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Hey NHLGamers, Keep your eyes peeled at 20 CEST/21 FIN time tonight when the Summer Cup Draft Order will be announced through a lottery at the official NHLGamer.com Twitch Channel: NHLGamer Twitch Also make sure you take this opportunity to subscribe to our Twitch channel to receive updates any time we go live (something that will be happening a lot more frequent moving forward) but also to show your support for NHLGamer.com We love hearing from everyone in the community and we also love being able to show partners and future sponsors how committed and large our community is. Every Like, Share and Subscription to our channels helps us achieve that, so if you want to help the community grow - this is one way of doing it! Thanks in advance. Our other channels: YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram Here is what is on the agenda for tonights stream: The announcement of all Captains for the Summer Cup As a side note, we are currently short about 2-3 captains so if you were on the fence about being a captain but decided against it... this is your chance to change your mind and be in the drivers seat when the Live Draft begins on Sunday evening! Get in touch with a Staff member as soon as you can if this sounds interesting to you. A lottery for the Summer Cup Draft Order Get the full summary of when each captain will get to make their picks! This years draft will, just like last year, be held in a "Snake draft"-format. This means if you pick first in the first round - you then pick last in the second round and so forth. A walk-through of how the Live Draft will work A detailed rules summary will be posted at a later time but here is your first chance to get an insight into how the process will work - basically the Do's and Dont's. Q&A with NHLGamer Staff If you have any thoughts, questions or comments - post them in the Twitch chatbox while we are live. We will try to collect and get to as many questions as we possibly can during the broadcast, but we cannot guarantee we will have time to answer all questions. I will see you all later tonight at the Twitch channel, where we will have the distinct pleasure of watching @Kenu do his thing, accompanied by strange music (and perhaps some cat videos!). Later skaters, Edit: Below you can see the lottery results. We are missing 4 captains, and they will take the TBD spots. Please get in touch with the staff, if you wish to be a captain. More info to follow during Saturday. The Draft stream is on Sunday at 16:00 CEST (17:00 Finnish time). 1.Team pelimies80 (Captain: @pelimies80) 2. Team xDoumi (Captain: @xDoumi) 3. Team Pair4You (Captain: @Pair4You) 4. Team Selezny (Captain: @Selezny) 5. Team Floor17 (Captain: @Floor17) 6. Team DenisovDenisI17I (Captain: @Denisovl17l) 7. Team The_Alpha_Furyan (Captain: @The_Alpha_Furyan) 8. Team Crisu_Rottis (Captain: @Crisu_rottis) 9. Team MAYZIIX (Captain: @MAYZIIX) 10. Team TerrorsenkoI91I (Captain: @Isidor1891) 11. Team seksileijona69 (Captain: @Seksileijona69) 12. Team topikeranen (Captain: @topikeranen) 13. Team Tactical_Face (Captain: @Casper) 14. Team MartindalexC (Captain: @MartindalexC) 15. Team xsakux99 (Captain: @xsakux99) 16. Team juha96 (Captain: @juha96) 17. Team Yoloberg (Captain: @Yoloberg) 18. Team Taunomaister1 (Captain: @Taunomaister1) 19. Team Hazard-laser (Captain: @Hazard-laser_) 20. Team Pelle3000 (Captain: @Pelle3000) 21. Team AzByCxx (Captain: @AzByCxx) 22. Team lbjonol (Captain: @Bjono) 23. Team nylanderi (Captain: @nylanderii) 24. Team Drunk_Charles (Captain: @DougGlatt) 25. Team KattenJansson97 (Captain: @KattenJansson97) 26. Team JParola (Captain: @Jorma Parola 27. Team artzirocks (Captain: @artzirocks) 28. Team AzeStiNE (Captain: @Aze) 29. Team Epsri (Captain: @Nahkatoteemi) 30.Team Ebinmikka31 (Captain: @Ebinmikka31)

Good evening NHLGamers, ECL 4 is behind us and it is time to once again direct our gaze forward - towards the future. Here is what's next for NHLGamer.com; We will have ECL 4 season recaps coming up for Elite, Pro and Lite Our Xbox league is kicking off its inaugural season very soon. Xbox teams, make sure you sign up and practice hard! Our second edition of the much appreciated Summer Cup is also set to begin shortly. Keep your eyes peeled for when registrations will open plus all other details on how the tournament will work this year! There will soon be a chance to win an autographed Washington Capitals hockey jersey (Mike Green) through our social media channels - don't miss your chance to win it! All of this brings us to our final topic of the day and the reason I am writing this story: our new YouTube series called "NHLGamer Presents"! In our on-going quest to provide the best website experience possible for NHL gamers everywhere, we are always looking into different ways to produce quality content. Our latest report from the IS Cup - a feature we called "NHLGamer On The Road" Part I & II which included text, photos and video - was a sign of things to come and today we are taking