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ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. Today we're taking a look at a team that has the skill, has the grit and has the vision to take it all home, they just haven't had the luck so far. The team that's next in line has found the way to stay at the top and be continuously successful, but despite that they haven't managed to win anything yet. You could say they've built a Dynasty around core players like@jumalpeku, @Snapster, @Tehh and @Sandr0hh. Might have given it away already, but yeah.. we'll be checking out Dynasty. Personally, I've been in the scene for a far shorter time than many of you other guys around, but I've always found Dynasty to be an annoyingly good opponent. Be it unorthodox breakout plays by @DieCutterMC or seeing the game ten steps ahead of the opposition like the tactician Ahola - they've always been one of the toughest teams to beat. They're not only really skilled players, but also seem like a great group of guys. I managed to get a hold of captain jumalpeku for an interview, which you can read at the end of this article. IN MukiMaisteri <-- Northern Ascendancy OriginalPumaz <-- SJK eSports Leksa94 <-- SJK eSports OUT Lukkolinho --> Break from NHL Puantso --> Symphony Current Roster: Forwards jumalpeku (C) @jumalpeku MukiMaisteri @hpkfani Filariou @Filariou Leksa94 @Leksa94 TehhAhola @Tehh Defensemen DieCutterMC @DieCutterMC Snapu48 (A) @Snapster JParola @Jorma Parola Goaltenders Sandr0hhh (A) @Sandr0hh OriginalPumaz @Hiiruh Dynasty has been a difficult opponent based on some occasional games played against you guys on the offseason. How did the guys spend the summer and what kind of reception has the new game had among the Dynasty boys? Your mind must be playing tricks on you! I'd say we're possibly the worst offseason team in all of Elite. I don't think we've had a single night where we've won two or more games in a row. Most of our guys pretty much took the summer off from NHLGaming. Other teams might have kept practicing hard all summer, our guys were out chasing tail and gassing beers. The new game has taken some getting used to. Feels like we've had to adjust our game a bit after every update as things we used to do didn't work all of a sudden. I think it's quite well known that we like to spend time in the penalty box and ath least that hasn't changed for the better with the new game. However, I think we all agree that NHL19 is a better version than the previous iteration. You guys acquired notorious goal-scorer MukiMaisteri early on, did you guys make any other moves during the summer? Our youngster @Buantso made a deal with @indi969 at his confirmation camp last summer, so we decided to honor their contract and ended up letting Puantso go. MukiMaisteri was acquired to fill the gap left by Puantso and I believe we hit the jackpot on this one. Luukkonen is probably the best goal scorer in the game, he's also a very competitive and vocal teammate. Exactly what we needed. Other acquisitions we made were @Leksa94 and OriginalPumaz @Hiiruh. Leksa is an excellent all-rounder in the offensive end of the ice, he will certainly see some ECL time if he can hop off Fortnite every once in a while. @Lukkoukko(Lukkolinho) decided to take a step back so we needed another goaltender. That's where OriginalPumaz stepped in and we're happy to have such an experienced and trustworthy guy behind our defenders. I think we still have the best goalie tandem in the league. How do you guys feel about the ECL Elite license? Of course we're happy about it. To start off, we were wondering if we're going to be active enough for it to pay off for us. However, I think this might have been the incentive needed for us to start taking it more seriously and get excited again. The license fee isn't bad and the return is decent, I'd surely like to have that in my wallet. We're moving in the right direction and props to @Kenu & the rest of the staff for that. Several sources have mentioned ECL Elite being tougher than ever this season. Which teams have been your toughest opponents and who do you think has potential for a surprise? SIKA is probably the only team we haven't managed to win in the preseason so I'd call them our toughest opponent. It's no joke, the SIKA roster right now seems so much better than before. I think they could also provide one of the potential upsets this season. Finally, are there any players in the league you would like to highlight for the upcoming season? Not on our team, that's for sure. I'd say keep your eyes on @vSilenttio. Thanks jumalpeku! Good luck for Dynasty with the upcoming season. ECL Elite 16 in 16 so far: 1. _______________ 2. _______________ 3. _______________ 4. _______________ 5. Dynasty 6. Northern Ascendancy 7. Sjukstugan 8. Northern Stars 9. Unlucky Boys 10. Rusty Blades 11. Almost Famous 12. _____________ (To be released) 13. SIKA 14. Gotham Knights 15. Falun Coal Miners 16. Team Frosty The options are running out! Who do you think is number four?

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. In the second edition of our 16 in 16 it's time to take a look at a team that's been around from the very start of ECL as we know it. This team is a close-knit group of friends and and even brothers. They are the ones who dug coal together. I'm talking about your favorite Swedish pickaxe wielding warriors - Falun Coal Miners. When it comes to ECL, Falun has pretty much seen it all. The team has battled through hard times in Lite, grinded it out in Pro and proven their skill in Elite. They're still missing one thing, though - a playoff run at the highest level. Now as they're starting their second season in Elite, the Miners are sure hungry for more success. The team has made some promising acquisitions during the offseason, but as we know, the players brought in won't be the strength of Falun - their strength lies in the chemistry built over time. IN BiggestEight <-- Arctic Aschebas4hor <-- EV Duisburg Panserhagen <-- Bucketeers OUT iscojr94 --> Break from NHL IFKPEKING2k15 --> Monarchs minokin --> Sektion K Current roster: Forwards PatzyDrake BiggestEight Pentsaa (A) Berger-I88I Panserhagen Defensemen The_Alpha_Furyan (C) LastMandalorian (A) Meeertz Goaltenders Onecorner95 Aschebas4hor For the interview part, I managed to get a hold of assistant captain and founding member @LastMandalorian. Enjoy the extensive answers and great insight provided by him: Let's start off light. How did the summer treat you guys? You played some NHL with the boys, did you come up with anything else? Summer was good! Personally I was able to enjoy my first paid vacation, so I could really lean back and charge my batteries. As far as team activities goes, FCM actually ended up winning the OEHL tournament early in the summer - our first 6v6 title so far! We also put a lot of hours into FIFA 18 Pro Clubs after the game went on sale during the World Cup. Joining forces with some boys from Synergy Hockey on our created squad "FC Miners", we were able to get some good 11v11 sessions together. Also, some guys from our team that hang out regularly outside of gaming went to Spain together for vacation. I know Falun has a nice background to it and there have been a bunch of brotherly ties and close friendships within the team. Can you give me a condensed version of how the team has grown and what the road has been like to come this far? Well, the Coal Miners were originally founded by me, my brother and a bunch of his classmates from University. We were all studying in Falun - a former mining city - at the time... hence the name. In the early days, only me and my brother had any experience at all from 6v6 league play, but through the years we've all grown to become experienced "veterans". As the level of play, commitment and seriousness has increased, some of the founding members have retired from their lineup spots (which is okay, we all have our own level of dedication) but we've picked up some really good signings along the way to fill out those spots, most of whom we met during the different Summer Cups. But the major part of the team still consists of IRL friends. @PatzyDrake, me, @Meeertz, @iscojr94 and @The_Alpha_Furyan were all there right from the very start, @Onecorner95 - a former bandmate of mine - joined just a few weeks into the first season and last seasons signing, @Berger l88l, is a childhood friend of mine. As we made the transition to the divisions system after ECL 3, Falun started off in ECL Lite, with a less successful season. You weren't a part of the team then, but as a founding member, did you have any concerns that it might be the end of your beloved club? After a tough ECL 3, both me and my brother felt we wanted a new challenge. I remember that specific season was an extra long one and it really took a toll on those of us who handled the captaining - keeping everyone motivated and getting people to every game. Right then and there, I think we were all kind of exhausted and it felt like different levels of dedication amongst the guys had begun to appear - it seemed like we wanted different things out of the game. So, joining Sjukstugan (112) for ECL 4 Pro was a mixture of relieving ourselves of the responsibilities of the captaincy and stepping up to a higher level of competition. Everyone on FCM were very understanding. Me and Alpha were both really, really happy when the guys decided to carry on without us in Lite though, and I know my brother followed most - if not all - of their games through Twitch, filling in as an "assistant coach" of sorts during that season. What was the thought process like when you rejoined FCM after a short stint in Sjukstugan? It was a mixture of me wanting to switch back to the skater position (I spent ECL's 3 and 4 playing goalie) and us finding that passion/energy for doing our own thing again. Reaching the Pro finals with Sjukstugan really energized us to try and do the same thing on our own terms. It also helped motivate us that Falun was, at the time, actually set to fold and not continue for ECL 5 - we had a streak to keep alive! Most of the FCM player group had already signed with other teams closing in on the start of ECL 5, but they didn't need much convincing to come back. It was a genuine feeling of "getting the old band back together". It created a really strong spirit in the team that season in Pro, and I think it is what has helped us get this far. You guys had a difficult start to you first Elite season, as you went on a bit of a losing streak. Did some frustration set in or did you guys know you were going to turn it around? What will you change going into your second season at the top tier? I think the biggest reason for the 1-9-0 losing streak at the start of ECL 6 was the tough schedule: our five first opponents were considered top teams. But I would be lying if I said it didn't affect us. After a solid pre-season (probably our best one so far) I think we considered ourselves to be better than our results ended up showing. So we decided to make changes. Major changes. Core players switched positions, Berger-I88I (a former point-scoring dynamo from the EHL days) was brought in and our upcoming schedule showed teams projected to be more on our level. It worked out! Berger-I88I ended up playing most of the remainder of the season: scoring 13 goals in 14 games. PatzyDrake found another level in his game stepping up as our new #1 centerman and me and my brother could make the most of our chemistry playing together on the main defensive pairing. This year I think we are just overall more prepared for the level of competition. First season was about learning and surviving, this season is about taking the next step. We have high ambitions going in. Lastly, did you guys have any transfers happen in the offseason? In that case, who left and who joined? This offseason has seen quite some movement, especially for us. @minokin left to go back to his old team of IRL friends (Sektion K), backup goalie @IsakTuvesson(IFKPEKING2k15) went back to Monarchs and co-founding member @iscojr94 decided to hang up the skates (at least for now). But we're really excited for the pickups we've made. BiggestEight (@selänne8), a guy me and my brother played with during the EHL, is one of the purest goal scorers in this scene, IMO. He's been in the top tier of goal scoring for the Pro division multiple times and I'm really excited about what he could do at the Elite level - especially since we already built some chemistry together this summer in the OEHL. Other than "Bigi", we've recently brought in a reliable Norwegian all-round player in @Panserhagen from our OEHL finals opponent Bucketeers and an experienced German goaltender in Aschebas4hor (@Asche) - both of whom has fit in nicely with the team. Thanks to the duo @LastMandalorian and @The_Alpha_Furyan for taking the time to answer my questions! Good luck to FCM in the upcoming season, see you out on the ice! Tomorrow we'll be taking a look at another team going into their second consecutive Elite season. It's a team that had a large player turnover this summer, so we'll be in for something exciting and fresh to watch this upcoming ECL season. Can you guess which team is up next?

