Leaderboard

NHLGamers, This weekend, we got to witness a crazy show, mainly put on by your new ECL 12 Champions hREDS! The finals were in general very tight battles with the exception of game two that ended in a 6-0 whooping by hREDS. The big, bad reds suffered defeat by a sweep last season and came back to dish out the same kind of punishment to FILADELPHIA this year, we congratulate the champions and thank FILADELPHIA for their great effort! hREDS have come a long way in a relatively short time and after their devastating loss against FILADELPHIA back in the ECL 11 Finals, their will to win was obvious this time - turning the team into an unstoppable winning machine. Especially their defense was outstanding, conceding only one goal in the four games played. Defenseman Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen answered some questions amidst their celebration: "We didn't really change anything for the Finals, me and Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen are just that good at the moment. It's easy to play together and I guess it shows on the ice. We're definitely a tough team to beat at the moment. Amazing job by Filip @Faze91- Azri. Especially against FILA, allowing just one goal is unheard of, so he's been a backbone for us throughout. Also, when me, Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen and Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen have played together we haven't lost a single tournament, so the connection is definitely special and we're hoping to keep that momentum going." @Beniittto was chosen as the Playoff MVP by his teammates and he truly had a dominant outing throughout the series, with a whopping 4 goals and two assists in game two to really take charge. He commented on his prowess to the NHLGamer studio: "I mean I always try to be at my best level, and I guess in that 2nd game everything just worked out for me. Having Vilu and Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen by my side make my game so much easier and it's a big thing for me to get to play with those guys. They definitely elevate me." The day after their amazing feat, social media is filled with posts of former teammates and friends congratulating these guys on their journey towards the top and finally conquering the mighty FILADELPHIA. with that, NHLGamer also took the time to reach out to General Manager Christer Kasurinen for some insight from behind the scenes. "We're really trying to build something more than just a one hit wonder here. There's been talk of "the big three" for quite some time already, but ultimately, we want to be "the big one". This championship is a big thing for hREDS and even though NHL Esports is a small niche in the grand scheme of things, the title is even bigger for us with HIFK being our main owners and all. You could talk about bridging that gap between traditional and virtual hockey." The manager does his best to stay involved with the team and allow them the best chances to succeed. "Behind the scenes, we've tried to do everything we can to help our boys succeed. Whether it's been going through mental stuff over a cup of coffee with some players or setting up some discussions with hockey players, we try to stay involved with the day-to-day of our team. For the Finals, it helped tremendously to get most of our players playing from a LAN location and the chemistry really showed in how comfortable the guys were. We're sad Filip couldn't make it due to travel restrictions, but we tried to set him up with similar conditions in a LAN location in his hometown so that he'd have the best circumstances to succeed." hREDS - Road to the championship: Regular season record: Group 1 - 25-4-1 (2nd) Quarterfinals: vs POGGERS 4-0 Semifinals: vs HAVU Gaming 4-2 Finals: vs FILADELPHIA 4-0 Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #91 Filip @Faze91- Azri #1 Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen DEFENSEMEN #27 Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen #94 Tuukka @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) Röpelinen FORWARDS #23 Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen #89 Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen #96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen Playoff MVP: #96 Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen Congratulations on behalf of the entire community, and see you next season!

It was a hard fought battle as predicted, but in the end, the better team prevailed! The ECL 12 Pro Finals went down at the start of the week and Djurgarden Hockey was seen hoisting that trophy, claiming their spot in the ECL 13 Elite division. The Swedish ensemble have worked hard to achieve this goal, and now several of their players will have the chance to take their first strides in the brightest of lights when it comes to NHL Esports. We reached out to captain Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg for some comments about their journey. The captain himself had an impressive season, breaking the ECL Pro record for most goals by a defenseman in the playoffs - now at 10 goals by the man himself. Congratulations! It must feel extra special to accomplish the championship and promotion with guys that you have worked alongside for such a long time. What are some of the factors that have led your to this point, looking back at past seasons? "As you said, we've been working extremely hard and for a long time. We've worked both on our game as a team as well as the mental aspects of the game. Our players have grown as people, individuals and team players along that way. There truly is no 'I' in this team and it's harder to accomplish that than you'd think when we're composed of such individually skilled players. The fact that everyone fights for each other is the biggest factor to our great run." Next up for you guys is the step up to the European Top 16. What will DIF look like moving forward and what are your thoughts on what to develop? "Actually, we haven't given that too much thought just yet. Obviously it's in the back of your head, but our full focus has been solely on claiming the Pro title, the promotion is a welcome bonus. When it comes to our composition next season, we won't be shuffling things around too much. I'll reveal that we've picked up William @Mumsi- Lindblad from Leksand, but overall I'm very hapy with what we've got. We know it's going to be a tough job in Elite and our primary focus lies on retaining our spot in our first season. From there we'll learn and develop into coming campaigns."  Djurgarden Hockey - Road to the championship: Regular season record: Group 1 - 18-7-5 (3rd) Round 1: vs  4-0 Hotbox Quarterfinals: vs  4-2 Kiekko-Espoo Esports Semifinals: vs BoxinElite 4-1 Finals: vs Team LEISURE 4-2 Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #26 Valtteri @Sorsa103 Mulari DEFENSEMEN #1 Andreas @Clumpyindiana79 Storbacka #81 Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg #92 Tobias @svetidaje Karlsson FORWARDS #46 Joacim @LordStanley46_ Wilhelmsson #71 Philip @Strumpan87 Ström #91 Amadeus @amadee21 Carlsson Congratulations on behalf of the entire community, and see you next season!

