ose16

After six months of unforgettable moments we have finally arrived at the big Final. The ECL '22 Spring journey really couldn't get a better ending. This weekend, we will crown an ECL '22 Spring Champion and our first ECL Elite Grand Champion. Will it be hREDS who have dominated the league for a couple seasons or will it be the young hungry SAWO ESPORTS who will play in their first ECL Finals. (1) hREDS vs SAWO ESPORTS (3) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen 9 GP, 12+9=21 vs Jere @jxrska Laukka 13 GP, 11+6=17 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Filip @Faze91- Azri 9 GP, 8 W, 86,9 SV%, 1.22 GAA, 3 SO vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 13 GP,8 W, 77,78%, 2.00 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 26-2-2 vs 21-7-2 REGULAR SEASON SERIES 3-0, 3-2OT Once again, we get to watch hREDS in the ECL Elite Finals. By winning the ECL 22 Winter season they already punched their ticket to the Grand Finals but now they practically have two opportunities to win the ECL Grand Finals. In the Semifinals, hREDS didn’t get the start they wanted as the first game went 4-0 for GOONS but like we have seen before, the back-to-back champions won't let it get to them when things don’t go in their favor. They bounced back by winning four straight on their way to the 4th consecutive Finals for them. The upcoming finals are the first time for the predators were they aren't playing against Frölunda HC. Right now it feels like it's impossible to stop these guys as they have so much power and skill all around the ice. Once again many different guys have been stepping up whenever needed and there is no reason why that wouldn't continue when we arrive at the biggest games of the season. All three of their forwards can be found in the top 5, Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen keeping the number one spot. This club really has shown no weaknesses. If you have to choose one team which really has bumped up their game it would definitely be SAWO ESPORTS. Their ECL '22 Winter playoffs disappointment has really been forgotten for these guys and they have made their way to the Finals for the first time ever. In the Quarterfinals they were able to close the series against HAVU Gaming nicely but in the Semifinals they got the next level. SAWO was able to beat Frölunda HC in a thrilling game 7 overtime. If you talk about this season's biggest surprises that was one the biggest ones because it also ended Frölunda's magical streak of consecutive Finals appearances. Before the Semifinals, we speculated about SAWO's firepower and how that nearly always comes from the wingers. That thing changed as when the goal was needed we saw both Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila and Tomi @tombo_02(tomboo-_-) Laitinen taking a big role. @tombo_02 scored the overtime game winning goal in game 6 as his defensive pair did the same in the legendary game 7. Winning his old team in the Semifinals made it extra tasty for @Teemuyy and with that goal he continued his own Finals appearance stream. His battles against old clubs won't end there for him as he started his streak in the hREDS jersey. Many doors are closing with this Final series. For the first time in ages there are no HAVU or Frölunda in the final two and we are witnessing the back-to-back Champion going against the young hungry talents for the European Championship. SAWO has now gained that much needed experience from being able to seal the deal in a tough spot. Winning Frölunda was already an amazing performance but is there enough hunger left to climb an even bigger hill than their Semifinal opponent was. The goaltending battle will once again play a huge part. We saw how Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen was able to keep up his level in the overtime games against Frölunda but in the finals he is facing Filip @Faze91- Azri, who has so far in his career always played even better in the Finals than in normal games. If we imagine that SAWO would win the ECL '22 Spring Championship they would have momentum going to the Grand Finals because there is only one day to reset in between. The Grand Finals would be incredible to see but hREDS is looking as strong as ever right now and there should be no challengers able to stand up to them. The predators will win their third ECL title in a row and become first Grand Champion in ECL history in 5 games. When? Friday, June 17th 19:30 CEST (Games 1-2) Saturday, June 18th 18:45 CEST (Games 3-7) Sunday, June 19th 20:30 CEST (ECL '22 Grand Finals)* Where? Helsinki, Finland - Narinkkatori www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG You'll find us at the SportsGamer truck parked at Narinkkatori, the event is hosted in cooperation with St Hockey and besides their St Hockey Tour opening weekend event. Entry is free.

