Greetings, gamers!

After a well-deserved breather following last season’s Game 7 thriller, it’s time to rust off your blades, as ECL 5 Elite is set to start with a bang. Twelve teams from ECL 4 Elite, four teams from ECL 4 Pro and only 8 playoff spots to compete for – we are looking at another season of action-packed excitement.

The offseason was very busy with major roster shuffle in several teams. However, the balance of power has not seemed to shift that much. As an introduction to the new season, here’s a prediction of how the teams stand, mostly based on personal observations and EASHL performance during the pre-season. The teams are listed alphabetically within their respective categories.

The Contenders

The reigning champions Laser HT are now known as SJK eSports. Team captain Dominointi, who represents the eSports organization personally as well, is expected to be on full form early on, having continued his successful season with a victorious Summer Cup. SJK goes into the season with no major changes in the lineup – and with a champion status, nothing points out they would not be contenders for the new season.

Written In The Stars has been one of the strongest teams in the pre-season. DieCutterMC from Dynasty is a great fit to the team. They will look to repeat their start from last year and only a few have doubts they will succeed at that. A blend of slick moves and unorthodox plays; at times, juggling on the fine line between effective and entertaining.

Carlsberg HC is back in the Elite division, to which it undoubtedly belongs. There were two very interesting additions to Carlsberg HC in the form of Vilupoika and KingofApes. With one of the best offensive rosters in the league, this team intends to win the last game of the season and light the lamp on the way through.

MUKIMIEHET introduced Pair4You back into the lineup. The core of the team has stuck around together for a while already, and with a well-balanced offensive and defensive style of play, the cup is within the reach of these guys.

The Challengers

Aapon Taikasauva saw a lot of changes over the summer. In came Nylanderi, Penatski, Puantso, Cappe and ShaneC27. They have all the tools to make it a championship team, but the tournament is short and with so many changes, time is not on their side. With arguably the highest potential of improving their game throughout the season, they probably don’t top the Challenger list only alphabetically.

Dynasty was as close as it gets to winning last year, but a lot of roster changes happened over the summer and it will probably take a while to get back the routine level to where it was. To highlight the changes made, the starting roster is expected to feature only 2 skaters who finished the season with the team in ECL 4. Nevertheless, Dynasty is still one of the best defensive teams out there – come playoffs, anything is possible.

Northern Ascendancy drained the swamp, being no more known as Unknown. Instead, the team is known for their fast, creative and lethal counter-attacks. One of the best teams in neutral zone transitions, and often catch opponents out of formation. Very strong when given the chance to play with their strengths.

Nordic Lightning is one of the teams with most roster changes during the offseason. From the brink of folding the club, Terrorsenko|91| managed to get a squad together. The hard work has only just begun though; most teams in the Elite division have a solid head-start in preparation and Nordic Lightning faces a tough task should they try to clinch a playoff spot. Likely to rely on defensive play and quick rushes up the ice.

Nordic Nightmare come into the tournament as a bit of a mystery.  The team has been a rare sight during the pre-season, but reports say they’ve been building chemistry over the summer in a whole different genre of games. However, the changes to the lineup weren’t big during the offseason, and they should be on form quickly.

Northern Stars was another team to make a big double-signing, when PleeMaker and tbnantti inked their names on a contract. Last season they were a very productive duo, and will be interesting to see how they adapt to the new environment. If they can get everything clicking, Northern Stars has the potential to win the tournament; but as I see it, they are not there yet.

Synergy, another long-standing franchise from Sweden, finds themselves in a rather similar spot to past tournaments; ready to challenge any team on the ice, and beat them on a good day. Known for strong cycle plays and utilizing all 5 skaters in all phases of the game, the experience level emanates from the blue-and-yellow uniforms. Missing out on the playoffs would be a disappointment.

TIKI TALK starts another season with an under-dog status. Patient defense and success with their stingy counter-attacks, and TIKI TALK is right on their game. Team captain itspardytime has been around for a long time and knows how to rob the points from bigger teams. Nevertheless, a playoff spot is probably out of reach.

The Arrivals

Kattiautomaatti N/A, author's team. How will Katti do in Elite? Share your thoughts in the comments section!

Rusty Blades was eventually rewarded for their strong season in Pro with a last-minute Elite spot for ECL 5. These Finns start the season with a virtually unchanged lineup. They are a strong defensive team with good goaltending, often able to catch out match favorites.

Silver Sword Griffins is one of the four new teams in Elite this season, and they’ll be looking to cement their place at the highest tier. SSG has a very balanced lineup, including three winners from the previous Summer Cup. The structure and organization of their game is more developed and rigid than with most other teams. Contending for a playoff spot.

Sjukstugan makes their entry into the Elite tier in an uncomfortable position after losing their n. 1 goalie right on the doorstep of the new season. With some additional roster shuffling in the offseason, Sjukstugan could be facing a rocky start with their new campaign.

Stories to Follow

In a big picture, there are always interesting finer details. There are several new teams ready to leave their mark in Elite, Carlsberg HC even looking at setting a standard on what can be achieved straight after promotion.

On an individual player level, there is so much to follow. Here are a few stories that I will be following with interest:

3+2=?: Can tbnantti and PleeMaker continue to be the offensive powerhouse we saw in the past, will the new roster start clicking, and will it make NOS great again?

Rusty on both ends: Can Lamsa keep up his goal scoring numbers for the Rusty Blades, now at the highest tier? Can Supreex do the same goaltending-wise in the other end of the ice?

The League Sheriff: SadaPoika was an interesting addition by Sjukstugan; not least because he is the only forward in the Elite league to regularly play with an enforcer build.

What are looking forward to this season? Do you have a team or a player you will keep an eye on? Who wins, who relegates? Tell us your thoughts!

Keep those streams running, and as always, good luck & have fun!

NHLGamers,

The time has come for ECL 5 to get started and here is the Preview for the ECL 5 Pro division. This is the second season under the ECL divisional umbrella and Pro this season looks to be even tighter than last season. While there are some very high-skill teams participating this season as well, there aren't any clear-cut favorites the same way a team like Carlsberg HC was for ECL 4 Pro. On the other hand, that should make this regular season a sight to behold.

This is taken directly from @gzell60s excellent ECL 5 launch summary:

Quote

23 teams (excluding Rusty Blades, which were moved to ECL Elite) confirmed their participation for ECL 5. This means a total of 9 spots had to be filled with ECL Lite sign-ups. To ensure a competitive and sustainable Pro division when filling the spots, 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). 

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.

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

Lets begin by taking a look at the teams added to Pro Group 1 by application (marked in bold). 4 out of the 9 teams promoted through application ended up in Group 1. Out of those, Black Panther Party had the strongest original claim due to their Quarterfinal berth in the ECL 4 Lite playoffs. The remaining "application teams" - God Ties, Squirt Hockey & Falun Coal Miners - will have their work cut out for them to qualify for the playoffs among established teams like SIKA, Gotham Knights and White Trash.

Speaking of which, both SIKA and Gotham Knights (under the name "Refuse To Lose") both participated in ECL 4 Elite and will be hungry to prove themselves after getting demoted. On the other side of the spectrum, Group 1 also features two teams that made their way up from Lite last season by going far in the playoffs: Lavetten and Hawks Hockey Club. Look for both these teams to finish high in this group as they have continued to develop their team play since that promotion. Finally, you got to keep your eyes open for a team like White Trash who came close to getting promoted to Elite last season. 


Projected Top 3 from Group 1:

1. SIKA - Never underestimate the Hogs. If anyone is going to turn their trend around and work them back to being an Elite-level team, it is captain and leader vSilenttio.

2. White Trash - Did well in the playoffs in ECL 4 Pro and hasn't lost a step since. With some of the biggest dogs (Carlsberg, Sjukstugan, Kattiautomaatti, Silver Sword Griffins) out of the way, it wouldn't be a surprise to see White Trash evolve into one of the new big dogs of Pro.

3. Gotham Knights - It is time for a bounce-back season from dynamic duo Hanssoni and RedMisTi. After being at the very top of the ladder for many seasons in the predecessor to ECL (the EHL), they haven't quite found their groove in the ECL yet. This season presents an excellent opportunity to do so!

Players to watch from Group 1:

1. ZipPlayer & Kaneyh, White Trash - Dynamic duo that has led White Trash in scoring the last two seasons (one each). With White Trash expected to be one of the highest scoring teams in ECL Pro Group 1, the board is set for these two to put up 100+ points each if they play enough games during the season. 

2. KattenJansson97, Lavetten - Highly skilled center who handles the puck with ease and supplies highlight reel goals more often than not. Likely to be the leading scorer for up-and-coming Swedish team Lavetten, Katten will have to make sure to stay grounded in his two-way game to handle the rigors of a Pro season. 

3. SpiderRoyal, SIKA - One of the most experienced goaltenders in the Group, Spider is a calming presence between the pipes for SIKA. Will be expected to shoulder the majority of the teams games in net and there is no doubt in my mind that this veteran keeper can do it. 

Underdog - Team to watch from Group 1:

1. Evolution (previously Nocturnal Hunters) - With the late additions of TackleControl and topikeranen to a team that already featured Jageksi as the anchor of the offense, Evolution just jumped to the top of the list as one of the overall most dangerous offensive teams. It would not be a surprise to see this team pull of some crazy performances under captain Crisu_Rottis and end up as one of the top seeds in the playoffs. Look out!

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

The teams promoted by application in this group were Banterfield Battalion, Clowns on Ice, EN HUND, Ghetto Firebirds and THE UNITED KNIGHTS. If you see one team name there that stands out, it is most likely THE UNITED KNIGHTS. Besides having their name featured in ALL CAPS, this team has a long and storied history as a top team, dating back even to the PS3 tournaments. Outsides of these five, returning Pro franchises Unlucky Boys HC and Shameful Knight have their eyes fixed on achieving what they barely fell short of last season, making the Elite division. Teams J P T J and DEAD END KINGS will feel instantly comfortable in the Pro division with the increased competition seeing as they flew high through Lite last season. Finally, never count long-time franchise Baltic Sea Eagles out of the fight.

Projected Top 3 from Group 2:

1. Unlucky Boys HC - Fell short last season but will be one of the top teams from Group 2, anything else will surely be dissapointing for captain Anhel_Kuru and his established, high-skill team.

2. Shameful Knights - Anyone who has played Shameful Knights in regular EASHL competition know that they are a frustrating team to play against. Content with turning the puck back to their defenders, the patient play style of this team has gotten many teams in trouble before. With their opponents lulled into a false sense of security, the Shameful Knights have the ability to strike suddendly and dart through the opposing teams defense. 

3. THE UNITED KNIGHTS - Big-time franchise that is returning to ECL competition after a long layoff but hasn't looked rusty at all when doing it. TUK has given EASHL opponents fits so far in NHL 18 and while the season hasn't gotten going yet, it is safe to say that the name THE UNITED KNIGHTS will be feared once more before too long.

Players to watch from Group 2:

1. Johataja699, Speedy Bros Hockey - Ahead of ECL 5, the captain, heart and soul of Finnish Roosters saw his once great team on the verge of collapsing. To keep this from happening, he teamed up with hard-hitting defender Ampuhaukka78 to create a hybrid team between Finnish Roosters and the newly formed Speedy Bros Hockey. Brings ton of skill and experience to the lineup and will be an important component for the success of Speedy Bros Hockey.

2. Nephenzy, DEAD END KINGS - The "players to watch"-list for Group 2 becomes a list of captains as Nephenzy of DEK takes the second spot here. Not pleased with being put in Lite last season, this point producer went out and carried his team all the way to a Pro promotion. Remains to be seen if he can do the same from Pro to Elite (and re-kindle the rivalry with Synergy Hockey) but if he brings the same determination as last season, anything is possible.

3. Seahyena, Nordic Stars - We complete the captaincy trio by adding Nordic Stars' long-time captain Seahyena. A solid two-way defender who can score point and light opponents up with big hits, Seahyena will be crucial to NS' success this season in ECL Pro Group 2.

Underdog - Team to watch from Group 2:

1. J P T J - The team that dominated every statistical category imaginable in ECL 4 Lite jumps up a step and faces Pro competition. Will their journey continue on its meteoric path or will the challenge of facing teams that are stronger defensively put a lid on this offensive powerhouse? Only time will tell but something tells me that J P T J might find themselves at the top half of the standings once it is time for the playoffs.

That was our ECL 5 Pro prediction here at NHLGamer. Be sure to stay tuned for more previews and quality content as the European Championship League progresses.

@The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

NHLGamers,

We are proud to introduce our ECL 5 Lite where we will have 49 participating teams. These 49 teams consists of well known franchises from previous ECL season, teams which played 6vs6 games as early as NHL12 and newcomers - so this ECL 5 Lite season holds an interesting mix of teams. This will be our Lite preview and it is based on what I know of these teams so feel free to hit 'Comment' on the article if you agreed or disagreed.

Prediction for the Regular Season Top-5

1. Almost Famous
In pre-season games this team have shown a tremendous amount of success. They have managed to beat Elite teams left and right. Their heart and soul player is se_ve420 and I believe he will decide if this team goes far or not. Almost Famous is real contender to win Lite, but can they find consistency in their performance in the big games?

2. Face Wash Hockey
This might be one of the oldest teams I know of. FWH have true depth in their roster so they can call up anyone on main roster for ECL play. At this point I have got to bring up a few players which are, in my opinion, true legends of the 6v6 scene. Taemtaem, ARSI_69, NorppaAsd, Korkkiruuvi_82 - I bow to your history. It brings back memories of one of the older 6v6 finals between Woodhands vs. Face Wash Hockey. Good times!

Question mark here is; can these skilled players shake the rust off their hands and find that group chemistry they were known for back in the day?

3. Deadly Phantoms HC
This is another "old-time" team who has regrouped and added more skill to their previous player core of willywonkaa, The_Rayman80, doksdel. On paper, DPC has some really impressive players and when you a player like XxTHENEXTONE87xX its an easy prediction to make that this team will be one of the major contenders for this season.

4. Try Another Hole
TAH is a fast-paced team that will tear you apart if you don’t defend against them as a 5-man unit.  This team features on of ECL Lites best offensive duos in hegyttaja and ankkalasvegas. Recent addition juntunen88 makes them even stronger, not to mention he is an ex-Infinity player so, what more do I need to say? This team will improve their overall game over the course of the ECL season so be afraid, be very afraid. Furthermore, in my book this team would have been a Pro team, but they decided to stick to Lite which tells you how down to earth these guys are.

5. Breakers Of The Bone
I am going to quote one of the best Javelin throwers from Finland here: When the interviewing reporter asked Seppo Räty after the javelin qualifiers in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics:

“How could your throw be so successfull when you'd only had one big competition to prepare before these games”? Seppo answered, “... and 20 years.”

This quote fits perfectly with this team. They have so much experience from big games and from playing together in older NHL versions. One of the big "inside" questions here is does the Nevala brothers still play or not?

