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NHLGamers, We are halfway through the regular season of the Northern Arena NHL 20 Cup, and we start to see some teams separate from the pack as contenders, and start to look at the potential playoff tree upcoming after week 2. Let’s go around the league and highlight some notable storylines and performances throughout the inaugural week. Stylistic Differences Between Both Conferences As teams will only play teams in their respective conferences with no crossover until the championship series, it’s interesting to look at the style differences so far between the east and the west. In the west, the trend seems to be the crash and bang every game is a playoff game style, with 8 western conference teams having over 100 total hits, while the eastern conference only has 4 that fall into that range. The same thing comes in the form of shots on goal, where the west has 8 teams with over 90 shots through 7 games played, with the east only having 4 in the respective category. It isn’t to say as much of the west is playing better hockey, but perhaps more so to the gameplan that each conference seems to be playing. The west seems to be playing a much more high volume, up-tempo style, with lots of hits thrown and plenty of shots to go with it, while the east has played more of a high percentage, high-quality type of style. It seems, however, that neither style is a better option over the other, as both conferences share similar goals for and against compared to each other. The Big Boys Have Come to Play While the tournament has given some newer, lesser decorated teams the chance to compete with the best in a relatively smaller vacuum than what they’re used to, it’s the projected top teams who truly stand out in the standings. Teams like the New York Underdogs (6-0-0, T2nd in East), the Seattle Entourage (6-0-1, 1st in West), the Tampa Bay Vertigo (5-1-0, T5th in East) and Anaheim Ducks Gaming (5-1-1, 2nd in West) were all projected to finish high in the standings, and have lived up to those expectations with good starts to the season. On top of the pre-season contenders, some teams have stepped it up during the regular season to vault themselves into the contender conversation. Boston Nationalz (7-0-0, 1st in East) were slated to be a playoff team, but being one of two remaining undefeated teams was not something expected. The roster's core is made of players from One Nation, a team with good previous results that recently finished top 16 in the CBJ Summer Cup. Philadelphia Problematic (6-1-0, T2nd in East) is a team that has hovered around the playoff bubble for a few events with the name of Road 2 Glory, before being picked up by Problematic, and was slated to do so again in this event. They have since stepped up to the challenge with a very solid 6-1-0 record. The addition of @SkillzPayBills3 (1-11-12 +18 in 7 GP) at the right defense spot has paid off in spades and along with @Kernsy (4-0-0 1.5 GAA 81.82 SV%) in net has elevated this team to new heights. Week 1 MVP Candidates While it may be too early to give someone the title of most valuable player, there are always some stand out performances that deserve to be highlighted. There will always be high volume scorers and good goalies, but there are also the ones who stand above the competition. @Rockxt 5 always seems to be at the top of the points leaders in any event he participates in, so it’s no surprise to see him at the top with 23 points in just 6 games. However, he ranks high in pretty much all major categories, as he is 2nd in goals (13), 15th in plus-minus (+10), and tied for 1st in shots on goal (33). He is a major reason why Vertigo has had the success they’ve had so far this season. While we’ve already touched on SkillzPayBills3 in the previous section, I think it’s important to highlight the value he has brought to the team. His 12 points rank him tied for 4th out of defensemen, and his +18 ranks him 3rd out of all defensemen. His ability to carry the puck and be a threat offensively gives Philadelphia Problematic a threat from the backend to attack and is a big reason for the run they have had so far. While the players above are solid candidates, the goaltenders, or rather one goalie, is stealing the spotlight for MVP talks. It comes from one of the partner teams in the form of CBJ Gaming, and more specifically, their goalie @x welsh 16. In my season preview, I thought CBJ Gaming had the potential to struggle going up against the best the community had to offer, projected to finish in 14th place in the east. That narrative has been blown out of the water through the first week, with Columbus sitting nicely in a playoff spot with a record of 4-1-2. And while you can partially pin the success on the entire team, it’s been the standout performance of Welsh that has given CBJ the edge over these teams. Welsh currently boasts a record of 4-1-2, with a goals against average of 1.00, a save percentage of 93.2, and has 4 shutouts to boot. Oh, and he ranks first in ALL of those categories. It’s also not like he just isn’t facing a lot of shots and/or chances, as he also ranks first in shots faced with 96 shots he’s stopped. At the same time, with Welsh looking like a brick wall out there, his teammates are struggling to replicate the same potent offense their opponents are bringing. CBJ Gaming is averaging only 1.57 goals for per game, good for 28th in the entire league. They also only have put up 55 shots on goal, which ranks tied for last place out of all 32 teams. All of this is more impressive thanks to the partnership with The Goalie Guild and their new G3 Prospects Program, where all goalies competing in the event have a chance to win extra prize money for certain categories, such as most shots faced, most shutouts, and tournament MVP. Unfortunately for other goalies, Welsh is leading in all of these categories and seems to have no plan of stopping anytime soon. That’s it from me this week, good luck to all the teams competing in week 2 and making that push for the playoffs!

