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The first season of the WECL is coming to an end with the finals in focus - those games will be played this week between Grenoble BDL eSports and Silver Sword Griffins. Before getting into the substance of the matter, we would first like to thank and congratulate all the teams for this first edition. All in all, we had some learning experiences along the way but mainly the championship went very well, and without trouble. for that we'd like for all participants to give themselves a pat on the back and extend yet another warm thank you to the competitors beside you! It would be a lie to say that it is a surprise to find Grenoble and the Silver Sword Griffins in the finals. These two teams, although battered at times, kept their ranks of favorites and made it to the finals without too much problems in the end. An observation seemed acquired around the middle of the regular season, as Group 1 seemed to be closer than Group 2. With both the Griffins and Grenoble in this group, added with a strong squad like Latvian Warriors in particular, there was only one playoff spot really up for grabs - a tough situation for all the other clubs fighting over that last spot. Eventually, it was the Spanish formation Hoko Gang that ended up grabbing the last playoff spot in Group 1, just in front of Remparts de Tours eSport 2. In Group 2, we expected Remparts de Tours eSport and Dynamo Dragons at the forefront with, the remaining seven squads going to battle over the final two playoff spots. In the end, it was the Latvians from Latvian eSports and the Frenchmen from Epinal HC Esport who did the best and managed to punch their tickets to the postseason. The Spaniards in Granada Grizzlies have for a long time seemed able to join the playoffs but a tumultuous end of the season did not allow them to do so this time. The final under the microscope It's very difficult to identify the favorite of this final. On one hand, we have the experience of many Griffins players and on the other hand the very good season put forth in ECL 11 Lite by Grenoble which could put the wind in their sails. The two teams are also statistically very close. 109 goals scored against 22 conceded by the french guys and 120 scored and 20 conceded by the Latvians. In terms of goaltending, the two stand together also. @Trollstivegen (Grenoble) has a save percentage of 81% and 1.64 with two shutouts. The Griffins goaltenders are a bit below that level but @Janikka, who played all six playoff games so far has done great in the postseason being below a goal per game in GAA. As often at this level of competition, the difference could be made in special teams. 37.5% efficiency in numerical superiority converted for Grenoble against 26% for the Griffins, and in contrast, 90% penalties killed by the Griffins against 83% for Grenoble - an interesting matchup on that front. Their road to the finals: Grenoble BDL eSports - Group 1 Regular season: 1st / 16-2-0 / 109 GF/29 GA Playoffs: 1st round vs Epinal HC Esport 3-0 / 2nd round vs Latvian Warriors 3-0 Silver Sword Griffins - Group 1 Regular season: 3rd / 15-2-1 / 120 GF/22 GA Playoffs: 1st round vs Remparts de Tours eSport 2 3-0 / 2nd round vs Dynamo Dragons 3-0 Individual trophies (based on regular season) MVP: AdRi1_ScP (BDL) 41+50=91 Best forward(s): AdRi1_ScP (BDL) 41+50=91 and PSchibra (SSG) 31+59=90 Best defenseman: Method4 (RDT) 9+15=24 Best goalkeeper: badsanta35 (DDR) 89.53SV% / 1.23GAA / 4SO On behalf of NHLGamer, we wish a very good finals to both teams. May the best team win.