another step in the same direction. NHLGamer Presents will be a recurring series featuring a variety of different content generators and Youtubers. The goal is to produce quality NHL-related content that is fun and relevant to the NHL community, but also to casual fans of the gaming series that might stumble upon them and find their way over here to our website. The first video in the NHLGamer Presents-series comes from the editor responsible for putting together our IS Cup Video; @LastMandalorian. His segment is called "NHL 17 Goalie School" and will focus on a very tough position to play in EASHL, namely that of the goaltender. Enjoy! (Be advised: This video contains strong language on a few occasions.) If you have an idea for future content, or if you feel like you've got what it takes to produce some videos under the NHLGamer banner yourself, contact the website admins and let us know! We love interacting with the community so all messages are welcome. Until next time... later skaters, @The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com

Good day NHLGamers, As some of you may know, we here at NHLGamer.com recently made the decision to provide coverage of the IS Cup NHL tournament, hosted by SJK (Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho) - a sports team in the top professional league of Finnish football and also one of the first organizations to establish an eSports section within their club. You may remember that a big part of SJKs investment in eSport was signing NHLGamer staff member Dominointi as their NHL player and enlisting ECL franchise Rynnäkköviikset as their grassroots organizaton. The following article will be Part One in a Two-Part series where we cover the event, recap all the exciting things that happened and show off all the fun image and video material we collected during our stay. Look for a video-heavy Part Two later this week where we provide you with some interviews plus some sights and sounds of the tournament! The IS Cup The concept of the IS Cup meant bringing together 16 top NHL Versus players from all over Finland (including NHLGamer members Jageksi, Hansulinho, Dominointi, Artuzio, KingOfApes_, Chafak, PleeMaker, Kaneyh and I_Eki_I) to do battle at SJKs home stadium, OmaSP Stadion, for a total prize pool of 1500 €. The tournament also featured a FIFA competition using the same structure and prizes but for the purposes of this article, we will be focusing on NHL. To be able to participate in the IS Cup finals, the contestants had to either fight their way through an extensive online qualifier or participate in a local event organized in Seinäjoki a couple of weeks prior. For me personally, covering this tournament meant traveling from the relatively safe confines of Stockholm, Sweden to the deep forests of Seinäjoki, Finland. In an effort to try and get to know the city I was due to visit, I did what any reasonably sane man with limited time would do - I turned to Wikipedia. During my research process, I learned a great many things. I learned that the city of Seinäjoki originated around a gunpowder factory around the turn of the 18th century. I learned that the city is famous for its three big events; its tango festival, its racing festival and its rock festival. Finally, I also came to understand I was looking at a 3 hour train ride from Helsinki to Seinäjoki, accompanied by nothing more than @Kenu and his wits. As I was leaving Wikipedia, I was not sure what to expect. However, as it turns out, I needn't worry - the city (and tournament) exceeded all my expectations. But now, let us get to the coverage of this event: All 16 players of the IS Cup were divided into groups of 4 and put through a group stage to determine which 8 players would move on to the tournament Quarterfinals. Going into the tournament, professional eSports players Hansulinho of ENCE eSports, Dominointi of SJK eSports and Chafak of Paranoia eSports had to be considered among the favorites to win the trophy, but each player would be tested early and often in their groups. The level of play at IS Cup was incredibly high and not something you see in your everyday NHL 17 Versus sessions. After many tough games and unexpected outcomes, the playoff tree shaped up like this (with all series being played Best of-3): Quarterfinals Dominointi - PleeMaker [1-2 in games] Hansulinho - Eskoeinari [2-0 in games] Chafak - Dreammickie [0-2 in games] I_EKI_I - EEPI [2-0 in games] As expected, the Quarterfinals featured several big moments and tight-checking playoff hockey. The first-round series we found ourselves most invested in was the one between @Dominointi and @plee999, this partly due to the rivalry of the match-up (these players faced each other quite recently in another Versus tournament, FCT - Finnish Championship Tournament, where Plee barely edged out Domi in the Semifinals) but also due to the big crowd of people amassed around these two star players. Throughout the entire tournament Plee had, without a doubt, the biggest fan following - something