Oh and Seppo Räty? He won an Olympic bronze medal in Atlanta.

Players to watch

1. CalciChew69, LW – Penalty Box
One of the best offensive LW’ers in early years of the 6v6 scene. ‘Calci’ has tons of creativity, tremendous individual skills and is overall very dangerous in the offensive zone. His trademark is to create a scoring change out of nothing. He might lack some physicality, but he can definitely beat you 1-on-1. This is his comeback year in EASHL.

2. Yoloberg, C - Face Wash Hockey
Yoloberg is known as a good Versus and HUT player. ‘Yolo’ is a mobile, transitional two-way playmaker who looks poised and reads the game well most of the time. Strong skater who likes to carry the puck on his own and if you give him just glimps of free space and time he’ll punish you. All-in all, a very competitive playmaker who can be relied upon in all situations to make a difference.

3. JaKurrii, C - Red Machine
An extremely talented two-way center, JaKurrii has a large dose of hockey sense and soft hands. His technical skills are very good and his trademark is smooth puck handling and ability to find his linemates in tight spots. People might also know him as a successful HUT player.

4. |tokFan|, C - The Beagle Boys 
Complete two-way center who first and foremost is a true competitor. TokFan always plays like there is 10 seconds left on the clock, he never takes a shift off and works hard to never have a bad game. He plays to win, not for himself, but for the team he captains. He’s also exceptional in the faceoff circle.

5. Lidaas_79, RW – Nordic Nosebleed 
Dynamic offensive forward who backchecks very hard and understands playing smart and puck-possession hockey. Lida will battle hard on all three zones and shows willingness to do whatever it to takes to get puck to the back in the net. You could call him weak version of ‘Lämsä’.

6. willywonkaa, G – Deadly Phamtom HC 
This goaltenders track record goes back all the way to NHL12. He might be one of the oldest goaltender in the game but he plays his angles conservatively, moves very well and doesn’t move or play too aggressive. willywonkaa tracks the puck well and doesn’t allow many rebounds. Cornerstone to his team success.

7. Jahajaha93, RD – Almost Famous
Having a breakout year in NHL 18 for sure if you look at his pre-season games. Has improved his overall game by a large margin compared to last year. His name doesn’t always flash on the scoreboard, but he does everything well in the defensive zone and can carry the puck if needed. Next JaikenK maybe?

8. Britn1, LD/RD – Elämäm Kiekko 
Defenseman who has good overall skills. He's a little better defensively than offensively, but has yet to flourish as a two-way defender. The tool box is there but we haven’t seen it transition to the ice fully. Overall a patient player who positions himself well. Doesn’t like to hit, but plays the body enough to consistently steal the puck. Could be his breakout year too!

9. ankkalasvegas, C – Try Another Hole,
A true two-way center who will be a Top-10 faceoff guy. Really special guy to have for the penalty killing. Has the complete set: strong physical presence, strong defense, solid skill and his trademark goal, slapshot on the breakaway. Weak side could be that his physical play sometimes leads to him taking too many penalties. Has a real chance to win "Best Player"-trophy for ECL 5 Lite.

10. RutonMosse, RW – Soldiers Of Odens,
Still a young prospect who has all the tools to be "the real deal superstar", but have yet to find consistency in his game. He’s very strong with the puck and possesses some creative, quick hands - allowing him to get fancy with the puck on the rush. Could easily be the overall goal scoring winner in this seasons Lite division.

Underdogs: Teams to watch

1. Soldiers OF Odens
They have a monster offensive upside, but will their skaters work out how to play as a 5-man unit? This team can go to the end if they remember to defend properly.

2. Elämäm Kiekko 
EMK have kept their original roster and they have clearly improved their game. Nowadays you can’t find many holes in their game. With this squad, consistency will be the biggest issue but I believe these boys are a playoff team for sure.

3. Finnish Hockey Legends
FHL has a good grasp of the game and knows how to play the game right way. Really impressive possession game, but lack of experience in tight games could be an issue. Very interesting team!

Phew, the more I dig in to teams, the more questions pops up. This has the potential to be a really special season for ECL Lite.

We're seeing so many old teams return to the ice who are facing off with all our exciting newcomers. This season will decide if the ‘old timers’ have what it takes for this tight ECL league or if NHL 18 is the game of the "new generation".

As I mentioned many times in this preview, consistency will be the key word for many teams this season.

Lets enjoy this and keep the game clean, I wish everyone good luck and see you on the ice.

Please note: Company of Geeks has sadly decided to withdraw their participation last night at the doorstep of the season.

Best regards, 
@Ranksu for NHLGamer.com

Editing: @The_Alpha_Furyan

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

Good day NHLGamers,

Hope you enjoyed our ECL 5 trailer - it has been in the works for quite some time. Be sure to share it and spread the word if you liked it. We can tell you that a lot of effort went into making it and while a great many people have been involved in its execution from start to finish (including of course our featured talent @Bjono, @pnordetun, @cHIIMEERa, @Hansulinho & @Dominointi who couldn't have been more professional during the shoots), no one more so than @LastMandalorian. 

From developing the concept months ago, to setting up the film shoots, to traveling around Sweden and Finland to actually film it - all the way through editing the material and picking the right music. Hats off to you, sir - a job well done.

Hockey returns

133. That is the exact amount of days since the European Championship League was last in action. 133 days (or more than 3000+ hours) of waiting for this next shot at virtual ice hockey glory. It is true that while this years Summer Cup did satiate some of the community need for competitive gaming, there is nothing quite like ECL hockey.

The fourth ECL season was a season of change for many reasons. A new system featuring divisions was implemented. Instead of one lone winner, three champions were to be crowned. As a result more teams than ever before chose to sign up; a trend we hope (and expect) to continue as the ECL continues to expand its reach.

When the dust settled and the smoke had cleared after ECL 4, the NHLGamer "Hall of Champions" that already featured Nordic Blizzard (ECL 1), MUKIMIEHET (ECL 2) and X Factor (ECL 3) had been expanded to include Laser HT, Carlsberg HC and J P T J who managed to bring home the titles for Elite, Pro and Lite respectively.

Furthermore, we got to see the first ever Xbox ECL with OHO SORI winning the title in 5 games against The Black Jacks. We think it was a good start and would like to support this community initiative of bringing more competitive tournaments to the NHL landscape on Microsoft's console. That is why we will also give you the opportunity to sign up for Xbox ECL 2!

ECL 5 - PS4

While ECL 5 will be bigger and hopefully more competitive than ECL 4 it will not feature the same amount of change to our structure, something we hope will offer a welcome sense of continuity with regards to how much things changed last season. In short, this means the rulebook, the divisions and most of the things that worked really well in ECL 4 will continue to be implemented in ECL 5 as well.

This also means that, while we did find the ongoing discussion and community vote concerning the ECL point system - mostly a debate between the merits of employing a 3-point system versus a 2-point system - interesting and balanced, we will not change from the current 2-point format at this time. We welcome continuous discussion on this topic as the ECL continues to evolve.

Furthermore, we are sure that one of the biggest questions for some teams and members at this stage is "where will we play this season?" as the poll concerning if you should be able to apply for Pro or not turned out to be quite divisive. This has perhaps been the biggest question faced by the staff ahead of this season.

The baseline we are working from is this: if you earned your place in either the Pro or Elite divisions last season, you still have the right to it. We will not be employing any type of forced demotion in either of these two divisions. In a vacuum, this means we already have our 16 Elite teams and 32 Pro teams ready to go.

Outside of this "vacuum", the truth is that many of these Elite and Pro teams have experienced significant changes during the off-season between ECL 4 and 5.

Therefore, if you are either a Pro or Elite team (based on how ECL 4 ended) - you need to confirm your participation in the division you ended up in last season. If you do not confirm your spot before the last sign-up date, that spot will need to be filled by the Staff. Read on to find out how to sign up for ECL 5 and how to apply for these open spots.

Framework

• Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. North American players are not allowed to host matches / be captain in the lineup, which means all games need to take place on European servers. This also applies to Russian players - please evaluate your previous connection experience against some of the teams participating in the ECL, especially if you live in eastern parts of your country (which likely connects you to US West servers). In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players.
• 6 vs. 6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL challenge game mode in NHL 18.
• Individual requirements: Each player needs to create an account at NHLGamer.com and create his personal player card.
• Roster requirements: Teams need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players.
• Sign-up period: Teams can register until October 13, 23:59 CEST.
• ECL 5 Kick-off: ECL 5 is set to start on October 16.
• Rules: TBA

Sign-up procedures

There will be different ways of signing up to ECL 5 this time - the procedures are explained in detail in the section below. Generally speaking:

• New teams that did not participate in ECL 4 at all or teams that were relegated from ECL 4 Pro: Please read the "ECL Lite" paragraph below.
• Teams that were able to stay in ECL Pro, were relegated from ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Lite during ECL 4: Please read the "ECL Pro" paragraph below.
• Teams that were able to stay in ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Pro during ECL 4: Please read the "ECL Elite" paragraph below.

ECL Lite

ECL Lite welcomes any and all teams that did not participate in ECL 4 as well as the teams that were relegated from ECL Pro during ECL 4. As last season, there will be no limit to the amount of registrations! We will flexibly adjust group sizes to accomodate all teams that are looking to participate.

To sign up your team for ECL Lite, we ask the main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Lite registration thread: ECL 5 Lite Registration
You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes.

Due to the fact that only 31 teams are ECL Pro qualified at this time - and other teams may be folding -  we also offer teams the opportunity to apply for ECL Pro during the sign up process. However, ECL Lite quarter-finalists from ECL 4 will take first priority when filling up spots in the Pro division, which means only a few or no spots at all might be available for completely new teams.

When looking at Pro applications, we will choose applicants depending on their player strength and other factors such as in-game 6 vs. 6 leaderboard results. Below is the list of prioritized teams:

Quote

HC Ancient Warriors
Banterfield Battalion
EN HUND
Dynamo Danglers

ECL Pro

ECL Pro is our 2nd division and will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Pro, were relegated from ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Lite during ECL 4. ECL Pro has a fixed size of 32 teams, divided into two groups. All the qualified teams are listed below:

Quote

Moved down from ECL Elite:
Finnish Roosters
SIKA
Rynnäkköviikset
Refuse To Lose

Made playoffs:
Rusty Blades
Unlucky Boys HC
Shameful Knights
Nocturnal Hunters
White Trash
ORIGINS
Nordic Stars
Alliance HT
Germany's Finest
Royal Club
HC Checkmate
Huppati HC

Mid-table:
Baltic Sea Eagles
Free From Rodents
HC Magic Zone
AK 47
Pata Hellalla
Inter Iceland
Bellizzi

Survived relegation battles:
Bare Knuckles Hockey
murohoki
Showtime
Nemesis

Moved up from ECL Lite:
Lavetten
DEAD END KINGS
Hawks Hockey Club
J P T J

To sign up your team for ECL Pro, we ask the team's ECL 4 main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Pro registration thread: ECL 5 Pro Registration
You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes.

In case ECL Elite teams are folding, we will automatically ask the best ECL Pro qualifiers from ECL 4 to fill these spots, according to their playoffs progress (criteria #1) and regular season PPG average (criteria #2). You are not required to apply for these spots. However, you are required to confirm your attendance for ECL Pro to be considered for selection.

ECL Elite

ECL Elite is our 1st division, housing the very best 16 European teams in a single group. It will consist of all the teams that were able to stay in ECL Elite or were promoted from ECL Pro during ECL 4. All the qualified teams are listed below:

Quote

Made playoffs:
Dynasty
Laser HT
Limitless
MUKIMIEHET
Nordic Nightmare
Synergy Hockey
Unknown
Written In The Stars

Mid-table:
Aapon Taikasauva
Nordic Lightning
Northern Stars
TIKI TALK

Moved up from Pro:
Carlsberg HC
Kattiautomaatti
Silver Sword Griffins
Sjukstugan

To sign up your team for ECL Elite, we ask the team's ECL 4 main captain (C) only to go to the ECL Elite registration thread: ECL 5 Elite Registration
You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes.

Xbox ECL 2

To help in building a larger competitive Xbox community, we will host the second edition of Xbox ECL. The first season was based on a community initiative that started off with few individuals asking for a NHLGamer branded tournament taking place on Xbox One. Thanks to these members who contacted other teams on their platform of choice to spread the word, interest was starting to pick up, and the first season ended with a total of 5 teams.

While this is undoubtedly a small number compared to the amount of teams on PS4, we know that plenty of players joined NHLGamer during recent months. And thanks to the dedicated players that were doing their best to set up the first season, we expect participation to grow in the long run.

Xbox ECL 2 won't be based on the divisions format that is taking place on PS4, and instead will instead offer a league format used in Xbox ECL and ECL 1-3 on PS4 - however, our long term goal is having divisions on Xbox One as well.

Framework

• Regional restrictions: ECL is a European tournament format, however we do not necessarily exclude North American or Russian players. North American players are not allowed to host matches / be captain in the lineup, which means all games need to take place on European servers. This also applies to Russian players - please evaluate your previous connection experience against some of the teams participating in the ECL, especially if you live in eastern parts of your country (which likely connects you to US West servers). In case of severe connection issues, we reserve the right to exclude teams or players.
• 6 vs. 6 tournament: ECL is played 6 vs. 6 only, using the EASHL challenge game mode in NHL 18.
• Individual requirements: Each player needs to create an account at NHLGamer.com and create his personal player card.
• Roster requirements: Teams need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players.
• Sign-up period: Registrations will be open indefinitely until 8 teams have agreed to participate. Afterwards, sign-ups will be open for another two weeks to make for a larger competition.
• Rules: TBA

Sign-up procedure

To sign up your team for Xbox ECL 2, we ask the main captain (C) only to go to the Xbox ECL 2 registration thread: XBOX ECL 2 Registration
You will find in-depth instructions on the procedure, including all the necessary details you need to provide - such as team name, abbreviation, EA SPORTS team page and possible name changes.

Final notes

ECL and its divisions format is in a process of continuous evolvement. When NHLGamer.com first announced the switch to setting up three skill-based divisions, our main goal was to transform the diverse EASHL landscape to encourage the development of true franchises.

Thanks to all the dedicated players out there, this is already bearing fruit:

Established teams are building a core roster while also paying attention to the plenty of ambitious newcomers in the NHL community.
We see social media channels popping up on a weekly, if not daily basis.
We see lots of new streamers on Twitch and other platforms, showing off ECL to all the NHL fans out there.
We see allies supporting our project more frequently than ever before.
We see how the community is evolving and shaping up to be a professional and organized force in the gaming landscape.

This is something we will continue to support in the future. We believe that, even though we might see a few teams folding this or even next season, which potentially requires us to restructure some of the divisions, in the long run we will see a healthy and fluid framework for the greatest 6 vs. 6 experience that's out there.

It's not our achievement. It's your achievement. We welcome everyone to continue this road of success. We welcome everyone to play with the best.

@The_Alpha_Furyan & @gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

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Hey NHLGamers!

