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BiggestEight - Free Agent (FA) ECL Hidden Gems is a concept that was created by @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun (patovic). The idea evolved out of discussions concerning what type of content patovic himself would like to see more of at NHLGamer.com and what kind of texts he'd be most interested in writing. Hidden Gems, for the purposes of this feature, means players that the author feels haven't quite gotten their time to shine at NHLGamer or players that aren't getting full credit for the skill they bring to the table. This is the third edition in a six-part series that patovic has written so do enjoy the witty writing of "pato" and leave a comment with your thoughts on the piece. Alex Ovechkin, Teemu Selänne, BiggestEight… There’s a number of "big eights” in the hockey world but virtually, we’re talking about the best one right here today. The gamer we’ll be taking a look at for the third edition of Hidden Gems is BiggestEight, aka @selänne8. The great BiggestEight really caught fire and put his name up on the boards during his two seasons with HC Checkmate in ECL 3 and 4, scoring an amazing total of 81 and 96 points respectively. ECL 5 saw him repeat a nice point-total of 76 points, albeit now representing Baltic Sea Eagles. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that he is living up to the name that his PSN-ID is suggestive of. In the group stage of ECL 4 Pro he finished 2nd in points behind Tapparafan - and was 1st in goals, GWG and shots on goal with a full 49 shots (!) more than the next player. This is surely a feat that isn’t all too far-fetched for the real-life counterpart of Alexander the Great either. In the all-time leaderboard BiggestEight can be found at 5th in points and 3rd in goals with only PleeMaker and Joukki pacing him in the goals-column. Always dangerous in the offensive zone and especially from his office at the left faceoff circle from where he lets the one-timers rip. Word on the street is that he lives by the motto: “the top corner is always open.” BiggestEight has yet to succeeded come playoff time, though. The reason could obviously be the high level of competitiveness at the tournaments hosted here at NHLGamer but BiggestEight has yet to make it past the first round in the playoffs. Once again we find similarities between him and the real-life counterpart on the Washington Capitals. However, it appears possible that ECL 6 is the time and place where this promising offensive juggernaut could be seen sniping top-cheese deep into the playoffs. It all depends on which team is able to snag this Hidden Gem before the registrations close. In the end, maybe it’s just a matter of trying a new stick manufacturer or applying a different tapejob to his stick - all will be revealed in ECL 6 so stay tuned for more goals from BiggestEight. BiggestEight Fact Box [Player profile] Joni Kurtti, Finland ECL All-Time Stats: 151GP, 209G, 165A, 374P, +86 All-Time overall leader in shots on goal Favors the LW position in EASHL Looking for his first strides in a 2nd-round playoff matchup come ECL6 Text by: @pnordetun Editing and additional content by: @jahajaha93 Art by: @OxtreeLAT

Lamsa - Rusty Blades (RB) ECL Hidden Gems is a concept that was created by @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun (patovic). The idea evolved out of discussions concerning what type of content patovic himself would like to see more of at NHLGamer.com and what kind of texts he'd be most interested in writing. Hidden Gems, for the purposes of this feature, means players that the author feels haven't quite gotten their time to shine at NHLGamer or players that aren't getting full credit for the skill they bring to the table. This is the second edition in a six-part series that patovic has written so do enjoy the witty writing of "pato" and leave a comment with your thoughts on the piece. After the first edition of Hidden Gems, which was more of a "old school" type gem, we return with this second installment that is focused on a player that manages to be a veteran and a new addition to the community both at the same time. I am of course talking about good ol' @Lamsafrom Rusty Blades - a man so good on the offensive side of the puck that all of your team better be prepared to focus 110% when going up against Rusty Blades. The franchise itself has only participated in ECLs 3, 4 & 5 but wow (!) have they been taking some major steps in the right direction. After making their debut in ECL 3 to mixed reviews (IMDB rating: 6,1), they went back to the drawing board and decided to grind out some serious practice. And by "some", I mean a lot. I am not sure if any team played more EASHL games than Rusty between ECL 3 and 4 but they managed to do exactly what they set out to do - build a foundation for their style of play and learn how to play against (and defeat) the very best ECL teams. Under captain @Tanski87, Rusty have perfected the art of "brunk and dump hockey" mixed with some tic tac toe and have managed to make it the key to their success. In all this, Lamsa is the true catalyst: leading the way with all the different types of goals, assists and dirtyness only a true Kantor can bring. While being underrated on the defensive side of things - he describes himself as a defensive