ECL Elite 16 in 16: Symphony

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.

New name, new roster, new style, new captain… you get the picture. After winning ECL 4 there were perhaps mumblings about how likely Laser HT would be able to repeat such a feat, especially considering the quite frankly preposterous numbers that @Dominointi was able to put up (94pts in the regular season and 39pts in 17 for the playoffs). Obviously, there was some truth to the speculation as they made the finals for a second straight season but could only manage to win one game against a very dominant Aapon Taikasauva. They then went on to whimper out in 5 games to Dynasty in the first round of ECL 6. These lacklustre results paved the way for an exodus of players from SJK over the summer, leaving but 5 players behind. After the dust had settled, @indi969, @ICappeI, @Ilmari_30, @Selarit and @Lauri were faced with the daunting task of putting together a team that, at the very least, could compete in Elite. As such, unlike a lot of teams in Elite this season, Symphony has a quite uncommonly high player turnover, so with that in mind to help us gain an understanding of who has joined and left the team, we have contacted their captain indi969 and new addition @vSilenttio to give us a snapshot of how they are coming along in their preparation for ECL 7.

IN

ADETIKKI <-- Written In The Stars
Puantso <-- Dynasty
Tbnantti <-- Northern Stars
Entii112 <-- Nordic Stars
nylanderi <-- Break from NHL
vsilenttio <-- SIKA

OUT

Dominointi --> Written In The Stars
Hansulinho --> Written In The Stars
VesKuLiNe --> Written In The Stars
OriginalPumaz --> Dynasty
Leksa94 --> Dynasty

Current roster:

Forwards
ADETIKKI @ADETIKKI
indi969 (C) @indi969
Puantso (A) @Buantso
tbnantti @tbnantti

Defensemen
vSilenttio @vSilenttio
nylanderi @nylanderi
Ilmari_30 @Ilmari_30
Entii112 @entii112
Selarit @Selarit

Goaltenders
ICappeI (A) @ICappeI
Laurilion @Lauri

As the “old but new” team in elite (with plenty of top tier elite talent to boot) how are you approaching your debut season and what was the logic behind your offseason moves?

@indi969: I think we have a really good team at the moment, consisting of lots of old SJK players and lots of new guys also. I think we can go really far in this next tournament.

In continuation of the last question, are you done tooling with the team now or are you still looking for some extra pieces? If you are indeed finalised, what will your starting line-up look like?

@indi969: At the moment, I'm not 100% sure are we done yet and i don't know about the starting lineup. It'll remain to be seen!

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?

@indi969: There are many good teams in Elite this year, i think its gonna be harder than ever to win this next tournament. We are of course trying to do it. For favourites it's too lame to say your own team so I'm gonna go with Written In The Stars

Symphony had probably the largest player turnover in Elite this offseason, surely many players knew each other from before, but how have the guys started gelling and building chemistry? As a new guy, how easy was it to join the team?

@vSilenttio: I joined the team in April, so there's been some time to get to know the guys. We've been working on our chemistry hard all summer, you know, defensive positioning and all that stuff. I'll be blunt and say that it was a bit tough coming into a totally new team where the game speed and overall expected level of play was at a totally new level. However now as things have started rolling, I'd say I haven't had this much fun with this game since maybe NHL 14 and ECL 3. I'd like to extend a massive thanks to the team captains for making it so easy for the new guys to join the team!

You're making your first strides on the Elite ice after quite a while this season, for the first time in a team with somewhat high expectations. What kind of thoughts does that bring to mind and how do you expect Symphony to handle this season?

@vSilenttio: That's something I've thought about myself too. What kind of impact am I going to be able to make after a few seasons spent in Pro, and I didn't really play as much as I've wanted during NHL 18. At least the expectations are very different than ever before, and the IS Cup has started very well, so mine are high too. In the ECL, our only goal is the championship. Every guy is zoned in and gives a 100% every night, the work ethic and the morale within the team is what I've always wanted, so I'm sensing good things.

Thanks indi & Sile for your answers and good luck with the upcoming season!

ECL Elite 16 in 16 so far:

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

What do you guys think the top 3 will look like?