MUKIMIEHET are Champions! (Season 2 Recap & Outlook)

Hey NHL Gamers,

it's been 7 weeks since the start of ECL Season 2 on PS4, and first things first: MUKIMIEHET won the cup!

Congratulations go out to you guys, but we also want to thank Victorious Secret HC for making the final such a close one. We would also like to thank all participating teams for their dedication which made this second season such a smooth one after all.

RECAP

Before we headed into this season, you were very clear about what you expected from us. The main thing was the overall length of the tournament and scheduling in general, as many of you didn't feel like continuing with the game during summer time. We focused on this a lot, and tried to interact with you more than we used to and especially earlier than we did during last season. That was also the main reason why we decided to seed 48 teams into 8 groups: Not only were we able to keep the regular season as short as 10 games, but due to the fact that 4 teams per group were able to advance to the playoffs, we believe that newcomers received a fair chance to establish their reputation.

This effect was also visible after the regular season was done: While established teams like UKnighted HC, No Guts No Glory and The Unstoppable Warriors didn't make the playoffs, some of the recently joined teams suddenly appeared in the playoff tree (Fat Cats, Rising Force, HC iceTigers, Freaky Friday, Helter Skelter, HC Shameful Knights).

Another point I want to talk about is the rulebook. All in all, this season was a pleasant surprise in my eyes. While there were lots of discussions during our first season, and also controversy about staff decisions, it was almost like the complete opposite this time. Let me say this right away: While we might have tweaked a few things from the administration side, it was you, the players, who made this happen. Compared to the end of last year, everyone of you did a great job in supporting the platform and each other, and it was only rarely necessary to contact staff members about any problems. We appreciate this a lot, as it allows us to spend our limited time on other aspects of the website. Thank you very much!

However, there was one case where staff intervention was needed: TIKI TALK vs. Nordic Lightning during the playoffs. I don't want to go into detail again, but please note that we pay attention to any shortcomings like we did last season. And while it may have been a tricky and also frustrating situation, these cases are always important to lead us forward. At this stage we already have a solid foundation, but certain aspects like scheduling need another overhaul to ensure that the rulebook allows for competitive gameplay and at the same time keeps our personal lifes in mind and intact.

Let me use this opportunity to remind you of our feedback tool once again. We already received some valuable input, and we believe there are many more people who would like to tell us about their opinions:

WHAT'S NEXT?

We were very intrigued by the Summer Cup discussion which took place during the last 2 months. We always got the impression that NHL during summer time is a dead place, but seeing how carefully this initiative was driven by our fellow community members (without any staff influence) and how many people already left their vote on this topic, we decided to hear you and kick off another tournament during the next few months until mid-August. Mid-August is usually the time when EA Sports releases a demo version for the next NHL game, and we don't want to interfere with that. On top of that, I can already reveal that this next tournament will not be part of NHLGamer's ECL tournaments. This time we aim for open schedules and we want to give all of our members (whether they be veterans or juniors) a chance to get connected. Stay tuned, there will be another announcement with all the details very soon!

On behalf of the NHLGamer Staff,

- gzell60