As the season has rolled on already to the semifinals, we're now in for a couple of very exciting matchups, where younger underdogs are challenging the proven top teams. Both hREDS and Frölunda HC are clearly hunting for the title, whereas GOONS and SAWO ESPORTS are the young guns around trying to have their say in the eventual winner. Structure & Prize Pool Schedule The previews were written in cooperation by @jahajaha93 & @ose16. (1) hREDS vs GOONS (5) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen 4 GP, 7+6=13 vs Samu @xKeskitalo Keskitalo 5 GP, 4+9=13 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Filip @Faze91- Azri 4 GP, 4 W, 93,94 SV%, 0.5 GAA, 2 SO vs Ville @Supreex Korhonen 5 GP, 4 W, 83,33 SV%, 1.6 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 26-2-2 vs 20-8-2 REGULAR SEASON SERIES 3-0, 4-0 hREDS dominated in the first round against Conquer Gaming. Their 18-2 goal differential against the regular seasons biggest dark horse tells that the back-to-back champions are getting warmed up just in time for the bigger games. Starting the playoff run with an 8-0 win is a statement of it's own, that's for sure. Once again the predators showed that their ability to defend patiently when it's needed is also a big strength in this team. Even though sometimes their defense would slip up there is still a big hill to climb when scoring goal against hREDS as their goalie Filip @Faze91- Azri once again leads all the goalie stats and was the only goaltender to record two shoutouts in the first round. There is still no signs for hREDS' momentum dropping and they have more than a solid chance to make it three in a row this season. GOONS managed to win Örebro Hockey in 5 games on their way to the semifinals. A crazy coincidence is that just like their coming opponent hREDS, also this black and red team started their playoff campaign with a 8-0 blowout win. The series between GOONS and Örebro was expected to maybe be a little tighter than it was but the numbers don't lie and they were the much better team in that series. It's interesting to see if they could find some keys to break hREDS' insane momentum. 21 scored goals in the opening round of the playoffs definitely boosted their goal scoring confidence, which is a good thing because against a top team in Europe you have to capitalize on every chance you get. Last season we saw this same matchup the quarterfinals as hREDS were able to sweep GOONS. Among the top 10 point producers in the playoffs you can find 9 players from these teams. The first game of the playoffs of course is the biggest factor for that but it doesn't take away the fact that both of these teams include a lot of firepower. Young guns Arttu @laitineen64(Laiitinen) Laitinen and Roope @pikkuroger Bergström have already proved their scoring ability in the playoffs also. You can find a lot of similarities when you compare these two to hREDS' Niklas @NikkeDangles(NikkeNHL)Tukianen in being first a very skilled forward but now being great on the defensive side of things also. In the goalie battle Ville @Supreex Korhonen is ready for the matchup against the best goalie in the league as he made 40 saves in the first round which was most among the goaltenders whose team made to the semifinals. This season has had many positive signs for GOONS but it's not yet their time to advance to the finals. HREDS will go hunt their third straight championship to the finals by shooting GOONS down in 5 games. (2) Frölunda HC vs SAWO ESPORTS (3) TOP SCORER (Playoffs) Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 4 GP, 7+3=10 vs Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen 6 GP, 5+3=8 GOALTENDER (Playoffs) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 4 GP, 4 W, 84,62 SV%, 1.00 GAA, 0 SO vs Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 6 GP, 4 W, 75,00 SV%, 1.83 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 23-4-3 vs 21-7-2 REGULAR SEASON SERIES 2-1 OT, 3-2 Frölunda HC managed their first playoff test with their new lineup very well. Still, a sweep against Roots Gaming was only a start and they will definitely want more from this season, and their semifinal opponent will be tougher to beat. Erik @Eki Tammenpää is in the look for his first goal of the playoffs as surprisingly, he wasn’t able to get one in the Quarterfinals. Like the regular season showed, Paul @PleeMaker Arontie has a hot stick as now in the playoffs he has been able to light the lamp 7 times which is leading the league. Defense also worked well as the Indians surrendered only 1 goal in every game. Frölunda HC are now looking to get to the finals for the eighth season in a row. SAWO ESPORTS was able to get the monkey off their back by winning HAVU Gaming in 6 games after last seasons huge disappointment in the playoffs. HAVU managed to even things up after being 2-0 down in the series but perhaps that only strengthened the SAWO squad - they were put in a tough spot, which they handled very well. Putting away the series after a couple of tough losses will bring experience to the future in similar positions. Against Frölunda they will likely need more goal scoring power than only their wingers, who scored 10 out of SAWO's 12 goals in a 6 games series. Like the whole lineup, Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen had a tough time in the second night of the series against HAVU, but were able to bounce back in games 5 and 6. In this matchup those kind of off games aren't possible if SAWO wants to make it to the finals. This series you could expect to be tighter than the other. SAWO has a very talented team with great ability to defend well and at the same time make incredible plays in the offensive zone. Both of these teams are looking to get all their players involved in scoring. One of the key points will be how well Frölunda will be able to contain Jere @jxrska Laukka and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen. These teams started their season against each other so we will see which team has developed their game more during the season. It all will come down to the fact that Frölunda's scoring power is more well rounded. Frölunda will continue their hunt to get back to the top with a 4-2 series win. See all of these teams in action tonight at the SportsGamer Twitch-channel! Our broadcast is starting with the Pro Finals already at 18:15 CEST!

