Leaderboard

Our Player Spotlight series is making its return with the objective of showcasing gamers that would perhaps otherwise fall outside normal reporting, but that we want to get to know better. Our strength is this community, so let's get to know each other! Three weeks before the release of NHL 23, we are back with yet another iteration of our Player Spotlight-series! You voted and we listened, so here we are with a closer look at Alex @IDangledYouOut Wagner, dubbed by your favorite commentary guy Paul @Cyn Anderson as "the player with the biggest set of arms in ECL Elite". He is known as a hard hitting forward and part-time EBUG for the Swiss back-to-back GCL Champions ZSC Esports! 1. What was your first experience with the EASHL mode in NHL? I think this goes way back to NHL 11. Back in the days I used to play with Stefan @Stefan_397 Hämmerle who is also one of my best friends in real life. We started playing 2v2 where the remaining positions were played by the AI until one of our opponents messaged us if we want to join them. My first competitive 6v6 games was when I joined UKnighted HC roughly one year later. 2. What’s the best part of playing for your current club ZSC Esports? I really like our determination and positive mindset. No matter the result our biggest strength is to stay positive at all times and push ourselves. Most of our team have been playing in the same squad for a long time now. This and the fact that we all know each other off the virtual ice as well can surely give us the edge in many moments. 3. You are one of the few German players that have been here since ECL Season 1. What is your favourite NHL Gaming memory so far? There were many great memories made on the journey. My first ECL Elite Shutout as a goalie and getting promoted to ECL Elite with ZSC Esports three seasons ago. But If I had to choose on specific moment I had to choose winning the GCL 7 title against our "eternal" rivals Deadly Phantoms. Finally being able to beat and especially sweep them in the finals was a big relief. Being able to defend our Championship in GCL 8 really tops things off - especially with the way we played and dominated. 4. You started playing competetive 6v6 as a Goalie. Which things do you like most about playing as a Goalie and as a Forward? The thing I love most about playing as a Goalie is being one of the most important x-factors in the team. Working together with your D-pair can be very decisive if you perform well or not. But being able to decide games with important saves is an amazing feeling. As a Forward or Defender I like making creative plays. Always trying to find new ideas and solutions for certain situations in a game and working with your teammates to improve is why I love playing this game. The rewarding feeling to see how you build up chemistry and improve your results is also one of the main reasons for that. 5. You are GM for one day and can pick your perfect starting six. One GCL Lineup (only DACH players; you are allowed to pick 2 players from your own team) and one ECL Lineup: ECL Lineup: LW: @xLeikku C : @Patzlaf RW: @NikkeDangles                     LD: @xDoumi RD: @loimmu                                    G: @Faze91- GCL Lineup: Obviously I would love to pick all of my current teammates because in my opinion they all belong to the best players in the community. But to mix things up I am going to pick following players: LW: @Stefan_397 C : @IiVAPOR100iI RW: @DangledYouOut(TIUINIA)                              LD: @Reutschner16nhl RD: @Spezi                                                      G: @Hasek100 6. Which team do you support in real hockey? I support my hometown club EV Füssen who are currently playing in the "Oberliga Süd" (3rd German division).  7. Do you play or have you played hockey? When we were younger we always used to play Inline Hockey in the Summer and Ice Hockey on the frozen lake in Winter. Unfortunately I never played actively in a club. 8. What do you like to do in your spare time besides playing NHL? Most of the time you will find me in the Gym. When I'm not lifting weights you will most likely find me watching videos of Markus Rühl*. Apart from that I love to spend time with my friends, drinking a beer and having good conversations. I'm also a big fan of listening to podcasts. At the moment my favourite podcast is "Einfach mal Luppen" by Toni and Felix Kroos. *Explanation to our non-German readers: Markus Rühl is a famous German bodybuilder. 9. Who’s the best player in the ECL according to you? If I had to choose one specific player I would pick Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala. The combination of offensive and defensive awareness, Hockey-IQ and vision on the virtual ice is just fun to watch. How he masters the game mechanics on both ends of the ice is something I really look up to. 10. Who's the best player in the GCL according to you? I have to pick my current teammate Max @Toneee9 Tonitz. In my opinion he is the perfect combination of ideal defensive awareness and offensive abilities. He is irreplaceable for our game. 11. How did you come up with your PSN ID? My PSN ID is an "homage" to one of my former teammates: Jürgen @DangledYouOut(TIUINIA) Kloster. He is one of my closest friends and at one point in time he changed his ID (to TIUINIA) and so I asked him if I can take his nickname instead. For me he is one of the most underrated forwards in the DACH-community. 