NHLGamers, The Regular Season of GCL7 brought us many highlights. The top players of the league fascinated us with their dekes and goals but even some newcomers mixed the league up - in a positive sense. We have seen goalies saving their teams, defensemen scoring like forwards and rookies playing like they did nothing else in their past. We've boiled down to the last teams that are fighting for the German Championship and we want to take a moment to look back at our team of the season at this point. Many players of the community would have deserved to get a spot in that team - but the following six have done so this season: Goalie: @Fightlocke3 (noRex Gaming) by @Franky__2768 It seems like noRex Gaming has found the new bright goalie star. Christian @Fightlocke3 Schubert is quite new to competitive gaming but seems to be one of the hottest newcomers in the German community. Having started as a backup in GCL 6, Schubert became a starter during the past ECL 11 Pro Season. He now has the full trust of his team and thereby played every game in the regular season and the playoffs (except for three matches due to illness). During the regular season he was rock solid for his defensive-minded noRex squad. Especially on breakaways @Fightlocke3 was able to save his team several times and leads the league with five shutouts and a solid save percentage of 82.68%. During the playoffs, Schubert was able to underline his solid performances and was one of the main reasons to forcing game 6 against the favorites Team LEISURE. The defense consisting of @GERxVillain, @Paddyy1903 and him will ride the momentum into the starting Pro Qualifier, making it a true challenge for any team to score against noRex Gaming. other Nominees: @afc_Tschitsch, @NHLDennis86, @DiMatteo70, @Asap_Kev231 Right Defenceman: @xXPsykoSkillsXx (Team LEISURE) There cannot be a "Team of the Season" without him. Niklas Schmitz, right defenseman and allrounder is your RD of GCL7! The Player from Krefeld was not able to defend his GCL6 scoring title nevertheless he still managed to play another excellent season with 49 points in 26 matches. As @xXPsykoSkillsXx once again did what was best for his team by helping out in the offense in the beginning of the season, he spent the rest of the GCL at his primary position on the right defensive side. Together with @Franky__2768, he leads the game of Team LEISURE and has become a floor general for the former "Deadly Phantoms". Therefore he plays a huge role in the extremely effective powerplay of Team LEISURE (35.94%). In the umbrella formation he likes to quarterback the play and distributes the puck from above the faceoff circles. Wether by playing passes to his wingers @Krinke and @ProfaneKiss for the perfect one-timer or doing it by himself and scoring with his deadly slapshots, he is a force on the blueline. The Team LEISURE number 63 is known for excellent decision making in both ends of the ice and therefore is one of the best players in the German community. other Nominees: @Haldeem, @Paddyy1903, @KG12PK88, @CashAllGreen Left Defenceman: @Toneee9 (ZSC Esports) The most offensive minded defender of the league is your LD of the season! Max Tonitz, Right-handed shooter and the prolific scorer for ZSC Esports, led his teams defense corps with 42 Points in 26 matches. The young Austrian stands for the joy of playing and contributed 27 assists but also managed to score 15 goals along the way. Number 9 for the Lions knows exactly how to score and took the most shots out of any defenders in the league (54 Shots). On top of that, he delivered his personal record of points in the GCL regular season. His teammates benefit from his great hockey IQ and they return it by putting him in situations needed to perform on a high level. His strong run in the past ECL 11 Pro season also continued into the GCL and makes him nearly irreplaceable for his squad. @Toneee9 is the perfect fit for his defensive partner @Haldeem and together they are a solid mix offense and defense on the back end. other Nominees: @Franky__2768, @GERxVillain, @Much1979, sgtsoccer Right Winger: @Keuschemisch (noRex Gaming) by @Franky__2768 The assistant captain of noRex Gaming has taken a leading role on and off the ice. @Keuschemisch is responsible for a majority of his teams offensive plays and impresses with brilliant 1v1 skills. Together with @Paddyy1903 he represents one of the best winger-defender duos in the German community who are well known for switching positions and rotating offensively and defensively. His biggest strength is his playmaking ability but was also a big reason for winning games during the regular season by scoring in decisive moments. Nine out of his 18 goals (including Playoffs) are GWGs which grants him a place in the Top 10 scorers of the league. Well known for his highlight reel plays such as a between-the-legs pass to decide a Playoff series or multiple dekes and cuts to outplay his opposing defensemen. After his first season on the Pro-level in the ECL, it seems like his Decision making on the ice has improved a