playmaker - Lamsa is most comfortable scoring points using his straight-forward style (the anti-skill hockey?) that has resulted in 155 goals and 101 assist in 112 games played. The fact that Lamsa is Rustys go-to guy in the scoring department get quite obvious when you consider the fact that in ECL 3 (Legacy) he scored 20 points more than anyone else on the RB squad. For next season, ECL 4 (Pro), he finished a full 33 points ahead of #2 and finally, in ECL 5 (Elite) he managed to repeat the feat once more by scoring 14 points more than his closest teammate. Now, Rusty has managed to build what many call the ultimate teamplay-focused team where every skater is a key cog in the machinery and they have certainly become one of the best at what they do, but when the chips are down and they need that one key play - Lamsa is most likely smack in the middle of it. Before ECL 5 I am sure many were curious how RB and Lamsa would hold up against Elite competition, but both of them certainly managed to put a sock in the mouth of their detractors. Rusty Blades by finishing 8th overall, making the playoffs and pushing Aapon Taikasauva to six games in their playoff series and Lamsa by scoring 25 goals and finishing tied for 9th in Goals amongst all Elite skaters. I think we can safely establish once and for all that, unlike the Dent Act and Roberts Rebellion, Lamsa is not built on a lie. Lamsa Fact Box [Player profile] Lauri Lämsä, Finland ECL All-Time Stats: 112GP, 155G, 101A, 256P, +33 Participated in ECL 3, 4 & 5 at NHLGamer: all three for Rusty Blades Favors the RW position in EASHL Part of Rusty Blades squad that got promoted from ECL Pro - ECL Elite after ECL 4 Runner-up and silver medalist for the 50 Shades of Blades in Summer Cup 2 Text by: @pnordetun Intro and editing by: @The_Alpha_Furyan Art by: @OxtreeLAT

Floor17- Northern Stars (NOS) ECL Hidden Gems is a concept that was created by @The_Alpha_Furyan and @pnordetun (patovic). The idea evolved out of discussions concerning what type of content patovic himself would like to see more of at NHLGamer.com and what kind of texts he'd be most interested in writing. Hidden Gems, for the purposes of this feature, means players that the author feels haven't quite gotten their time to shine at NHLGamer or players that aren't getting full credit for the skill they bring to the table. This is the first edition in a six-part series that patovic has written so do enjoy the witty writing of "pato" and leave a comment with your thoughts on the piece. I might find myself out on thin ice over some pretty deep waters right about now, but the fact is that Northern Stars veteran Daniel Anderzon aka @Floor17 doesn't quite get the recognition he deserves in the ECL community. This is a player who is a 5-time ECL veteran (and lord knows how many 6v6 tournaments before that!) that routinely manages to control all aspects off the game, in all zones off the ice. Not only that, he is a beast at the Versus portion of the game as well, having won one Swedish championship and making it far in various other tournaments. As the great coach Marc Crawford once said: "If you want him to shut down the opponents best player, he will get it done. You want him to score goals? He will get it done. You want him to be a playmaker? He'll get it done. You need him to be physical? He'll get it done. He is so gifted and the list just goes on and on". You can trace the origins of the so-called "floorbandyking" back to the old Xbox team "Swedish Tigers" that featured such legends as ivve83 and unbroken-anders (man, where did those guys go?). Floor17 was truly a dominating force in those early Xbox years and have continued to build his legacy in EASHL ever since. At the beginning of his virtual career, he was considered by many to be more of a pure offensive weapon. This went on for years and especially once he found himself playing with @cHIIMEERa on the Swedish powerhouse Northern Stars. The last few seasons, Floor17 has managed to enhance his repertoire to include an ability to play both wing and defenseman at a very high level, as well as the occasional stint at goaltender. Flash forward to today where NOS had Finnish superstars @tbnantti and @plee999 join the team for ECL 5, it has been quite interesting to see how the old "curveshot master" has adapted to the situation and found an integral two-way role on the roster where he has been a big contributor to the teams' success. To summarize: Floor is awesome at videogame hockey and wins stuff, that is just what he does. It ain't easy winning all the time - if it were, everyone would be doing it! PS. Mean rumours back in the day said that the King of Floorbandy used the "99 overall glitch" in EASHL... and that it was possibly @eyebiz (the old rascal!) who had the hackset to hook him up - but if you ask me? Nah, Floor17 didn't need it then and he doesn't need it now - this man is nothing but skill and determination Floor17 Fact Box [Player profile] Daniel Anderzon, Sweden ECL All-Time Stats: 86GP, 60G, 92A, 152P, +85 Participated in all 5 ECL tournaments at NHLGamer: all five for Northern Stars Favors the RW position in EASHL Swedish Champion of NHL 11 Versus Runner-up (Finalist vs. NHLGamer member @Kribba) in NHL 12 & NHL 13 Versus Text by: @pnordetun Intro and editing by: @The_Alpha_Furyan Art by: @OxtreeLAT