NHLGamers, As the summer turns to fall we’re accustomed to be getting news about the next iteration in the EA Sports NHL-series that we’ve all grown to love. This year with the pandemic and speculation about the PS5 launch, the news have been pushed back a bit, but we’re getting closer to a closed beta and the final release of NHL 21. The new game will be released on PS4 and Xbox One, but the new consoles will as announced be backwards compatible. The cover athlete of NHL 21 will be Alexander Ovechkin - The Great Eight. Ovechkin came into the league in a time shortly after the “dead puck era”, where scoring was at an all time low and grindy, physical teams prevailed. The Russian superstar was a welcome splash of personality into an NHL that was at a dull moment in time. Ovechkin made an immediate impact and hasn’t stopped baffling us since his first strides on the NHL ice. We all remember that tinted visor, the yellow laces and the incredible highlight reel performances that has inspired a whole new generation of hockey players - and also the creative team of NHL 21. This years iteration of the game series has drawn inspiration from the eccentric personality of Ovie and the astounding skill that he possesses. From tons of individual customization to all new creative ways of beating your opponent, this is the year for skill hockey to shine. What’s new in NHL 21? The new game brings a few new or overhauled features out of which the largest are an all new casual mode called HUT Rush and the massively improved Be A Pro. HUT Rush is all about skill and showing off those sweet moves in combinations to earn the biggest possible rewards. It is a fast-paced mode that lets you hop into action through either a quick draft or with you HUT team and go up against others in either 5v5, 3v3 or arcade 3’s games. More skill - more points! Be A Pro has seen a massive overhaul and now gives you more control than ever over what kind of career you want to shape. Start either in Europe, the Canadian Junior Leagues or go directly into the NHL and start creating your own puck personality. Complete challenges during games to earn more XP, engage with media, players and coaches at key moments throughout your career and finally hoist the cup. Be A Pro also features an all new player hub that lets you see all information on one screen and navigate way faster and easier. The skill moves! You’ve probably heard about these already. Some of you are scared, myself included. NHL 21 will feature a bunch of new big and small skill moves such as the michigan, behind the net bank and the Kucherov no-move. Added to your arsenal in small space are slip dekes and standing dekes together with chips off the boards and into empty space. Moves such as the michigan and behind the net bank are of course highlight reel stuff and shouldn’t be all too easy to pull off, which will be fine-tuned based on player feedback over the course of the closed beta. However based on our experiences with a build not final - the michigan is REALLY hard to pull off. Improved goaltender controls Goaltender controls have seen minor changes and improvements.Save animations and reactions combined with positioning have been in focus this year. Goaltending controls have been very coarse earlier, but now it should be way easier to make minute movements very smoothly. EASHL practice mode You’ve been heard! NHL 21 brings back one of the most requested features for the competitive community. There are now a free skate and team practice mode in EASHL, where you can either test out your builds on an open sheet of ice or play together with you teammates against an AI opponent to sort out various strategies and set plays. In an open practice, teammates can shoot against either a CPU or human goalie. Server select in private EASHL matches Another great addition for the competitive community that allows a more even playing field when going up against opponents from various geographical locations. In addition to all of these concrete changes in the game, the team has continued to develop the AI in the game. This year, organic play flow has been a big theme in driving the development and bringing the AI to the next level. The AI is now challenging but realistic, your teammates are more predictable and puck carriers are driving the play more than before. Support positioning on defense is greatly improved in order to reward players that put pressure on the opposition. What’s still missing? The missing components are for the most part the usual suspects. This years iteration has addressed some issues like the practice mode and server select, but things like spectator mode are still absent. Some hardcore fans of GM connected have been advocating for bringing that mode back for years, but their voices are still left unheard. Maybe next year! Release date & editions The NHL 21 Closed Beta will be out on the 28th of August. NHL 21 will release on the 16th of October, with the preorder versions of the Deluxe and Ultimate editions granting three days of early access. The available editions are: NHL 21 Standard Edition 69,95€ Preorder bonus: - Up to 2 HUT Diamond Player Choice Packs (1 per month for 2 months) - Be A Pro XP Boost and Bonus Trait and Specialization Points - 1 Unlocked World of Chel Hockey Bag NHL 21 Deluxe Edition 89,95€ Preorder bonus: - Up to 5 HUT Diamond Player Choice Packs (1 per month for 5 months) - HUT Synergy Veteran Choice Pack (Choice 1 of 10; +1 OVR per month until August 2021) - HUT Cover Athlete Choice Pack (Choice of: Ovechkin, Matthews, McDavid, Pettersson, Laine, Subban) - 3 Days Early Access - Be A Pro XP Boost and Bonus Trait and Specialization Points - 2 Unlocked World of Chel Hockey Bags NHL 21 Great Eight Edition 99,95€ Preorder bonus: - Up to 10 HUT Diamond Player Choice Packs (2 per month for 5 months) - HUT Synergy Veteran Choice Pack (Choice 1 of 10; +1 OVR per month until August 2021) - HUT Cover Athlete Choice Pack (Choice of: Ovechkin, Matthews, McDavid, Pettersson, Laine, Subban) - 3 Days Early Access - Be A Pro XP Boost and Bonus Trait and Specialization Points - 5 Unlocked World of Chel Hockey Bags What are your thoughts on the information we’ve got? What did you with they would have added? What are you expecting from the beta? Let us know in the comments!