NHLGamers, On Friday and Saturday we'll conclude the ECL 12 season with the Elite division Finals between FILADELPHIA and hREDS, a rematch of their ECL 11 Finals clash. Both teams are eager to show what they've learned and in the end hoist that trophy and leave with a nice chunk of change in their pockets. The broadcasts over the weekend will be something special, so let's all come together to cap off this great season with two unforgettable nights of world class virtual hockey! We reached out to FILADELPHIA assistant captain and right winger Erik @Eki Tammenpää for some comments about the upcoming series and their season so far. After a dominant regular season, IQUE proved to be a tough opponent in the quarters, after which you conquered Färjestad BK with relative ease. How does your form look right now and do you think the longer break ahead of the playoffs could have an impact on the series? "IQUE's style of play worked very well against us, and we really needed to put some thought into how we're going to overcome them in that series. Against FBK we were able to utilize our strengths and get in the groove of things a bit more. This week, we've played almost every night, but I think the two week break could impact the start of the series to some extent since there hasn't been a break like this during this season." Your teams defensive ability has at least statistically been at an all time high this season, what are some of the factors that have made such an impact on that front? "On paper it's easy to see that we've made a change on defense and that's one obvious reason. As a secondary reason I'd say the fact that our core has stuck together for such a long time. Chemistry is the most important element in the 6v6 mode." Why will FILADELPHIA win and how will the series end? "The 4-0 result last season didn't really do the series justice and the gameplay was way tighter. I think hREDS are playing a similar style as last season, but the individuals have developed. It's going to come down to the smallest of details, but we'll win 4-2 in the end, based on our experience from big games." Tune in for the ECL 12 Elite Finals this Friday at 20:00 CEST over at www.twitch.tv/NHLGamer!

It's been a long season over the summer months and the efforts put in by all of the participating teams have been impressive to say the least. While some divisions are boiling down to the finishing moments, others have already concluded and with that we have new champions! After an impressive run throughout the season, our Neo division champions are HC SHH - congratulations! NHLGamer reached out to assistant captain @jormatsefiina for some comments about the journey that his team has made: "The championship means a lot to our team. We had some tough times and were close to falling apart at a point of the season, but eventually pulled through. The future looks good now, we'll be adding a few pieces to the puzzle and keep climbing the divisional ladder!" HC SHH really grew as a team and managed to play at their very highest level especially towards the end of the season, their finals performance against RODIS was dominant to say the least. jormatsefiina comments: "Our goaltender @Kalle Hautala(haukikalle) was a player that improved exceptionally much and he kept us in play throughout several points of the season. In the finals, we knew we could overload RODIS' defense and gain the advantage through that, which worked well for us."  HC SHH - Road to the championship: Regular season record: Group 4 - 11-2-1 (2nd) Round 1: vs Hc Old Stars 3-2 Round 2: vs IK EyBro 3-2 Quarterfinals: vs HC Smolensk Lynx 3-1 Semifinals: vs Bellissimo 3-0 Finals: vs RODIS 3-1  Championship roster: GOALTENDERS #96 @Kalle Hautala (haukikalle) DEFENSEMEN #2 @jormatsefiina #14 @Helsingin TsSKA #34 @Kivikova34 FORWARDS #8 @Isukki (daddyryybs) #12 @Hugobolt #93 @Jeva (Bot_jeva) Once again, congratulations to the champions on behalf of the entire community!