ECL 11 Elite: Weekly Recap - Week 2 - ECL

NHLGamers,

After the second full week of ECL 11 Elite action, we have somewhat restored order in the kingdom and the usual suspects FILADELPHIA and HAVU Gaming top the tables. One of the looming questions before the season was speculation about how Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen would slot into the LW spot in that HAVU roster and now a few weeks later with his team going 8-0-0 and the man himself snagging some personal success in eLiiga along the way, I think we can at least put some of that speculation to rest. Order has also been restored in the scoring leaders department, where FILADELPHIA duo Erik @Eki Tammenpää and Paul @PleeMaker Arontie are topping the tables at the modest pace of around 3 points per game after their first ten outings.

A look at the overall picture of the division shows that all teams have now managed to snag their first win of the season and only one remains undefeated - HAVU Gaming to no surprise. Despite not yet having to face any of their fiercest rivals, staying undefeated is a strong feat and shows just how formidable of a contender HAVU is yet again this season.

While the broadcasted games this week didn't provide the caliber of highlights we saw in the first week of the season, we surely had some interesting turns of events and some discussion surfacing. Some eyebrows were raised during Wednesday's matchup between SAWO ESPORTS and Gotham Knights when a seemingly unenthusiastic SAWO took a beating in their first game of the night while a team member had more screen time in the Twitch chat than in the actual game. While this undeniably creates some comedic value in the chat, one must wonder how it impacts the focus on the game and perhaps more importantly, how it is valued within the team. Luckily, SAWO managed to gather themselves and bounce back nicely in the second bout but it's a tough look for the team regardless.

From the lows to the highs of last week, despite suffering two consecutive losses without a goal scored against HAVU Gaming, German Team LEISURE can draw some consolation from this insane save made by goaltender Patrick @RPH_31 Braun:

Transfers
It's a somewhat rare occasion to see some movement at the Elite level after the start of the season, but some transfers have come to knowledge in the past week or so, we'll also be recapping possible movement in these reports. The past week was unusually exciting at the transfer market as several teams shuffled some players around and we also ended up seeing some always controversial player poaches:

hREDS
OUT Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen, Tunnel Vision

Having proven his level at the Elite level but taking a step back from the starter duties due to attending military service at the start of 2021, @uhNikke decided to take his talents to Tunnel Vision in Pro on a loan deal. Most likely this move will not affect hREDS competitiveness as they still have @FinKonna who is a very competitive goaltender who is capable of winning games for his team.

Dark Horse

IN Janne @JanneK. Komsa, Tunnel Vision
The newest team in the Elite division decided to strengthen their ranks in net with an experienced goaltender as a result of @Magizam having a tough first week at the Elite level and with one matchup behind, @JanneK. seems to have improved the netminding department to some extent at least.

OUT Kristian @Krisutus Räsänen, SAWO ESPORTS

Dark Horse had a tough start to the season as expected and no points will be coming easy for them in their first Elite campaign. The loss of a starting forward in @Krisutus will sting despite having a quality player in @Ollizhki backing him up. It remains to be seen if Dark Horse will look to strengthen their ranks but due to transfer deadlines having passed in other divisions, they will need to poach a player from another Elite team if looking to do so.

KOVA Esports

IN Igor @xMotzz Motov, Nordic Stars

KOVA made an acquisition that is somewhat of a headscratcher when getting another defenseman into their roster. The team already has two starters who are unlikely to be moved so it is probable that @xMotzz will not be seeing competitive ice time with his new team.

SAWO Esports
IN Kristian @Krisutus Räsänen, Dark Horse

Finding yourself at the bottom of the standings meant that there would be a need for changes for SAWO. Whether acquiring @Krisutus was done as a result of @SUPERVIRTA leaving or not, it'll be interesting how it will affect the dynamic in the team.

OUT Joonas @SUPERVIRTA Virta, FA

The recently acquired defenseman suddenly left the squad due to time constraints. Team captain @TackleControl has been seen at the LD position since.

Power Rankings

Making a return this season will be the Elite: Power Rankings, provided by @MartindalexC. As always, the rankings are generated by weighting a team's results with the level of opposition that was faced, i.e. a team that went 4-0-0 against teams at the very bottom of Elite may very well be ranked below a team that went 0-4-0 against Elite's very finest. Without further ado though, let's have a look at how teams fared over the second week of ECL Elite:

1. HAVU Gaming (4-0-0) [+2]