ECL Elite 16 in 16 is a season preview series we're implementing ahead of ECL 7. The idea was conceived by @chavelski, but due to time constraining the man himself, the project is now being carried out by the rest of our Elite writing team. The series will be released in 16 parts, one article for each team. The teams have been ranked by all team captains, and articles are being released in order from predicted last place finish to predicted champion of ECL 7. The objective of this series is to give an idea to the community of who is representing which team, added by a small insight into the team with an interview of the team captain. We're starting off our 16 in 16 with a team that is new to competing at the highest tier. The team has been battling and establishing themselves in the Pro division for a few seasons now, and after a successful campaign in ECL 6, they managed to gain promotion. I'm of course talking about the former White Trash, now turned Team Frosty as the NHL team signed a deal with an esports organization bearing the same name (We'll address this in a later article, no worries!). This is a squad that has been grinding it out for several seasons now under the lead of captain @Zip player. Some of the men alongside him have changed, but the strive for success has remained relentless. The team didn't get a lot of confidence from the captains, being predicted to place last in Elite at the end of ECL 7. They surely have a steep hill to climb, but if the form they have shown in some of their preseason games continue, I believe these guys could surprise. IN KenuFHR <-- Monte Carlo Obagol <-- Arctic Chaostive <-- Ea Logic xXSinCosTanXx <-- Nordic Stars IiSvampI <-- Monarchs Jyrkkis_ <-- Gotham Knights OUT Kaltsone --> N/A rGinnu --> N/A plymalkin --> N/A pro-m99 --> Military Service Current roster: Forwards ZipPlayer (C) Kaneyh KenuFHR Chaostive Toukoo01 Defensemen TheFakiiR1 (A) jyrkkis_ IiSvampI xXSinCosTanXx Goalies Mehiiss (A) Jahuuu88 Obagol Interview with captain @Zip player: The team experienced something of a makeover during the summer, what are the underlying reasons and how would you describe the Team Frosty we'll see on the opening night of ECL 7? I suppose that statement is true. In my opinion, the main reason is that we advanced to the very highest level in the ECL. When doing so, a team needs to comply with the level of play in the highest tier. Some of our older players are less active nowadays so we decided to take action immediately. The goal was to renew the team while maintaining the old foundation. On the opening night of ECL 7, you'll see a Team Frosty that trusts their process and we hope to bring our very best to the ice each and every night! Talk a bit about the aggressive recruiting process you guys had going during the summer. Was it a conscious decision to try out so many players? We wanted to be vocal and catch the attention of players. We saw a lot of players along the course of the summer and at some point even our own players were confused about the situation as we were constantly bringing in new guys. I'd say it was our conscious decision to try players who were interested and now I think we have a good group of guys put together. How do you expect your starting lineup to look? I'd like to emphasize that we play as a team. I wouldn't want to speculate on the starting lineup yet, but we're going by the principle that the players who can help the team will play and of course activity will be rewarded. Each of our players have different strengths and one of our main objectives were to build a versatile team that can adapt to any situation. ECL 7 will be the first season with an actual prize pool. What are your thoughts on this? I'm really excited about the growth of the community, both in-game and back office developments have been very positive lately. It would certainly be something, if we one day could have anything even close to a professional league. I believe that money will increase the competitiveness, but currently we aren't talking big numbers so no one will be getting rich yet! It is good for the community regardless. For my final question, I'd like to ask you for a prediction of ECL 7 in the eyes of Team Frosty. What do you think? I'm notoriously bad at predictions, but I'll set some objectives for us. Our first and most important objective is surely to maintain our spot in the Elite division. We'll do everything we can to prove that we belong. Our dream is to make the playoffs on our first season. The road will most likely be long and difficult, but we're up for the challenge! Big thanks to ZipPlayer for his short interview and the best of luck to Team Frosty in their first Elite season! Stay tuned for our next article in the series, in which we showcase a team coming from a very different situation, but according to our Elite captains, are fighting for the same positions as Team Frosty!

How's it going, gamers? You might have seen us post recruitment posts looking for writers and artists some time ago. That's not all we need, though. NHLGamer is growing and there's demand for more and more content that is of higher quality than ever before. We're looking to take some big steps and need the help of our community. Therefore, we're now reaching out to you guys looking for broadcasters. This mainly means we are looking for people to do play-by-play (think "Doc" Emrick) and commentary (think Eddie Olczyk), but we are also looking for some high caliber streamers that can share the responsibility of making our Twitch channel the best place for NHL gaming action with content every day. As a broadcaster you will have a very visible role on our Twitch channel.Your tasks will include commentating on matchups that are being streamed and engaging with the chat while doing so. We also hope that you'll have new creative ideas to bring to the table as we're constantly looking to improve out content production. We hope that you have some experience in using Twitch and Discord. Streaming experience is beneficial too. We are mainly looking for English speaking broadcasters, but are also interested in learning about Finnish and Swedish broadcasters, so don't hesitate to let us know if that is the case. For the English broadcasting, we expect you to have a good spoken English and some knowledge about the league and it's players. However, let's not forget the most important trait we value: enthusiasm. If you're interested, please send a small intro about yourself (links to your previous work is appreciated!) to @Kenu and we'll get going from there. If it's not for you but you happen to know someone who might be suitable, please refer your friend!

The German hockey club Düsseldorfer EG will branch out on to the virtual ice in the near future. As the first club of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the club with tradition dating back to 1935 will soon go into competition mode with its own esports team that will be taking part in several online leagues. The team "DEG eSports" currently consists of twelve experienced online ice hockey players from Germany and Austria. DEG eSports is now looking to follow in the footsteps of SJK eSports in taking a shot at establishing a successful franchise in the 6vs6 community. The team, established by long-time DEG fans Tobias Anton and Steffen Seibert, will mainly focus on competing in the ECL and GCL but also aim to compete in other leagues as opportunities present themselves. All of the teams games will be streamed live on the DEG eSports Facebook page. The members will be representing Düsseldorfer EG both virtually and in real-life events, which will be announced later. The club also promises that various other representatives of Düsseldorfer EG might join in on the fun from time to time. Stefan Adam, Managing Director of DEG Eishockey GmbH: "Esports is a young and dynamic sport, it's a community that is gaining more popularity among hockey fans. We are pleased to announce that we are pioneers with DEG in this environment, with our own esports team. It is a very interesting development in a completely new environment for us, which we are very excited about actively pursuing." Tobias Anton, team captain of DEG eSports: "It's a great thing for us to be the first official team of a DEL club. Our goal was to build an ambitious troupe of DEG fans, but also involve skilled players without the regional background. Our goal is to gain success as fast as possible in the ECL and play for the title in the GCL." Prior to the press conference held by Düsseldorfer EG, I had the pleasure of discussing this new venture with team captain Tobias Anton: Hi there, Tobias! We're very happy to hear about your new opportunity and you must be just as excited. I'm very interested in how the project took off. Could you please comment on that a bit? Well, it all started in June, when we made the suggestion to the german hockey club Düsseldorfer EG. I made a nice presentation with all interesting stuff about esports, questions like "Why esports?", "Why with us?", "Why is it a win-win situation?". They quickly invited us to present our concept live in their offices and after a short negotiation, they finally agreed to go ahead with this project. Now, here we are at the end of September, as representatives of DEG eSports. How did you come up with the idea? Actually, I got this idea after EV Duisburg won ECL6 Lite - they've played together for years, however they aren't an official part of the Duisburg hockey club. I liked the idea to make a team for my favourite hockey club, but I wanted to be serious about it. I am a kind of person who likes to think big, always on the lookout for the next cool thing I could launch. I started off by writing a post in a DEG facebook group, hiring players for a team with the idea of becoming an official esports team one day. Most of the reactions were negative. "You'll never do that', or "Maybe start smaller and not with big ideas like that" - but one guy immediately had the same fire, so we started this club together. I took more of a back-office role in writing to the hockey club and making a presentation as my teammate recruited more players - he knows the community better than I do. So, where do you go from here? How will you be co-operating with Düsseldorfer EG? On social media, we will run our own Facebook page and Twitch channel, but work together with DEG's official press department. So, some of our posts will be presented on their channels (FB, IG, Twitter...), we will have a presentation in the stadium and many more things planned so stay tuned! Today, we're having the press conference and if things go our way, we'll be airing our first training matches on our Twitch channel on Wednesday and Thursday. Do you think the club will expand into other esports in the future? After all, I don't think that the club will expand into other games or sports - it's a hockey thing, it's a regional thing, and there are no plans to do more than that at the moment. Thanks for your time Tobias and good luck in your future games to the team! Congratulations on behalf of the NHLGamer community to @Tümä and the boys!

Dear NHLGamers, As you all know, the new season of ECL is closing in on us. We'll have an exciting competitive season to look forward to. In addition to just playing, we're looking to create the best content yet for you guys to enjoy. Therefore, we're now looking to boost our ranks with some artists! Artist What is expected of you? You'll be working in tight co-operation with the rest of the ECL staff to create various types of art required for the site. Examples could be (but not limited to) various images for streams or special events, pictures for articles or even some cool animations to be used on social media. We're hoping that you have some previous experience in image editing and have a small portfolio to showcase to us in your application. You will also need to have access to software required for completion of your tasks. If you're interested, please contact @Kenu by private message here on NHLGamer.com. Also feel free to refer a friend if it's not for you!

Dear NHLGamers, The time for yet another exciting ECL season is nigh, This year we are hoping to bring you even more action and excitement, and let me tell you, there has been some interesting developments. With more stuff going on around the ECL, there will also be more work and therefore we’re now recruiting some potential journalists to join our team! WHAT WE NEED ECL Lite Journalist x 2 ECL Elite Journalist x 2 You will be working within your writing team to create articles such as season reports and matchup previews about the division under your responsibility. In addition you will have the opportunity to pitch content ideas you'd like to create to the writing team and editor-in-chief. Good knowledge of the English language would be preferred, but the most important feature we are looking for in you is enthusiasm and the willingness to create content. In case you became interested, send us a short application for one or several of the positions mentioned above. If you have previous journalistic references, please attach them too. Please contact me (@jahajaha93) or @Kenu directly via private message here on NHLGamer.com. If it's not for you, perhaps you know someone who would be the perfect fit - let them know!

Hi there NHLGamers, We come bearing sad news to you, as EA Sports has today announced that the Challenge Club-function will not be present at launch in NHL 19. Don't panic just yet, though! The devs also made sure to let us know that this feature will be available again in the first patch early October. Why? The all new World of Chel required a rewrite of the old dressing room function EA had. World of Chel has a bunch of new features, such as the outdoor ones and rollover lobbies, which have certain requirements for the dressing room function. The previous Club Challenge dressing room was very restrictive tech-wise and didn't allow for much improvements. This restrictive structure didn't align with the vision EA has for EASHL, as they are now building a new dressing room function to allow maximum control for the player when setting up games with friends. What? In NHL 19, a new dressing room function will be implemented. When patched into the game, you will be able to select between a few game types in the dressing room. For what we know as Challenge Club, choose "Private Game". You will have to select a password for your game, after which a protected lobby will be created. All invited players will now be able to join the lobby using your password. This is how EA describes the process: When you are in the Dressing Room, go to Matchmaking Settings. Set “Game Type” to “Private Game.” Create an alphanumeric password between 4 and 10 characters. Make it unique enough so only you and your friends and opponents will know it. You will then be able to select your side. You can choose between Any, Home, and Away. Ready up. From here, you will match up directly with other players that entered same password that you used. This new dressing room will provide more control to the player in setting up games. We'll also see the highly requested option for club challenges in EASHL 3's and also the option to randomize teams. When the dressing room is patched in, there will also be a number of more features to it, these will be announced closer to the patch date. When? You can expect the patch to be out early October. Assuming that this goes as planned, this will have no impact on the start of the ECL 7 season.