Our first ever Xbox ECL season has come to an end and the champion has been crowned! The first ever Xbox ECL title goes to OHO SORI!

The finals were played between regular season #1 The Black Jacks and #3 OHO SORI. OHO SORI won the series 4-1. Below you can see the individual game results:

Game 1: OHO SORI - The Black Jacks 6-3
Game 2: The Black Jacks - OHO SORI 2-5
Game 3: Oho Sori - The Black Jacks 5-9
Game 4: OHO SORI - The Black Jacks 7-3
Game 5: The Black Jacks - OHO SORI 3-4

Let's give the word to OHO SORI captain ReDMisTi: 

Quote

It wasn't an easy tournament for us, we had a huge problems in the regular season but our goal was just to be in a playoffs. The regular season was tight and every team played tight games against each other, which was a good thing. There was a break when the beta came out and it ate some of the motivation, but after all everyone wanted to win this first ever Xbox ECL tourney. We had a lot of hungry players and we changed our line-up a lot during the season, so thats why it was hard to decide who will play in the playoffs. Our wingers @puteli88 & @Sampti scored very important goals for us in semis, our goalies gave us a chance to win and we defended very well as a team, so we decided to continue through the finals with the same line-up and that worked pretty well.

Thanks to our playoff opponents for this tight and good playoff series! Thanks to every other team too, because of you this tourney was possible to arrange! And of course thanks to my teammates & NHLGamer staff. The tournament was small but still the first ever ECL on Xbox, so i guess and hope that it's going to be bigger in the future! 

See you in NHL l18!

OHO SORI's Championship roster:

Goalies
#7 KiNGNUNEN - K. KiNGNUNEN
#30 miiixu96 - K. Tillanen

Defensemen
#1 Priest 0f eviL - P. OnLive
#7 Turakalainen - H. Tallinder
#41 Lurkins - S. Seila
#41 MGrandalffi64 - M. Heiskanen
#49 Hammaroid - J. Petke

Forwards
#5 KenuFHR - K. Lehtinen
#9 Sampti - P. Kariya
#15 ReDMisTi - A. Dats
#22 Puteli88 - S. Milano
#40 BCS Toboy - K. ra
#48 petz0ni - p. drunkard

On behalf of NHLGamer, congratulations to OHO SORI for the champinship and to The Black Jacks for a well fought season and 2nd place!

I'd like to thank all of the teams and players for this first ever Xbox ECL and I'm looking forward to seeing you and new teams on the ice for the next one! 

Afternoon Gamers,

In the last few months NHLGamer.com has seen an incredible growth. Not only when it comes to our membership totals on the webpage (about to hit 2500 at the time of writing this) but also when it comes to the ways in which you, our members, choose to interact with us. Our social media channels has grown exponentially and the level of overall commentary and discussion across all platforms is the highest its ever been.

As we stand on the verge of new and exciting projects that could potentially propel the NHLGamer brand even higher, it is important to remember where we came from. That, coupled with our desire to introduce our many new members to what it is we actually do around here, led to the creation of an article titled:

What is the ECL?

Well, the ECL (or European Championship League) is, quite simply, the biggest and most competitive EASHL championship on the European continent. It has long been the "flagship" project for NHLGamer.com and continues to be one of its highest priorities as the project moves forward.

All games in the ECL are always played 6v6 (= 6 human-controlled skaters on both sides, including the goaltender) in the EASHL game mode on EA SPORTS' latest iteration of the NHL franchise. 

When the ECL first saw the light of day almost two years ago (2015) it did so with a healthy amount of hype. The European EASHL community, having previously been divided between Xbox and Playstation, had all decided to come together on one platform (it ended up being the PS4) in anticipation of the championship. Thus it came to be that the ECL, right from the very start, hosted the most competitive enviroment anyone had ever seen... and from there it grew.

While the number of teams who competed in ECL's 1, 2 & 3 stayed relatively even, around 50, and the summer tournament hosted on NHLGamer (Summer Cup; previously a part of the ECL but now edited to be its own franchise) was a success - we still felt like there were more European teams and players out there who either hadn't discovered us yet or hadn't gotten around to signing up. With a game-changing innovation introduced ahead of ECL 4, we were about to be proven right...

Divisions

The idea behind creating separate, skill-based divisions had been rattling around the NHLGamer community ever since before the first ECL, but it wasn't until after ECL 3 that a formal concept was announced. The community was then given a chance to present their feedback and suggestions for improvements before the Staff announced the final version. 

When faced with the opportunity to play an entire season against teams of an even skill level, the number of sign-ups soared. The ECL went from having about 60 sign-ups with 45-50 teams finishing the season, to having 80 sign-ups with 78 finishing the season - a 97.5% completion rate. 

We attribute this success partly to the divisions evening out the competition amongst teams, but also to the enhanced structure a system like this offers.

ECL Elite always houses 16 teams, meaning the regular season is always 30 games long.
ECL Pro always houses 32 teams, meaning two "conferences" of 16 teams and a regular season 30 games long.
ECL Lite is flexible so that we can always accommodate however many new teams choose to sign up.

ECL 5

Our next ECL season starts in the middle of October while sign-ups will start as early as September. We expect to once again beat our sign-up records to host the biggest championship yet. Can you afford to miss out on the experience? 

Keep an eye out for more information, news and hype concerning ECL 5 (including when sign-ups open) in our social media channels;

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Twitch (NHLGamerTwitch)


See you on the ice!

@The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com 

Good evening, Gamers

The long-awaited third episode of ECL Talk is here! Exciting times lie ahead as we try our hand at recording the podcast through a Skype call instead of the PS4 party platform. The title of the episode is Dominating the Beta, something that is reflected in the episodes' content as we review the NHL 18 Beta leaderboards and find the NHLGamer community well represented...

Here's a more detailed rundown of whats happening in Episode #3 of ECL Talk (synopsis from YouTube page):

"In the third episode of ECL Talk, hosts vSilenttio and The_Alpha_Furyan take a look at the final NHL 18 Beta Leaderboards (team rankings as well as player rankings) and find quite a few familiar names. The bulk of the episode is made up of this "review", with every skater position from Goalie to Center getting their time in the spotlight. Once past the Beta leaderboards, the discussion turns towards how the vacant divisional spots should be filled for ECL 5. Finally, we hint at what is coming up in the future for NHLGamer.com"

Bonus material

While recording the podcast, we had a "cheat sheet" of sorts in the form of screenshots taken on the last day of the Beta (midnight to be specific). As we mention in the podcast, we decided to share this material with the community as a form of "bonus content". To make the screenshots more visually appealing and show how dominant the NHLGamer community actually was in the Beta, @Kenu enhanced the images with some ECL art. Enjoy!

Teams

All Skaters

Centers (featuring @ADETIKKI, @Joonas Paatiala, @Erkki, @xDoumi, @otto aaltonen, @Tzon93, @Norpee and @Migo_boo)

Left Wingers (featuring @SadaPoika, @xMaick82x, @Bugimir, @plee999, @Rimpe, @pajenc, @mir02k1 and @hpkfani)

Right Wingers (featuring @FlyerKungen, @imosi, @jumalpeku, @vatalisti, @Pelle3000 and @epelis)

Defensemen (featuring @vSilenttio, @Slaivone, @Janikka, @The_Alpha_Furyan, @Ilmari_30, @Rullstolskalas, @kikiukko and @Gustafsson7)

Goaltenders (featuring @FinKonna, @Casper, @Tauri, @s_w1ld_rus, @Jiihooo86, @Hullued, @Zande95, @jaakko katiska, @Ylijumala and @MajLeN-Gaming)

As always, stay tuned for more ECL Talk and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and like the video if you want to see more content like this in the future.

See you then!

@vSilenttio and @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Good afternoon, Gamers

The second episode of ECL Talk is here and so are our sound problems! Yes, we know what you're thinking: good job @vSilenttio and @The_Alpha_Furyan - and we thank you for that. So, to poke some fun at ourselves and to honor the late Chester Bennington, we've named the episode after a Linkin Park song; Lost In The Echo.

Be sure to note how confident we sound in the beginning of the episode that we did indeed fix our issue...

Anyway, here's whats going down today (synopsis from YouTube page):

"In this second episode of ECL Talk, our hosts The_Alpha_Furyan and vSilenttio turn their attention to reviewing the NHL 18 Beta. The episodes main focus is on our hosts providing their own impressions of the game, while also discussing which ECL franchises seems to have figured out the game and done well for themselves in this short span of time. Furthermore, ECL Talk #2 touches down in the Free Agents thread – looking at some of the remaining “big dogs” out there. Lastly, the Summer Cup is discussed briefly with the champions being crowned no more than a week ago."

Stay tuned for more ECL Talk and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and like the video if you want to see more content like this in the future.

PS: A final apology for the once again poor audio quality – for Episode 3 we will be recording in a different manner to make sure the quality is crisp.

See you then!

@vSilenttio and @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Howdy, Gamers!

We told you earlier this week that there was going to be one more cool thing released before the NHL 18 Beta kicks off next Tuesday and here it is! Well, at least we think it's cool. NHLGamer Presents: ECL Talk is our brand new podcast program for the official ECL news, trades and other things that are associated with NHL gaming. 

How does it work then, you might ask. Basically, it's about two passionate NHL gamers talking about what is going on around NHLGamer - and sometimes outside of it. We have two hosts: @The_Alpha_Furyan and I, @vSilenttio, and we might have some guests with us talking about stuff in the future. As we tell the latest news and other things that are going on, we're also giving our personal opinions on things. We would like to emphasize that the things we say are not official words of NHLGamer - we just tell our opinions as individual gamers. Anyways, give us a listen and find out yourself if it's your thing or not! If you enjoy it, be sure to subscribe to our channel and give the video a thumbs up!

PS: We're working on improving the technical quality of the series in the future.

Until next time, have a nice day!

Hello NHLGamers,

As the saying goes, better late than never. After janbonators first article as a returning member of the NHLGamer staff, the exquisite ECL Elite Season Report, we are back to tie a final bow on our ECL 4-season with the ECL Pro and Lite Season Reports. While they won't be as extensive as janbos in-depth chronicle of the Elite season - there are awards to be handed out and individual performances to celebrate.

ECL 4 - PRO

The Pro division featured a total of 32 teams competing where 16 made the playoffs and 8 faced relegation. The Top 4 teams of the Pro playoffs all secured a spot in Elite for next season, truly displaying what a competitive hornets nest the Pro division was in its first ever season.

The ECL 4 Pro Champion was Carlsberg HC, who achieved this honor by beating Sjukstugan 4-1 in the Best of-7 Finals.

Let's get to some of the other individual and team performances.

Promotions & Relegations

The teams that were promoted from Lite to Pro for ECL 5 were: Lavetten, DEAD END KINGS, Hawks Hockey Club and Lite champions J P T J. Congratulations to all these teams on well executed seasons!

The teams that were relegated from Pro to Lite for ECL 5 were: Company of Geeks, Thunder Tigers, The Lights Out and The Beagle Boys. We hope to see you back next season, hungrier than ever. Stay strong!

Should there be any changes to the divisions and teams after ECL 5 registration, we will inform you of these events.

Awards

Here's a list of the best performers in the Pro division during ECL4.

Forwards
	Most points: Tapparafan- [52+48 = 100p in 30 games - 3.33 Points/GP], Nordic Stars
	Most goals: BiggestEight [61g in 30 games - 2.03 Goals/GP], HC Checkmate
	Most assists: TackleControl [55a in 28 games - 1.96 Assists/GP], HC Checkmate
	Most hits: jnmxx [171 hits in 30 games - 6.57 Hits/GP], Kattiautomaatti
	Best +/-: Janzuh [+85 in 28 games], Carlsberg HC
Defensemen
	Most points by a Defenseman: Janzuh [11+31 = 42p in 28 games - 1.50 Points/GP], Carlsberg HC
	Most goals by a Defenseman: Janzuh [11g in 28 games - 0.39 Goals/GP], Carlsberg HC
	Most assists by a Defenseman: Janzuh [31a in 28 games - 1.10 Assists/GP], Carlsberg HC
	Most hits by a Defenseman: Tanski87 [164 Hits in 28 games - 5.85 Hits/GP], Rusty Blades
Goalies
	Best Save% (min. 50% of games played): Hullued [83.62% in 24/28 games], Shameful Knights
	Best GAA (min. 50% of games played): Zande95 [1.52 GAA in 17/28 games], Carlsberg HC
	Most Wins (W+OTW) by a Goalie: hoiggaa [25 Ws in 30 games], Kattiautomaatti
	Most Shutouts: LastMandalorian [5 shutouts in 26 games], Sjukstugan
Playoff MVP
	joukki13, Carlsberg HC

ECL 4 - LITE

The Lite division featured a total of 32 teams competing, including two different conferences with 16 teams each. All Lite teams made the playoffs where they had the opportunity to both win the title and secure promotion to Pro.

The ECL 4 Lite Champion was J P T J, who won the championship after a grueling series versus Hawks Hockey Club that lasted all 7 games. 

Awards

Here's a list of the best performers in the Lite division during ECL4.

Forwards
	Most points: makeee76 [71+56 = 127p in 28 games - 4.53 Points/GP], J P T J
	Most goals: makeee76 [71g in 28 games - 2.53 Goals/GP], J P T J
	Most assists: moilanenC & mikihoo [60a in 28 games - 2.14 Assists/GP], J P T J
	Most hits: Albaz90 [162 hits in 30 games - 5.40 hits/GP], Vemppaosasto
	Best +/-: makeee76, moilanenC, mikihoo & jonezki26 [+85 in 28 games], J P T J
Defensemen
	Most points by a Defenseman: Rankaisija_ [8+50 = 58p in 30 games - 1.93 Points/GP], Old Farts
	Most goals by a Defenseman: Anenthran [11g in 25 games - 0.44 Goals/GP], Dynamo Danglers
	Most assists by a Defenseman: Rankaisija_ [50a in 30 games - 1.66 Assists/GP], Old Farts
	Most hits by a Defenseman: TEAMSEILA [228 hits in 28 games - 8.14 hits/GP], EN HUND
Goalies
	Best Save% (min. 50% of games played): Gunde021 [86.69% in 19/28 games], DEAD END KINGS
	Best GAA (min. 50% of games played): Gunde021 [1.52 GAA in 19/28 games], DEAD END KINGS
	Most Wins (W+OTW) by a Goalie: Tonza-_-89 [21 Ws in 27 games] & Nebelparder55555 [21 Ws in 26 games]
	Most Shutouts: IFKPEKlNG2k15 [5 shutouts in 26 games], Lavetten
Playoff MVP
	moilanenC, J P T J

Thank You

As janbonator took the opportunity to thank us Staff members for organizing the ECL 4 season in his Elite Season Report, I would in return like to thank everyone in the community for your participation and continued support. The ECL franchise is something we are immensly proud of and truly the flagship in our journey towards the ultimate NHL gaming experience. With the introduction of Versus (and possibly other types of tournaments...) NHLGamer.com is taking the next step in its development, but make no mistake: ECL is at our core.

