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NHLGamers, The European Championship League is back with some new touches! We are confident that our reinvented format will bring bigger and better things not only this current season, but also in the future. The signups are now open, so tell your friends and get ready for the greatest NHL gaming experience to date! The ECL is the pinnacle of European NHL esports - a league where all the best European NHL gamers create teams and compete against each other in the game mode EASHL (6v6) for the title of Best EASHL Team in Europe. The league currently features five divisions, so action is guaranteed for everyone regardless of skill level and experience! 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 22. 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, ECL Core and ECL Neo need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. ECL licenses: Teams in ECL Elite & ECL Pro will be require their respective ECL '22 Winter license in order to play. Optional licenses are available for the ECL Lite and Core levels. More details below. Rules: The ECL '22 Winter ruleset will follow the same foundation as in season 12. The updated rulebook will be available before the season. Wildcard Battle: 2.- 6.12. ECL Lite Qualifier: 2.- 6.12. ECL Pro Qualifier: 2.- 6.12. ECL Neo: 2.- 27.12. ECL Core: 2.- 27.12. ECL Lite: 2.- 17.12. ECL Pro: 2.- 17.12. ECL Elite: 2.- 17.12. * Sign-up will close 23:59 CET on the last day mentioned unless otherwise specified Below you'll find the condensed version of what's new this year in the ECL. For a longer look, please read our article about the new era of ECL. ECL Winter & Spring ECL seasons will no longer carry the same numerical distinctions next to them as before. Instead, NHLGamer will be hosting two annual ECL seasons: ECL Winter and ECL Spring. The combined prize pools for ECL Winter, ECL Spring and the ECL Grand Finals will be larger than anything seen before here in NHL esports! We’ll be hosting an ECL Grand Final – with an additional prize pool – to crown the annual ECL Champion. This much-anticipated best-of-seven event will feature the ECL Elite teams who won ECL Winter and ECL Spring, respectively. Prize pools for ECL Pro, Lite and Core ECL Elite remains the pinnacle of virtual hockey gaming in Europe but as our community continues to grow and the competition becomes increasingly tougher, playing in ECL Pro, Lite and Core is more prestigious than ever before. We’ll be adding a license and prize pool for our second-tier division; ECL Pro – and voluntary licenses and prize pools for ECL Lite and Core. ECL Pro will feature a mandatory license fee and prize pool. All the money from the team licenses goes into the prize pool. The top sixteen (16) out of the divisions’ 32 teams will be awarded a share of the prize pool. ECL Lite and Core will feature a voluntary license fee and a prize pool for the teams who choose to acquire a license. The top 16 teams that choose to acquire a license in ECL Lite (64 teams) will be awarded a share of the prize pool. The top 32 teams that choose to acquire a license in ECL Core (128 teams) will be awarded a share of the prize pool. See more about licenses in our Licenses section. The divisions framework for the ECL '22 Winter will follow the same logic as for the previous season. We will have a total of five divisions with the following team allocation: Elite 16 teams, Pro 32 teams, Lite 64 teams, Core 128 teams and Neo 32+ teams. Please use the below links for more detailed info about each division and which teams are eligible to sign up: Wildcard Battle information (for ECL Lite and Pro Qualifiers) ECL Lite & Pro Qualifiers information ECL Neo Season Information ECL Core Season Information ECL Lite Season Information ECL Pro Season Information ECL Elite Season Information *If you're an existing team that wants to change names, simply sign up with the old name and contact support for the name change. If you're having issues with signing up overall, please contact support. 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. Did your team sign with an organization that is represented in the game and needs in-game unlocks? Fill in this form. (Only if your organization has unlockables available in NHL 22) PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season. Discord Instagram Facebook Twitch Twitter

Janne @Nieppii Niemelä has experience from both the virtual side of hockey and the more traditional sport. He has played competitive NHL since NHL 17 and has in recent years managed to pave his way to the top of European competition with his team IQUE. Niemelä also represents the prestigious Oulun Kärpät in their eLiiga campaign. "Of course I've been playing the NHL series casually for quite a long time, and then during NHL 17 became interested in the competitive side while watching a lot of Hannes@Hansulinho Kettunen and Risto@Dominointi Järvi streams, through that I really started to develop my own game and got the ball rolling." Niemelä feels that playing hockey has been useful also when transitioning to the virtual side of things. He says he’s developed a good eye for the game and in-game responsiveness from that side. "This is an interesting topic for me and when thinking