Hi there NHLGamers, As you might have heard by now, our very own @Eki and @Artuzio have signed new contracts with an esports organisation called Sampi. I had the chance to have a discussion with both guys regarding their new contracts and how all of this went down. Most of you might have noted that Eki was already signed to Helsinki Reds, so this is a transfer for him. Artuzio, however is now signing his first ever pro contract. NHLGamer congratulates both! Team Sampi is most likely a very unfamiliar name to all of you, not simply because of the fact that is isn't a big organisation, but it wasn't officially founded until September 1st 2018. The founder of the franchise is professional football player Jakub Jankto, who currently represents Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A. "Jakub contacted me a few weeks ago and told me about his plans of launching an esports franchise. He mentioned that he used to compete in EA Sports FIFA some years ago, but financial restrictions came in the way. I think he even won a Czech championship in 2012. Jakub also got the chance to pursue a professional football career. He has a desire to help young gamers achieve their goals without restrictions.", says Eki about how the contract talks with Team Sampi begun. Artuzio says that in addition to NHL, the organisation has players competing in FIFA and Rocket league. competitive NHL will be one of the main focuses of the organisation. « Team Sampi made me an offer I couldn't refuse » -Artuzio on signing with Team Sampi I asked Artuzio about how he feels about his new organisation: "After the European Qualifiers of the NHLGWC I started receiving offers quite consistently, but I didn't want to rush it. Team Sampi made me an offer I couldn't refuse, so I'm very excited to represent them and start making a name for my new team!" What will your roles be representing the new organisation? "The organisation is so new right now, so I'm not completely sure what my role will be, but the main objective of Team Sampi is to support us players and provide the possibilities for us to compete at the very top.", said Eki. Both Eki and Artuzio will be focusing most on attending various tournaments and competitive play, they will be streaming occasionally but it isn't a requirement of the organisation. As this is now a transfer situation for Eki, I wanted to go a bit into the reasons behind the transfer and what he had to say about his former organisation Helsinki Reds. "Team Sampi offered me a contract I couldn't refuse. I have nothing bad to say about Reds, it was a good time. I learned a lot about the esports business and got to participate in all kinds of events thanks to them. It was a completely new thing for me. As Helsinki Reds was so close by, they were very involved in my gaming, creating stream graphics and hosting events. Team Sampi will be different in the sense that they merely aim to support their players and stay in the background. As of now there are no plans on hosting events or such. We will simply focus on winning and gaming." A piece of advice from the champion - Eki, as you now have some experience in the scene and have signed your second contract, what kind of tips would you give to gamers out there waiting to get their shot and sign a deal? "Once you have some success, you might get be getting several offers. I'd suggest staying patient and not just signing any deal. I've heard of players with really bad deals, so be careful and don't just sign a deal for the sake of representing an organisation." "Vegas didn't go as planned and I feel I am better than that, so I'll be looking to attend as many tournaments as possible and gain a lot of success in NHL 19. Versus is my main focus due to my contract, but I'll be looking to compete in some 6v6 action too!", states Artuzio after being asked about his ambitions for the new iteration of NHL. Eki's Car situation - I recall you saying you'll be buying a car if you win the NHLGWC, what kind of car stands in your driveway? I asked Eki. "I didn't get a car, says Eki with a laugh. I received the money a few weeks ago and decided to save it. It was the smart thing to do." Not only an unbelievably skilled gamer and new found the poster boy for the EA Sports NHL series but a responsible young adult too, who would've known? Huge thanks to both Eki and Artuzio for taking the time to have a chat with me. On behalf of the community, I wish both luck in their upcoming competitions. We're excited to see what the future brings!

Hi there NHLGamers, The release of EA Sports NHL 19 is nigh and us gamers are slowly returning from the wild outside and sunny beaches towards the familiar comfort of our gaming stations and consoles. Today we're bringing you some news about the new title, this time in the form of some reworks and additions for the Hockey Ultimate Team mode. In NHL 18, one of the major problems with HUT was the quick inflation of the market caused by a few various factors. Most notably, the lower overalls and bigger gap between low and high rated players went out the door very fast as a wide variety of special player items were released early on. The fact that the market was flooded early on also diminished the incentive for several players to chase higher rated players, as similar items were so easily available. Another problem encountered in HUT games were gamers position-locking themselves, the mere possibility of doing so received heavy criticism as it steps back on the competitiveness and overall fairness of the game. It also defeats the purpose of PvP-play. EA announced that they are going to try their best to address these problems in the new release, which is only 16 days away (13 for early release). This leads us into discussing some of the changes made from previous years iteration. Changes to NHL 19 HUT Rebalancing the economy is going to be one of the main priorities in making HUT fun for the gamers. The development team has a few answers for achieving a better market balance and avoiding the inflation we saw in NHL 18. First off, overalls have been lowered even more than last year. In NHL 19 HUT base item overalls will range from 55-85 at launch, with a few exceptions being Alumni and Legend items. The lower overalls will allow for more stat growth to happen throughout the year. Secondly, the player item class/rarity division has been revamped. In NHL 18 the class/rarity ranging from bronze to gold directly reflected the league the player played in. All CHL players were bronze items, all NHL players were gold items. This didn't allow for effective leveraging of the entire player catalogue. In NHL 19 we will see a change, where the item class/rarity reflects the overall of the player in question, not the league the player plays in. Here is how the class/rarity system works in NHL 19: 50-55 OVR Bronze Common 56-61 OVR Bronze Rare 62-67 OVR Silver Common 68-73 OVR Silver Rare 74-79 OVR Gold Common 80+ OVR Gold Rare A new class/rarity division will allow for a more effective way of sorting players and it will also make higher rated players harder to obtain, regardless of the league they play in. In addition to these two courses of action, the weekly live items are being changed. As the release frequency during NHL 18 was very high with four live items being released each week. NHL 19 will not feature Flashback player weekly items anymore, making for less new player items hitting the market. Trade-in sets have been renewed a bit too in order to make unwanted and lower rarity cards more valuable to the gamer. At launch, NHL 19 will feature six different player trade-in sets: 5 Bronze Common Players -> 1 Bronze Rare Player (6 hour cool down) 5 Bronze Rare Players -> 1 Silver Common Player (6 hour cool down) 5 Silver Common Players -> 1 Silver Rare Player (6 hour cool down) 5 Silver Rare Players -> 1 Gold Common Player (6 hour cool down) 5 Gold Common Players -> 1 Untradeable Gold Rare Player (8 hour cool down) Gold Rare Re-Roll (2 Gold Rare Players -> 1 Untradeable Gold Rare Player) (8 hour cool down) NHL 19 will also feature a trade-in set, which will allow trading five gold rare players for a gold rare collectible. This trade-in set will have a 24 hour cooldown. Other than having less player items flooding the market, NHL 19 will have position lock from HUT removed. New additions to NHL 19 HUT Well, right off the bat one of the new additions will be the much advertised 200+ alumni and legend items available for HUT gamers. According to EA, the legends and alumni will range all the way from all-time greats to local legends and fan favourites. 30 alumni player items will be available all year from the HUT store, and the rest will be released in weekly waves, with availability being time limited. Gamers will have four main ways of obtaining legend player items. 32 legends will be available in sets at launch. Some will be released as monthly collectibles available for gamers who have completed daily objectives, which is another new addition we will discuss in a bit. Seven legend items can be obtained by completing various in-game milestone tasks, such as scoring goals, completing sets or taking shots on goal. On top of these three ways, there will be legend packs in the HUT store. Legend packs will be available for a limited time and contain a guaranteed legend item from a pre-selected pool. Objectives are a new addition that might resemble daily challenges for all our Fortnite players out there. EA promises to introduce various types of objectives in NHL 19, as there will be daily tasks, but also progression objectives and special event objectives in HUT. Objectives reward the gamer with HUT items of various types. Milestones aren't a new term, but they will be introduced in a whole new way in NHL 19. They are long-term goals with impressive rewards as you go about your progression in HUT. Some milestones could be goals scored, challenge stars earned or objectives completed. Milestones will have higher rewards than objectives. Loan Players might be familiar to FIFA gamers, who have played a bit of FUT (FIFA Ultimate Team). This addition brings you the opportunity to try out star players in your line-up for a limited time before heading to the auction house to spend your hard-earned coins. Loan items can be earned in many ways, such as through completing objectives or surpassing milestones to name a few. So there you have it, it seems like a bunch of needed changes have been done to HUT for NHL 19. Is it a hit or a miss - what do you think? Let us know in the comments! Source: https://www.easports.com/nhl/news/2018/hut-deep-dive