Again, thank you.

Later skaters,

Battle Royale

After what can only be described as a thriller of a tournament, Laser HT has been crowned the champion of the 4^th European Championship League in a plot that would have left even Stephen King hanging on the edge of his seat, while desperately holding onto his MUKI. The start of the season was Written in the Stars, but the scripture had too much TIKI TALK in it, and was thus shattered around with a banhammer, also known as Kenu's Taikasauva, with other teams picking up the fragments for points as the season progressed - eventually turning it into a Nordic Nightmare for them, on the first round of the playoffs. How we saw nightmares on Round 2 is anyone’s guess, as on Round 1 they had triumphed against an Unknown team. In an extremely competitive regular season the Northern Stars were fading and only two Swedish team made it to the playoffs, but unfortunately lacked the Synergy to shut down the beam team of to-be-champions. One team seemed to regard the playoff-line non-existent, and in their nearly Limitless limitlessness almost eliminated themselves out of the limited-for-eight playoffs. No Dynasty was made this season, either, as they continued an impressive record of 3 Game 7 losses in the past four tournaments, reportedly leading to a violent burst of Nordic Lightning in the vicinity of Kouvola. All the while, at the bottom of the standings, there was a team that Refused to Lose only four times during the tournament. Other relegations were the Animalia of Elite; Finnish Roosters and SIKA (pig) will be seen in the Pro division next season, together with Rynnäkköviikset.

Promoted teams

The teams that were promoted from Pro to Elite for ECL 5 are: Carlsberg HC, Kattiautomaatti, Silver Sword Griffins and Sjukstugan. We will inform of any changes to the divisions and teams after ECL 5 registration, if need be.

Awards

A big thank you to @The_Alpha_Furyan for compiling the statistics for all three divisions. Here's a list of the best performers in Elite during ECL4.

Forwards
	Most points: Dominointi [39+55 = 94p in 28 games - 3.35 Points/GP], Laser HT
	Most goals: PleeMaker [49g in 30 games - 1.63 Goals/GP], Limitless
	Most assists: Dominointi [55a in 28 games - 1.96 Assists/GP], Laser HT
	Most hits: PleeMaker [145 hits in 30 games - 4.83 Hits/GP], Limitless
	Best +/-: Haldeem, Penatski, tbnantti, PleeMaker & nylanderi [+43 in 30 games], Limitless
Defensemen
	Most points by a Defenseman: nylanderi [12+22 = 34p in 30 games - 1.13 Points/GP], Limitless Snapu48 [4+30 = 34p in 30 games - 1.13 Points/GP], Dynasty Haldeem [6+28 = 34p in 30 games - 1.13 Points/GP], Limitless
	Most goals by a Defenseman: nylanderi [12g in 30 games - 0.40 Goals/GP], Limitless
	Most assists by a Defenseman: Snapu48 [30a in 30 games - 1.00 Assists/GP], Dynasty
	Most hits by a Defenseman: friilander [140 Hits in 30 games - 4.66 Hits/GP], SIKA
Goalies
	Best Save% (min. 50% of games played): Ranta83 [80.58% in 30/30 games], Unknown
	Best GAA (min. 50% of games played): Sandr0hh [1.93 GAA in 16/30 games], Dynasty
	Most Wins (W+OTW) by a Goalie: Ranta83 [19 Ws in 30 games], Unknown
	Most Shutouts: Danielcadabra [4 shutouts in 12 games], Written in the Stars DUNZA [4 shutouts in 14 games], Synergy VilberttoCarlos [4 shutouts in 18 games], Nordic Nightmare FinKonna [4 shutouts in 30 games], Limitless
Playoff MVP
	Dominointi, Laser HT

Words of a Champion

Now, let’s hand over the pen to Risto “Dominointi” Järvi, the captain of Laser HT and the MVP of the tournament:

“For the regular season our objective was only to make the playoffs. It got very tight in the end, but we managed to battle ourselves to 7th. A couple of players left the team at the end of last season and we got the replacements for them from Nordic Blizzard. I think it made each players’ role in the team much more clear. We played the regular season quite a bit differently than what people perhaps expected or had seen from us before. I played quite a lot up the ice, looking for stretch passes while the wings gave close support on the breakouts. I feel like it helped a lot, at least against certain teams.

The team probably wasn’t on equal level skill-wise compared to last autumn, but this season we played strong as a team from the get-go, which I think was the primary reason for our success. Nowadays in this game you have to play as a team if you want to succeed, the level of competition is simply so tough.

In the playoffs we were just trying to keep our own end clear of goals, with the front of the net being the keywords. We knew that if we kept our defence tight, we had a chance to win every game, as we pretty much always manage to score at least a few goals. We couldn’t go into a goal-scoring competition -  something that would not have ended up well against every team.

On the first round of the playoffs we faced Synergy, a team we’re very familiar with. For the most part we knew how they’d be playing and where we would need to strike at. The first games were tight, but we managed to clinch them and eventually won the series.

On the second round we were up against Nordic Nightmare, a team that eliminated us last year when playing for Nordic Blizzard, so we were looking for a revenge. We thought of our approach carefully because Nordic Nightmare has a unique style of play for Elite. Our game-plan was to strike them on the breakout and try to prevent their quick counter-attacks. We knew they’d be playing very straightforward hockey and blocking shots would be important. Of course, we supposed our opponent would also know how we’d be playing, so we tried to mix that up a little as well by getting more pucks to the defencemen and more shots from the blueline.

We played well and deserved to progress on to the finals.

In the finals we were up against a very familiar team, Dynasty. We knew them to be a great defensive team and to add to that they have a lot of skill on every position. Their goalies were top of the league, too.

We set out to play brave hockey and apply strong pressure to the defencemen, always shooting the puck and crashing the net when there’s an opening. The first four games of the series were tight, but somehow it felt we had that slight edge, even though the stats were very even in every game. The weekend break started with us leading the series 3-1. After the break we had games 5 & 6, and quite frankly, we had no chance. The opponent had changed their approach and our tactic was not working at all. Deserved wins for Dynasty and off we went for a game seven. For the deciding game, we agreed to just play our regular game, not try anything too complicated and just park the bus in the neutral zone. After some thrilling events and a lot of screams and shouts, we clinched it 2-1 and won the title. The series could not have been tighter – that’s just how it ended this time.

Overall, I think Leksa played a fantastic tournament. Counting both the regular season and the playoffs, I don’t think he had a single off-game. I will tip my hat to the performance of our goalies in the playoffs, especially Hansu in the finals. The defence was rock solid throughout the playoffs, too. Vesa and Wille were excellent in the finals and Selarit played as well as he always does.

As for the future of the team, I can’t tell. We agreed that we’ll look at it again before the beta, but most likely we’ll be continuing with the same lineup.”

The Decider

Scored by who else than Risto "Dominointi" Järvi in the closing seconds of the 3rd period of Game 7.

Broomsticks and Magnets

Every year the game franchise makes small but significant changes to online gameplay. One year it's short-side one-timers, the other it's far-side one-timers. One year poke-checks are overpowered, the other it's stick-lifts. I'm yet to witness a year, however, in which the rock-paper-scissor of the meta game would've have found, say, rock unbeatable.

This year there were some tricks to be found in terms of puck control, the kind of tricks your user manual doesn't tell. Some individuals and teams started picking up on these towards the latter parts of ECL 3, one of the masters of such arts winning the MVP award of the tournament. These type of players and their rather spectacular-looking play-style I call Magnets. Some teams spent their off-season between ECL 3 & 4 figuring out how to deal with Magnets, and one of the answers was a Broomstick.

By now, the Broomstick technique has spread wide and has arisen some heated debates, and I know there are teams that refuse to play against each other because of this. The Broomstick is of course the crouch block position you can go to by pressing L1. The most obvious advantage is that you can't get penalized; you can't trip, slash or interfere with a player while doing so. While I think anyone would agree using the function in the game as intended should be allowed, many would say spamming it the way it is possible to spam, is effectively abusing a glitch.

Personally, I'm inclined to disagree that it should be forbidden or whatnot. The Broomstick is much more effective along the boards than it is anywhere else as a means to strip the puck. Now, if we look at board play and puck control in general, is it balanced, or does the offensive or defensive player have an advantage? I think definitely the player with the puck has the advantage; with the puck your player is much more agile, you can actually move your stick through the boards while controlling the puck etc. So, effectively, I find the Broomstick a balancing, not a breaking factor of gameplay. Furthermore, I find the gray area on the defensive side to be larger than on the offensive side. In real hockey, too, you're effectively allowed to do things on the defensive side of the puck that you're not allowed to do when attacking. Also, you can still be a great player in this game even if you never used the whole function.

Thank You

I had absolutely no stake in organizing ECL 4 and thus would like to use this opportunity to express my gratitude to those that did – Kenneth, Samuli, Max, Väinö, Hampus, Jānis and Teemu, it was yet another great tournament to take part of, thank you very much for your effort on behalf of all of us players, and let’s try to build on this as a community going forward. From now on I’ll be back on-board with the staff as well. Have a great summer everyone, hope to see many of you in the SC - you still have a day left to register have you not done so already, but if not, see you in the autumn with ECL 5!

Good evening NHL Gamers,

ECL 4 has come to a close with J P T J beating Hawks Hockey Club in 7 games during the ECL 4 Lite Finals and picking up the ECL 4 Lite Championship!

J P T J vs. Hawks Hockey Club series results:

• Game 1: J P T J @ Hawks Hockey Club | 2-3
• Game 2: Hawks Hockey Club @ J P T J | 3-1
• Game 3: J P T J @ Hawks Hockey Club | 5-1
• Game 4: Hawks Hockey Club @ J P T J | 1-4
• Game 5: J P T J @ Hawks Hockey Club | 10-0
• Game 6: Hawks Hockey Club @ J P T J | 5-3
• Game 7: J P T J @ Hawks Hockey Club | 5-3

J P T J Championship roster:

• G: #8 F. SeRe (aka FINSeRe)
• G: #82 J. Kuha (aka jjuhao)
• D: #14 H. Junnu (aka paajane)
• D: #15 F. Castro (aka Fillaa)
• D: #33 I. Amin (aka RUUTTTI)
• D: #62 M. Surma (aka jonezki26)
• F: #11 N. Mandela (aka moilanenC)
• F: #24 K. Sheikkilä (aka mikihoo)
• F: #88 M. Gandhi (aka makeee76)

J P T J's road to the ECL 4 Lite Championship:

• 22 wins and 6 losses during the regular season, ranked 4th of Group 2
• Round 1: 4-0 victory against A Dream Valhalla
• Round 2: 4-0 victory against HC Palosaari
• Round 3: 4-2 victory against Dynamo Danglers
• Round 4: 4-2 victory against DEAD END KINGS
• ECL 4 Lite finals: 4-3 victory against Hawks Hockey Club

NHL Gamer congratulates J P T J on a flawless journey through the Lite division, securing the ECL 4 Lite title and making their way to the Pro division for ECL 5! Furthermore we also welcome Hawks Hockey Club to the Pro division after delivering a tight 7-game final series, as well as Lavetten and DEAD END KINGS who managed to make their way to the ECL 4 Lite semi-finals. These teams will replace Company of Geeks, Thunder Tigers, The Lights Out and The Beagle Boys who lost their Pro relegation battles earlier in the season.

What's next?

First of all we will have a few season recaps of ECL 4 during the next few days, and we are also curious to hear about your thoughts on this season. From a Staff perspective, the switch to the thoroughly discussed Divisions format was a real success - but we are always striving for more.

On the tournament side, we just launched registrations for the first ever Xbox ECL which will kick off on May 22nd. Make sure to spread the word on that, as we are very confident there is also another community to be conquered by us!

On top, we are in preparations for the next iteration of our Summer Cup on PS4, which will once again be the relaxed conclusion to this year's plans with NHL 17. Definitely stay tuned for this!

@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

NHL Gamers on Xbox One - now is your turn!

With great pleasure, NHLGamer is introducing its first ever Xbox One 6 vs. 6 league: ECL on Xbox!

During the past few weeks, a dedicated group of Xbox gamers signed up on the website and spread the word of our well-known and challenging ECL series, which has been taking place on PS4 exclusively so far. As a result, 9 teams already committed to kicking off professional NHL gaming on Xbox One as well. But we want more!

"About time folks! What is required for participation?"

• Regional restrictions: Just like ECL on PS4, the Xbox ECL is a European league format, however we do not necessarily exclude other regions. We ask Russian and North American players to first evaluate their previous connection experience against other participating teams in this league before signing up. While we disallow players from North America to host matches / be captain in the dressing room, Russian players are allowed to do so if they connect to European servers.
   
• The Xbox ECL is a 6 vs. 6 tournament building upon the EASHL mode in the latest EA SPORTS NHL iteration, NHL 17.
   
• Each player needs to sign up with NHLGamer.com and create his personal Player Card. You can find a tutorial video right here in case you experience issues.
   
• Teams need to have at least 8 players to sign up. The roster cap is 14 players. 
   
• Default game days are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
   
• Registrations are open until 23:59 CEST on May 17th / 00:59 EEST on May 18th. The tournament is set to start on May 22nd.

"Will we play a format similar to ECL Divisions on PS4?"

Due to the fact that this is the first ever Xbox tournament, we are unfamiliar with teams on the platform, and teams are unfamiliar with NHL Gamer so far. This is why the Xbox ECL will be played as a regular league - just like ECL 1-3 on PS4. As the community grows, the goal is to transition to an official ECL Divisions format on Xbox One as well!

"Got it! Where do I sign up my team?"

Simply go to this thread, copy the template from the opening post, and create a new post with the template adjusted to your team:

That's it! In case some of your questions remained unanswered, please tell us in the comments below.

Make sure to connect with all your dedicated Xbox Live friends and invite them and their teams to participate - we can't wait to see you joining the greatest NHL 6 vs. 6 platform and be part of unparalleled on-the-ice action. Let's do this!

@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

Summer is almost here but before that - good evening once again NHL Gamers!

It was Carlsberg HC who managed to be the best out of 32 Pro teams as they beat Sjukstugan in the ECL 4 Pro finals.