We're closing down on the main stretch with a bit over a week to go in the season and the standings are looking tight! Conquer Gaming is one of the teams who had a great past week and they've been one of the most pleasant surprises thus far. What will happen moving on? All teams but two have now passed the midway point of the season and with a bit over a week left to go, now is definitely the time to start pushing and collecting those crucial points to make a playoff push. It looks like hREDS and Frölunda HC are running away from the pack a little bit, but elsewhere, it seems like there's so much parity in the league right now which makes for a very exciting last week of action. The week started with a classic battle as HAVU Gaming and Frölunda HC split points in the broadcast games. The week was positive for HAVU in other ways as well when they were able to get full points from Färjestad BK and ended their week against Roots Gaming with three points from those games. Roots had their second full four points night against ZSC Esports and that definitely did them good as right now they are battling for the same spots in the standings with the Swiss group. Perhaps the biggest upset of the week was when Conquer Gaming managed to overcome hREDS twice in their matchups on Thursday evening. hREDS have reigned supreme throughout the season and have definitely been in great form, but the disciplined outing from Conquer led to difficulties converting on chances. hREDS salvaged two points through overtime losses, but for Conquer these additions to their totals were more than welcome, as they now sit at 1.25 points per game, which should grant them a playoff spot if they're able to keep up the pace - something that we could not foresee prior to the season. Also, will this blow to hREDS' confidence have an impact on their performance in their next few games? hREDS wasn't the only top team that Conquer went up against this week, as they also met Frölunda HC earlier. Winning also them in one game makes Conquer's week nothing short of amazing. The fact that they were able to win both recent European Champions in the same week makes them definitely the biggest dark horse so far this season and no one would have expected an outcome like this in any preseason prediction. Frölunda HC had a bit of a slump this week, unusually for them. Despite winning one game with a 7-1 landslide against GOONS, they also lost one game in regulation. GOONS have now played 10 games with Veeti @Wenger(re_Wenger) Paloneva on defense and their record in those games is impressive as they have won eight and lost only two. When you look at the points per game you can right now find the skunk-predators in 5th place in the standings. One the teams that had tough time this week was ZSC Esports. Losing all their four games during this week puts them at a five game losing streak. They have 0.9 points per game after 20 games and that puts them in 14th place in the standings. They will have to figure out how to keep the puck away from their net because they allow 2.7 goals per game, which isn't sustainable if they are looking to climb the standings in the final push of the season. Individually, we've got the scoring race also tightening towards the end of the season. GOONS only played two matchups this past week, so the lead for Arttu @laitineen64 (Laiitinen) Laitinen is diminishing and quite a few players are closing in on him. Paul @PleeMaker Arontie is two points behind with a few games less played, but also SAWO duo Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen and Jere @jxrska Laukka are getting close with four games less at the moment, and these are the kind of guys that can pop off at any given time. PleeMaker ended up being the first player to reach 20 goals with six in total scored in the past week. It also seems like the transition for Joonas @Patzlaf Paatiala to defense is really working out for him. As the highest scoring defenseman he is showcasing both premier production and excellent overall play down low, not that there was ever any doubt about it. However, the most complete player on defense thus far has been ZSC Esports' Max @Toneee9 Tonitz, who we already mentioned last week. The Austrian defenseman is having a real breakout year now in his third Elite campaign with the Swiss club. Among the goaltenders, two names currently rise above the others and we are not surprised. Casper @ICappeI Lundgren and Filip @Faze91- Azri finding their form and look like they'll be peaking at the right time, just in time for playoffs to start. These guys have stood the test of time and are still among the best in the business. Also notably, Christoffer @Tiipponenii (Coffelainen) Eriksson is looking very good for his team HV71 as of late despite the team struggling a bit. Look for them to perhaps steal some points as get down the main stretch of the regular season. Tonight we'll be back with some great ECL Elite action for you guys at 17:45 CEST as usual! We've got JYP Jyväskylä going against SAWO ESPORTS and hREDS - Färjestad BK on tap with Cody @Tougie24 Tougas and Paul @Cyn Anderson to call the action!