Hi there NHLGamers, Welcome to another edition of "Who's Hot and Who's Not". A format first introduced during the very first ECL Summer Cup, the "Hot or Not"-column was a source of much emotion and debate during its first tour of duty... so naturally it’s been making a comeback every now and then! For this Summer Cup, we'll be trying to update you on the hot players and the not players as often as possible. We'll be reviewing the performance of players and building on our previous knowledge. The first week edition took off by highlighting some early performances, but this week I won't be all alone as I've been joined by an anonymous advisor with some input on the decisions. Without further ado - let’s get to it: Who's Hot Forward - @Vilupoika The left winger of NG HANAA is as hot as they come this Summer Cup. The prolific scorer managed to string together a solid set of performances, totalling 62 points in 18 games, going pointless in only one group stage game. On top of putting together an amazing point total, Vilupoika clinched the top goal scorer title of the group stage with 37 goals - 9 goals more than @Joukki in second place. Runner-up - @tbnantti Tbnantti is our pick for the runner-up forward in the group stage of the Summer Cup. This guy won the internal scoring in his team by over 10 points (18GP, 24+22=46). Centering the offense of NG Blue Circle, this experienced trooper is flanked by less experienced up-and-comers in @lycki10 and @Vire30, a factor that weighed in on our decision. Antti has done a terrific job of backing up his linemates and taking on a leading role in the offense of his team. Defenseman - @vatalisti Vatalisti absolutely dominated in the defense of NG Club Kannunkulma although he played only 10 games in his original position. Vata also covered for the absence of star centerman @Eki in six games, showing his versatility as an absolute stud of a player. In defense, vatalisti finished second in total points in the group stage (10GP, 5+19=24), second only to @Ilmari_30 who played a full 18 games as a defenseman. Runner-up - @FakiiR1 This experienced defenseman showcased the perfect example of an all-round defenseman. Fakiiri played the full 18 games, finishing third in total points for defensemen (18GP, 3+17=20) but simultaneously showing great defensive statistics. The defenseman of NG HANAA holds the best TA/GA ratio of all defensemen with 77/90, he also racked up a nice hit total of 73 and a +/- of 33. Goalie - @JanneK. (JANURI98) Januri was the Runner-up in the first week with an amazing record of 9-0-1 in the first week. He didn't slow down at all for the rest of the group stage, as he played all games for his team with a record of 16-0-2 and less than one goal per game conceded. His stats are really second to none, as Januri holds the number one spot in both save percentage (88.66%) and shutouts (7). NG KELAMIEHET is looking as a really strong championship candidate if Januri keeps up his stellar play and the defense in front of him holds up. Runner-up - @kasper.kampe (taiguri9) Some might see this as a "homer" call as taiguri is one of our own boys in Almost Famous, but in this pick we regarded the stats of the player in the group stage along with the current "status" of the player. Taiguri isn't too well known around the community, as he hasn't held a number one goalie spot in any team above the Lite level. Despite being a rather unknown talent, taiguri played a total of 14 games (11-3-0) finishing 3rd in save percentage for goalies with over eight games played. Who's Not Forward - @Buantso (Puantso) Being a first round pick surely sets expectations high - let alone being a player of the caliber Puantso is. The ECL 5 champion, ECL 4 top goal scorer and two time ECL most assists winner was drafted at #8 overall by NG Colorado69. Puantso played eight games with a very disappointing stat sheet, showing 3+9=12 and a not so flattering -15. There's been some word about captain @kriketski17 having to do his all to manage his team, and it is sad to see such an anticlimactic outcome for them in this Summer Cup. Defenseman - @Eric Daze (kinnune) The "Not" defenseman of the group stage is an NG Disaster player, as we've chosen kinnune for the questionable title. Through 16 games in total, the left defenseman has gone -26, which is one of the biggest reasons of him being listed this week. Kinnune isn't a flashy defenseman, but generally gets the job done. His point total 0+7=7 and a decent 2,9 takeaways per game are ok stats for a stay-at-home defenseman, but this Summer Cup something obviously went very wrong, as the Rusty Blades defenseman is surely capable of doing much better. Goalie - @Mehiiss Mehiiss is the captain of NG Spring, he is known as a generally good goaltender and one of the upcoming goaltending talents in the ECL. However, the Summer Cup hasn't gone anywhere near as expected for the young goalie. Mehiiss played 10 games (4-6-0), in which his save percentage was as low as 68.36%. This selection was made based on the expectations once again being way higher than the outcome for the player in this tournament. Due to work life obstacles, we decided to skip over our week two and head right for a group stage recap. I'm thankful for the help I received on this one, getting some knowledgeable insight and opinions. If you'd like to join in on our writing team, don't hesitate to contact me (@jahajaha93) or any other staff member and we'll see what we can set up for you. For the ones mentioned in our Hot listing - keep up the good work and you might see yourself there again next week! For the ones on the Not list - don't let this push you down, take it with a grain of salt and keep chipping away at it. The only way to improve is by going on and practicing. We're happy to see that we don't have any recurring performances on the Not list!

Hi there NHLGamers, Welcome to another edition of "Who's Hot and Who's Not". A format first introduced during the very first ECL Summer Cup, the "Hot or Not"-column was a source of much emotion and debate during its first tour of duty... so naturally it’s been making a comeback every now and then! For this Summer Cup, we’re hoping to make this a weekly thing, reviewing the performance of players and building our knowledge week by week. I’ll be kicking off by highlighting some first week performances, but hopefully I’ll get some other writers in on the fun as we go along. Let’s get to it: Who's Hot Forward - @Eki The fresh NHL Gaming World Champion has also went on a complete rampage in the Summer Cup, totalling 33 points in only six games, resulting in an average of 5,5 points per game. Seems so easy, right? This young man is surely taking the virtual hockey world by storm and is on his way to becoming the wonderkid of the scene. Runner-up - @Joukki NG Puck Nation has found a great one-two punch in Joukki and team captain Hazard-Laser, who have lead the second-highest scoring team in the whole league to a 7-3-0 record starting off the group stage. Currently, Joukki places first in both total points and goals scored. Defenseman - @vatalisti The Eki-vatalisti combo is one of the deadliest weapons in the Summer Cup. We even saw it in action as the duo pulled off one beauty of a breakout play straight from the pelimies80 playbook. This power duo is fine tuning their play that we’ll have the privilege to watch next season as FILADELPHIA plays their first Elite season. Goalie - @Caazual (AcED719) AcED719 has managed to go undefeated through the eight first games of the season, letting in less than a goal per game and amassing five shutouts in the process. He's faced only 7 shots per game on average, so he surely is showing up big the times he is needed. We'll be expecting the great efforts to continue! Runner-up - @JanneK. (JANURI98) Going 9-0-1 in the first ten games isn't an easy feat. Januri has a solid team in front of him but that doesn't take away from the credit of sporting amazing stats in every category. Who's Not Forward - @pajenc The ECL Pro champion was the first round pick of NG Mousetrap and big things are expected of him, as he is paired with his ECL teammate @Tacterz flanking him to the left. However, the Summer Cup hasn't started too well for Pajen so far, as he is -9 in eight games, with a total of 7 points on the board. Defenseman - @Bleiki (Bleiki81) Bleiki has been an all-rounder for NG We Dem Boyz so far, with four out of six games played on defense. He's managed to put up a decent 1+3=4, but a -21 will not do for a defenseman. We'll be hoping for improvement from this guy! Goalie - @Camora The captain and goalie of NG Thunder hasn't quite got the start he wanted. Going 1-0-7 thru eight games won't do wonders for your team and a GAA of 4.00 isn't too flattering either. There is still time to bounce back, so let's hope Camora does just that. This listing is rather stat-based and the views expressed are also based very much on the leaderboards. We're hoping to get a better grasp of each team as the tournament goes on and hopefully we can evaluate our players even better next week. For the ones mentioned in our Hot listing - keep up the good work and you might see yourself there again next week! For the ones on the Not list - don't let this push you down, take it with a grain of salt and keep chipping away at it. The only way to improve is by going on and practicing.

The sun is shining and the annual Summer Cup is just around the corner. Personally, I've been waiting for this since the last Summer Cup, which was my very first one. It was a great experience for a rather new face in the community and having the chance to play with more established players was an important opportunity to develop. The Summer cup is also much about networking, getting to know new people and welcoming fresh faces into our community. Captaining a team is never easy, there's a lot of responsibility involved and keeping a bunch of guys with different personalities happy poses it's challenges. In the Summer Cup, even more so as you will be bumping into completely new acquaintances. It's part of the charm with this whole tournament. Chemistry is obviously one of the most important success factors in any team sport, I once heard a smart man state that you can't put five Malkins on the ice and expect a win. As a captain, it's difficult to fit the pieces together when drafting players that are completely unrelated and have never taken a stride together before. In the Summer Cup, there are so many factors that weigh in and that's what makes it such an interesting tournament. Chemistry is key. Discussing with some of our Summer Cup 3 captains, I learned that having at least a couple of skilled players who have some kind of history together (read: chemistry) can make all the difference in the world as it gives a massive advantage on the ice. The philosophy of building the team can vary a lot depending on the captain. I talked to @Aze and @Snapster, who have established themselves as something of defensive leaders in this game and their first priority was drafting players to create a coherent unit that will work well in both ends of the ice. on the other hand, @Hazard-laser mentioned that he would like to stack his roster with big offensive weapons that could outshoot any opponent. We'll have to wait and see until tomorrow how their plans turn out. The summer cup is a couch GMs dream. When asking about the guys' expectations for the upcoming tournament, each one said they wanted to be successful and win games. Some had more predefined goals than others. A common factor, however was that meeting new people and networking is one of the most exciting things about the Summer Cup. AzeStiNE stated that he sees himself as a very analytic player and likes to observe other players, playing with them is the best way to do this. It could very well be said that captaining a Summer Cup team is a perfect opportunity for any passionate couch GM. Being a newcomer is tough. Being a complete newcomer in the scene joining the Summer Cup can be a challenge. If you don't know anyone it is hard to get going. Despite being difficult, this tournament is a great chance to get noticed. AzeStiNE compared it to a similar situation that free agents are in at the IIHF World Cup - it's an opportunity to play a few games and show the people out there what you can do. As a new guy, it is very likely that you won't get to play too many games. It is a difficult situation to be in, but the best advice our captains could give is that you should take it as a learning experience and watch the guys who have been in the game for a longer time. This is a unique tournament in the virtual hockey scene and we would like to keep going and make the tournament even better. We're looking forward to the draft tomorrow and hope to see all of you in the stream. With 434 players participating, this summer cup will be the biggest of it's kind, we're excited to have so many new faces joining and it's going to be great meeting all of you out on the ice!

Art by @iRSPe, photo credit to Andy Hall on Unsplash. Guardians of The Crease is an interview series created by @jahajaha93. The series was inspired by earlier discussions between community members regarding goaltenders getting too little credit for their hard work. The goaltender position is very different to play compared to the other skater positions. Being a successful ECL goaltender requires patience and understanding of the game on a completely different level. This interview series is here to shed some light on the mystical goaltender position and simultaneously bring forth some of the great personalities competing in our league. Our first guest will be ECL 5 champion @ICappeI, who spent last season with SJK eSports. He is a rather new face in the community, but has quickly become one of the best goaltenders around. In only his 3rd ECL season, Cappe managed to make a successful cup run with Aapon Taikasauva. The team had a very solid goaltending tandem in Cappe and @swagx88, the two sharing the responsibility in the regular season, but Cappe taking control come the playoffs. A solid defensive display paired with Cappes stellar goaltending amounted to 6 playoff shutouts in 18 games, topped off with the Elite championship title. ECL 6 started well in net for SJK, with 5 W's in 6 games and a high save percentage. However, the team went on a bit of a cold streak towards the end, resulting in an 8th seed into the playoffs. SJK surely had the roster in place for a cup run in ECL 6, but consistency proved to be a problem. Cappe played yet another solid season in net, but his team suffered a disappointing first round exit against Dynasty. ICappeI enjoys flashy, sometimes unorthodox saves like the ones displayed by Dominik Hasek in his prime. Who? Name: Casper Lundgren Age: 24 Nationality: Swedish Previously represented teams: Free From Rodents, Nordic Lightning, Aapon Taikasauva and SJK eSports. Casper "ICappeI" Lundgren is a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens. "A cold Pepsi Max" -ICappeI on his pre-game routine. What caused you to play the goalie position in EASHL? I played EASHL with my friend @Phillelindberg only and he was a better forward than me so we decided that it was better for our club that i stayed in the net. After a couple of games we found out that it kind of sucked to only play two players and four bots so we tried to check with people in the swedish NHL group on Facebook. @AndreasNo who plays in Free From Rodents played with us and recruited me to play with their team in ECL. So basically I was too bad to play forward so I ended up in the net instead. How long have you been playing goalie for? I started playing EASHL in November 2016 and made my first appearance in ECL in Nov/Dec in ECL 3. How do you practice? Did you have someone showing you the ropes? I studied some goalies in the beginning (ECL 3 playoffs) For example: @SpiderRoyal and @FinKonna. What is your favourite part about playing goalie? To feel that you make a difference in the games when it matters the most. That you can win games for your team just because you are on your highest level. We all know goalies are a bit special. Do you have any special routines when playing? A cold Pepsi Max is the most important pre-game routine that I have. I also listen to music when i play important games, it helps me focus instead of hearing the players talk to each other. Pick two defenders you'd want playing in front of you. (Not your own) @nylanderi and @jtorro1233. Best defence I’ve ever played behind. But if I had to choose players that I haven’t played ECL with I’ll go with @Janzuh and @Snapster. I think that those two are so good in both ends of the ice. One guy you'd hate to face on a breakaway. @Norpee, no doubt. He’s one of the players I hate playing against, he’s so smart. Is there a real-life goalie you try to mimic? Dominik Hasek. I want to dominate in the net as he did. Any story behind your gear setup? No, not really. I want the pads to be white, black and have a little bit of the team colour on them. There isn't a special thought behind this setup, ICappeI likes keeping it simple with a touch of team colour on the pads. Hot seat Glove or blocker save? Glove. Breakaway or one-timer? Breakaway Favourite takeout food? Pizza, mamma Mia! Condiments on the side or on top of the dish? On the side. Most famous person you ever met? Good Q, i’ll stick to hockey and say Rasmus Dahlin. Best thing to do on a day off? Sleep. Favourite sport other than hockey? Football. In the spirit of the FIFA World Cup, who do you think will win? Argentina, Messi will be the top scorer. Thank you for your time Cappe and good luck with the upcoming Summer Cup! It's been nice to learn about the mindset of one of the greatest goaltenders in our scene. The series will continue, so stay tuned for some more stories from our Guardians Of The Crease. If you enjoyed this article and would like to see more similar content, please make sure to show it by liking and sharing. See you guys out on the ice!