CAR-112 series results:

• Game 1: Carlsberg HC @ Sjukstugan | 2-1
• Game 2: Sjukstugan @ Carlsberg HC | 3-2 OT
• Game 3: Carlsberg HC @ Sjukstugan | 3-0
• Game 4: Sjukstugan @ Carlsberg HC | 1-5
• Game 5: Carlsberg HC @ Sjukstugan | 3-1

Final Carlsberg HC Championship roster:

• G: #88 J. Sibelius (aka Zande95)
• D: #82 M. Nyqi (aka Janzuh)
• D: #7 J. Jate (aka vatalisti)
• F: #9 R. Grimes (aka joukki13)
• F: #10 P. Lehtera (aka mikaasi)
• F: #28 M. Scofield (aka alexbvb28)
• F: #30 W. Shakespeare (aka F-B-I__A-N-D-Y_)
• F: #86 J. Paatiala (aka Patzlaf)

Carlsberg HC's road to the ECL 4 Pro Championship:

• 24 wins, 3 losses and 1 OT-loss during the regular season, ranked 1st of Group 1, the best PPG in the ECL 4 Pro (1,75)
• Round 1: 4-0 victory against Huppati HC
• Round 2: 4-0 victory against White Trash
• Round 3: 4-0 victory against Silver Sword Griffins
• ECL 4 Pro finals: 4-1 victory against Sjukstugan

The whole NHLGamer staff congratulates Carlsberg HC for winning the first ever Pro championship - and also for taking the big step into ECL Elite next season! Same goes for Sjukstugan as they secured their ECL Elite spot by beating Kattiautomaatti in the Round 3. Kattiautomaatti also stepped into Elite as they won SIKA in the Relegation faceoff. A big congratulations to these new Elite teams! Finnish Roosters and Silver Sword Griffins are still battling for the 16th Elite spot next week. In ECL Lite, Hawks Hockey Club and J P T J are playing for the Lite championship in the upcoming week as well so there's two big match-ups remaining in the ECL 4.

See you guys soon & have a nice weekend! Oh and hey - we're not done yet so just like before, stay tuned!

@vSilenttio for NHLGamer.com

End of ECL 4 is nigh, NHLGamers!

Couple more weeks and we're done - for a while. It's time again to look up what has happened in our community during past week. Like we announced couple days ago - Laser HT finally won the ECL Elite championship as they won Dynasty in Game 7 thriller. One more time on my behalf - well deserved guys, hats off!

Carlsberg HC did what pretty much everyone expected and walked to the Pro division finals as Silver Sword Griffins simply didn't have enough what it needs to beat down CAR. In the finals, CAR will be facing good old Sjukstugan which was also predicted to be one of the most biggest dogs in the Pro and here they are - going to Elite division with Carlsberg! Sjukstugan won Kattiautomaatti in the semi's and they'll face SIKA in the relegation battle for the spot in the ECL 5. SSG will face Finnish Roosters.

In the Lite, there's four teams remaining in the battle for the spots in the Pro division: DEAD END KINGS, J P T J, Hawks Hockey Club and Lavetten. It's time for last big push, guys!

Once again, best of luck to every team!

ELITE: Relegation faceoffs

PRO

Carlsberg HC vs Sjukstugan, PRO division final, by @nylanderi

So the Pro Division’s grand final is here! It's a rivalry matchup: Sweden vs. Finland, Filariou vs. Joukki13 & LastMandalorian vs. Zande95. The best of the best from the Pro Division come together for one final clash this season. This is also a matchup that has some history as these two teams played each other deep in the playoffs in ECL 1, where Car managed to escape with a 4-3 series win.

Sjukstugan projected lineup:
Filariou - patovic_ - lBjonol
The_Alpha_Furyan - Gustafsson7
LastMandalorian

Sjukstugan is known for its tight defense and really fast paced and straightforward offense. It all comes down to how well 112's defense manage to play against Carlsberg offense. Sjukstugan is probably not going to have the puck as much as they want so their forwards need to capitalize on their chances. LastMandalorian is also gonna have bunch of work ahead of him from Cars shooters.

Carlsberg HC projected lineup:
joukki13 - Mikaasi - Vatalisti
janzuh - fbi andy
zande95

I actually heard some rumours that Carlsbers captain and leader Patzlaf wont be playing in the finals. Regardless, Car have a very strong team that is known for their lightning quick passing game. They need to handle the puck with care in the offensive zone, so 112 wont get those dangerous counter attacks.

My prediction for this series is 4-2 to Carlsberg HC.

LITE

Good evening NHL Gamers!

In a tremendous finale tonight, and with a last minute game winning goal in game 7, Laser HT beat Dynasty and secured a 4-3 series victory to be crowned ECL 4 Elite Champions!

These are the series results:

• Game 1: Laser HT @ Dynasty | 2-1
• Game 2: Dynasty @ Laser HT | 2-5
• Game 3: Laser HT @ Dynasty | 1-2 OT
• Game 4: Dynasty @ Laser HT | 1-2
• Game 5: Laser HT @ Dynasty | 0-2
• Game 6: Dynasty @ Laser HT | 3-2
• Game 7: Laser HT @ Dynasty | 2-1

Laser HT Championship roster:

• G: #33 P. Roy (aka Hiiirulainen)
• G: #88 D. Hansek (aka Hansulinho)
• D: #16 K. V (aka VesKuLiNe)
• D: #43 Y. Wilhelm (aka willekunq)
• D: #87 I. Junub (aka Selarit)
• F: #11 L. Lekker (aka Leksa94)
• F: #13 I. SK (aka Dominointi)
• F: #67 I. Dishmaster (aka hooneli)
• F: #68 J. Jagr (aka Hermurderer)

Laser HT's road to the cup:

• 18 wins, 10 losses & 2 OT-losses during the regular season, ranked 7th
• Quarterfinals: 4-1 victory against Synergy
• Semifinals: 4-1 victory against Nordic Nightmare
• Finals: 4-3 victory against Dynasty

NHLGamer staff congratulates the whole team for winning the most prestigious 6 vs. 6 tournament in NHL 17! Even in truly outstanding and merciless Elite competition, Laser HT were consistently showing great playoff performances for a deserved championship victory. A big shoutout to Dynasty as well: Carrying the series to game 7 after being behind 1-3 deserves special mention and huge respect!

During the live stream on Twitch, almost 150 people were watching the game winning goal in the end of game 7, which is an outstanding number. It confirms the growing relevance of the ECL championships and NHLGamer.com, people are more hungry for top tier virtual ice hockey than ever before.

ECL 4 is not over yet though, as Pro and Lite Divisions are still fighting for their championships and promotions, with some really intense match-ups ahead. Make sure to keep an eye on further coverage!

A more detailed ECL Elite season recap including award winners will be released in due time - stay tuned.

@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers,

We are entering the third week of the ECL 4 playoffs and temperatures are without a doubt rising. Not only outside - where the rapidly approaching spring weather threatens to completely overtake the last remnants of winter - but also inside our many virtual hockey rinks. We are finally reaching the final stages of competition and the stakes couldn't be higher.

For Elite, the ECL finals are already here. Our finalists Laser HT and Dynasty fought well and hard for an entire 30-game regular season, in what can most accurately be described as an all-out war against the 14 other Elite teams. After narrowly making the playoffs (the separation between teams #1 to #8 were only a few points), both teams continued to grind their way through challenging playoff series versus Synergy/Nordic Nightmare and Written In The Stars/Limitless. Now that they've finally arrived at their ultimate test, both of these classic ECL franchises will be looking to bring the trophy home for the first time.

In Pro, we've arrived at the Semifinals where Carlsberg, Kattiautomatti, Sjukstugan and Silver Sword Griffins are the final four standing. It might not come as a surprise to long-time members of the community to see these teams among the potential finalists, even if all of them have had to be at their absolute best to advance for as long as they have. The two winners of these series will not only advance to the Pro finals, they will also have a guaranteed spot in Elite for next season. For the semifinal losers, a promotion/relegation series Versus either SIKA or Finnish Rooster awaits.

For Lite, we are down to 8 teams which effectively means we've arrived at the quarterfinals. The teams that are fighting for a guaranteed spot in Pro next season (and the Lite title) are Hawks Hockey Club, HC Ancient Warriors, DEAD END KINGS, Banterfield Battalion, EN HUND, Lavetten, J P T J and Dynamo Danglers. Best of luck to all teams and remember - all 4 winners of these series will play in Pro next season. Do or die!

I'd like to sidetrack this story for a bit here by giving myself a tiny pat on the back as I correctly predicted the results of 11 out of 13 series last week, even getting the series' scores right on a few of them (!). I know, I know - I'm being "that guy". Hey, all I am saying is that I would like to see some more predictions come out of the community! I know for sure there are far more knowledgeable NHLGamers out there than me - make yourselves heard. Show Alpha who the real prediction master is, so to speak.

Anyway, let us get to it y'all. As always, be sure to share your comment on the news story or in the forums with your own predictions.

(Predicted series winners will be marked in Bold text)

ELITE
Dynasty vs. Laser HT - Two teams I know quite well and also two teams I'd really like to see do well. So much for being impartial, right? I've said it repeatedly in these predictions, the time has come for Dynasty to make a run. They are going up against possibly the best offensive team in the world right now with Leksa94 and Dominointi leading the charge. Lasers quick-pass system around the net is better than it ever has been... and yet, for the duration of these playoffs I haven't been able to shake the feeling that Dynastys time is now. Therefore, I will continue to predict success for them. They win this one 4-3. 

Make sure to check this one out though folks, we are talking playoff hockey at its finest. Look for both team to broadcast!

PRO
Carlsberg HC vs. Silver Sword Griffins - The all-out Pro favorites versus a team on a mission of revenge from last seasons dissapointing exit. This should be a playoff series for the ages... which is a big reason I am inclined to pick SSG as the winners. Watching them power through one of the most intense series' I have seen in years, courtesy of "Most improved team"-candidate Rusty Blades, was nothing short of spectacular. Alas, I predict Carlsbergs desire for Elite will prove to be too strong for SSG here. I predict 4-2 Carlsberg with SSG re-loading for a hard battle against SIKA/Roosters.

Sjukstugan vs. Kattiautomaatti - [Long prediction courtesy of Mr. @Ranksu - thank you for chipping in, sir!] 
Sjukstugan, who ended their regular season in the 2nd position for Group 1 are here faced with Group 2 winner Kattiautomaatti. Two teams who rely heavily on puck possession and also two teams that have came through this stage pretty easily (both have played just 10 games in two series). 112s all-important breakout will be depending on how well their defenders The_Alpha_Furyan and Gustafsson7 can handle pressure as puck carriers and get the puck up to forwards Ibjonol, patovic_ & 112 leading goal scorer Filariou. On the other hand, Kattiautomaatti has overall more scoring depth than Sjukstugan, in my opinion. Especially CATs Slaivone has been producing heavily from the blueline so far in the playoffs. A short word here also needs to be said about the goaltending battle, featuring two of the absolute best goalies this community has to offer right now (including Elite): LastMandalorian and hoigga. Whoever can reach their peak level in this series could potentially steal it.

This series is indeed going to be hard to predict. A closer look at PP stats reveals Kattiautomaatti really has an advantage here, scoring 5 powerplay goals spread out through the roster while Sjukstugan only has two (!) goals which both came from defenders... did I reveal too much here? The faceoff dot is pretty even 50-50, but I think advantage there goes to Sjukstugan center patovic_. These are of course just small details, but in a tight series it could be a difference maker. I was almost ready to give this series for Kattiautomaatti, but seeing how much Sjustugan has developed their game throughout the season I will give them this one in game 7. Kattiautomaatti 3 – Sjukstugan 4.

Projected lineup for Kattiautomaatti: 
xMaick82x - BiiAiDii - jnmxx
Isumppi90I - Slaivone
hoiggaa

Projected lineup for Sjukstugan: 
Filariou - Patovic_ - Ibjonol
The_Alpha_Furyan - Gustafsson7
LastMandalorian

LITE
Hawks Hockey Club vs. HC Ancient Warriors - HC Ancient Warriors surprised me by dispatching Old Farts by a score of 4-1 in games. By all accounts, their game has reached a level that most would consider truly worthy of the playoffs. Meanwhile, favorites Hawks Hockey Club might not be fully warmed up yet, with them having only one series under their belts thus far. I predict a tough battle as always but a 4-2 win for HC Ancient Warriors.

DEAD END KINGS vs. Banterfield Battalion - Should be a fun series to watch with two smart, tight-checking teams facing off. DEAD END KINGS have yet to face a true test while Banterfield are a scarred and battle-hardened Battalion by now. Not to mention the inspiring effect the creative GIFs and video shorts Banterfield player @Stu has been uploading, must have on his teammates! Then again, DEK could use those same videos as inspiration to shut up their opponents... I say 4-2 BB.

EN HUND vs. Lavetten - Two teams from opposite ends of the spectrum. Lavetten likes to rush and score goals while EN HUND likes to hit and shut down the opposition. If Lavetten can overcome being truly challenged by a tough defense, then this series is theirs. Meanwhile, if EN HUND can maintain their poise and calm against the most dangerous offensive squad they have faced in the playoffs, they will stand victorious. I say Game 7 and I say Lavetten wins.

J P T J vs. Dynamo Danglers - Offensive beasts J P T J might finally have met their match skill-wise in Dynamo Danglers. Then again, at this point, can anyone really stand in the way of J P T Js goal-scoring machine? They have smashed their way through both the regular season and the playoffs (by scores of 12-0, 8-1 & 9-2) so far and look like a potential top Pro team for next season. I am going with a 4-1 J P T J win here.

The third round of the ECL 4 Playoffs is to be played 19.04 to 25.04.

Good luck in the playoffs to all remaining teams! Later skaters,

@The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers,

As the second round of the playoffs has been completed, it's time to look at the match-ups for the upcoming round. Elite finals, Pro semifinals and Lite quarterfinals - it's crunch time.

Here are the match-ups:

ECL Elite finals

Dynasty vs. Laser HT

ECL Pro semifinals

Carlsberg HC vs. Silver Sword Griffins
Kattiautomaatti vs. Sjukstugan
 

ECL Lite quarterfinals

Hawks Hockey Club vs. HC Ancient Warriors
DEAD END KINGS vs. Banterfield Battalion
EN HUND vs. Lavetten 
J P T J vs. Dynamo Danglers
 

The third round of ECL 4 Playoffs is to be played 19.04 to 25.04.

Good luck!

NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers,

We're in the middle of it now. That great time of the year when the true essence of hockey shines through. The lengthy overtime battles, the primal shouts of frustration and joy, the overpowering urge to defeat your opponent no matter what... but also, the humble "digital handshakes" after a completed series. The cordial well-wishes and genuine appreciation for a great series. The sincere respect for your opponent. 

All these factors is what has come to define playoff hockey in any competitive league in the world and it is no surprise to us here at NHLGamer.com that the same values hold true as we move that same playoff competition over to a digital hockey landscape.

The first week of the ECL 4 Playoffs is over and what a week it was! We had some tremendous upsets (who could've guessed that all the "lower seeds" would advance in the Elite playoffs?) and some dominating performances from predicted favorites (Carlsberg HC of Pro and J P T J of Lite come to mind).

Currently the Elite playoffs are at the Semifinals stage, the Pro playoffs will start their quarterfinals and the Lite playoffs kick off their Round-of 16. This means a total of 14 playoff series will begin today, with an additional 2 series (the Pro/Elite Promotion/Relegation series) waiting in the wings.

Also a big round of applause and appreciation to the teams who fought hard but didn't reach their final goal these playoffs - we hope to see you all come back strong next season!

But now, let us get to the teams still remaining and see if we can predict what will transpire! As always, be sure to share a comment on the news story or in the forums with your own predictions.

