matchups to watch going forward In the second half of the season, the battles for top seed will be interesting in both groups. In Group 1, Rpeat Esports and Leksands IF are scheduled to play each other on April 30th in a heated battle. On the same day there is a game between Kaupallinen Yhteistyö and Exen esports in which some important points in the battle for the last playoff spot are to be determined. we should see a low-scoring game with two teams showing a disciplined approach to the game, and on KY's side, we'll see one of the best goalies in the division. On the other hand, if we end up seeing either team in a desperate position, we might be in for a scoring explosion - you never know! In Group 2, Nordic Stars and Black Horse are scheduled for a battle on May 4th. That is a heated rivalry, which might be deciding someone's fate in the top 3 of the group. These teams are likely to make the postseason and therefore also have a chance to force their game on their opponents a bit more. That's going to be it for this snapshot into the action of the Pro season so far. What do you expect going forward? Let us know in the comments! As always, play hard - have fun!

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.