that can usually either make or break a player when push comes to shove. At this point in the tournament the fan support had seemed to benefit Plee, but going up against Domi would prove to be his biggest test yet. Plee took Game 1 by a score of 4-3 and also took the lead in Game 2 to loud cheers, but Domi showed his tournament pedigree and came back to win Game 2 by another 4-3 score. The stakes were incredibly high for Game 3 but both players seemed unfazed and cool under pressure. Ultimately, Plee got off to a good start by scoring the first goal, forcing Domi to play more aggresive to go for the equalizing goal. As often happens when one team goes all-out, the other team takes advantage and mounts an effective counter-attack. Plee did just that and ended up shutting the game down by a 3-0 score. Plee moved on the next round where he would face tournament favorite @Hansulinho. In the other playoff series, MUKIMIEHET player @Erkki (I_EKI_I) managed to win his round and move on to the next round where he would face Dreammickie. Dreammickie advanced through somewhat of a surprise 2-0 win over @EA_BUNKA (Chafak). Semifinals I_EKI_I - Dreammickie [2-1 in games] Hansulinho - PleeMaker [0-2 in games] The matchups above meant 3 out of 4 players in the final rounds were members of the NHLGamer community, something we couldn't be prouder of. Perhaps Dreammickie will make it 4 out of 4 in the near future? Keep an eye out, Gamers! Sadly, we didn't get a chance to watch the Semifinal games as we were busy interviewing SJK tournament host Mikko Jokipii at the time, but judging by the amounts of cheers coming from the main event hall (where the game between Hansu and Plee was being displayed on the main screen), we could tell there was a great game going on. After consulting with fellow NHLGamers that were at the stadium, we learned that I_EKI_I had won his matchup over Dreammickie in a tight 2-1 series while Plee had continued his incredible hot streak and beaten Hansu by a score of 2-0. Bronze game Hansulinho - Dreammickie The Bronze game didn't actually feature a Best of-3; the tournament organizers instead opting for a one game, winner takes all-approach to this battle. Ultimately, these types of games can be hard to re-load for after you've been eliminated in the semifinals, but Dreammickie managed to give it one last push to beat Hansulinho and receive the consolation prize of a PSN Plus subscription (12 months). Finals I_EKI_I - PleeMaker [0-2 in games] So came the finals, and a chance for the winning player to walk away with 1000€ while the runner-up would receive 500€. Plee was heavily favored by many after weathering such a tough storm on his way to the finals, but I_EKI_I had nonetheless impressed as well on his way to the championship finals. The room was packed, the crowd was loud, both players had music in their ears and the announcers were ready - showtime. During the finals, the Twitch stream for the event reached almost 1000 viewers, which was incredibly fun to see. As far as the actual games go, Plee came roaring out of the gates with a vengeance and put up several goals in the first few minutes of Game 1. I_EKI_I never recovered from the intense start by Plee and lost Game 1 by several goals. He managed to re-load for Game 2 though and went toe-to-to with Plee through the scores of 1-1 and 2-2. In the end, Plee was a man on a mission and despite a quality game from I_EKI_I, Plee was the ultimate - and well deserved - winner of the IS Cup. Additional thoughts As we approach the end of this article, NHLGamer would also like to give a shout-out to the members of our community we got to meet that weren't playing in the tournament. For me personally, it was a lot of fun putting faces to gamertags I had been playing against for years. Outside of our 9 members that were tournament contenders, we met at least 9 more around the event hall. I can't even remember everyone I shook hands with and talked to but off the top of my head @Joonas Paatiala, @nylanderi, @Hoiggaa, @Zande95, @FinKonna & @RutonMosse. Remind me in the comment section who I missed out on mentioning! On a final note, we here at NHLGamer.com would like to thank organizers SJK for being so incredibly hospitable towards us - offering us chances both to interview tournament host Mikko Jokipii and to be interviewed ourselves on the official Twitch livestream for the event, putting us in front of hundreds and hundreds of stream viewers wearing nothing but our NHLGamer shirts. Well, pants too. We should have an edited version of the clip for you available in our upcoming video coverage of IS Cup, but if you want to check it out right now, go to the IS Cup Twitch feed and browse to the 3 hour, 42 minute mark. Look for the two guys wearing NHLGamer t-shirts Until we see you again in our video coverage post from IS Cup - later skaters, @The_Alpha_Furyan 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, 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, 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