(Predicted series winners will be marked in Bold text)

ELITE
Nordic Nightmare vs. Laser HT - After both teams put together impressive series wins over Unknown and Synergy respectively, these two veteran squads will face off in a what should be a memorable battle. Laser has truly found their offensive groove this season and has continued their goal-scoring prowess into the postseason. Look for them to attack Nordic Nightmares well-oiled team machine with all they've got. I predict a 4-2 series win for LHT.

Dynasty vs. Limitless - It might be foolish to continue betting against last seasons winners, but I just have this feeling that the time has come for Dynasty to truly go on a run and bring home the ECL Elite trophy (on a side note, does anyone have suggestions for an official trophy name? We need something iconic! The Ramjagsingh Trophy perhaps?). Also, look for Limitless to continue surpassing the somewhat lower expectations created by their regular season. This one will most likely go 7. I say Dynasty 4-3 series win with the final game going to OT.

PRO
Carlsberg HC vs. White Trash - WT delivered a serious upset when they upended regular season juggernaut Nordic Stars in the first round. Their gameplan to shut down high-scoring Tapparafan- in that series will certainly come to play in this series as well with joukki13 and Patzlaf coming to town. Despite WTs early playoff heroics, I predict Carlsbergs scoring depth will be too much for them here. 4-2 Carlsberg series win.

Kattiautomaatti vs. Shameful Knights - Shameful are coming off a tougher first series while Katti were able to breeze by their first round opponent. This shouldn't have an impact on this series though, as there will be no rest needed or underestimation going on - from either team. This will be a close series and Katti will be forced to face their biggest test of the season. I predict they will rise to the challenge and win this one 4-2.

Sjukstugan vs. Unlucky Boys HC - [No prediction due to me playing in the series, feel free to post your predictions in the comment section! That goes for all the series in this prediction by the way - always fun to read what the community thinks.]

Rusty Blades vs. Silver Sword Griffins -  These two teams were built for the playoffs and this should certainly be a "series to watch" - perhaps the most even one ECL Pro has to offer. Both defensively strong teams, both lethal on the counterattack and in front of the oppositions net. Expect this one to go 7 and for most of those games to go to OT. My gut says SSG though, 4-3.

Finally, congratulations are in order to Pro teams Bare Knuckles Hockey, murohoki, Nemesis and Showtime who all staved off relegation by winning their respective series. These teams, together with the teams that finished in "no mans land" and all Pro playoff teams who don't qualify for Elite, will have guaranteed spots in the Pro division next season.

LITE
Hawks Hockey Club vs. Ice Phoenix - The Lite overall top seed HHC enters the playoffs after sitting out Round 1. They should be hungry and eager to play against an Ice Phoenix team that impressed in the first round. Don't expect a sweep, but HHC should still win this one 4-1.

DEAD END KINGS vs. EV Duisburg - Swedish "Synergy Lite" DEK will also be eager to prove their mettle and show that they belong higher up in the divisional system. Their quest to do just that begins here against German surprise team Duisburg. I predict Nephenzy and his boys to come out firing and end up with a 4-0 series win.

EN HUND vs. INF4MOUS - Two strong teams with high ambitions clash in this matchup. Should be a tight battle with the physical play of ENH clashing with the defensive structure of iNF. I do predict a 4-2 series win for EN HUND here but as I said, good matchup.

J P T J vs. HC Palosaari - Offensive beasts J P T J take on a Palosaari team that fought hard in their series with the Coal Miners. Anything other than a 4-0 sweep from star team J P T J here would be a surprise to me.

Old Farts vs. HC Ancient Warriors - The veterans of Old Farts take on the Warriors in a matchup that I wish could be saved for further down the line in the Lite playoffs, due to the skill of both teams. However, it is what it is and I do have to predict a winner so I will go with Old Farts, 4-2

Dynamo Danglers vs. Bone Breakers - Two teams I saw as contenders to win the Lite trophy that didn't fully deliver the types of seasons I am sure they would have wanted. I predicted Bone Breakers to do well in my season preview and I am sticking with it. 4-3 BB. 

GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs. Banterfield Battalion - Community sweethearts and video makers GHETTOBIRDS (new official nickname) take on the Banter squad in another tight matchup. GHETTOBIRDS had their difficulties getting going in the first round but should be warmed up enough to give the Banter squad a tough time. 4-3 BB here as well.

Clowns On Ice vs. Lavetten - This is THE series to watch in Lite Round 2. Lots of skill, lots of energy, lots of passion. If you have the time, check it out because this one could go 7. I predict a 4-3 series win for Lavetten in Game 7 OT.

In addition we've extended this round by two days since it overlaps with Easter - the second round of ECL 4 Playoffs is to be played 10.04 to 18.04.

Good luck in the playoffs to all remaining teams! Later skaters,

The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers,

It is that time of the year again, isn't it? You wake up one morning and the cold weather outside doesn't seem to bother you as much, the morning traffic you encounter when driving to work is suddenly not a nuisance but instead a reason to silently reflect on what is to come and that little knot of anticipation you know so well is back in your stomach. It is time for some ECL playoff hockey!

For ECL 4 we had more teams participating than ever seen before in the European competitive hockey gaming scene, something that we here at NHLGamer.com are immensly proud of. Thank you to all 80 teams that signed up and a special thank you to the 78 teams who finished the season (a 97.5% completion rate) - continue spreading the word so we can try and grow this tournament even further together!

Can we create a league with 100+ teams? Is the Xbox One side of the community ready for its first tournament? Only time will tell but us Staff members certainly hope so.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to once again highlight the legacy of our previous ECL winners in order to inspire all participating teams to follow in their footsteps. Here they are;

ECL 1 - Nordic Blizzard
ECL 2 - MUKIMIEHET
ECL SC - Team pelimies80
ECL 3 - X Factor 

Moving on to the business at hand, the ECL 4 playoffs and our traditional predictions. A total of 30 series kicks off today (26 playoff series and 4 relegation series) so I will keep the predicting to a solid one line of text for each series in order to preserve my sanity. I apologize in advance if I am not completely familiar with all participating teams. Also, expect slightly longer predictions the longer these playoffs proceed!

(Predicted series winners will be marked in Bold text)

ELITE
MUKIMIEHET vs. Limitless - A tough series between two former ECL winners but I predict a 4-3 MUKI win here. MUKI has played a flawless season while Limitless has struggled to find the magic of their previous team version, X Factor.

Synergy vs. Laser HT - Another tough one featuring two teams with a lot of history and rivalry. Going with 4-3 Synergy here as I believe they have moved past ghosts of playoffs past.

Unknown vs. Nordic Nightmare - Never bet against Unknown in the playoffs. NN is a terrific squad but Unknown has some history on the line that they'd be eager to defend. 4-2 WHO.

Written In The Stars vs. Dynasty - Probably the most lethal offensive squad versus the most structured defensive squad. I'll give the edge to Dynasty here as they are due for a deep playoff run, 4-3 DYN.

PRO
Carlsberg HC vs. Huppati HC - The #1 overall seed and predicted top team takes on an inexperienced #8. Going with 4-0 Car here.

Sjukstugan vs. HC Checkmate - [No prediction due to me playing in the series, feel free to post your predictions in the comment section! That goes for all the series in this prediction by the way - always fun to read what the community thinks.]

Rusty Blades vs. Royal Club - Two strong defensive squads but Rusty has grown from a playoff bubble team last season to a top ECL team. It will be a series of OT games but I think the Blades will come out on top, 4-2.

Unlucky Boys HC vs. Germany's Finest - Unlucky Boys is another team who has grown stronger as the tournament progressed while GER has had some tough games towards the end. I predict an even series with a 4-2 win for UHC.

Alliance HT vs. Shameful Knights - The Russian two-way machine has impressed me during the season, as have the Shameful Knights. I will go with a 4-3 win here for AHT.

Silver Sword Griffins vs. Nocturnal Hunters - SSG is due for a deep playoff run. They will encounter tough opposition from NH but will most likely advance if they get their machine rolling. 4-1 SSG.

Nordic Stars vs. White Trash - NS will take full advantage of the #1 overall scorer in Pro and get through a tough series with WT by a score of 4-2.

Kattiautomaatti vs. ORIGINS - Another regular season giant in CAT entering the playoffs versus a bubble team. Granted, ORIGINS has ECL experience but I do not think it will be enough here. 4-1 CAT.

(PRO Relegation Faceoff)
Bare Knuckles Hockey vs. Company of Geeks - CoG has had a tough season but will deliver when it matters the most. 4-3 CoG.

murohoki vs. Thunder Tigers - If murohoki gets their two-way game going they could run through this series. TT are no slouches however so I think this one will go to 6 games, 4-2 mur.

Nemesis vs. The Beagle Boys - The Swedish dogs also went through a challenging season but could surprise here and defeat offensively skilled team Nemesis to stay in Pro. 4-3 TBB.

Showtime vs. The Lights Out - Showtime had their ups and downs, struggling versus teams around them in the standings while performing great against some of the top dogs. Expect them to come in motivated to this series. 4-1 SHO.

LITE
(Hawks Hockey Club and DEAD END KINGS - both automatically advance to the second round)

EN HUND vs. Blues HC - Time for the The Finnish dogs to create their own legacy apart from SIKA. They start in this series, 4-0 EN HUND.

J P T J vs. A Dream Valhalla - Offensive powerhouse with multiple top scorers enter the playoffs with a series win, 4-0 J P T J.

Old Farts vs. Pohjoista Voimaa - Experienced old bastard versus a newer team, experience wins out in the playoffs: 4-0 OLD.

Dynamo Danglers vs. Vemppaosasto - Tougher to predict but the Danglers, led by lycki10, has had an impressive season. 4-2 DyD.

GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs. The Youngsters - Not as well educated when it comes to these teams but the FIREBIRDS playoff hype video has me convinced, 4-2 BIRDS

Clowns On Ice vs. Prometheus - Have not played against either team but Prometheus strikes me as the stronger squad here, 4-3 XKP.

Lavetten vs. Die TwitchProleten - Swedish Versus/HUT giants in Lavetten grew stronger as the season progressed, just as predicted. If they can keep their momentum going, this is a 4-1 Lav win.

Banterfield Battalion vs. PSHL Roadrunners - The most banter-filled squad in ECL start a solid playoff run here with a 4-2 series win.

Teletapit vs. Ice Phoenix - Have only seen Ice Phoenix play (which they did well), therefore going with a 4-2 series win here.

HC Ancient Warriors vs. Papat - I predicted a strong season for the Warriors and I am sticking by it. 4-2 Warriors.

Bone Breakers vs. HC Scorpions - The Bone Breakers had a season worthy of Pro, I predict they start their journey there in this series with a 4-1 series win.

HC Palosaari vs. Falun Coal Miners - Two teams with the same logo (the one with the factory and 3 pucks) who are both looking to improve on their regular season. The FCM boys has playoff experience though, which should weigh heavy here. 4-3 FCM.

Last Kings vs. EV Duisburg - Not familiar enough with either team to accurately predict this one but my crystal ball says 4-2 Kings.

Elämäm Kiekko vs. INF4MOUS - First taste of the playoffs for both teams so this should be a tight series. I predict INF coming out on top in Game 7, 4-3 INF.

 

Good luck in the playoffs to all teams! Later skaters,

The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers,

With the regular season behind us, we now shift our focus on the playoffs. This time around in addition to fighting for the championship, teams will also try to avoid relegation and secure promotions to higher divisions for ECL5.

Before announcing the playoff parings for the first round, we need to note that some teams weren't able to play all of their regular season games, forcing us to issue walkover wins/losses.

In each respective case the League Administration took into consideration the availability, communication and attempts to reschedule the games from both sides.

Here are the final rulings:

• Unplayed games between "Clowns On Ice" and "Ice Phoenix" - two WO losses for both teams.
• Unplayed games between "Origins" and "The Lights Out" - two WO wins for Origins.
• Unplayed games between "Huppati HC" and "Company Of Geeks" - two WO wins for Huppati HC.
• Unplayed games between "Inter Iceland" and "Thunder Tigers" - two WO wins for Inter Iceland.
• Unplayed games between "Written In The Stars" and "Aapon Taikasauva" - two WO losses for both teams.

After applying all the WO rulings, here's the summary for each division:

Playoffs

MUKIMIEHET vs. Limitless
Synergy vs. Laser HT
Unknown vs. Nordic Nightmare
Written In The Stars vs. Dynasty

Relegation Faceoff

Finnish Roosters vs. #4 of Pro playoffs
SIKA vs. #3 of Pro playoffs

Relegation

Rynnäkköviikset
Refuse To Lose

Playoffs

Carlsberg HC vs. Huppati HC
Sjukstugan vs. HC Checkmate
Rusty Blades vs. Royal Club
Unlucky Boys HC vs. Germany's Finest
Alliance HT vs. Shameful Knights
Silver Sword Griffins vs. Nocturnal Hunters
Nordic Stars vs. White Trash
Kattiautomaatti vs. ORIGINS

Relegation Faceoff

Bare Knuckles Hockey vs. Company of Geeks
murohoki vs. Thunder Tigers
Nemesis vs. The Beagle Boys
Showtime vs. The Lights Out

Sadly some teams have abandoned the tournament. Due to this there are 16 teams in one group and 14 in the other. In order to make the current playoffs format work, we've decided to merge both Lite groups, sort teams by PPG and automatically advance the two teams with the highest PPG to the second round.

Playoffs

Hawks Hockey Club and DEAD END KINGS - both automatically advance to the second round.

EN HUND vs. Blues HC
J P T J vs. A Dream Valhalla
Old Farts vs. Pohjoista Voimaa
Dynamo Danglers vs. Vemppaosasto
GHETTO FIREBIRDS vs. The Youngsters
Clowns On Ice vs. Prometheus
Lavetten vs. Die TwitchProleten
Banterfield Battalion vs. PSHL Roadrunners
Teletapit vs. Ice Phoenix
HC Ancient Warriors vs. Papat
Bone Breakers vs. HC Scorpions
HC Palosaari vs. Falun Coal Miners
Last Kings vs. EV Duisburg
Elämäm Kiekko vs. INF4MOUS

Sharpen your skates as the playoffs will start on the 3rd of April and the first round of the playoffs is to be played 03.04 - 09.04., best of seven. 

Good luck!

NHLGamer.com

Hello NHLGamers,

Welcome to another edition of "Who's Hot and Who's Not". A format first introduced last summer during the ECL Summer Cup, the "Hot or Not"-column was a source of much emotion and debate during its first tour of duty... so naturally we decided to bring it back! This time around the lists will be a bit shorter (we have atleast five times more teams and three different divisions to cover) but hopefully just as accurate and prone to create debates. As always, we have the great @OxtreeLAT providing some terrific art for both the cover and the different sections within the article - but when it comes to the text, I will handle all the list-making myself this time.

Let's get to it!