lot. Being able to help his teammates and deciding close games has made him one of the best forwards in the German community! other Nominees: @ProfaneKiss, @Freeman7187, @Red09Dragon08, @Fuchs2534 Left Winger: @IDangledYouOut (ZSC Esports) Alex Wagner has been voted as the best left winger by a vast majority! The 23-year-old winger from ZSC Esports not only had his best scoring season in the GCL with 66 points in 22 matches but also repeated his strong performances from the past ECL 11 Pro season (34G + 34A in 30GP). ZSC's number 28 makes his teammates better and has the ability to read the play and score goals from anywhere on the ice. These qualities led to 36 assists as well as 30 goals which were a huge factor for winning the regular season. His shot percentage of 44% illustrates his talent and shows why he is second best scorer of the whole league. Wagners forecheck and his aggressive style of playing is feared by his opponents and placed him first in hits throughout the league. 212 hits in 22 games also ranked him as undisputed number one in GCL7 and shows that @IDangledYouOut is all about helping the team. Wagner scores, passes and does the "dirty work" which makes him our LW of the season! other Nominees: @Krinke, @Flo_goes_grazy, @Stigi, @DaMan Center: @Original-SnuS (ZSC Esports) Captain of the freshly promoted Elite team. Top scorer of the regular season. Sven Julmi has been voted as the best center of GCL7! The founder of ZSC Esports and former The Black Jacks ranks first on the scoring list and continues his brilliant run from previous tournaments. Is it the iconic golden skates that make him one of the best players in the league? The chemistry between @Original-SnuS and his teammates is as good as ever before. The team spirit as well as the individual talent helped ZSC to reach a dominant position on the ice and the standings. With 55 assists he also became the top provider of assists which stresses not only his good vision for the game but also the harmony within the team. A solid face-off percentage and a more dominant and physical game compared to last seasons (86 Hits) play have made the player with number 21 for ZSC the key player of the Swiss Lions. Because of those scoring abilites, SnuS becomes one of the best players on the server and is your center of the season! other Nominees: @PlaymakerSJ, @Pathen-21-, @CuteTerminator7, @domii_ecn Thanks to your help we were also able to vote on the "Rookie of the Season"! We want to establish this award for the upcoming seasons of the German Championship League. Requirements to become "Rookie of the Season": The player must play his first full season in Division 1. Age or previous tournaments outside of NHLGamer are irrelevant. Non-German License players can not participate and taken out of the voting. Rookie: @Sebwies2139 (The Black Jacks) Sebastian Wieser, Goalie of The Black Jacks is our "Rookie of the Season". Number 39 of the Playoff participants from Switzerland became a huge factor during the season and was one of the main reasons to finish the regular season as the 4th seed. Wieser started his career with Black Wings HC and gained some experience in Divison 2 of GCL6 as well as ECL 11 Neo. By stringing together a series of impressive performances it became quite obvious that the left handed netminder will have a bright future ahead. During the Qualifier he made his first appearances for The Black Jacks and showed his talent right away. During the regular season he established himself as starting goalie and showed many good performances in his very first Division 1 season. It will be exciting to see how he manages to translate his game to the international level in the ECL. His save percentage of 81%, GAA of 2.20, three shutouts and ten wins made him the 8th best goalie in the league. The Austrian still has a lot of room to improve, especially in terms of trigger discipline and staying cool in stressful situations he has the ability to become one of GCL's best goaltenders. With his impressive rookie performances it is safe to say that we will see a lot of @Sebwies2139 in the future! other Nominees: @CuteTerminator7, @Fuchs2534, @Altenpfleger_89, sgt_soccer

NHLGamers, Upon having gauged interest for a warmup tournament ahead of the ECL 12 season, we saw a clear interest from teams of various skill levels to play some more competitive "friendly" games before the puck drops for the real deal. That is why NHLGamer is now bringing you the ECL 12 Warmup Tournament - a friendly tournament with two tiers for teams to get into the competitive mindset, without the heavy structure that comes with the real ECL divisions framework. As stated, the tournament will be hosted in two tiers without any major restrictions expect for the ones mentioned below. Elite & Pro teams - sign up here! Lite & Core teams - sign up here! *Neo teams also welcome, but note that your season starts April 25th. Signups are open until Monday, April 12th at 12:00 CEST. Edit: Sign-ups extended