The third week of ECL Elite has now been played and the battle starts to get tougher and tougher all the time. Teams have now played 1between 10 and 16 games and we can start to see who is hot this season and who still needs to get their bearings straight for the final push. Like you could expect before the season, it's no surprise that the two teams we find at the top of the standings after about half of the games have been played are hREDS and Frölunda HC. hREDS' week included matchups against SAWO ESPORTS and HAVU Gaming and they showed once again their great teamplay by collecting all 8 possible points and letting opponents score only one goal per game in those matchups. Frölunda HC also played against two teams this week but weren't able to secure all the points as JYP Jyväskylä were able to beat the Indians once in overtime. Thursday night was good for Frölunda HC as they managed to get back to the 4/4 points rhythm against Stargazing. Paul @PleeMaker Arontie showed once again how good of a goal scorer he is by notching 6 goals in 4 games this week. In third place if you look at points per game you can find Örebro Hockey, who have had a great start to their season, quite surprisingly. Winning hREDS in week two clearly gave them some positive energy as they were able to win five out of six games this week, continuing their great run. Especially their start to the week was absolutely incredible as Örebro won both ZSC Esports and Falun Coal Miners without allowing a single goal. Elie @eliekamel87(Eliekamel_) Kamel in net was a brick wall, and secured four consecutive shutouts to his name. They ended their week against SAWO ESPORTS by splitting wins and both walking away with two points. Speaking of SAWO, they had a heavy workload this week with eight games to play on total. This weeks disappointment for them was a loss against YMCA Esports, but on the other hand they were able to make comeback against Färjestad BK in the first game as they were down 2-0 when there was only 30 seconds left in the game. Eventually, SAWO won in overtime. They have managed to grab 18 points in 14 games which means that they are in 4th place in the standings tied with Färjestad BK when you look at the points per game. After a little break from the games also IQUE made their comeback this week by playing against three opponents. The week definitely wasn't what they were looking for because they ended up winning only one of those six games. Now IQUE is sitting at last place in the standings and has only got seven points in their 12 games played. If GOONS had gotten ahead of the pack a bit early, they've now slowed down their pace a bit to allow other teams to catch up in terms of games played. However, it still seems like Arttu @laitineen64 (Laiitinen) Laitinens production pace is unmatched at the moment. The young winger is scoring at a pace of over two points per game and had a great seven point double-header against Conquer Gaming last week, putting him ahead of the competition. Also worth noting is ZSC's rookie Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg, who sits in 5th place with 9+14=23 points - not bad for a rookie! Someone who is struggling a bit along with his team is IQUE captain Janne @Nieppii Niemelä, who only has eight points through his first twelve games, and sits at a -6 as we speak. There's still time to turn things around, however, and something he still does very well is stay on the puck and draw penalties, now IQUE only needs to find a way to turn up the production. Defensively, the last week was a show of excellence by Örebro Hockey as a unit. We already touched on the topic, but the feat of four consecutive shutouts truly is incredible at this level of competition. Örebro isn't known for such things, and we're used to seeing them play a fast counter-attack hockey, and not really being one of the best teams at completely shutting down opposition. Anyway, a great effort by the entire team and especially goaltender @eliekamel87. In terms of production down low, the most efficient defenseman thus far has been ZSC's Max @Toneee9 Tonitz, who have managed to keep up a very consistent pace, almost getting his name on the scoresheet in every game played. If the Swiss are looking to find playoff pace this season, he'll need to continue his great play.