WHO’S HOT - ELITE

Forward: 
Dominointi, LHT - Laser HTs captain is usually a team-first, positionally solid two-way center who always makes sure to cover the correct passing lanes - a Selke Trophy candidate, if you will. However this season, facing the toughest competition in ECL tournament history, he's been doing all that while having a career season offensively with 66 points in 22 games.

Defender: 
liSvampl, WHO - Unknown has certainly backed up their pre-season talk that they should be in Elite with a terrific season in the ECL top division thus far. A big part of their success has been the #1 defensive pairing of iSvamp & Terasniska. Playing in most of WHOs games thus far, both skaters are currently in the Top-10 for defensive scoring but iSvamp gets the nod due to having more goals, assists and points with his 23 points in 21 games.

Goalie: 
Ranta83, WHO - Another component to Unknowns success has been their constant goaltender Ranta83 who, besides from having the most goaltending Wins in Elite by a mile, sports some very respectable numbers with 80.42%, 2.20 GAA and 2 shutouts to his name.

WHO'S NOT - ELITE

Forward: 
Mullweiser, NOS - A big part of Northern Stars #1 line, Mullweiser is by no means having a bad season... it just probably hasn't been all he hoped for thus far, something that goes for the entire NOS team. Relying on team defense to win games isn't a bad strategy (especially not in the playoffs) but it puts an awful lot of pressure on the teams attackers to perform using limited opportunities. With 9 goals, 24 points and a -11 in 24 games, Mullweiser gets the nod here this time.

Defender: 
Maqruusi, RTL - Refuse To Lose gets a spot on the Not-list for the second straight edition as their season really hasn't improved that much since last time. This time they are represented by defender Maqruusi who sports a challenging -29 while managing just 1 goal and 8 points in 16 games.

Goalie:
octobussy, ESA - TIKI TALK is having a decent surge in the second part of their season, but octobussy still gets a nod here due to some tough personal stats. Outside of personal stats, 'Wins' is the most important metric there is for ECL goaltenders and while octobussy doesn't have the least wins per game, 5 wins in 14 games isn't quite good enough. 

WHO’S HOT - PRO

Forward: 
Tapparafan-, NS - The ECL 2 point scoring champion is back in the same team enviroment that made him a star and his production has followed suit. Nordic Stars' offensive catalyst has lit the lamp an astounding 44 times in 26 games thus far and looks poised to add some more scoring trophies to his name.

Defender: 
Janzuh, Car - Carlsberg HC has dominated Pro Group 1 the last couple of weeks, something that has led to Car top defender Janzuh running away with the defender scoring title. This sturdy blueliner isn't just a product of his team though, he is as much part of Carlsbergs success as any of their forwards or goaltenders and if you'd poll the Car players themselves - Janzuh would be a safe bet for MVP of the team. 

Goalie: 
hoiggaa, CAT - Being a runner-up on this list last time seemed to motivate Kattiautomattis #1 goalie who has continued his torrid pace ever since. Currently the leader for goaltending Wins, hoiggaa probably has his eyes set on quite a few of the Pro goaltending trophies - he just needs to stick the landing with CAT's final 6 games.

WHO'S NOT - PRO

Forward: 
XelsFIN, NEM - A league-worst -42 is enough to get XelsFIN on this list this time. His 25 points in 21 games is respectable but the plus/minus, combined with the 23 PIMs, is the anchor for one of Nemesis' most important players this season.

Defender: 
ac_tiska, T T - Just like in the Forward-section, it's a combination of factors that gets ac_tiska on the Not-list for defenders this time. His -25, 0 goals and 16 PIMs in 15 games leaves room for improvement.

Goalie:
Popensans, KNS - No wins in 10 games played is a tough pill to swallow for anyone and you got to believe nobody wants that first win more than Popensans himself or his teammates. Once Pop gets that out of the way, he'll be able to move out of this spot.

WHO’S HOT - LITE

Forward: 
KattenJansson97, Lav - In the interest of having some diversity on this list, JPT will not be featured this time, even though their personal achievements remain impressive. Instead we have the 3rd ranked Lite scorer from surprise team Lavetten, KattenJansson97, getting a shoutout. The whole team has been rising steadily in the standings since the start and a big factor has been their #1 center and his 76 points.

Defender: 
Rankaisija_, OLD - Going from Elite to Lite should mean a dominating performance and Ranksu has not dissapointed. With 50 points in 25 games, this hard-hitting defender has been just as good as expected - just like the rest of the Old Farts team.

Goalie: 
Nebelparder55555, HHC - Being 2nd in Wins and with 82% and a GAA under 2, Nebelparder has led Hawks Hockey Club to one of the top seeds in Lite just ahead of the playoffs. That's really all you can ask for when it comes to your goaltender.

WHO'S NOT - LITE

Forward: 
rjounila, POH - A -56 and 11 points in 20 games played mostly as a forward will get you on the Not-list, sadly. Up to jounila and his teammates to bounce back in the final stretch.

Defender: 
moitzi, 666 - Another player with a low plus/minus rating and low point totals, moitzi gets the nod here. A Dream Valhalla has a lot of work to do before the playoffs and moitzi needs to be a part of the teams' turnaround.

Goalie:
Vanish71, IPH - 2 wins in 14 games will get you on this list. Vanish71 needs to make sure the pucks start vanishing into his catching glove a bit more in the future.

See you in the playoffs - later skaters/

The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Good afternoon, NHL Gamers!

League Administration finalized it's ruling on 3 cases which happened during the last week.

1)Valta15: Irresponsible behavior

Player valta15 decided to leave his old team and join Dynamo Danglers, where he played one game and partially finished a second one(the game was quit midway through by both parties after several connection issues).

Afterwards, he wanted to go back to his old team, which is not allowed according to ECL rules:

------------------

10. Recruitment and transfers 

 "Players are not allowed to transfer to a team they had previously left during a league/tournament."

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In a desperate journey of sending messages to League Administration, he suggested several options to circumvent this rule, which is also prohibited:

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3. Code of conduct

"Members are not allowed to try circumventing the rules."

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On top of that, valta15 now refuses to finish the second game for his team and also announced he was not going to play any more games for Dynamo Danglers.

This is considered a breach of the Fair Play rule.

Taking all the issues into account, League Administration is going to ban valta15 for the remainder of ECL 4 as well as the first 10 games of ECL 5. Furthermore, valta15 won't be allowed to act as a Captain or Assistant Captain during ECL 5.

Because of this, the second game between Dynamo Danglers and Bone Breakers will need to be replayed.

2)Totalii: Personal attack against another NHLGamer member

Community member Totalii made a shameless and very personal attack against another NHLGamer member in the forums. This is a violation of the following rule:

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3. Code of conduct

"Registered members are required to treat each other with respect and not divert to overly abusive language. This applies to all league/tournament related conversations conducted on NHLGamer.com"

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League Administration has decided that player Totalii will be banned for the remainder of the ECL 4 regular season (a total of 10 games, including today's games).

3)NYTSAKENEE: Second account

It has come to our attention that player NYTSAKENEE(Huppati HC - Pro) is using two accounts, second account Ei_Baas(Teletapit - Lite). This is a clear violation of the ECL rule:

------------------

1. Member registration

"No player may have more than one account on NHLGamer.com."

------------------

After further investigation we learned that the captain of Huppati HC, Samzoni, was fully aware of this situation.

League Administration has decided that player NYTSAKENEE/Ei_Baas will be banned for remainder of ECL 4 as well as the first 50% of the ECL 5 games. Samzoni will be banned for remainder of ECL 4 and won't be allowed to act as a Captain or Assistant Captain during ECL 5.

@Samzoni @KerttulanKarlsson @Fobba71 @Totalii @SadaPoika @Tuukka.R @rotta__roteva @Lupachuk @Xx-Kane-X @lycki10 @Givystar @Anenthran @valta15 @Nytsakenee @Ei_Baas

- League Administration

Good evening NHLGamers,

What? Transfer deadline? Yes, it's that time of the season again. Some members of the community were probably caught off-guard by it due to a shorter regular season. No need to worry!

As some of you may have already noticed, the staff has decided to extend the transfer deadline for ECL4 and give teams more time to fine-tune their rosters. The new transfer deadline is - 23:59 CET on March 12, 2017. This effectively means that this Sunday is the last day when teams are allowed to make any free agent signings and player transfers.

During this most frantic time for both players and captains, lets not forget that there are still certain rules regarding transfers and player signings that need to be followed.

--------------------------------------------------------------

10. Recruitment and transfers

The rules in this section only apply during a league/tournament.

The deadline for transfers is set to 23:59 CET on March 12, 2017.

Teams are allowed to recruit free agent members of NHL Gamer up until the trade-deadline. Both the player and team must mutually agree to being picked up from the free agents.

Teams are allowed to release a player from their roster, provided this doesn’t violate the roster minimum rule. Released players cannot go back to the team that released them and their next move is considered a transfer from the team that released them to their new team.

Team captains not allowed to transfer during a league/tournament. Team assistant captains are allowed to transfer in case the team captain agrees to a transfer. In case the team captain disagrees, an assistant captain is not allowed to be transferred to another team. This paragraph also applies if a team is not able to finish the tournament for whatever reason.

Regular players are allowed to transfer once per tournament from a team to another, unless the move would put their initial team under the 8-player limit.

Players are not allowed to transfer to a team they had previously left during a league/tournament.

Teams may add up to 3 transferred players for the duration of the league/tournament.

If a team is disqualified its managers are banned from the league/tournament. The other roster players are free to transfer to another team, unless they were proven involved in the disqualification of their team, in which case they are also banned.

--------------------------------------------------------------

IN SUMMARY:

• Transfer deadline - 23:59 CET on March 12, 2017.
• Free agents and teams need to mutually agree and update their roster on NHLGamer.com accordingly.
• Team captains aren't allowed to transfer to another team.
• Assistant captains can transfer to another team, if the captain of the team agrees to the said transfer(preferably a confirmation in written form).
• Regular players are limited to 1 transfer throughout the duration of a tournament. In addition they aren't allowed to transfer to a team they have left during the current tournament.
• Teams can only add up to 3 transferred players for the duration of the league/tournament.

Good luck and don't forget to share your confirmed transfer deadline deals and player signings with the community:

// NHLGamer Staff

Good evening, NHL Gamers!

League Administration finalized it's ruling for a case involving the teams Refuse To Lose and Silver Sword Griffins and the player Kefleri. Kefleri left RTL without agreement from the captain Hanssonni, and joined SSG to immediately play 2 games with them against HC Checkmate. This violates the following rule:

---

8. Recruitment and transfers

"Team assistant captains are allowed to transfer in case the team captain agrees to a transfer. In case the team captain disagrees, an assistant captain is not allowed to be transferred to another team."

---

After discussing the case with both teams and the affected player, League Administration decided on the following outcome:

• Both games between Silver Sword Griffins and HC Checkmate will need to be replayed without Kefleri
• Kefleri will receive a 2 game ban for SSG's games against Kattiautomaatti
• pelimies80 will receive a 2 game ban for SSG's games against Kattiautomaatti due to transferring the player, even though he was aware of the above rule
• pelimies80 will of course be allowed to participate in the two rematches against HC Checkmate

At the time of this news story, Refuse to Lose agreed to the transfer, so Kefleri is allowed to join Silver Sword Griffins after all.

We would also like to include a general reminder to all captains: You are the team leader, and you have the power to decline an Assistant Captain's transfer. However if there are personal differences involved, and the captain tries to abuse this power by tying the player to the team after damage was already done (purposefully), the Fair Play rule comes into play. Benching a player in this scenario is strictly not welcome and League Administration will investigate. 

@Kefleri @pelimies80 @xLVxRitchey @ProMinx24 @OxtreeLAT @Hanssonni @ReDMisTi @TackleControl @Juizki @selänne8 

- League Administration

Hello NHLGamers,

Welcome to another edition of "Who's Hot and Who's Not". A format first introduced this summer during the ECL Summer Cup, the "Hot or Not"-column was a source of much emotion and debate during its first tour of duty... so naturally we decided to bring it back! This time around the lists will be a bit shorter (we have atleast five times more teams and three different divisions to cover) but hopefully just as accurate and prone to create debates. I have enlisted @nylanderi to help out with the list for Elite while I myself will handle Pro & Lite. As always, we have the great @OxtreeLAT providing some terrific art for both the cover and the different sections within the article. The column will be a weekly occurence just like before so look for it on Sundays during the season.

Before we begin I'd just like to direct a few short words to those of you who are struggling with our new match reporting system, the EA API. We are tracking your error reports (keep producing as detailed reports as possible) and those on the staff with technical skills are also working towards improving the systems functionality. What you can do meanwhile is this;

- Have patience. Sometimes a game will not appear in the API system for a few hours (we've had reports of delays up to 5-6 hours) so games might have to be reported the day after. If the game hasn't showed up for you the next day efter playing, please contact us to see how we can be of assistance.

- Do not report games in the old tool unless absolutely neccessary. If your games were completed without disconnects, wait for the game to show up in the API instead of reverting back to the old tool. We understand everyone wants the games reported as soon as possible (hell, we do too!) but for now we ask for your patience.

- Be careful. Before completing your game report - check your input one extra time. The system isn't working at 100% yet, but just by being extra careful when reporting you are helping us all out alot. Thank you.

- Home team reports their game so 1 report each.

Now, let us get to the lists!

 by nylanderi

WHO’S HOT - ELITE

Forward:
Vilupoika, SKY
What a start it has been for Written in The Stars. They have won 11/12 of their games, and Vilupoika has 15+15=30 in those 12 games. Written has been a really good defensive team as well, so we know that Vilu has been really important in the defensive aspect of the game also.

Runner-ups:
Kingofapes_, SKY - Just barely edged out by Vilupoika, both these forward and their teammates have been big contributors in SKYs torrid start. Ape actually has 31 points but one goal less than Vilu.

I_Eki_I, MUK - The total points leader with 32 points, however two more games played than Ape and Vilu.

Defender:
Totalii, SKY - Written has conceded the least goals in the league, so Writtens defense lead by their captain has been rock solid! Totalii has also contributed with 8 points in the 1st week, and leads dmen’s scoring race.

Runner-up:
vSilenttio, SIK - Goal scoring leader for all defenders in Elite (5), hats off to SIKAs captain and catalyst.

Goalie:
Danielcadabra and s_w1ld_RUS, SKY - These goaltenders are both in the Top-5 for Wins while maintaining Save Percentages over 80% and combining for 5 shutouts. Nuff said.

Runner-up:
Ranta83, WHO - The goalie leader for Wins in Elite.

WHO'S NOT - ELITE

Forward: 
ReDMisTi, RTL - Refuse To Lose' start to the season has been real tough. They have had lots of problems in the offense and Misti has only scored 2+8=10 in 10 games, with a massive -22. 

Defender: 
puke85, GRR - Aapon Taikasauva was ranked as one of the best defensive teams in the league by me, so it was a suprise for me to see puke85 with -4 after 8 games. Aapons defense has to step it up if they wanna succeed.

