ECL '23 Spring Elite Weekly 2: Rookies demanding respect

SportsGamers,

One more week of ECL '23 Spring Elite action is in the books and while the first week of play proved to be a true wake-up call for some, others really managed to come out of the games sprinting. In our first weekly recap, we made a call to action for a few teams, who we really believed could and should do better, so let's take a quick look at how things have progressed throughout the European Top 16. 

As teams are closing in on the halfway point of the season, the standings are starting to shape up and we're seeing which way the campaigns are trending for most squads. No surprises in the fact that the big three - Frölunda HC, Tunnel Vision and hREDS are topping the tables, but Leksands IF in fourth place at this point of the season is nothing we expected early on. Personally, I predicted the rookie Elite squad to struggle in the European Top 16, especially due to the fact that they tend to be more known for their offensive power than their tough defense. The best of the best usually succeed at shutting down the game of such teams at a pretty good rate, but it seems like Leksands IF have defied the odds and kept their production going against higher level opponents. As a result, left winger Robert @Robban kaudern Kaudern (I-Kaudo-I) is leading the league in both goals and points, with two games less than Erik @Eki Tammenpää, who is chasing him in second place. 

Another team that might have gotten pushed down a bit in previews and predictions around the community is Redhawks Esport, and it's an undeniable fact that the core, consisting of Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt, Connor @MartindalexC Martindale and André @Foppatofflan Liljegren aren't quite in the form of their glory days anymore. However, the experience and mental grit that team possesses is miles above several other teams in the division, not to say that their skill level still isn't there too! The Redhawks have managed to start their season quite well, coming away with points out of most of their matchups and even leaving JYP Jyväskylä without anything to write home about in their clashes last week. 

Mayhems is one of those teams that was written off quite quickly in all predictions and previews, and to be fair, they still are despite their .500 record throughout the first few weeks. No one expects these rookies to make a real dent in this division and keeping their spot would be a win in itself for them, but they are certainly demanding some extent of respect with their efforts already. The season has been somewhat of a rollercoaster for this team thus far, but they've been able to come away with points in important matchups and even left Reality Check without any in their head-to-head. Mayhems are hoping to be able to piggyback off of Teemu @temppanen Karvonen's success on the 1v1 side to launch them into winning ways. In order to do that, though, they'll need to find more scoring power or tighten up in their own zone. 

Finally, we have to talk about a team we already had a look at last week and it's Nordic Stars. What is going on with them at the moment? The Stars had an incredibly tough first week, where they played against all of the big favorites and only came away with one win, but since then, they haven't been able to turn the ship around in the way we expected. Their preseason looked very promising, but could it be that their unsuccessful first week has shattered their confidence? Nordic Stars have only managed to come away with full point in one matchup against Mayhems, but lost again last night against Leksands IF. This team has the skill and talent to turn things around, but will they have the mental strength to do so?

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. Here are the transfers that have come to light since last week:

Oskar @OsquuG Hautala -  Otukset (ECL Pro) -->  Reality Check

Standings - Week 2

1.		Frölunda HC	+3
2.		Tunnel Vision	+6
3.		hREDS	-1
4.		Leksands IF	-1
5.		Heimo	-4
6.		Redhawks Esport	-1
7.		JYP Jyväskylä	-
8.		Mayhems	+1
9.		Reality Check HC	-3
10.		ZSC Esports	+2
11.		GOONS	+3
12.		Nordic Stars	-2
13.		Roots Gaming	+2
14.		Tohtorit	-1
15.		Färjestad BK	+1
16.		Örebro Hockey	-5