ECL '22: Winter Lite Guide- Former Core teams to challenge for the title at the Lite level?

ECL along with Lite division are back finally in the NHL22 version. You can expect to see exciting drama throughout the season with skilful players, tactical prowess, lots of fierce, physical battles in all games and much more. NHL22 with a new game engine provides teams with a great tool for a super enjoyable 6vs6 experience. In this preview you'll read briefly about the outlook for the upcoming season, what to expect from some interesting teams and players participating. Several new teams are entering from either a higher Pro level or from Core, will some of these squads challenge for the title?

Season information

To find out about everything that's new with ECL '22, check out our earlier season information article.

Notable dates for the ECL '22: Winter Lite season:

Regular season: 2.1.- 6.2.
Transfer deadline: 16.1. 23:59 CET.
Playoffs (BO7): 8.2.- 14.3.

You can access the rulebook, schedule, standings, statistics and full rosters from the ECL ‘22: Winter Lite league page.

Social media

Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, Wilhelm & St Hockey.

Twitter:

When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag:

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Winter
#NHL22
#esports
#kouvolanlakritsi
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Instagram:

When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag:

@SportsGamerGG
#ECL22Winter
#NHL22
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Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated.

As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Winter in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue.

Groups and schedules were released just December 31st and games will begin already today, on January 2nd. Due to the extremely tight schedule before the start it's not possible to go through every team in detail, but I'm briefly highlighting some interesting teams and players that might be making a great impact this season and with concluding words describing my views on the what season could look like overall.

Group 1

Powerhouse HC and Project X played well last season but did not achieve the biggest triumph back then. Powerhouse HC advanced to the semifinals and eventually faltered in the bronze match against Lulea Hockey. Project X was eliminated in the quarterfinal stage.

Lemmenvelhot and Resurrection who played last season in Core are also some interesting names that could be worth following. Their level is definitely enough for Lite and they should be ready to challenge every team at this level.

Prima eSport participated in the Lite qualifiers and was impressive there. They have some Pro and Elite experience on their roster so although they are in for their first season in Lite, they are a team to consider as one of the favorites to have some success right away. EHC Biel Bienne eSports was eliminated last season in Round 2, but they have an experienced roster and are not to be left out in speculations on the contenders of the season.

This group you might call "The group of death" because there are so many teams to consider in the favorite category. Frölunda HC Academy is one of them. They made their debut in ECL Winter Lite and Core warm up and showed potential by reaching the playoffs right away. Despite the toughness of this group, they should not be forgotten as one of the squads who could rise above and take it all. Also being the academy of a prestigious team, they are one team to watch this season.

Games to watch in Group 1

Resurrection vs Powerhouse HC (scheduled January 2nd)

EHC Biel Bienne eSports vs Lemmenvelhot (scheduled January 4th)

Powerhouse HC vs Project X (scheduled January 11th)

Prima eSport vs Resurrection (scheduled January 5th)

Frölunda HC Academy vs Prima eSport (scheduled January 2nd)

Group 2

The Last Line, Murohoki and Sjukstugan are among the best teams in this group. All are strong contenders to win the Lite title. Sjukstugan participated in Pro last season but didn't quite find their stride there. Arkham Asylum is also one of the teams from Core last season, who have strengthened a lot over the past few months. They lost to Tohtorit in the quarterfinals after a strong regular season. The Last Line was eliminated in round 1 against noRex Gaming last Lite season, but are now back to challenge anyone who might step in their way. Murohoki is one of the longest standing teams around and had a disappointing last season, so they're back for redemption too.

Games to watch in group 2

The Last Line vs Arkham Asylum (scheduled January 2nd)

Sjukstugan vs The Last Line (scheduled January 4th)

Group 3

In this group there are some underdogs to this season in Lite. Golden Nights participated in Pro last season and the season before performed well in Lite. Back then, they advanced to round 3, only to be eliminated by eventual champions Björlöven Esports, who have since seen success in Pro. BIK Karlskoga Esport advanced to round 2 last season, losing to champions Reality Check HC. They are expected to improve this season and are definitely capable of challenging the favorites.

Toxicity is former Syndrome, whose Experienced ECL players have the potential to be better than in their last ECL 12 Lite season. Rusty Bulls with RCL experience and also previous ECL Lite background are also one of many interesting teams to watch. Bastu qualified through the Lite qualifier tournament and earned their place in Lite. They have players with Lite, Pro and even Elite background in their roster and definitely could be one of the success stories to follow.

Games to watch in group 3

Bastu vs Golden Nights (scheduled January 2nd)

Toxicity vs Rusty Bulls (scheduled January 2nd)

Group 4

FILADELPHIA ACADEMY, despite not having their big brother in name in Elite anymore, are still affiliated with one of the all time greatest teams and with that have some pressure to their name. Last season they lost to Project X in the very first playoff round and after that disappointment they surely have a lot to prove. If they end up facing Frölunda Academy at some point, we could be in for some rivalry action. I expect them to perform better this season and be one of the contenders.

Some other potential teams in this group are RoKi Esports, Oulunsalon HT and TTK, who all have ECL experience they are likely to capitalize in the near future.

Games to watch in group 4

FILADELPHIA ACADEMY vs Oulunsalo HT (scheduled January 2nd)

RoKi Esports vs TTK (scheduled February 1st)

Players to watch

@L4nnisto Powerhouse HC ECL 22 Winter Pro qualifier GP 8, 1+4=5

New player in Powerhouse HC. Played for Tic Tac Toes for several seasons in Lite and is very skilled individually.

@Bugimir Lemmenvelhot ECL 22 Winter Lite qualifier GP 6, 6+4=10

Experienced player previously in Core. Has some merit to his name from the European top from several years back.

@sannteri Arkham Asylum ECL 12 Elite Regular season GP 30, 23+17=40

Has experience with IQUE/Enigma in Elite from recent seasons and is a very strong player at the Lite level. A strong contender for player of the season.

@Khemnos Rusty Bulls ECL 22 Winter Lite qualifier Stage 1 regular season GP 6, 2+6=8

Played previously for Alliance HT. Experienced player in RCL and ECL at various levels. Joined Rusty Bulls for this season in Lite. Is a leading player for his team and a centerman to rally around.

@juusto18 Bastu ECL 22 Winter Lite qualifier Stage 1 regular season GP 8, 6+12=18

Pro experience from recent seasons. Some teams like Bastu might be relatively new but on the rosters of these teams there is an enormous amount of experience and skill. @juusto18 is one of these players who might make big impact on this season in Lite.

@Mrantonn Frölunda Academy ECL 22 Winter Lite & Core warm up regular season GP 16, 76,07 SV%, 2,44 GAA, 1 SO

Goalie with ECL Pro experience. Not the best statistics in warm up tournament but expected to improve and to provide a solid base for his team to build on this ECL Lite season.

In general, this ECL '22 Winter Lite season looks very tough to predict. So many great teams will take the ice. We've got many quality teams in each group and I'm predicting the playoff race to go down to the wire for many of them. It's also great to see new teams from Core taking the step up and with the potential to make a positive impact right away. All in all, we've got an extraordinarily interesting season ahead in the Lite division.

PS: We would love for you to follow our social channels, as they are an integral part of the ECL season.