Goalie:
juha96, RV - RV has had a real rocky start. You should never blame your goalie but we all know that Juha could do a little better after his great performances in previous tournaments... (Editors Note: was written before juha96s departure from RV)

 by The_Alpha_Furyan

WHO’S HOT - PRO

Forward:
Stefan_397, ICE - This accurate sniper from Inter Iceland has certainly lived up to his title of a "Player to watch", having celebrated 30 goals in just 16 games so far. Even more impressive then that he not only leads the goal category but also the points category by a margin of 7 points with 46 points in 16 games.

Runner-ups:
jm__98___, UB - Second in goals (26) and points (39) - a no-brainer pick.

IbjonoI, 112 - Third in points (39) and with the most GWGs in Pro (4).

Defender:
entii112, SSG - 15 points in 6 games seems like an impossible feat at this level but this defender has done it so far! Warms my OFD-heart to see defenders scoring points. Well done enti!

Runner-up:
Tanski87, RB - Tied to be goal scoring leader for all defenders in Pro (5), this monstrous defender also leads the Pro division for hits by a defenseman with 81. Look out for this double threat on the blueline, pro teams.

Goalie:
LastMandalorian, 112 - The goaltending leader for Wins with 14 Ws (13 regulation, 1 OT) in 18 games played also has 4 shutouts (nobody else has more than 1) and a GAA at 1.77 with a save % close to 80. A solid foundation for 112 to build on.

Runner-up:
hoigga, CAT - This goalie has not yet lost a game (14 wins in 14 games - 10 regulation, 4 OT) while maintaining a save % over 80% and a GAA under 2. If he can keep this up, CAT looks set for a long playoff run in Pro.

WHO'S NOT - PRO

Forward: 
friskaviljor, SHO - With just 5+5=10 in 9 games as a forward, friskaviljors production is certainly OK. That -18 is a bit tougher to ignore though. 

Defender: 
Duran93-, KNS - Bare Knuckles needs a little bit more than 1+4=5 and a -11 in 10 games from one of its top defenders.

Goalie:
Siickan, TBB - Sporting an 0-6-0 record and some tough statistical numbers, The Beagle Boyz is in need of Siickan to channel his inner Hasek for the rest of the season to bounce back.

 by The_Alpha_Furyan

WHO’S HOT - LITE

Forward:
moilanenC, JPT - 31+21 for 52 points in 12 games are some completely insane numbers. The whole line for JPT has been unreal (currently sitting at 1-2-3 in the scoring race) but moilanen gets the nod for #1 due to his goal scoring prowess.

Runner-ups:
makeee76, JPT - Point scoring leader with 25+28=53 in 12 games.

mikihoo, JPT - With 16+24=40 in 12 games, one would have to imagine mikihoo is the defensive catalyst on the JPT line.

Defender:
jonezki26, JPT - The JPT dominance continues here with jonezki delivering 3+21 for 24 points in 12 games. A points per game average at 2 for a defender, combined with a +42, commands respect.

Runner-up:
Zuominen, PAP - On that notion the top defender for Papat, Zuominen, is no slouch himself with 18 points in 8 games, including 4 goals and 60 hits.

Goalie:
jjuhao, JPT - Finishing the sweep for JPT is goaltender jjuhao with his 11-1-0 record, 2 shutouts and solid personal statistics.

Runner-up:
Nebelparder55555, HHC - This goalie would probably have had a great shot at being #1 for this edition of the column (his numbers with save % almost at 90, GAA at 1 and 3 shutouts certainly raises eyebrows) but sadly misses out due to just competing in 8 games so far. Look out for Nebel on next weeks edition though!

WHO'S NOT - LITE

Forward: 
Reaper-80, 666 - Once again, the +/- is a leading statistic when putting together this column and A Dream Valhalla is another team that is struggling. Reaper-80 is putting up some numbers, 6+4=10 in 13 games as a winger, but needs to up his +/- and pot a few more points for 666 to stay afloat.

Defender: 
xsakux99, BHC - Blues HC have had a real tough season so far, hopefully saku and friends can turn it around but for now he finds himself on this list with 4 points and a -36 in 11 games.

Goalie:
Hujunake, VEM - While I have no doubt this goaltender with the great name, Pablo Escobar, is trying to smuggle out as many wins as he can, a few more than 3 in 13 is needed.

See you next week - later skaters/

The_Alpha_Furyan & nylanderi for NHLGamer.com

Good afternoon, NHLGamers!

At 14:11 of the first period in the ECL 4 game between Aapon Taikasauva and Dynasty, indi969(Sven Tuuba) initiated a challenge for a fight with Dynasty's jumalpeku(EVGENI BULJUJÄRVI). This happened right before the face-off and as such is in violation of the following rules:

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8. Game rules

"Players are not allowed to challenge for a fight before a faceoff nor against a player who is either in possession of the puck, or would be the first one reaching a loose puck. Note, however, that if a player delivers a big hit, gets the puck and the fight challenge comes up, the opposing team is allowed to take the fight, because the player delivering the hit is regarded as initiating the fight challenge."

---

6.Fair Play

""Fair Play" is the most essential rule in regards to any games carried out within a tournament on NHLGamer.com. In general, "Fair Play" describes the act of treating your opponent the way you would like to be treated. This includes communication, but also any actions which are directly or indirectly related towards on-ice action. To give you an idea of what to avoid to comply with this Fair Play rule, here are a few examples:

• Do not attack your opponent with abusive language
• Do not exploit game mechanics or bugs to put your opponent at a disadvantage (e.g. do not make use of any player stats exploits, de-sync glitches, freezes or similar)
• Do not distract your opponent from playing the game (e.g. do not spam messages, do not call your opponent while he is in-game or similar)

Disregarding the Fair Play rule will lead to disciplainary action depending on the kind of infraction. Less severe infractions like distractions may lead to point suspensions or game bans, while actually exploiting the game can also lead to a ban for all activities carried out on NHLGamer.com, in case the user is not interested in sharing this knowledge with League Administration. If this kind of issue comes up, League Administration will share this knowledge with EA SPORTS."

---

After hearing indi969's explanation, the League Administration has determined that his intentions weren't malicious and issues him a two game suspension. As a result, indi969 won't be able to represent Aapon Taikasauva in their next two scheduled ECL games against Limitless on 27th of February. The ban is valid for this match-up only, so in case Aapon Taikasauva decide to play another opponent beforehand, the ban is not valid for that game.

League Administration reminds everyone that all registered members are required to carry themselves and behave in accordance to the ECL Season 4 rules found here:

- League Administration

Good day NHLGamers,

Here are all the particulars you need to know for ECL 4, which starts today!

Rule changes

There are some rule changes from ECL 3 to ECL 4. Most of them concern updates based on Rulings we made in ECL 3 in our three disciplinary threads. Here is a link to the rules as every player does need to read them carefully, the rules that have been updated will be marked in bold text:

Here is a quick summary of some of the changes:

• Clarified that every player needs to be on the correct teams official NHLGamer.com roster (by invite) and not just listed in the registration post before they play in any ECL games.
• Went from a 3-point system (like European hockey) to a 2-point system (like the NHL).
• Updated the scheduling rules to not limit teams as much from playing their games ahead of time.
• Trade deadline is now 2 weeks before the end of the regular season.
• Teams quitting ECL 4 before the end of the regular season will not be allowed participation in ECL 5.
• Added a new Fair Play rule.

Captains message

Every teams captaincy squad (regardless of division) will receive a message today, detailing what is expected of them, with some helpful links and information. Seeing as we have more teams than ever before, we deemed it a good idea to let all captains and assistant captains know how things work on NHLGamer and where they can turn to for help. This message also includes a clarified defintion on what the different Staff members "jobs" are and who to contact when they need help. As this is useful information for the rest of the community as well - we will also list it here:

• If you have questions regarding possible rule violations, team conflicts or disciplinary actions - you contact @vSilenttio, @OxtreeLAT, @gzell60 and @Ranksu. These staff members form the new League Administration.
• If you have any questions about the website itself, if something isn't working properly or if you are unsure about how to do something - you contact @Kenu or @Lurkins.
• If you have any questions, thoughts, ideas or comments concerning the news stories on our webpage or the content that is featured - you contact @The_Alpha_Furyan.
• For business proposals, you contact @Kenu.

League Administration

The above mentioned 4 NHLGamer staff members make up the new League Administration (LA) responsible for handling all the disciplinary matters and rule violations that occur. We of course envision a tournament without discipline needed but unfortunately we know that isn't always a realistic goal. The LA will handle each matter individually and communicate their decisions through "League Administration Rulings" news stories when the need arises. You are expected to have video, image or text proof of matters that need the LAs attention as it is near impossible to rule in a "he said/she said"-case.

NHLGamer.com

Good evening NHLGamers,

Me - The_Alpha_Furyan - and the rest of the NHLGamer staff bid you welcome to another installment of our ECL Season Preview. To get an idea of what we will be doing in these previews, you can check out our previous one for Season 3. While that preview focused more on listing all the participating teams and predicting which ones would come out on top from the regular season, this one will try to dig a little deeper and supply a more in-depth look at each and every division - something the community has been vocal about in their feedback to our writing staff.

After looking at both the Lite and Pro divisions, we've now reached the final 16 teams of ECL 4, the Elite Division. Just like during the Pro preview I have @nylanderi, our newest content creator here at NHLGamer.com, and his excellent eye for team- and player scouting by my side for this one. Let us get to it, shall we?

Main text, scouting and predictions by nylanderi
Text editing and additional reporting by The_Alpha_Furyan
Art by OxtreeLAT

Prediction for the Regular Season Top - 5

1. Unknown
WHO is a team that rely on solid team defense and counter attacking to win games. Unknowns defense, lead by isvamp, has been really good every time I have played against them in regular EASHL lately. Foppatofflan and MartindalexC on the wings have the skill to create a bunch of great scoring chances in every game. If they can play at their highest level during the entire regular season, they will definitely finish high - possibly even first in the regular season. Their goalie situation is probably their biggest weakness since they are currently still searching for a starting goalie as far as I know. I am aware that Ranta83 is really good between the pipes, but if he's not able to play that much they will need to find a reliable goalie. 

2. Limitless
Last seasons champions X Factor, with a new name and some new roster aquisitions from Finnish Roosters. The offense - on paper at least - is truly something to behold with all three starting forwards finishing in top 10 for scoring during ECL 3. One of the biggest transfers this offseason was Limitless' acquisition of Haldeem from Dynasty. The plan is for Haldeem to form a defender partnership with myself (nylanderi). If the defense clicks and FinKonna puts up the good performances he is capable of it should be really hard to score against Limitless in ECL 4. If this team is able to string together solid performances they will most likely be one of the powerhouses this season.

3. Aapon Taikasauva
Last seasons offensive powerhouse team has changed a lot. They lost Joukki13 and Puantso, but acquired some new forwards. Bugimir, Nampa77 and Chafak are all really good additions to the team, and I believe they will go far this season as well. Bugimir and Indi are both great two-way forwards, and I believe that Aapon will be one of the best defensive teams this season because of it. 

4. Laser HT
After last seasons disappointing finish, Laser has changed quite a lot. They made some big moves during the offseason and you can be sure they will be one of the top teams once again. Their team might not be as good on paper as last seasons squad but if Dominointi gets his team going you can expect great things.

5. Written in The Stars
Kinda like Limitless, Writtens lineup has changed a lot. They have acquired KingOfApes_ and Vilupoika from X Facto with both players expected to bring a lot to their offense. Totalii leads their defense but they also got a new LD, Defmaxou, from Alliance HT so it will really interesting how he will do for SKY. If everything works out as planned, these guys can challenge for the ECL Elite championship. 

Championship favorite

I would say Limitless, but I dont really want to have a big target on my back from the rest of the Elite division... so I will pick Aapon Taikasauva.

Aapons roster this season fits playoff hockey perfectly. They can shut it down and they have some really tricky players up front. Aapons starting goalie is still a mystery to me so that could potentially be something that messes up their season. However, if they have an active goalie who can hold his own in net you better watch out for this team.

Players to watch

1. Norpee, Synergy, LW/C
Talk about a player who can do it all, Norpee will continue to do wonders for SYN this season. He scored a whopping 152 points during the ECL 3 regular season but I still feel that he is actually quite underrated. Terrific two-way skills combined with top hockey-IQ, I think he will continue to cause all sorts of problems for Elite opponents. 

2. Anrh17, Unknown, C/RW
iSvamp let us know in the Unknown thread that Anrh17 is quite busy with his IRL hockey, but whenever he has time to play you can expect big things. Unknowns #1 center often flies under the radar because of their skilled wingers, but this guy has been excellent every time Limitless has matched up against them and should continue to be a difference maker during ECL 4.

3. Gendlik, SIKA, C
SIKA truly aquired a great player from Nordic Blizzard this offseason. Gendlik is known for his silky smooth hands and he should be a great fit for SIKA. Watching them last season I felt that they really needed one more pure skill forward. Gendlik can quarterback SIKAs offensive game and take that team to another level.

4. s_w1ld_RUS, Written In The Stars, G
In my opinion a Top-3 goalie in the game and he really proved it last season in Alliance and recently whenever I have matched up against him in EASHL. With this goalie, Written has a chance to be one of the better defensive teams in the ECL Elite division.

5. Puantso, Dynasty, LD/C
I was quite surprised when I heard about this signing. Puantso has been a wonderful player for Aapon the past few seasons. Now he plays for Dynasty but I am not sure about which position he will occupy. I feel like he could be an offensive juggernaut for Dynasty as a C, but I have heard rumours that he might play LD. That’s not bad either since Haldeem left and I know for a fact that Puantso is really good at defense. If he does play D, he will for sure form one of the better defensive partnerships in the game with Snapu and Dynasty will most likely continue the tradition of being one of the top defensive teams.

Teams to watch

1. Nordic Lightning
“New” NL is a really interesting team. They are back in ECL 4 without their captain JaromirSniper68 but in EASHL games their defense has been really good and their fast counter attacks have caused all sorts of problems. Tactical_Face is a great goalie as well so I think these guys can really surprise a lot of people this season.

2. Dynasty
They really impressed me last season, but I think Dynasty will be even better this season. They're a team who truly plays great in every area of the ice and will be a tough assignment for every opponent to break down. Dynasty, lead by Snapu, is looking for a long playoff run at this point and their recent EASHL performances show that they have a good chance to achieve just that.

3. Northern Stars
During an off-season where it felt like everyone and their mother changed teams, NOS made the bold choice to stand pat - only mixing up their lineup internally with some possible position changes. This could prove to be a wise choice as many other Elite teams will be scrambling to find chemistry in their lineups while NOS will have many years of experience to lean on. Lets see how this decision works out.

This was our full 3-part preview for ECL 4 and we hope that you enjoyed it. As always, feel free to leave to leave your thoughts in the comment section. Now, let's get back on the virtual ice and play some hockey!

Later skaters,
The_Alpha_Furyan & nylanderi for NHLGamer.com