Hello NHLGamers, This article will be a bit detail-heavy and if you're new to the ECL this article will most likely not answer all of your questions. The intention of this article is to bring clarity to the upcoming ECL 12 season; When will it be played? When can I sign up? Who is qualified for what level? Due to the introduction of our new Core division and the restructuring of other divisions coming with that this season, we are now launching signups exceptionally early in order to ensure proper time for qualifiers that need to take place before the regular season starts. That is also why the signups will be concluded in two various groups, as instructed below: Sign-up period 1: 23.3-7.4, applies to ECL Elite ECL Pro ECL Lite ECL Pro Qualifier ECL Lite Qualifier Sign-up period 2: 23.3-19.4, applies to ECL Core ECL Neo When the signup window for ECL Elite, Pro, Lite and the Qualifiers has shut, we will be ready to start the preseason qualifiers in order to determine who will land at which level and to ensure the maximum competitiveness of each division. Here's a layout of the season schedule starting with the Qualifiers: ECL Pro & ECL Lite Qualifiers 14.4-29.4 Regular Season Kick-Off Dates: ECL Neo 25.4 ECL Core 2.5 ECL Lite 9.5 ECL Pro 20.5 ECL Elite 24.5 Playoff Dates: ECL Neo 30.5-4.7. ECL Core 6.6-16.7 ECL Lite 13.6-18.7 ECL Pro 28.6-28.7 ECL Elite 5.7-31.7. All dates are preliminary, but according to current plans. We realize that a lot of the season will be played during the beautiful summer months, so we ask that teams take this into account and make sure there are enough players on the roster to complete the season successfully. There will be a midsummer break from June 24th to the 27th during which no games will be scheduled. In ECL 12, Neo will continue acting as the entry level into competitive virtual hockey and with that, will continue at the pace of two gamedays each week. Our other divisions will run at the pace of three weekly gamedays with Elite also hosting three broadcasts weekly. Gamedays: ECL Neo Wednesday Sunday ECL Core Tuesday Thursday Sunday ECL Lite Tuesday Wednesday Sunday ECL Pro Monday Tuesday Thursday ECL Elite Monday Wednesday Thursday ECL 12 divisions framework: ECL Elite: 16 teams Sign up: ECL Elite eligible teams Regular season: One group Playoffs: 8 teams Best-of-7 Gamedays: Monday Wednesday Thursday Prize pool: TBA ECL Pro: 32 teams Sign up: ECL Pro eligible teams Open spots will be decided based on Qualifiers Regular season: Two groups Playoffs: 16 teams Best-of-7 Gamedays: Monday Tuesday Thursday ECL Lite: 64 teams Sign up: ECL Lite eligible teams Open spots will be decided based on the Qualifiers Regular season: 4 Groups of 16 teams Playoffs: 32 teams Best-of-7 Gamedays: Tuesday Wednesday Sunday ECL Core: 128 teams Sign up: Without restrictions (but capped at 128) Regular season: 8 groups of 16 Playoffs: TBD Best-of-7 Gamedays: Tuesday Thursday Sunday ECL Neo: 32+ teams Sign up: Without restrictions Regular season: TBD Playoffs: TBD Best-of-5 Gamedays: Wednesday Sunday Then, the information you've all been eagerly waiting for - here are the teams that will be eligible for the ECL 12 Pro and Lite Qualifiers: Pro Qualifier teams: Lite Qualifier teams: Note about the ECL 12 Lite Qualification Tournament: During the preparation of the new ECL 12 season, we noticed that the transition qualifier that we previously introduced for the ECL 12 Lite season had a small error. We failed to take the Wildcard teams into consideration in our math for the qualifiers which would have lead to an 68 team Lite division. We will still use the previously announced system we mentioned in our structure article, but we will be making a small adjustment: The playoff line will be moved from above the 7th seed to above the 6th seed. This means that the top 5 teams out of each qualifying group has a chance to continue to play for the ECL Lite promotion, while the 6th-8th ranked teams in each group will solidify their spot in the Core division. We apologize for the miscalculation while creating the new system, but we still believe that having a chance to fight for the ECL Lite promotion as a 5th ranked team in your individual group still gives you a very fair chance to make it. Below you'll find an updated image of the ECL 12 Lite Qualification tournament. We have also updated the original news story with the corrected information. Gauging interest for an ECL Warm-up tournament Due to the combination of sign-ups, qualifiers and the staggered start of the different divisions, some teams might find themselves waiting for the season start longer than they would want. This is why we are gauging the interest towards a short ECL Warm-up tournament where teams get their chance to get some games in as they prepare for the upcoming season. If you think this would be something your team would be interested in - please leave a comment below! Edit: Due to technical reasons, the sign-up start has been moved to March 23rd. Edit 2: The order of the Pro Qualifier teams has been fixed for clarity on the seeding order, as per the original Division and Promotion Structure documentation.