of it I'd say that the eye for the game and reaction to situations has definitely come from that side. However, perhaps the pressure tolerance and the fact that I am at my best in a tough spot is something that has transitioned directly to the virtual ice." As his best memory from playing virtual hockey, Nieppii states that his first LAN experience takes the cake, however, back in his junior days he played one season in Bradford, Ontario, which he remembers fondly. "The best memory of virtual hockey was the first GWC back in NHL 18 when I qualified for the EU finals in Stockholm and got to play on a LAN event for the first time. The best memory for hockey is probably the entire season when I played in Canada, although the league level wasn't too good, but the experience was overall great and I got to focus on the things I like the most (NHL and real hockey) so it was cool." Niemelä states that personally, playing the 6v6 game mode is much more fun because you can experience it with the team, while in the 1v1 game mode it's only you. However, he says he appreciates both forms of play. "In my opinion, 6v6 makes more sense, because playing with a team brings a different feel to it, and for example big wins feel much better with the team than alone, although of course I appreciate the 1v1 side of things, but team sports are always better." We asked the IQUE captain what kind of tips he would give to those young people who want to play and succeed in competitive virtual hockey in the future. He notes that humility is crucial. "Well, the biggest thing I would say is that you shouldn't overthink things, and stay as humble as possible, this works for both the 1v1 and 6v6 sides of things. I also think it’s too common for people to think it’s easy to move from a hard 1v1 game mode to the 6v6 game mode, I was a bit guilty of that at a younger age myself but the reality is that it’s not as easy as you'd imagine." His team IQUE ran into some turbulence in the offseason and experienced some major changes after playing together with success for a few months. "Yeah, there has been quite a turnover in the team after the FCL season and things didn't look too good for a while, but in my opinion good pieces were found for the team and of course the main thing is a nice fresh look and everyone has a strong motivation to make it work.  Perhaps the team has been strengthened through a certain kind of experience in that it's noticeable in the team how more experienced players take on different situations, and through that we will certainly be able to be a tough team to beat in future tournaments.  I feel that the team has to play together a bit longer to find out which styles of play work for us, but there are already signs of good teamwork." One of the players lost in the offseason was young prodigy Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen, who suddenly left for GOONS and left a gaping hole down the middle for IQUE. "Of course, it's not an easy situation and it's hard to say whether you can directly replace such talent, but I feel like we've made a great acquisition in Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko, who is getting back to Elite games and surely still can develop a lot despite being an experienced player already." Also, If you could choose one player from your own team with whom you could swap places, who would it be and why? "Yes, Nico @zNico Tuoreniemi and I swapped places before, and I heard a bit of a story that his ECL career as a forward only lasted one night, so he could show his skills at the attacking end. At least it couldn't go any worse than last time." You get one more task... assemble your own 6v6 team of players who you think possess exceptional potential to make it big in the future, you may choose players from your own team. Left wing: Matias @theMaddias Kilpinen - played a really good FCL tournament and proved to be a very versatile player, reminds me of Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen with his unpredictability. Secured a roster spot in Conquer Gaming so I think he's ready for Elite now. Center: Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko - I'm making a homer call on this one and choosing our center. Ikis is making a return to Elite and possesses high skill and grinds the game alot.  Right wing: Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen - Makes a return to the ECL ice now and is still young and hungry, which gives a lot to this game and I think it will make him even better than before.  Left defenseman: Juho @juhkis96 Katajamaa - Also made a name for himself in Otukset and has a good eye for the game. Understands how a good defenseman is supposed to play and now gets a shot to prove his level in Elite. Right defenseman: Putte @Putteekiing Unasin - I think a good puck moving defender who doesn't forget his defensive obligations and now gets to show with HV71 what he has to contribute on the Elite ice. Goaltender: Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen - Has already been among the best goalkeepers for a while, but the army slowed down the progress a little bit. Now is the time to prove how he can perform in the long season and in a team where the goalkeeping game will also play a big role in their success.