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NHLGamers, The upcoming ECL 11 season will feature some more German colors as the Herforder Ice Dragons further add to the growth in the central European community. The German organization was founded in the early 2000s and although its history has not been long, it has risen in popularity in its home country. Currently, the Ice Dragons are competing in the German Oberliga, which is the third tier of national competition. The esports section has made their biggest goal of the ECL 11 season to make the playoffs of the Neo division. The Herforder Ice Dragons stand for loyalty above all, as the virtual hockey team's colors will be represented by Dennis @NHLDennis86 Kuhlmann, who plays in net for the team and handles captains duties. He also happens to be the Zamboni driver in the home rink of the Herforder Ice Dragons. Tobias @Hohner Hohner, who plays forward for the virtual hockey team, commented on the team's starting points for the upcoming ECL 11 season. "Our players come not only from one region, but from different regions around Germany. Furthermore we can consider ourselves lucky to have a Croatian in our team. Most of us have already played together successfully in other clubs, so we can fall back on some experienced people." The Herforder Ice Dragons' virtual hockey team is formed out of the former NHL4you Gaming team. Hohner says that the goal has been to form a completely new team, as only three players from the current roster have previously played for NHL4you Gaming. "Our esports team is formed from the former team of NHL4you Gaming, the team has now been completely reformed and completely repositioned with only three players from the original roster. Me, Marko @Tornado.hr Dominkovic and Dennis @NHLDennis86 Kuhlmann have together taken the goal to build up a new ambitious team. It was important to us that the chemistry in the team is right and of course the performance on the ice should be good too." Despite seeing major changes since their last tournament, the team leans back on familiar forces to see success in their upcoming ECL campaign: "Our strength is the cohesion with each other. We discuss a lot about tactics and moves, which we try to implement outside and inside the league games. Team chemistry is also extremely important to us, so that we have a good atmosphere in the team." says Tobias @Hohner Hohner. With not too long left before the start of the season, the teams ambitious goals will be highlighted in discussions. "We want to develop as a team and have fun on the ice while also getting as far as possible in the ECL. The goal is of course the playoffs and everything else is a bonus." Hohner states

NHLGamers, As always, we look to bring you the most superior competitive gaming experience possible, and we're continuously looking to improve on previous iterations of our leagues. Nothing has changed in regards to that in our ECL, and therefore we assure you that ECL 11 will be run at the premium level you are used to. This time, we wanted to launch the signups as early as possible in order to allow entry for as many teams as possible, also minimizing the risk of someone simply missing the deadline. Without further ado - here you go: Signups will be open until Wednesday, 11.11 at 23:59 CET. Divisions framework The divisions framework for the ECL 11 will follow the same logic as for previous seasons. We will have a total of four divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams, Pro 32 teams, Lite 96-128 teams*, Neo 32+ teams. ECL Elite: 16 teams Sign up: ECL Elite eligible teams Regular season: One group Playoffs: 8 teams Best-of-7 ECL Pro: 32 teams Sign up: ECL Pro eligible teams Regular season: Two groups Playoffs: 16 teams Best-of-7 ECL Lite: 96-128 teams Sign up: Anyone can apply for ECL Lite Teams will be decided by Franchise history, Roster composition, and EASHL record ECL Lite registrants are also allowed to apply for a spot in ECL Pro Teams signing up for ECL Lite that don't make it into ECL Pro or ECL Lite will be automatically placed in ECL Neo Regular season: TBD Playoffs: TBD Best-of-7 ECL Neo: 32+ teams Sign up: Without restrictions Regular season: TBD Playoffs: TBD Best-of-5 *NHLGamer reserves the right to alter the team allocation to ECL 11 Lite depending on the number of total teams signing up. Preliminary schedule for the ECL 11 season: ECL 11 Neo: Start Wednesday, 18.11 ECL 11 Lite: Start Tuesday, 17.11 ECL 11 Pro: Start Monday, 23.11 ECL 11 Elite: Start Monday, 30.11 Stay tuned for more info dropping over the coming weeks, we'll be releasing more detailed information about the season and announcing the cover gamer for ECL 11! What is the ECL? The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports. The abbreviation stands for the European Championship League and it features NHL 6v6 esports in four divisions aimed at various skill levels. League games are played in the EASHL mode and the platform is PlayStation 4. Basic information/requirements of ECL: Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however, we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. A European server will always be used. In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players. 6v6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL Challenge Club game mode in NHL 21. Individual requirements: Each player needs to have an account at NHLGamer.com and create their personal player card. Roster requirements: Teams in ECL Elite need to have at least 7 players to sign up. Teams in ECL Pro, ECL Lite and ECL Neo need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. ECL Elite license: Teams in ECL Elite will be required to pay for an ECL Elite license in order to play (more details to follow). Rules: The ECL 11 ruleset will follow the same foundation as in season 10. The updated rulebook will be available before the season. Don't have a team yet? Team looking for additions to your roster? If you are a free agent looking to be picked up, please head over here. If you are representing a team looking for players, please head over here.