Hey NHL Gamers,
the ECL 5 sign-up period ended yesterday, and we are very proud of the fact that a total of 98 teams will be participating in the first season taking place on NHL 18! This is up 24% from the 79 teams that signed up for ECL 4 - a truly amazing growth.
Without further ado, let's look at the final division structure.
ECL 5 Elite - All teams
15 teams confirmed their participation for ECL 5:
- Written In The Stars
- Northern Ascendancy (previously Unknown)
- Kattiautomaatti
- Sjukstugan
- SJK eSports (previously Laser HT)
- Silver Sword Griffins
- Carlsberg HC
- Aapon Taikasauva
- Dynasty
- Northern Stars
- Nordic Nightmare
- MUKIMIEHET
- Synergy
- Nordic Lightning
- TIKI TALK
Due to the fact that Limitless were folding, one spot in the Elite division had to be filled. To make this decision, League Administration was looking for the most successful ECL 4 Pro team that wasn't promoted to the Elite division by regular means. Round 2 of the ECL 4 Pro playoffs featured 4 possible contenders:
- White Trash (4 PO wins / 1.18 reg. season PPG)
- Shameful Knights (5 PO wins / 1.43 reg. season PPG)
- Unlucky Boys HC (6 PO wins / 1.5 reg. season PPG)
- Rusty Blades (7 PO wins / 1.54 reg. season PPG)
Based on these numbers, League Administration offered the 16th ECL 5 Elite spot to Rusty Blades. The invitation was accepted by the team's captains.
ECL 5 Pro - All teams
23 teams (excluding Rusty Blades, which were moved to ECL Elite) confirmed their participation for ECL 5:
- Alliance HT
- Baltic Sea Eagles
- DEAD END KINGS
- SIKA
- Inter Iceland
- J P T J
- Bellizzi
- Nordic Stars
- Shameful Knights
- Lavetten
- Gotham Knights (previously Refuse To Lose)
- Pata Hellalla
- Hawks Hockey Club
- White Trash
- Speedy Bros Hockey (previously Finnish Roosters)
- Evolution (previously Nocturnal Hunters)
- Bare Knuckles Hockey
- Sypperstaars (previously Rynnäkköviikset)
- Free From Rodents
- Unlucky Boys HC
- AK 47
- Nemesis
- Murohoki
This means a total of 9 spots had to be filled with ECL Lite sign-ups. As ECL 4 Lite quarter-finalists, these three teams were prioritized and moved to ECL 5 Pro:
- EN HUND
- Banterfield Battalion
- Black Panther Party (previously HC Ancient Warriors)
For the 6 remaining spots, we were looking at all the remaining ECL Pro applications from these 14 teams:
- Red Machine
- The Beagle Boys
- Soldiers of Odens
- God Tier
- Clowns on Ice
- GHETTO FIREBIRDS
- THE UNITED KNIGHTS
- Dirty Animals
- Slapshot Club Germany
- Squirt Hockey
- Face Wash Hockey
- Falun Coal Miners
- Phantoms HC
- Company of Geeks
To ensure a competitive and sustainable Pro division, League Administration not only looked at in-game leaderboards and records, but also considered EASHL history as well as notable achievements, recent games and ECL experience (games played, points, wins etc.). At the end of our evaluation, these 6 teams were considered suitable and are moved to ECL 5 Pro:
- God Tier
- Clowns on Ice
- GHETTO FIREBIRDS
- THE UNITED KNIGHTS
- Squirt Hockey
- Falun Coal Miners
ECL 5 Pro - Final groups
ECL Pro will be played in 2 groups with 16 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in a 30 game regular season in which the top 8 teams out of each group will go to the playoffs (16 teams total).
