NHLGamer,
The midpoint of the ECL 11 Pro season is right about now and it's a good time to take a closer look at what happened in the first half of the season in both groups. The first half of the season has been very even for both groups with no teams really running away with it yet and everyone still in the mix. There are only a few points difference between the top eight teams in both groups which will definitely add to the excitement as the season progresses even further. Despite it being a close fight for each team, there have still been several squads that have surprised us - some on the good side and some on the worse.
GROUP 1
Top performers:
Herlev Eagles
As the biggest surprises of group 1, the Herlev Eagles have continued their strong run of form that started in the FCL. The team seems to have found their identity nicely and ever since assuming their Danish prefix they have really came into their own. The teams play has seen consistent development and their form curve is on an upwards trajectory. It is to be expected that the team will be seen in the important playoff battles, but the team's playbook might not be thick enough in order to secure any of the brighter trophies this season.
Inter Iceland
Inter Iceland's strong momentum has carried the team to a good start of the season. The German squad has managed to hang with the big boys of their group for quite some time and could even be on their way towards a #1 seed. Before the start of the season, the team was not expected to be at the top of the group but has surprised positively. It should be noted, however, that the team has encountered a majority of the weaker teams in the group during the early part of the season, but without taking anything away from Inter – the team's going has been very strong and disciplined. The discipline shows that most of the games played by the team have ended with a one-goal difference, but converting those tight battles into victory takes a great amount of skill. Both @Fire_019 and @Stefan_397 have been crucial to guaranteeing Inter Iceland's success during the early part of the season.
Tunnel Vision
In the early moments of the regular season, Tunnel Vision lost two of key players when talented @Eemil moved to SJ Gaming and goaltender @ITemeI moved on to JYP, both in pursuit of that famed Elite ice time. Although the team experienced player losses, there was also player traffic in the other direction, as the team was joined by a very experienced player, @JanneK. who is a great goalie that has the capability to steal games for his team. Their recent addition of @uhNikke makes them even stronger and solidifies Tunnel Vision as a title candidate. Production is very even across all three forwards and their defensemen are also chipping in, but they will need to ramp up their numbers in that department to be at the absolute top when the bigger games start.
Should do better:
Vaxjo Lakers
The Swedish Vaxjo Lakers have had a very challenging start to the season, but the team is firmly sticking to the lower seeded playoff spots despite having a bit of a tough time. A strong SCL put Vaxjo right up there as one of the strongest Swedish teams in the scene, but their ECL campaign hasn't quite worked out and some of the roster shuffling they did seemed to have impacted the team negatively. They might have dropped games here and there, but at least their powerplay has been as deadly as ever, finishing with a 57,14% efficiency rate.
Kiekko-Espoo Esports
Kiekko-Espoo Esports made playoffs and even got the chance to qualify for an Elite spot at the end of ECL 10, but this season their usual selves have been nowhere to be found. Having seen minimal player turnover with only @Mikka leaving his winger position open for the at leas on paper equally talented @Borjendahlen the structure and dynamics of the team shouldn't have been thrown off so the question remains - what has happened in the offseason? Going below .500 in the season so far is troubling for a team of their prestige and Kiekko-Espoo needs to find a solution to their problems fast if they wan't to salvage their season.
Disappointing start:
TIKI TALK
Halfway through the regular season, not all teams have kept up pace. TIKI TALK currently holds the tail end of the first group with way less games played than their competition. The team is very legendary in the scene and despite their golden ages being ancient history, TIKI TALK is still used to better than this. For the first time ever, they might be facing relegation to the Lite division. The team has not yet been able to scrape any wins from their matches. They have experienced major roster changes that will certainly affect the team's play, in defense of TIKI.
GROUP 2
Top performers:
GOONS
GOONS cannot really be seen as a great surprise, as they were very active on the transfer market and made some great acquisitions such as former Elite level centerman @xKeskitalo and Black Horse defenseman @Miika. The team also received very strong reinforcements when @kriketski17 joined the playing roster out of the blue. This player move further boosted the team's stock in playoff battles and has spurred them in their push to the top of the table.
Djurgarden Hockey
Djugarden's high league ranking can be seen as something of a surprise early on especially considering that the team didn't make playoffs last season and have acquired an interesting centerman in @LordStanley46_, who takes the massive leap from Neo to Pro and doing that in a convincing fashion. The defensive extraordinaires have now fallen into a brewing losing streak, dropping three consecutive games which is causing some worry. DIF is among those teams that seems to have found the clue to a deadly powerplay though - scoring at a rate of 43,75%.
Should do better:
Pata Hellalla
In the middle of group two Pata Hellalla has been a bit sidetracked for a very long time and at times the team has been very close to falling down the league level even. However, the team has a very long background in the scene and has gradually improved their game. Recent development has boosted their stock when considering potential playoff teams, and the playoffs is where they should do well with all their experience and the rejuvenated style of play.
Enigma
Enigma started the regular season as a very heavy favorite to take group two, but success has not been achieved as hoped. As a result, some moves were made and newly acquired center @Ojamoska was allowed to leave. He was replaced by @laitineen64, who started the season with MUKIMIEHET and seemed to better the Enigma squad after a short adjustment period. Last season, the team was already knocking on those Elite gates, so it shouldn't be out of the question to see Enigma improve drastically as the season progresses.
Nordic Stars
Nordic Stars has been one of those teams who seem to play every night for a very long time. they are also a very familiar sight in the Pro division as they have been in the division for all except one Elite season. The team consistently dominates the regular season but seems to fade away in the playoffs, maybe this time they'll do it the other way around? Their roster surely is as strong as ever and @Vire30 as a centerman is one of the better players in the division which makes you wonder when they'll start clicking and firing on all cylinders.
With that we'll be concluding this short snapshot into the ECL Pro season, if your team wasn't mentioned, don't worry - perhaps we'll get to you in the upcoming pieces! Do you agree with the takes above and if not, what do you think should have been discussed? As always, have fun - play hard!
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