12. Describe your perfect breakfast. Oatmeal, scrambled eggs, pancakes, EAA'drink, whey clear isolate and I'm ready for the day! 13. If you had to choose: being the best player in EA SPORTS NHL or an average hockey player in real life? To be honest I would pick being an average hockey player. To witness the atmosphere created by the fans in the arena must be an amazing feeling. Even if I was able to "only" play for my local 3rd division team EV Füssen. 14. You are DJ in the dressing room and can play one song to hype up your teammates. Which song are you playing? Limp Bizkit - Rollin'. 15. What’s your best hockey memory? This has to be when my local club EV Füssen gained promotion back into the Oberliga (3rd division). It was an amazing away day and securing promotion on that day away from home is something I will never forget. Apart from that another special moment was the World Championship quarterfinal in 2021 when Eisbären Berlin forward Marcel Noebels sent us into the semifinals with a cheeky one-hander against our favourite enemies from Switzerland. 16. What's the most important goal you have scored in a competetive 6v6 match yet? To be fair I cannot remember any specific goal. But one of my best performances has to be securing a shutout in ECL'22 Winter against Conquer Gaming after being called up as an "emergency goalie" for our team and being a bit shaky in the warmup games. 17. If you had to choose to play only one position for the rest of your virtual career. Which position would you pick and why? I think Goalie is my "most natural" position since I also stand between the pipes in real life when playing football or hockey with my friends. This position was always most fun to play for me. But currently I would prefer playing as a Forward especially due to the broken matchmaking in the game, playing as a Goalie can be quite ungrateful. 18. Pizza with three toppings, what are your choices? I'm rather uncomplicated in those things. Pizza Margherita is the way to go. 19. Who do you want to see featured next in Player Spotlight? I think it's finally time for Joshua @Hasek100 Plattner!

SportsGamers, It's time to start the big games in this season of the 6v6 SCL and eventually find out the next Swedish Champion. Granit Gaming did not return to defend their trophy, so now it's up to a new challenger to claim the throne for themselves. Falun Coal Miners have made their return after a longer hiatus and retains part of the old Granit Gaming core with a strong chance to hoist the cup at the end of the season, but the likes of Skutebrygga, Manos and Sankens Soldater are making a push to challenge.  The first round of the playoffs (BO5) is to be played between Monday, 19th of September and Wednesday, 21st of September. The first round of action is certainly full of some interesting matchups and especially noteworthy is the four way rivalry that extends from group 2 with Falun Coal Miners, Nordic Nosebleed, Garotta Di Ansjovis and Carolus Icemen who all clashed in the group stage and will continue battling it out in the first playoff round. Falun Coal Miners will be going at it with Nordic Nosebleed, who interestingly enough were the only team to beat them in the group stage, and Nosebleeds experienced group is notorious for making it tough on opponents even if the situation would seem hopeless for them. Garotta Di Ansjovis shared points with Carolus Icemen in the group stage, and that series will definitely be one to watch in the first round. Elsewhere, you might want to take a look at the Purification vs Sodertalje SK-series, which could go either way. Both squads have some experienced players that have lots of skill and uncapped potential still in them. Sodertalje might have a slight edge due to their core having so much experience together.  Other takeaways include Leksands IF and their exceptional special teams play, which should be in the game notes for Style heading into the series. If Style wants to move on with the victory, playing 5v5 for as much of the series as possible would be in their favor.  Without further ado, here are your round 1 matchups: Skutebrygga  (1) vs BK Skinnarna  (16) Manos  (2) vs TROJANS  (15) Sankens Soldater  (3) vs Lulea Hockey Region  (14) Falun Coal Miners  (4) vs Nordic Nosebleed  (13) Bjorkloven Esport  (5) vs Bjohms Boys  (12) Leksands IF  (6) vs Style  (11) Garotta Di Ansjovis  (7) vs Carolus Icemen  (10) Purification  (8) vs Sodertalje SK  (9)   The Quarterfinals will feature a more detailed preview of each series with statistical comparisons. In the mean time, have fun and play hard!  