Hi there NHLGamers, We'll be finishing off our Season Review-series with a look at our Elite division. I'd like to congratulate our champions Carlsberg HC for a very convincing showing and a great season. All teams fought hard and showed that Elite is certainly a very competitive division with the best 6vs6 players in Europe, possibly in the world. You'll have enough reading to do below, so allow me to introduce the season ranking of ECL 6 Elite: 1. Carlsberg HC - Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 12) Seems like having @Penatski at center will pretty much guarantee you a trophy? After a little dodgy start to their ECL 6 season they bounced back in an amazing way. Finishing the regular season with 8-1-1 in their last 10 games (Best of all teams) and, as you all know, by lifting the ECL 6 Elite trophy. Defense really does win you championships and they showed us just that in the playoffs. Goaltender @Zande95 stepped up big time together with the strong defensive pair @Janzuh and @vatalisti, resulting in only one goal conceded per game in the playoffs. 2. Northern Ascendancy - Regular season record 19-5-6 (Playoff wins 9) After a great regular season, finishing 4th, Ascendancy stepped their game up even more in the playoffs. They faced off against big favorites Written In The Stars and surprised everyone when they moved on to the finals after only 5 games, timely goals and patient play was the decisive factor in that series. Their forwards @Foppatofflan and @hpkfani(MuKiMaisteri) led the playoff assist, point and goal column with MuKiMaisteri topping the regular season point and goal column as well. In addition to second-to-none scoring, their goaltender @poliskontroll was a real difference maker this season. Having been one of the top goalies in the scene for a long time, his team can rest assured that he will make the saves needed to push his team towards victory. 3. Written In The Stars - Regular season record 27-2-1 (Playoff wins 5) SKY managed to play a nearly perfect regular season, finishing with a record of 27-2-1. Contrary to popular belief, their defense really shut the door this season and was second to none, resulting in the team conceding less than a goal per game during the regular season. For the duration of the regular season, the team allowed only 177 shots against in total, which is by far the lowest of all Elite teams. A big reason might be their strong puck possession game, which allows them to control most of the action during the games. @Joukki turned out to be a great addition in scoring power and having a weapon like @jtorro1233 in defense providing secondary scoring was key to the success of SKY this season. 4. Dynasty - Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 5) Dynasty iced the highest scoring offense of the regular season. They were really firing on all cylinders with @jumalpeku, @Buantso (Puatso) and @Tehh (TehhAhola) all finishing above 2 points per game. Their powerplay also caught fire in the regular season, a 22,5% success rate will surely strike fear into the opposing teams penalty kill unit. The season ended early in a semi final loss against Carlsberg HC (series score 4-1), a team they managed to beat in both their regular season games. 5. Unlucky Boys - Regular season record 17-6-7 (Playoff wins 3) Being one of the teams gaining promotion from Pro for ECL 6, UB didn't have the easiest starting point for this season. The team was surely hungry and willing to show that they could compete at the highest level of ECL. Their lineup remained nearly the same as in the Pro division, so the chemistry was certainly there, now it was just a matter of translating it to a higher level of play. A 5th place regular season finish and challenging Nordic Ascendancy in the first round of the playoffs can be regarded as a successful entry to Elite. 6. Sjukstugan - Regular season record 19-10-1 (Playoff wins 2) ECL 6 for Sjukstugan was a step in the right direction. Their first showing in Elite ended early without making the playoffs, but this season they were determined to show the competition they are to be taken seriously. Acquisition of rising star goaltender @Hullued certainly helped, as he topped all goalies in regular season wins and put up a good SV% of 83,19%. On other fronts, the team managed to perform well, having five skaters going above one point per game during the regular season. Sjukstugan managed to put up a fight in the first playoff round against Carlsberg HC, series ending 4-2 in favor of CAR. 7. SJK eSports - Regular season record 18-9-3 (Playoff wins 1) Before ECL 6 it seemed as if SJK was announcing big player acquisitions weekly and as expected, they went into the season with an absolutely stacked lineup. Captain @Dominointi had managed to gather a team of absolute studs, who started off the season well, topping the table after around 10 games played. However, around the halfway point of the season something happened, and the team went cold all of a sudden, finishing the regular season with 2-7-1 in their last ten games. Their season ended in a disappointing 4-1 series loss in the first round against Dynasty. 8. Northern Stars - Regular season record 17-12-1 The season of NOS was very similar to that of SJK. A strong opening half of the season was followed by a lackluster finish to the season. The Stars managed to redeem themselves a bit towards the end, however, stringing together a few important wins and gaining themselves a spot in the playoffs. A big part of their difficulty was losing the prominent scorer @plee999 to Gotham Knights at the deadline. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Evolution - Regular season record 12-12-6 After gaining promotion at the end of ECL 5 as the result of a Pro championship, the race was on for Evolution to prove that they belong at the top level of this league. There must also have been some healthy competition between all the promoted teams to prove who deserved their spot the most. The goalie and defense situation remained the same, while some acquisitions were made in the offensive end during the offseason. Most notably EVO lost @Erkki (I_Eki_I), who helped them hoist the cup, dominating the center lane. New acquisition @SadaPoika led the team in scoring, but the team-wide difficulty to produce sufficient offense ended up being their downfall. 10. Gotham Knights - Regular season record 13-14-3 Gotham came in swinging, having a rather favorable schedule to start the season as they faced Silver Sword Griffins, Pata Hellalla and Nordic Stars in the first three rounds. However, the team struggled to find consistency and quickly started drifting towards the wrong side of the playoff line. Gotham managed to make a big signing, acquiring @plee999 from Northern Stars at the deadline. The youngster went a bit over a point per game but didn't quite find his stride with the new team. 11. Rusty Blades - Regular season record 13-15-2 Rusty Blades had solid season after a very rough 0-6-0 start. They won the games against the weaker teams but couldn't gain enough points against the top tiers to qualify for the playoffs. Nevertheless they are always hard to play against and keep the games tight. Therefore they managed to keep their playoff hopes alive for a long time and are happy to stay in the Elite division for ECL 7. @Lamsa was 3 points shy of the top 10 scoring list. 12. Falun Coal Miners - Regular season record 12-14-4 Falun had a good first season in Elite, finishing 12th and just above the relegation zone. They showed that with very small roster changes and almost no Elite experience they can still do a great job and fight to stay in the division. Good defense backed up by goaltender @Onecorner95 was their way to secure their spot in Elite for next season. 13. Nordic Stars - Regular season record 9-15-6 If you only take a look at the numbers, you wouldn't even guess that Nordic Stars had to play in the relegation. It seems that they couldn't gain enough points out of their efforts and kept the games quite tight. @Kookasi led the team in scoring, falling just short of placing in the top 10 scoring list but individual strength doesn't keep you in the Elite division. The whole squad has to improve their game if they want to make it back to the highest division, after losing a tough relegation matchup against White Trash. 14. Pata Hellalla - Regular season record 6-17-7 Pata Hellalla had quite a disappointing season. The worst defense in the Elite division (101 GA) had to fight hard all season long. They gained some impressive wins over some top-guns of the division, but always seemed to struggle in translating that to every other game. With five points (2 wins) in the last ten games, there were still some hope of staying in the Elite division when they managed to qualify for the relegation faceoffs. After a devastating sweep at the hands of Almost Famous, @kungenkurwa has to take care of his team and prepare them for the Pro division. 15. Kattiautomaatti - Regular season record 7-19-4 After a good start with three wins out of four games, Kattiautomaatti had to deal with 20 consecutive losses. That statistic alone could be enough to tell that this season didn't go as planned. Nearly all of Kattiautomaattis wins were against the teams in the bottom region of the standings. Their lacking in the offensive zone (1,13 GF/GP) is certainly a key reason, costing them the Elite spot. @Slaivone and his group have to regroup the team to fight back in the Pro Division. 16. Silver Sword Griffins - Regular season record 7-20-3 Griffins had an off season this ECL. A squad packed with ECL experience and even a few Summer Cup trophies in their ranks, they had everything to play for this ECL Elite season. Simply put, they didn't score enough goals and ended up conceding too many. With a weak start to the season losing their first 8 games it was difficult to manifest a comeback. SSG managed to improve their form towards the end of the season, if only one or two results would have gone the other way they could have stayed in Elite next season, but that's the unforgiving world of hockey for you. AWARDS Playoff MVP: @vatalisti Most Points: @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 40 Goals, 34 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games Most Goals: @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 40 Goals, 34 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games Most Assists: @jumalpeku, Dynasty, 23 Goals, 45 Assists, 68 Points in 28 games Most Hits by a Forward: @Buantso, Dynasty, 149 Hits in 26 games Best +/-: @jtorro1233, Written In The Stars, +49 in 28 games Most Points by a Defenseman: @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 4 Goals, 27 Assists, 31 Points in 26 games Most Goals by a Defenseman: @DieCutterMC, Dynasty, 7 Goals, 13 Assists, 20 Points in 20 games Most Assist by a Defenseman: @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 4 Goals, 27 Assists, 31 Points in 26 games Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Tanski87, Rusty Blades, 198 Hits in 29 games TOP 3'S OF ECL 6 ELITE Top 3 Forwards Regular Season: 1. @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 40 Goals, 34 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games 2. @Penatski, Carlsberg HC, 35 Goals, 39 Assists, 74 Points in 30 games 3. @Foppatofflan, Northern Ascendancy, 29 Goals, 40 Assists, 69 Points in 30 games Top 3 Defenders Regular Season: 1. @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 4 Goals, 27 Assists, 31 Points in 26 games 2. @jtorro1233, Written In The Stars, 6 Goals, 19 Assists, 25 Points in 28 games 3. @MartindalexC, Northern Ascendancy, 5 Goals, 19 Assists, 24 Points in 30 games Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season: 1. @Hullued, Sjukstugan, 19 Wins, 83,19%, 1.96 GAA, 4 SO in 30 games 2. @poliskontroll, Northern Ascendancy, 19 Wins, 78,91%, 2,20 GAA, 1 SO in 30 games 3. @JanneK. (JANURI98), Written In The Stars, 16 Wins, 85,98%, 0,93 GAA, 6 SO in 16 games Top 3 Forwards Playoffs: 1. @Foppatofflan, Northern Ascendancy, 7 Goals, 17 Assists, 24 Points in 17 games 2. @hpkfani (MuKiMaisteri), Northern Ascendancy, 15 Goals, 7 Assists, 22 Points in 17 games 3. @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_), Carlsberg HC, 12 Goals, 7 Assists, 19 Points in 16 games Top 3 Defender Playoffs: 1. @vatalisti, Carlsberg HC, 1 Goals, 13 Assists, 14 Points in 16 games 2. @jtorro1233, Written In The Stars, 1 Goals, 9 Assists, 10 Points in 10 games 3. @Janzuh, Carlsberg HC, 1 Goals, 7 Assists, 8 Points in 16 games Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs: 1. @Zande95, Carlsberg HC, 10 Wins, 86,45%, 1 GAA, 6 SO in 13 games 2. @poliskontroll, Northern Ascendancy, 9 Wins, 82,69%, 1,58 GAA, 2 SO in 17 games 3. @JanneK. (JANURI98), Written In The Stars, 5 Wins, 74,64%, 1,80 GAA, 1 SO in 10 games This season we'd also like to make the introduction of the top 6 of the season. This will mean a selection of 6 players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. This season, the selections were made by staff members who have been following ECL Elite. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Elite division in ECL 6: @hpkfani (MukiMaisteri, Northern Ascendancy) - @Penatski (Carlsberg HC) - @Foppatofflan (Northern Ascendancy) @jtorro1233 (Written In The Stars) - @vatalisti (Carlsberg HC) @poliskontroll (Northern Ascendancy) Thanks to @Panarinz and @Mannheimer1938 for putting in work and helping to get this article done, also to all players and teams making ECL possible. We had a great season and will have many more even better ones to come. For now, take a little break and prepare for the Summer Cup. See you out on the ice!