The second week of the Elite season is coming to an end today and the past week certainly shed some light on questions we might have had for some teams, but very much still lies unanswered. Many teams that were expected to be in the playoffs are still yet to heat up.  Last Sundays early broadcast games included GOONS challenging hREDS and HV71 playing against YMCA Esports. hREDS dominated their games involving Filip @Faze91- Azri's  two shutouts. GOONS have had a tougher start then maybe expected. The still to be identified badgerlike creatures made a change to their lineup for their games against Falun Coal Miners as they replaced Joel @jtorro-_- Tourunen with new player Veeti @Wenger(re_Wenger) Paloneva who was added last week from Pro's FILADELPHIA ACADEMY. YMCA Esports and HV71 split points in their games by both getting a win in regulation time. HV71 had a pretty decent week as they were able to collect full points against fellow Swedish team Färjestad BK and took hREDS all the way to overtime in the second game between them.  HAVU Gaming has had an incredibly tough start with their new roster. The multiple European Champion has only won two of their eight first games of the season. One player from the black and green who is still waiting to heat up is Ilmari @Buantso(Puantso) Lehkonen who has only one goal to his name thus far. That goal was big for HAVU as it was an overtime game winning goal against JYP. We have seen HAVU doing some rotation early on and they still don't seem to be sticking with one ensemble, so it'll be interesting to see what they go with in the end. JYP stole three points out of HAVU but got no points from Conquer Gaming on Thursday, which was an upset for them. Speaking about Conquer Gaming they started season on a five game losing streak but were able to turn the tide and right now are on five game winning streak.  Roots Gaming ended up having a six game losing streak after winning Conquer in their first games of the season, but that ended against Frölunda HC which is a big steal for the still very young team. Linus @Limu95 Christiansson has been on fire by scoring 10 goals and 16 points to this point. More can still be expected with the highly efficient shooting the guy is doing - 52.6% going in at the moment. You have to also mention Niko @vVoDee Vottonen who has scored 5 goals which is most among defenders. One of the teams who has had a decent start for the season is ZSC Esports who sits at 5th place in the standings when you look at points per game. Points from seven out of eight games is a great feat thus far and if they keep going, they'll be in the playoffs for sure. Örebro Hockey has split wins with every opponent so far and the biggest win out of those games came against hREDS, handing the defending champions their first loss of the season. The hero for Örebro in that game was Jan-Mikael @Janski (jansku23)Aittoniemi who scored all three of his teams goals.  It's tough to have a complete outlook on the standings when teams have various amounts of games played, and the same goes even more for the individual stats. Arttu @laitineen64(laiitinen) Laitinen is still leading the point producers with his 26 points in 14 games. The two other guys in the top 3 are Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen and Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen. Both guys have two points per game as they have 20 points in 10 games. In total, hREDS have scored 3 goals per game which is most in the league. Another guy you have to mention is Kevin @Keuschemisch Berg who has 15 points in 8 games and has had a great start to his rookie season in Elite.  Last seasons top defender Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen has continued where he left off and leads all defensemen with 14 points in 10 games. Vvodee isn't the only defender who has found a way to light the lamp this season as there are four different defensemen who have notched five goals thus far. Among goalies, this weeks mention goes to cover gamer Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen, who leads the pack with his great 87.14 SV% and added two shutouts to his name against HAVU Gaming this week. Remember to join us tonight in the last broadcast of the week! We'll start off at 17:45 CEST with two great clashes between teams desperate to add to their point totals.