NHLGamers, ECL offseason has recently meant that we're going to see a new organization or two entering our scene, which is a great sign of how the sport is growing and getting noticed both by Esports orgs as well as traditional hockey clubs. Today we have the joy of showcasing the newly signed PENTA Sports NHL squad, formerly known as ECDC Memmingen Esports. These guys have spent a long time together, grinding their way up the ranks and establishing themselves as one of the strong emerging German teams around. Since joining the PENTA lineup, the team has significantly slimmed down their roster and are going for a more streamlined approach to achieving their goals, which are gaining promotion to the ECL Pro division and solidifying their place as one of the most successful German teams within the next year, says captain Kevin @Kevinator-373 Würterle. Their latest league showing and actually first campaign under the PENTA flag was the GCL 7, in which they eventually came short in the semifinals against Swiss powerhouse ZSC Esports. The all-German ensemble feels that their biggest strength is their long-lasting friendship and experience together, and the new deal gives them a good outlook on the future. "For us it's a pleasure to play for such a big name organization. With their reach we hope to generate more enthusiasm for esports, especially NHL", @Kevinator-373 says. PENTA Sports PENTA Sports was founded in 2013 and has since established themselves as one of the biggest German esports organizations with a wide variety of representation in various games throughout the years. Currently the org is represented in CS:GO, Crossfire, Clash of Clans, Rainbow Six Siege and EA Sports NHL.

NHLGamers, The RCL 7 season ended not so far ago, which pleased us not only with a prize pool of 100,000 rubles, but also an excellent finals battle where the reigning champions Nova battled the newcomer Show Time, who unexpectedly were able to get to the finals in their first ever season. The series turned out to be quite predictable, Nova showed who the champions are and for the second time in a row took the title and the heftiest chunk of prize money. Although it is worth noting that throughout the entire season Show Time showed promising results and gave hope to their fans. Naturally the league is developing, in small steps. First of all, the progress in teams is encouraging. The level over the past two seasons has become increasingly competitive, both within the RCL Pro division, where the players' skills have grown in understanding of team play, and on the European ice, where many Russian teams have shown a good battle, and most importantly, beautiful and spectacular hockey with many dangerous combinations and cunning attacks. However, we know there is still room to grow even more. RCL 8 Schedule Regular season 29.03-1.5 Playoffs 10.5-6.6 The RCL 8 season starts with qualifiers for four open spots in the Pro division already played out. Besides serving as qualifiers, these games also were opportunities for many teams to show what they are truly capable of, and many of them surprised us. Here is the list of qualifier participants, the four strongest teams got a promotion. The qualifiers showed some really tough games and teams battled to get into the RCL Pro division and will now try themselves in the strongest Russian Championship League division - of course also trying to win that prize pool money. The teams that did qualify for the RCL Pro division are: Blackdawgs Seventy Sixers Barys eSports HC KOROBKA Teams to watch NOVA -> METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK RCL 6 and RCL 7 Champions! Despite their new lineup, there is no doubting this squads skill. Under the leadership of Captain Maksim @Haiissey Trukhanov, Nova will reach an even higher level. Adding to their motivation is also their freshly inked deal with KHL club Metallurg Magnitogorsk. In the off-season, the team underwent minor changes, and with great confidence the team will continue preforming up to their impressive standards. The core of the team has been preserved, and the captain knows how to motivate his guys to achieve the best result. In my opinion, METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK has few weaknesses on the ice starting with the goalie between the pipes and ending with the offense, they