NHLGamers, The Pro season is in the books and what a wild one it was! We got to see some great individual efforts but what ended up prevailing was working as a unit towards a well-defined goal - the ECL Pro championship. Que the "we not me" and "offense wins games, defense wins championships" clichés. We had 32 teams going into the season, with 30 of them finishing and two dropping out because of various reasons. ECL 6 was the most well-covered season on NHLGamer so far, as we stepped up our streaming game and tried to broadcast as many playoff matchups as possible on our Twitch-channel. We saw some really exciting games and a bunch of nerve-racking game 7 finishes. We also saw some intense game 7 OT action. At the end of the season, some teams had to face a tough disappointment as they might not have achieved the level of success they had hoped for. On the other hand, some others managed to overcome all obstacles and pave their way far into the playoffs and eventual promotions and a championship. On behalf of the NHLGamer staff, I congratulate Monarchs once again for their impressive run that ended in the championship of ECL Pro. This season recap will be in form of an official NHLGamer ranking, with some words concluding the essential factors in the season performance of each team. Without further ado, let's get to it: ECL 6 Pro division ranking (Sorted by playoff wins, P/G and relegation faceoff wins): 1. Monarchs (Group 1) Regular season record 22-2-2 (Playoff wins 16) Oh man, these guys came in with a bang in their inaugural ECL season. As most of us know, their season ended in a party as they conquered the throne in a thrilling playoff run, finishing with a game 7 victory over FILADELPHIA. Captain @chavelski managed to put together a strong defensive unit with an offensive upside, especially in sensational offensive defenseman @Philip Strom (Strumpan87), rookie winger @Tacterz and experienced center @pajenc. 2. FILADELPHIA (Group 2) Regular season record 27-1-2 (Playoff wins 15) FILADELPHIA were strong favourites going into the season, as many community members seemed to believe they are competing in the wrong division. Although they managed to dominate the regular season in convincing manner, the playoffs weren't quite the cakewalk they expected. Despite all that, the team has to be satisfied with their performance, as they finished the season with only 7 regulation losses in total, the least out of all Pro teams. Their extremely skilled forwards played a huge part in their success, as names such as @Erkki (I_Eki_I), @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf) and @mikaasi aren't complete strangers to racking up points in the Elite division either. 3. Almost Famous (Group 1) Regular season record 21-3-2 (Playoff wins 11) (by @Mannheimer1938) Almost Famous started their journey in ECL5 in the Lite division, a season which ended in a final loss against Red Machine. They flew a bit under the radar before the season but impressed everyone with edging out all the top guns of their group. The signings of @Rimpe, @Devilfish14 and @Vaporik seems to have increased the skill level significantly. After finishing 2nd in group 1, they had a nice playoff run which was stopped by the champions to be Monarchs in a thrilling game 7 overtime loss. 4. White Trash (Group 1) Regular season record 17-6-3 (Playoff wins 9) After a few good showings in the Pro division, we certainly expected White Trash to bring their A-game this season. A few new signings were made and the team seemed to find a good flow as the regular season got going. White Trash had a tough playoff run with both their first and second round matchups going into game 7. The season ended in the semi finals against FILADELPHIA. 5. SIKA (Group 2) Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 7) SIKA is one of the most established NHLGamer teams around right now. After experiencing a tough relegation in ECL4, they have been trying to work their way back up to the Elite division for two seasons now. The sole goal for this season was certainly a promotion, but once again, they fell just short. It can be concluded that this season was a disappointment, but the performance still grants the team a 5th place ranking on this list. 6. Red Machine (Group 2) Regular season record 16-10-4 (Playoff wins 6) Named the dark horse of group 2, Red Machine managed to fight their way into the playoffs after a difficult start to the season. Their high-scoring offense made up for a rather mediocre defensive showing. The issue might have been not having a natural center in their lineup. Despite not repeating the dominant performance seen in the Lite division last season, Red Machine must certainly be happy by finishing at 6th place in our season ranking. 7. Baltic Sea Eagles (Group 1) Regular season record 14-6-4 (Playoff wins 5) As one of the more established Pro teams, Baltic Sea Eagles were hoping that this would be their season. The regular season went somewhat according to plans, as they managed to secure a playoff spot as the 10th seed in total. The team struggled with scoring all season long, but their defense showed up in a big way, which made up for their difficulties up front. The season ended a bit early at the hands of Almost Famous in the second round. 8. Deadly Phantoms HC (Group 1) Regular season record 15-10-1 (Playoff wins 4) After being promoted from Lite in ECL 5, Deadly Phantoms HC were surely looking to establish themselves as the new German powerhouse team on NHLGamer. It was quickly noted that they were in Pro to compete, and with a great defensive mentality, they were able to overcome opponents such as White Trash and Shameful Knights in the regular season. 9. Clowns On Ice (Group 2) Regular season record 17-10-3 (Playoff wins 3) Clowns On Ice is the second German Pro division team this season. The team went on a hot streak right off the bat, managing to split points with teams such as FILADELPHIA and SIKA. Captain @Tim_FlyersFan lead the team from the front, amassing a total of 76 points in the regular season but he also received help from a wide roster, as the team iced a total of nine skaters and three goalies during the season. The season was certainly an improvement from ECL 5, as this time they managed to make the playoffs and grab a few wins from higher seeded White Trash. 10. Alliance HT (Group 2) Regular season record 22-6-2 (Playoff wins 2) Having added @JaikenK to their roster, Alliance were looking better than ever on paper prior to the season. Their season started a tad slow, but once the team started rolling, they advanced from victory to victory, amassing a total of 22 wins in the regular season. However, the playoffs brought a disappointment as they were eliminated in the first round by Deadly Phantoms HC. 11. Shameful Knights (Group 1) Regular season record 18-6-2 (Playoff wins 2) Shameful Knights were expected to come into the season with the sole goal of gaining a promotion to Elite. The established Pro team was one of the strongest competitors in our season prediction. With almost no roster changes happening between ECL 5 and 6, we expected the team to prove that a strong unit and their effective offensive trio @Tapparafan - @Migo_boo - @Ollizhki will prevail in the hunt for the cup. 12. Synergy Hockey (Group 2) Regular season record 17-10-3 (Playoff wins 2) The Swedish veterans were expected to be one of the strongest teams going into the season, however, a difficult start and some internal turbulence raised some doubts. The team bounced back rather well and showed that they are deserving of a spot in the playoffs. Baltic Sea Eagles in the first round proved to be too tough of a challenge, as they were eliminated with a series score of 4-2. 13. Arctic (Group 1) Regular season record 15-10-1 (Playoff wins 2) As a newly established team, Arctic flew under the radar for most of the season. It took some time to find their game, but the team finished their regular season going 10-0-0 and proved to everyone that they are a force to be reckoned with. A massive disappointment awaited, as SIKA beat them 4-2 in the series, resulting in yet another first round exit for captain @selänne8, got to feel a bit bad for the guy at this point. 14. Monte Carlo (Group 2) Regular season record 15-10-5 (Playoff wins 2) Monte Carlo was put together out of some very established players by @J0HTAJA, who was certainly hoping that he could lead this group to a long season run with his experience and knowledge of the game. The team struggled with scoring from time to time while showing good defensive play and great goaltending by @Masapunda, @Lage and @Pettersson12 - ultimately resulting in an average regular season record and a first round exit agains Almost Famous. 15. Quality (Group 1) Regular season record 12-12-2 (Playoff wins 1) Few teams had a season as turbulent as the newly established Quality. Team captain @Yoloberg had managed to piece together a team of skilled players who had little to no experience of playing together. Some transfers were made during the season and the team didn't find its final form until after the deadline. The acquisition of @KattenJansson97 boosted their offensive game, barely gaining them a playoff spot. FILADELPHIA in the first round proved to be too much of a challenge as the season ended with a 4-1 series score in the first round. 16. Raging Monkeys (Group 2) Regular season record 16-12-2 (Playoff wins 0) Raging Monkeys came into the season as one of the teams promoted from Lite at the end of ECL 5. The team was surely hoping to prove that they belong at the Pro level - a goal that we can agree they have met. The playoff spot they managed to grab as the 15th seed in total was a bonus at the end of their inaugural Pro season. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17. Speedy Bros Hockey (Group 2) Regular season record 11-11-8 In their second season, Speedy Bros were surely hoping to make their first playoff run in team history so far, but they ended up falling just short in a very tough group 2 playoff race. Their offense was largely carried by the duo @Tzon93 and @Klassikko_, who between the two of them scored 63% of the teams goals. 18. TIKI TALK (Group 2) Regular season record 13-14-3 As the result of a tough ECL 5, Tiki Talk was relegated from Elite. Their roster experienced something of an overhaul, but the team never really found their stride, resulting in a disappointing season. 19. Free From Rodents (Group 1) Regular season record 10-11-5 The experienced Swedish team was looking to make their first first playoff appearance in the division era of ECL, but ended up falling just short due to going on a cold streak towards the end of the regular season, finishing with a 1-7-2 record in their las ten games. 20. Bellizzi (Group 2) Regular season record 13-15-2 Bellizzi had a difficult season, as their scoring didn't find a way to get going (56 GF) and their defense didn't show up (102 GA) to the level required. Despite their troubles, the team managed to grab a surprising amount of wins and wasn't too far from reaching a playoff spot in group 2. 21. OG Royals (Group 2) Regular season record 12-14-4 The Royals made a comeback after a short hiatus. Captain @AzByCxx managed to put together a decent lineup of promising players, but the team didn't perform according to expectations, resulting in a low ranking on this list. 22. Murohoki (Group 1) Regular season record 10-12-4 As an established Pro team, Murohoki would surely have hoped for a better result to their season. The team put in a balanced effort on both ends of the ice, falling just 2 points short of a playoff spot in group 1. They will look to improve their powerplay numbers for next season, since icing a powerplay with a success rate of 5% won't exactly intimidate the opponent. 23. Penalty Box (Group 2) Regular season record 12-15-3 Penalty Box played a rather mediocre season, averaging around 0,9 P/G and having balanced statistics in both scoring and defense. To their credit, they managed to ice the second deadliest powerplay in ECL Pro. 24. Banterfield Battalion (Group 1) Regular season record 11-14-1 Banterfield has experienced a large player turnover, but maintained their original core of founding members @Heero, @Mikka and @Dunu. In their second Pro season, they managed to avoid a relegation faceoff, but their season ended early as they failed to make the playoffs. 25. Old Farts (Group 2) Regular season record 12-17-1 After a short break, Old Farts were hoping to come back with a bang and grab a playoff spot in the Pro division. Despite having a lineup full of experienced players, the team didn't have the x-factor, which could have pushed them into the playoffs. On a positive note, they were the least penalized team in ECL Pro. 26. EN HUND (Group 2) Regular season record 8-17-5 EN HUND had a disappointing season. As an established team, they would surely have hoped for a bit of a better result to their season. Their scoring worked just fine, but letting in close to four goals per game doesn't take you that far in a competitive league. 27. Breakers Of The Bone (Group 2) Regular season record 7-16-7 Breakers Of The Bone managed to secure a promotion from Lite in ECL 5 after an impressive playoff run. However, the Pro division turned out to be a completely different mountain to climb. Few things went their way this season and they will surely look to improve come ECL 7. 28. Nordic Nosebleed (Group 1) Regular season record 6-16-4 (Relegation faceoff win 4-0) The Swedes were promoted from Lite at the end of ECL 5. Much alike Breakers Of The Bone, Nordic Nosebleed also had a tough time acclimating to the increased tempo and general skill level. They ended up in the relegation faceoff against JPTJ, but managed to secure their Pro spot for next season after a 4-0 series win. 29. JPTJ (Group 1) Regular season record 8-17-1 (Relegation faceoff loss 0-4) JPTJ had a disappointing second season in ECL Pro. Some of us still remember their inaugural season in ECL 4 when they set scoring records in Lite. The second highest tier has proven to be a challenge and this second season didn't go their way. The season ended in a relegation but we're hoping for a bounce back in ECL 7. 30. The Beagle Boys (Group 1) Regular season record 3-21-2 (Disbanded after regular season) The Beagle Boys gained promotion at the end of ECL 5, but didn't manage to elevate their level of play to match the requirements set by the Pro division. The season was difficult as the team managed to win only three games in total, finishing with a P/G average of only 0,31. The team announced that they are disbanding after the season. AWARDS Playoff MVP: @pajenc Most Points: @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 37 Goals, 57 Assists, 94 Points in 28 games Most Goals: @mikaasi, FILADELPHIA, 44 Goals, 41 Assists, 85 Points in 30 games Most Assists: @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 37 Goals, 57 Assists, 94 Points in 28 games Most Hits by a Forward: @vilperi90, Baltic Sea Eagles, 168 Hits in 26 games Best +/-: @mikaasi, FILADELPHIA, +76 in 30 games Most Points by a Defenseman: @vSilenttio, SIKA, 6 Goals, 29 Assists, 35 Points in 26 games Most Goals by a Defenseman: @JaikenK, Alliance HT, 13 Goals, 21 Assists, 34 Points in 27 games Most Assist by a Defenseman: @vSilenttio, SIKA, 6 Goals, 29 Assists in 26 games Most Hits by a Defenseman: @Rissanen, Breakers Of The Bone, 175 Hits in 26 games TOP 3'S OF ECL 6 PRO Top 3 Forwards Regular Season: 1. @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 37 Goals, 57 Assists, 94 Points in 28 games 2. @mikaasi, FILADELPHIA, 44 Goals, 41 Assists, 85 Points in 30 games 3. @Tim_FlyersFan, Clowns On Ice, 41 Goals, 35 Assists, 76 Points in 28 games Top 3 Defender Regular Season: 1. @vSilenttio, SIKA, 6 Goals, 29 Assists, 35 Points in 26 games 2. @JaikenK, Alliance HT, 13 Goals, 21 Assists, 34 Points in 27 games 3. @Philip Strom (Strumpan87), Monarchs, 10 Goals, 19 Assists, 29 Points in 26 games Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season: 1. @roory366, Alliance HT, 20 Wins, 84,14%, 1,44 GAA, 6 SO in 27 games 2. @chavelski, Monarchs, 18 Wins, 81,60%, 1,27 GAA, 6 SO in 18 games 3. @Stilando, Shameful Knights, 18 Wins, 84,92%, 1,57 GAA, 6 SO in 26 games Top 3 Forwards Playoffs: 1. @pajenc, Monarchs, 16 Goals, 28 Assists, 44 Points in 24 games 2. @Tacterz, Monarchs, 23 Goals, 20 Assists, 43 Points in 24 games 3. @Erkki (I_Eki_I), FILADELPHIA, 15 Goals, 23 Assists, 38 Points in 21 games Top 3 Defender Playoffs: 1. @Philip Strom (Strumpan87), Monarchs, 7 Goals, 22 Assists, 29 Points in 24 games 2. @oGBioLan, FILADELPHIA, 1 Goals, 19 Assists, 20 Points in 21 games 3. @vSilenttio, SIKA, 3 Goals, 13 Assists, 16 Points in 13 games Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs: 1. @chavelski, Monarchs, 16 Wins, 77,22%, 1,70 GAA, 3 SO in 24 games 2. @swagx88, FILADELPHIA, 15 Wins, 81,92%, 1,52 GAA, 6 SO in 21 games 3. @Vaporik, Almost Famous, 11 Wins, 77,39%, 1,94 GAA, 4 SO in 17 games This season we'd also like to make the introduction of the top 6 of the season. This will mean a selection of 6 players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. This season, the selections were made by staff members who have been following ECL Pro. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Pro division in ECL 6: @pajenc (Monarchs) - @Erkki (I_Eki_I, FILADELPHIA) - @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf, FILADELPHIA) @Philip Strom (Strumpan87, Monarchs) - @xDoumi (FILADELPHIA) @chavelski (Monarchs) Conclusively, I'd like to extend a thank you for all participating teams and everyone who is making this league possible. Congratulations to all teams gaining promotion at the end of the season and to those less fortunate - come back stronger next season. Have a nice summer break and see you out on the ice, come Summer Cup 3!