We're finally inching closer towards the start of the new Elite season and excitement is in the air! We'll get our season previews started by looking over teams that we expect to finish outside of the playoff race first. Season information To find out about the prize pool specifics, check out our earlier prize pool info article. For a look at the whole ECL framework, check out the sign-ups article. Notable dates for the ECL '22: Spring Elite season: Regular season: 10.4-25.5. Playoffs: Quarterfinals: 30.5-2.6. Semifinals: 5.-8.6. Live Finals: 17.-18.6. Grand finals (if needed): 19.6. Default gamedays for the ECL '22: Spring Elite division will be on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday with feature broadcasts on every gameday at the SportsGamer Twitch at 17:45 CEST on Sundays and 19:45 CEST on Mondays and Wednesdays. Stay tuned for the season opening broadcast on 10.4. You can access the rulebook, schedule, standings, statistics and full rosters from the ECL ‘22: Spring Elite league page. Socials Here's an update to the social media instructions. Our sponsors this season are Kouvolan Lakritsi, St Hockey & Wilhelm. Twitter: When posting tweets of your lineups, matchups, recaps, clips, articles - or any other content you might want to create - please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @SportsGamerGG #ECL22Spring #NHL22 #esports #kouvolanlakritsi #MukanaWilhelm Instagram: When posting on Instagram, please make sure to tag the following accounts and hashtag: @SportsGamerGG #ECL22Spring #NHL22 #esports #kouvolanlakritsi #MukanaWilhelm Note: It is very helpful and critical for us to succeed in getting our partners tagged, so they get the necessary mentions and interaction to validate their participation in the future. That being said, it is understandable that there may be circumstances due to your other partners where you are unable to tag competition etc. Your support is appreciated. As there are quite a few hashtags by now, especially from a Twitter perspective with limited characters, we recommend using at least #ECL22Spring in the text part of the tweet and leave the sponsor tags for the end. If you need to cut out tags, remove #esports and #NHL22. For Instagram this shouldn't be an issue. Teams out of the playoff picture - on the outside looking in After an unusually short break between ECL season, we're back already, continuing into the Spring on our intense virtual hockey fiesta that is the ECL '22 Spring season. Our other divisions have already seen their start, but we'll still have to wait for one week to get the action started in the crown jewel, the pinnacle of European virtual hockey - the ECL Elite. In the winter season, hREDS were crowned the Champions and they punched their ticket to the first ever Grand Finals, while simultaneously making history as the first ever squad to secure consecutive ECL titles. Now it's time to shift our sights towards the future and take a look at what the Spring season and an influx of fresh talent could bring us. Will a new challenger emerge or are we in for another duel between Frölunda HC and the reigning Champions? Can a team like YMCA Esports snap out of their downward spiral and gain back the form of their glory days? What about the welcome comeback of Falun Coal Miners - how will they fare in their first strides on ECL ice since 2018? In this first part of our season preview, we'll be taking a look at teams that are expected to be out of the playoff picture - on the outside looking in. These rankings are made based on an average score from a number of panelists and doesn't exactly represent the individual views of the writers. 11. Stargazing (Written by @jahajaha93) ECL '22 Winter Pro season: Semifinals (promoted through Qualifiers) Stargazing is one of those squads that have climbed the divisional ranks in quick pace, after first emerging in Core back in ECL 12, and taking the Pro division by storm in ECL '22 Winter, they are now in the European top 16. Already that is a success story unlike any other in the ECL history books to this date, but they also look to be in somewhat of a decent position to challenge for a potential playoff spot this season. The starting lineup will see no changes, which should serve the newcomers well despite the lack of Elite experience in their ranks. The forward trio Miro @Flopper71 Heikkinen - Oskari @ose16 Juntunen - Miikka @xColeslaww Kolehmainen is lethal and should have no issue whatsoever translating their game to a higher level, whereas Toni @Pirtsa89 Pirttimäki's ability as an Elite netminder has already been questioned and proven back in ECL 12 with IQUE. Defense is the biggest question mark for this squad, Niklas @Bobiraataja (nikhaa27) Haataja is a highly touted prospect with an excellent stick on defense, while Kalle @James (Jamechkin) Riihelä possesses great puck skills acquired while playing on offense, but can they manage to gel together for a defensive unit that is sufficient at this level? Player to watch: Miro @Flopper71 Heikkinen The left winger has a knack for scoring big goals and coming in clutch at the most important moments. The chemistry up front for these guys is great, so realistically any one of their forwards could be their finisher, but the 200-foot play and clutch ability of Flopperii- earns him this spot over his linemates. 