SportsGamers, The Playoffs have been flying on in fast pace and we're already at the Quarterfinals stage. The eight best teams in Finland remain and now it's time to battle it out to see who can seriously challenge for the throne that FILADELPHIA are defending. This round offers several matchups that go in the category of David vs Goliath tales, but we're never opposed to a good upset story. You'll be able to follow along with games live at the SportsGamer Twitch-channel, as usual. The Quarterfinals are to be played between Sunday, 18th of September and Tuesday, 20th of September. FILADELPHIA (1) vs Reality Check (11) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 9 GP, 15+10=25 vs Harri @Pursuitti Haaksiala 9 GP, 17+10=27 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 9 GP, 9 W, 85,37 SV%, 1,33 GAA, 2 SO vs Sebastian @FINSeRe Remes 9 GP, 9 W, 76,92 SV%, 2,00 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 0-0-0 vs 14-2-0 We'll get a preview of what's to come in the ECL '23 Winter season, as FILADELPHIA will now defend their Finnish Championship title against Reality Check, who were newly promoted to the Elite division on the ECL front. This far, FILADELPHIA has hardly been tested in this tournament and it's seemed like they've been able to coast along rather easily. While they've looked decent and won their games with relative ease, they are yet to flex their offensive muscles in the way we all know they're able to. Against Ace Hockey in Round 1 we even saw backup Mika @mikaasi Heikkilä take the ice for the three game series, and he fit in real well as the stand-in for captain Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala. Look for FILADELPHIA to start slowly revving their engines up in this series, since games are getting tougher for sure. Despite being the lowest seed still in the playoffs at this point, the Reality Check squad might still have a lot left to give. The recent ECL Elite promotees have renewed their squad slightly since moving up the ranks, and after a short adjustment period, they are now starting to look dangerous on the ice. Reality Check have had a rather favourable path through the playoffs thus far and FILADELPHIA will be their first true test, as they were able to handle Stargazing with surprising ease in round 3. Prediction: FILADELPHIA in 3. Tunnel Vision (2) vs Nemesis (7) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Jere @jxrska Laukka 9 GP, 21+19=40 vs Jere @profiilipakki Kangasniemi 9 GP, 11+8=19 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Teemu @ITemeI Laukkanen 9 GP, 9 W, 87,5 SV%, 2,33 GAA, 1 SO vs @Pasi (Pasi-Fism) 9 GP, 9 W, 90,11 SV%, 1,00 GAA, 3 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 18-0-0 vs 14-2-0 Here's two teams who have never before clashed in a competitive setting, and it'll be an interesting one to see how their styles will end up matching up against each others. Tunnel Vision have been on a tear throughout the eHSM and their numbers look great all around the ice. The currently undefeated squad is looking like a strong candidate to make a finals appearance already and there's no doubting that, to be honest. Their familiar duo Aleksi @MozjaTG Kähkönen and Jere @jxrska Laukka are shouldering most of the burden up front, while new recruit Otto @xHatsi Hämäläinen is catching up with them little by little. If they're able to find that perfect synergy in time for the biggest games, Tunnel Vision could be the team to look out for. Nemesis is a massive surprise to be seen at this stage of the tournament. The team consists of players who have had very limited postseason success at high levels in the past, but they've elevated their game to a great extent and on top of that, bringing in defenseman Max @Toneee9 Tonitz on an unbelievable hot streak (GCL 6v6, GCL Cup & GCL 1v1 Champion) has turned out to be an excellent move for them. Nemesis will need to really rally around goaltender @Pasi in order to stop the offensive onslaught of Tunnel Vision in order to have a chance in this series. Prediction: Tunnel Vision in 3. hREDS (3) vs Setelit On Ice (6) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 9 GP, 16+31=47 vs Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander 11 GP, 14+16=30 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos 9 GP, 9 W, 81,36 SV%, 1,22 GAA, 4 SO vs Tomi @Mestari tikku Heikkilä 11 GP, 9 W, 89,25 SV%, 0,91 GAA, 5 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 16-0-0 vs 14-1-1 We're quite used to seeing hREDS firing on all cylinders and quite honestly, that's what they've been doing all throughout the eHSM. They seem unstoppable at the moment with their offense being very balanced and hardly missing their long-time centerman Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen. This is a team that poses a danger from all areas of the ice and have the defensive ability to shut down anything their opponent throws at them. Setelit On Ice have impressed throughout the tournament. Their opportunistic approach to offense works wonders in combination with an excellent trap defense, which suffocated YMCA completely in their round 3 matchup. An undeniable fact is also that goaltender Tomi@Mestari tikku Heikkilä has risen from seemingly nowhere to being one of the greatest netminding sensations the eHSM has ever seen. Excellent goaltending performances rarely come without the help of the unit in front of him, but regardless here's a guy that could bail Setelit out in a tough situation. Prediction: hREDS in 3. GOONS (4) vs Conquer Gaming (5) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen 9 GP, 22+21=43 vs Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho 10 GP, 13+12=25 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 9 GP, 9 W, 78,46 SV%, 1,56 GAA, 1 SO vs Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck 10 GP, 9 W, 75,93 SV%, 2,6 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 15-1-0 vs 14-1-0 We could be in for a tough one here. While GOONS is certainly the team that historically looks stronger, and has the more accomplished players on paper, they've also struggled to break that threshold into the real top echelon of title contenders. Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen is leading his team up front and has seemingly been scoring at will from time to time. On defense, Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila is still showing that he could very well be the best all-around defenseman out there and has been able to handle his defensive duties while simultaneously putting up an astonishing 23 points from the back. Conquer Gaming is in an interesting position here, they've been one of those teams that is on everyone's radar, but never really get into the discussion of teams that are seriously challenging for those top spots. Now is their chance for a breakthrough on that front, and we're here to watch that story unfold. New signing Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko has fit in nicely in between Jere @Jerax13 Hällström and Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho, who already have some great chemistry from before. We're expecting big things and that fabled next level for this trio. Prediction: GOONS in 4.