Hi there NHLGamers, We've had a long season, champions have been crowned, promotions and relegations have been made, a whole bunch of W's and a whole bunch of L's have been experienced. ECL 6 started in late February and we've been going at it hard ever since. Each team has surely put in a great effort to make yet another season of the most competitive NHL esports league in Europe successful. I'm sure all teams have had their struggles and there's been tough moments where you haven't been sure of what the next move for the team be; Should there be roster changes? How can the best possible outcome be achieved? Well, you never know. Everyone has these moments and the truth is, it's really how you react to the results in these moments that can make all the difference - be it in your daily life on in the competitive NHL gaming scene. With all this being said, we're not ready to call it a wrap quite yet - by now, we've reached the pinnacle of ECL 6, the ECL Elite Finals. This season, we'll see the clash of two extremely skilled teams coming off of rather similar runs this season. The teams we'll be watching are Carlsberg HC and Northern Ascendancy. Without further ado, let's get into what you're here for: (3) Carlsberg HC - Northern Ascendancy (4) Our season preview for Carlsberg HC went as follows: Regular season record: 22-6-2 Most points (regular season): @Penatski 30GP 35+39=74 Most points (playoffs): @Vilupoika 11GP 6+7=13 The playoff run of Carlsberg HC hasn't been as easy as it seems so far. They've won their series in convincing manner (4-2 vs Sjukstugan, 4-1 vs Dynasty) but have somewhat struggled with production in the playoffs. @Penatski hasn't quite reached the same level offensively he was at in the regular season. Without a doubt a major reason for their low scoring has been facing a team the caliber of Dynasty in the semi-final, but being able to shine even in these tight situations is what the playoffs are all about. A strong defensive effort saw Carlsberg shutting down Dynasty completely, with a GAA of only 1 in the semi's, Carlsberg is surely a strong candidate for the Elite title this season. If they can get their offense clicking even better in the finals, it will surely be an exciting one. I believe it's safe to say our season preview really hit the nail on the head on this one. Carlsberg, as expected, managed to finish second highest in scoring by hitting the back of the net a total of 98 times during the regular season. Carlsberg will most likely improve their game on the offensive end in this series, as Northern Ascendancy isn't quite as famous for their defense as for their fast-paced offensive play. We might be seeing a scoring battle in this series. Our season preview for Northern Ascendancy went as follows: Regular season record: 19-5-6 Most points (regular season): @hpkfani 30GP 40+34=74 Most points (playoffs): @Foppatofflan 12GP 6+15=21 Northern Ascendancy finished the regular season in fourth place after having some surprising difficulties in the regular season against teams such as Pata Hellalla and Falun Coal Miners, some they surely would liked to have won. Doubts about @hpkfani's (MuKiMaisteri) game not translating well into NOR's system were thrown out of the door early as the man kept on doing what he knows best - putting up points. The playoff run so far hasn't been a cakewalk for NOR either. Their first round opponent Unlucky Boys HC put up a real fight, taking the series to a game 7. However, NOR prevailed after winning the two last games. Facing the number one seed Written In The Stars in the semi-finals wasn't easy either. Although NOR beat SKY 4-1, the series was very tightly contested, with three games going into overtime. The decisive factor on NOR's end will be whether their fast-paced passing can throw their opponents off or not. We'll most likely be seeing some scoring by MuKiMaisteri. @Foppatofflan will be setting him up, but we will need to see some variation if NOR wants to walk away with the victory in this series. Defensively, the team has been solid this year, letting in under 1.5 goals against/game this post-season. Prediction: 4:3 Carlsberg HC Below is what you guys predicted for this matchup in our twitter poll: How to watch the Finals? The games have been scheduled to be played as follows: Game 1: Sunday 29th of April 2018 - 20:30 CEST Game 2: Sunday 29th of April 2018 - 21:00 CEST Game 3: Sunday 29th of April 2018 - 21:30 CEST Game 4: Tuesday 1st of May 2018 - 20:30 CEST Game 5: Tuesday 1st of May 2018 - 21:00 CEST (If necessary) Game 6: Wednesday 2nd of May 2018 - 20:30 CEST (If necessary) Game 7: Wednesday 2nd of May 2018 - 21:00 CEST (If necessary) All of the ECL Elite Finals games will be broadcasted, so get ready to watch the action on our Twitch channel! Our first broadcast, covering the first three games, starts tomorrow, Sunday 29th of April at 20:15 CEST. All games will be commentated by @Janikka and @Kenu. Below you'll find the lineups of the teams for at least the three first games: Who is your favorite? Who do you expect to win? Will we see more game 7 and/or OT-drama? Let us know in the comments! We'll see you tonight at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

