ECL Elite 16 in 16: Butterfly Effect

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain.

As we all know by now, ECL 6 Pro-winning Monarchs decided to call it quits after a tough offseason. The team decided to join forces with the Elite established Sjukstugan. This put the NHLGamer League Administration in a tough spot and we were forced to promote a new team, which based on ECL 6 Pro playoff wins is Butterfly Effect.

The team formerly known as Red Machine have made some big changes to their roster over the summer, with only 3 members left from last season. Butterfly Effect has a rather successful ECL history already, as they won ECL Lite in their first campaign in ECL 5, after which they experienced a tough 2nd round exit in ECL 6 against the eventual Pro champions Monarchs, who we already briefly introduced in this article. With some of the new signings @Vilupoika, @After8 (will_yo7), @eissi83 (do I even need to go on!?) they will have a strong season ahead of them. A negative was losing some of their key players but on the other hand adding Elite quality and a cool new logo and name will make up for that.

IN

Vilupoika <-- Carlsberg HC (Now Radical)
will_yo7 <-- Unlucky Boys HC
eissi83 <-- Written In The Stars
Nassustelija <-- Shameful Knights
Crisu_Rottis <-- Evolution

OUT

erholtzi --> Gotham Knights
Mommi --> Wasps Gaming
kojowaa --> Wasps Gaming
willekunq --> Written In The Stars
JaKurrii --> Wasps Gaming
Chafak --> Almost Famous
Stylez-Hades --> Free Agent

Current roster:

Forwards
jergelii (C) @Jere Jortama
RutonMosse (A) @RutonMosse
Vilupoika @Vilupoika

Defensemen
Nassustelija (A) @Nassustelija
will_yo @After8
Crisu_Rottis @Crisu_rottis

Goaltenders
eissi83 @eissi83
Roisto999 @Roisto999

I managed to have a short chat with captain @Jere Jortama:

As a (very) fresh face in the upcoming Elite season how have you approached this past offseason? I.e. What were the main areas that you felt needed addressing after your last season in Pro?

We hoped all offseason long that we can get that elite spot, our team had a lot of changes in the roster leading up to this season. We wanted to get more active players in our team, since our roster last season didn't show the level of activity I desired. Our team has been grinding daily ever since NHL 19 was dropped.

In continuation of the last question, are you done tooling with the team now or are you still looking for some extra pieces?

We made some good acquisitions and our roster is now ready for what ECL7 throws our way.

With all of this in mind, what are your expectations for the upcoming season? And who do you think are the current favourites to win it all?

Our expectations for the upcoming season are pretty high, I think that our team will surprise a lot of teams on the ice. I think Written In The Stars is a viable candidate to win ECL and if I had to name another one it's definitely FILADELPHIA.

Thanks for the quick chat jergelii and good luck in your inaugural Elite season!

ECL Elite 16 in 16 so far:

1. _______________
2. _______________
3. Radical
4. Symphony
5. Dynasty
6. Northern Ascendancy
7. Sjukstugan
8. Northern Stars
9. Unlucky Boys
10. Rusty Blades
11. Almost Famous
12. Butterfly Effect
13. SIKA
14. Gotham Knights
15. Falun Coal Miners
16. Team Frosty