are very strong players with excellent vision of the ice and great experience on the thumbsticks. Their main challenger this season is Blackdawgs, as several players moved from METALLURG to Blackdawgs in the offseason. That certainly adds another layer to watching the battle between these two teams. Placement after regular season: 1st-2nd Player to watch: Evgeniy @mons3223 Mons is a former Alliance HT player and has some valuable ECL Pro experience, with the first Russian club to compete at that level. Definitely a player of this calibre strengthens the team a lot and he will definitely demonstrate his class during the upcoming season. Rusty Bulls -> Barys eSports Barys eSports - the former Rusty Bulls squad, finished 8th in RCL 7, which was painful for the club. In the playoffs in the first round, suffered a defeat to the eventual champs Nova. Over the past couple of years, the team found themselves in a difficult position, it is obviously hard to draw conclusions from the outside and we can only see the result of this struggle. However, every year the league is getting stronger, and the competition is getting tougher. The ambitions of the two-time RCL champions do not allow the bar to be lowered and require new changes. What did the new captain @-Tarr- do, then? To begin with, a new path was chosen. One you can say to be in the trend of events - this is the signing of a contract with the KHL club Barys Nur-Sultan. Where it will lead only time will tell, but this is definitely a positive for Russian virtual hockey and for NHLGamer as a whole. The team has successfully qualified and is ready to take the ice. Let the performances speak for themselves. Placement after regular season: 4th-7th Player to watch: Kristers @PSchibra Bauers, the former ECL Pro player for Finnish Roosters. He was one of the best playmakers in his club and will definitely be the leading player in Barys eSport, expecting a lot of big assists and game winning goals. Virtuoso With the arrival of the "musicians" in the ranks of RCL, many people fussed and began to worry. What kind of club is this, champions from the Xbox platform? A dark horse or perhaps a Trojan horse even? Well, yes - Virtuoso have become a problem for many clubs in the tournament. The skilled ensemble did not let anyone off the hook easy and is now feared as one of the most dangerous and unpredictable opponents. Last RCL season was not the most successful for the club but we must pay tribute to the team captain Alexander @DeLuRe_09 Mytnik, he never rested on his laurels and was not going to hang up the skates. Every season he assembles a line-up that is ready to make sparks on the ice like only Virtuoso can do and this season is no exception. Placement after regular season: 5th-8th Player to watch: @The Great Dany returned to the team. Being a dangerous and cunning player, he will always find surprising solutions in the attacking zone and no goalkeeper will rest easy facing this guy. So be sure to follow him in the statistics and of course watch the Virtuoso matches. HC CORSAIR The team that lost their spot in RCL Pro after finishing last in the RCL 7 regular season will now try to reclaim their pride in the Lite division. Through restructuring and strengthening, the oldest club in the league is ready to go to battle with any of the teams of the Lite division, hopefully achieving their end goal of promotion. Mega The new unusual club for RCL Lite, consists entirely of Russian players living in Germany, earning the right to play in the GCL championship in the 3rd division simultaneously. The team is very successful in their GCL division, which bodes well for Mega going forward. I think this preseason training will give a lot of advantages over other RCL Lite teams. The new season will be even more competitive and more interesting than before, a lot of intrigue, a lot of emotions are involved as we go into the toughest season yet. Share your thoughts and predictions on who will be the new champion and who your favourite RCL Pro or Lite team is in the comments. Love hockey, live hockey! See you on the virtual ice and on the website. Thank you for staying with us throughout the years and for following the development of the league! This is a translation of the RCL 8 Season Preview, to read in Russian, click here. Translated with the help of @CMB-wf-.