To determine the final groups, 10 pre-seeded teams were randomly assigned to the 2 groups. Afterwards, the remaining 22 teams were assigned to the groups. Here is the result:
Group 1
- AK 47
- Alliance HT
- Bare Knuckles Hockey
- Black Panther Party
- Evolution
- Falun Coal Miners
- God Tier
- Gotham Knights
- Hawks Hockey Club
- Inter Iceland
- Lavetten
- Murohoki
- Nemesis
- SIKA
- Squirt Hockey
- White Trash
Group 2
- Baltic Sea Eagles
- Banterfield Battalion
- Bellizzi
- Clowns on Ice
- DEAD END KINGS
- EN HUND
- Free From Rodents
- GHETTO FIREBIRDS
- J P T J
- Nordic Stars
- Pata Hellalla
- Shameful Knights
- Speedy Bros Hockey
- Sypperstaars
- THE UNITED KNIGHTS
- Unlucky Boys HC
ECL 5 Lite - All teams
The remaining 50 teams will be participating in ECL 5 Lite:
- Elämäm Kiekko
- The Beagle Boys
- iNF4M0US
- Pohjoista Voimaa
- Terrific Tigers
- HC Aurinko
- Ice Phoenix
- Rising Phantoms HC
- EV Duisburg
- Papat
- Nordic Nosebleed
- Company of Geeks
- Red Machine
- Soldiers of Odens
- Lucky Strike
- Freddie Mercury Institute
- Puck Panthers
- Nottingham Chiefs
- Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat
- Nordic Eagles
- Try Another Hole
- SGWEER United
- Rusty Bulls
- Finnish Hockey Legends
- Raging Monkeys
- Nearbird Fighters
- Mentula SKA
- Dirty Animals
- Slapshot Club Germany
- Squad Vilttiketju
- Deadly Phantoms HC
- Almost Famous
- Bucketeers
- DarrasStars
- Cold Turkeys
- Rasend Krokodil
- Face Wash Hockey
- Kouvola Screaming Eagles
- NuggetZ
- South Sweden Panthers
- Roistot
- Hc Nappiaivot
- KulmalaHengaus
- Donec Reges
- Phantoms HC
- Penalty Box
- Burns Beardy Bastards
- RAKETTIPUTKET
- Breakers Of The Bone
- PUNANEN REHTORI
ECL 5 Lite - Final groups
ECL Lite will be played in 5 groups with 10 teams each. With 2 games against each opponent, this results in an 18 game regular season in which the top 6 teams out of each group, as well as the two best 7th ranked teams out of all groups will go to the playoffs (32 teams total).
To determine the final groups, 15 pre-seeded teams were randomly assigned to the 5 groups. Afterwards, the remaining 35 teams were assigned to the groups. Here is the result:
Group 1
- Face Wash Hockey
- Finnish Hockey Legends
- Freddie Mercury Institute
- Lucky Strike
- NuggetZ
- PUNANEN REHTORI
- Puck Panthers
- Raging Monkeys
- Roistot
- Terrific Tigers
Group 2
- Cold Turkeys
- EV Duisburg
- Ice Phoenix
- Kouvola Screaming Eagles
- Nottingham Chiefs
- Penalty Box
- Phantoms HC
- Rasend Krokodil
- Red Machine
- Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat
Group 3
- Company of Geeks
- Deadly Phantoms HC
- Donec Reges
- HC Aurinko
- iNF4M0US
- KulmalaHengaus
- Pohjoista Voimaa
- Rising Phantoms HC
- Soldiers of Odens
- Try Another Hole
Group 4
- Almost Famous
- Breakers Of The Bone
- DarrasStars
- Elämäm Kiekko
- Mentula SKA
- Nearbird Fighters
- Nordic Nosebleed
- Papat
- South Sweden Panthers
- The Beagle Boys
Group 5
- Bucketeers
- Burns Beardy Bastards
- Dirty Animals
- HC Nappiaivot
- Nordic Eagles
- RAKETTIPUTKET
- Rusty Bulls
- SGWEER United
- Slapshot Club Germany
- Squad Vilttiketju
ECL 5 Rules
The rules for ECL 5 can be found here:
All players, whether they are captains or not, are obligated to be aware of all the rules. Make sure to memorize all rules outlined in "8. Game rules" due to the 30 second limit for stoppages in-game. Throughout the tournament, the rules may be updated. Any updates will be conveniently listed at the very top of the ruleset. Make sure to check out if anything changed once in a while.
League Administration members
All league related decisions will be made by League Administration. To open up a case, create a new question in the "Contact League Administration" helpdesk: https://nhlgamer.com/community/forum/27-contact-league-administration/
Please note: Teams are expected to solve issues on their own before contacting League Administration - the rules include lots of guidance for different issues. League Administration is always the last resort to solve any disagreements.
Team management tools
All teams have been created, and the captains will shortly be unlocked for the team management tools on the main page (go to https://nhlgamer.com and click on your username in the top right corner to access them). All players need to be invited to the team rosters ahead of your first game. Please note that all invited players need to accept the invitation (there will be a popup alert on https://nhlgamer.com) before they show up on the team roster and can start playing!
In case you have any questions, please use the comment section below this news story. Good luck to all teams and have fun!
@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com
Recommended Comments
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.