Hey NHLGamers, The Pro season is nearing the end as we'll witness FILADELPHIA and Monarchs put the pedal to the metal in the upcoming final matchup. Both teams have secured promotion spots, but now they'll be fighting for the pride and glory of being able to call themselves ECL Pro champions. (1) FILADELPHIA - Monarchs (2) The ECL Pro final this season sees the number one seed from each group go head to head in an exciting battle of the hockey philosophies. Both teams had close to identical regular season records, but their playoff paths have been quite different leading up to this point. FILADELPHIA has been out for a walk in the park so far in the playoffs. They’ve managed to secure advancement in a maximum of five games each round, beating Quality 4-1, Deadly Phantoms HC 4-0 and White Trash 4-1. It remains to be seen whether they have met their match in Monarchs. @Erkki(I_Eki_I) has found a good flow in the playoffs, resulting in the highest points per game total in the playoffs so far (2,2 pts/gp). In FILA we expect to see a group of extremely skilled and experienced guys, captain @Joonas Paatiala (Patzlaf) being no stranger to this situation, as he lead his Carlsberg HC to a Pro victory in ECL 4. It'll certainly be interesting to see how FILA will be able to adapt their play style against the tight defense of Monarchs. What will they do if they run into a brick wall at the opposing blue line? Will I_Eki_I and Patzlaf get the support they need up front? On the other side, we’ll be seeing the notorious Swedish up-and-comer Monarchs – who under command of captain @chavelski and lead on the ice by the experienced "Mr. OT-winner" @pajenc have managed to mow their way through to the finals. Monarchs playoff run hasn’t been as easy as the one of FILA, though. Round 1 was a routine 4-0 win over Raging Monkeys, but the next opponent in Red Machine put up a fight, series ending 4-2. The Monarchs semi final series was one for the ages – the tightly contested battle against Almost Famous saw game 6 and 7 going into triple and double overtime, series ending 4-3 in favor of Monarchs. Monarchs are most certainly battle-tested, they'll be going into this series with a great confidence boost and belief that their system will prevail even in tough situations. The team will be looking to shut down opposing center I_Eki_I and their brick-wall of a blue line trap might be just the trick to do that. The keys to Monarchs success will be finding additional options on offense and maintaining the tight team-defense we are used to seeing. Prior to the finals we posted a Twitter poll about who you guys think is going to walk away with the win. The community has spoken and the expectation with a whopping 89% vs 11% is that FILADELPHIA will walk away with the W in this one. Prediction: 4-2 FILADELPHIA How to watch the Finals? The games have been scheduled to be played as follows: Game 1: Tuesday 24th of April 2018 - 21:00 CEST Game 2: Tuesday 24th of April 2018 - 21:30 CEST Game 3: Tuesday 24th of April 2018 - 22:00 CEST Game 4: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 21:00 CEST Game 5: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 21:30 CEST (If necessary) Game 6: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 22:00 CEST (If necessary) Game 7: Wednesday 25th of April 2018 22:30 CEST (If necessary) All of the Pro Finals games will be broadcasted, so get ready to watch the action on our Twitch channel! Our first broadcast, covering the first three games, starts tonight at 20:45 CEST. Below you'll find the lineups of the teams for at least the three first games: Who is your favorite? Who do you expect to win? Will we see more OT-drama? Let us know in the comments! We'll see you tonight at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch

Hey NHLGamers, The ECL Playoff continue tonight! Starting at 20:50 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we cover two very exciting matchups tonight. The first one will be between ECL Pro teams Monarchs and Almost Famous, as they are finishing their semi-final series that currently stands 3-2 for Monarchs. Our second matchup of the night will be the Elite relegation faceoff between Nordic Stars and White Trash. You can find a prediction for that matchup by scrolling down. Games so far in this series: Game 1: Monarchs - Almost Famous 0-3 Game 2: Almost Famous - Monarchs 1-3 Game 3: Monarchs - Almost Famous 1-0 OT Game 4: Almost Famous - Monarchs 3-5 Game 5: Monarchs - Almost Famous 2-3 OT After these two settling who will go on to the ECL Pro Finals, we jump over to the ECL Relegation Faceoff, where the winner of the two teams will be seen in ECL Elite next season. The teams are playing a total of four games tonight, starting at 21:00 CEST as well and we will join in on the action as soon as the first series of tonight is settled. White Trash – Nordic Stars These two teams are certainly no strangers to each other, despite playing in different divisions this season, they spent the last two seasons battling for the promotion in Pro. In fact, these two have met in playoff series both in ECL 4 and 5. The series wins are currently even at 1-1. The Nordic Stars roster seems to have experienced quite a few changes over the years, as captain @Seahyena is the only player who has played in the previous two series between these teams. On the other end, White Trash captain @Zip player has also played both series, but so has @Kane, @rGinnu and @plymalkin. We’ll see how the third series in as many seasons between these two turns out. Nordic Stars were surely excited to have been promoted to Elite during the offseason. In our season preview, we expected the team to have a difficult time keeping up in Elite. The beginning of the season was a feeling-out process, but Nordic stars put themselves in a bit of a hole by going 1-8-1 to start the season. They managed to turn the ship around a bit after the first ten games, but it wasn’t quite enough. In the end, they finished with a 9-15-6 regular season record, which isn’t bad for a team that was promoted in the offseason and had a complete roster overhaul. The biggest factor this season for Nordic Stars was most likely not being able to gel enough to create chemistry in team defense. The team managed to score enough to keep up with the rest, but fell short when it comes to their goals against average, a statistic that ended up being 3,03/game. That simply isn’t good enough to win games in a tight Elite division. The opponent White Trash had yet another good season in Pro. They’re an established Pro team and must be very hungry to prove to the community that they can compete with the big boys in Elite. Our Pro season preview noted White Trash as one of the top contenders this season. They went into the season with a small roster and managed to close out the season with only 8 players making an appearance. The playoffs ended in the Semi-Finals against FILADELPHIA, a series in which White Trash without a doubt was the underdog. White Trash will be relying on their vast experience and good chemistry to edge out Nordic stars in this matchup. As expected, they will ice the same lineup we saw throughout the Pro playoffs. It's hard to predict how this series will go, as the teams come into this series from different backgrounds; White Trash has gotten this far by succeeding during the season, whereas Nordic Stars has had a tough one. The want to play and fight for the win will be a key aspect in which of these teams will be seen in ECL Elite next season. Below you will find the lineups for both matchups tonight: The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @Janikka and @Kenu. We'll see you there!

Hi there NHLGamers! You might have spotted some social media posts some weeks back about founder @Kenu being interviewed for a broadcast on Aito Hitti – A Finnish radio station, part of a network that according to their website has around 800 000 frequent listeners. Unfortunately, the interview was done only in Finnish and we felt that we shouldn’t exclude our international audience from learning what our founder had to say. Therefore, in this article I’ll briefly be recapping some of the main points discussed in the almost 20 minute segment about NHLGamer. The interview focused on some basic things about NHLGamer, such as the conception of the community and the idea behind it and the ECL. Besides that, also some of the hottest topics in the community were discussed - such as money tournaments in the scene and the evolution of these. Some of our community members have been with NHLGamer all the way since late 2015 when the site was released to the public. However, the idea was conceived already in 2009, when EA Sports discontinued their NHL-series for PC. Kenu had been creating popular mods (SM-liiga Pack, later FHR) for the PC version of the NHL-series for around 10 years together with a small group of people. When the possibility to create such mods was suddenly missing, there was a need to start doing something else. After creating the Finnish Cup's and taking a brief stint at the EHL-series at ConsoleHockey, Kenu and @Lurkins decided to combine forces in creating what we now know as NHLGamer.com. This domain wasn't always theirs, though - a guy called Petri Wathén, PW, had a platform for organising NHL tournaments at the start of the century, but as his interest faded, some of the remaining staff decided to acquire the domain. In recent years, NHL gaming has come a long way and as mentioned above, one of the topics discussed was the introduction of money tournaments into the NHL gaming scene. A good example of this is the NHL Gaming World Championship, which was introduced this spring. The qualifiers for this tournament are currently in progress, with community members @Hansulinho and @FlyerKungen already advancing to the regional qualifiers in Stockholm, Sweden. (After the interview took place, also @Erkki, @plee999, @Kane and @Nieppii have secured their spots in Stockholm. That's 6/6 for our community. Keep it up!) Currently, the EASHL community hasn't seen major money tournaments, but rest assured - they will be coming right here on NHLGamer. For those of you that are able to understand the interview without a translation, you'll find the interview above. The current ECL season was also discussed. Kenu mentions the increase in teams within the last few seasons and the fact that games are tighter than ever. All of the divisions hold very talented teams and the divisions framework introduced in ECL 4 has worked very well in assigning teams to appropriate skill levels - creating tighter matchups and more interesting and exciting seasons. It's been great to see the growth of our community with new members joining every day. It's also been great to witness how people are coming together and building lasting friendships. A beautiful sense of belonging was present at the recent IS Cup (November 2017), where we saw some tough competition but also how close our community members actually are. An interesting question briefly discussed was wether the Finnish Liiga has shown any interest in NHLGamer. At this stage there have been no talks, says Kenu, but it's absolutely not out of the question. Professional ice hockey teams such as Ässät, HIFK and Pelicans - to name a few - are active in the gaming scene. No teams are currently represented in virtual ice hockey, but as money is starting to be discussed in the scene, interest might spark. The consensus at the end of the interview was that the future for NHLGamer and virtual ice hockey is bright. As sponsors and organisations are getting the smell of money, it will create more interest. It's now up to us to show what we as a community can do in order to make this bright future happen.