12. Falun Coal Miners ECL '22 Winter Elite season: Semifinals Falun came to replace Granit Gaming in Elite and are now making their return after a long absence. The only skater left from the Granit lineup is 1/2 of last season's cover player duo Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt. Three players came from Northern Ascendancy, who were relegated to Pro after last season. Last but not least, the Swedish group managed to get Andrè @Foppatofflan Liljegren, reuniting with several of his old friends after a season with Färjestad BK. He will pla a huge role in how this team is going to play next season and has a lot of responsibility with he puck. It will be also interesting to see foppatofflan and Connor @MartindalexC Martindale playing together after a short break. Captain l-Furyan-l is definitely one of the best defensemen in the division at supporting offense. We can expect Jonas @poliskontroll Lindström to share goaltending responsibilities with Reittu @Roisto999 Hynynen and Pontus @LastMandalorian Duvefelt, so there's lots of room for rotation down low. Player to watch: Jim @SadaPoika Leskinen Last season definitely wasn’t what he expected even though individially, Sada had a good season as he was 9th in the league when it comes to goals scoring. Has a lot of experience and is looking to finally elevate himself to the discussion of the very best in the league with this team. 13. HV71 ECL '22 Winter Elite season: 14th HV71 avoided relegation to Pro by winning their relegation series against RCTIC in game 7. The Swedish team hailing from Jönköping had changes in their defense because both defensemen from last season transferred to Rögle BK. An interesting addition to the HV71 roster is talented Anton @antoniomannen004(antoniomannen_) Svensander ,who played last season with Granit Gaming and got a taste of the ECL Elite semifinals there. Their reaction with defensive changes could very well have been warranted because HV71 surrendered 96 goals in 30 games last season, which was the most in the league by a clear margin. There could be potential for better season but also goaltending has to get better. Player to watch: Tuukka @Tukexi(MATILAISKA_) Matilainen Had a great Elite debut last season individually and scored 20 goals in 30 games and produced most points in his team. Was on fire especially in the relegation series by scoring eight goals in seven games including one hat-trick. Like the entire team, is looking to take the next step this season. 14. Örebro Hockey ECL '22 Winter Elite season: 11th Last season wasn't good for Örebro. After being one of favourites to have a breakout season, they were not able to get to the playoffs. For this season Örebro got Väinö @Pikkardz(pikkarii) Pikkarainen from Dynastia, and he is definitely a very mechanically skilled forward who will suit their system well. This team has many dangerous individuals especially in the offensive zone and Örebro is one the best counterattacking teams in the league. I think the key point for these guys next season will be how they can shut their doors in the defensive zone. Last season this team allowed three goals per game, which was second most in the league and is too much. You can find a lot of experience from Örebro's defense as captain Tero @Terodee Dahlström is a season 1 ECL veteran. Player to watch: Väinö @Pikkardz Pikkarainen The skilled forward is back at the highest level. @Pikkardz already has some Elite experience split between KOVA Esports, Almost Famous and Tunnel Vision. Last season he spent in Pro with Dynastia and was a massive offensive producer there. Their season ended in the quarterfinals and now this young gun is looking for a new chance to shine among the best players. 15. Conquer Gaming ECL '22 Winter Elite season: 15th Last season, conquer had acquired a trio from Otukset and their expectations were set high. In the end, their season didn’t go how Conquer wanted and they ended up battling for their Elite spot in the relegation series, which they managed to win. Now, there's a wind of change blowing as the entire Otukset trio has left and the team has replacements coming in. An interesting new face on offense is Jere @Jerax13 Hellström who came from GHETTO FIREBIRDS and has some extnesive previous history with several other Conquer players. The question mark for Conquer is their defense and Eren @Kucherov86(jalkkin-) Yalcin needs to take some big leadership there. In the offense once again team captain Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho needs to take big role on point producing without forgetting to tighten up the middle defensively. It's hard to see that this season would be any easier for Conquer, but we'll have to wait and see. Player to watch: Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck A solid Elite goalie that made some big saves for his team in the relegation series. Has a lot of experience and even though he is a goalie, could bring some ideas to the skaters as well. Once again, has to be on fire throughout to keep Conquer away from the relegation spots. 16. YMCA Esports ECL '22 Winter Elite season: 12th Last season ended luckily for YMCA as they ended up having same amount of points that Northern Ascendancy and HV71 but didn’t have to play relegation series as they already secured spot in the Elite for this season by being 12th by tiebreakers. A very positive thing for YMCA is that they will get to play this season with the exact same roster as the last one. That wasn’t guaranteed for any Elite team because especially this offseason was a wild one. It's interesting to see how the chemistry has developed during the offseason, but practice has shown some shaky form. Their start needs to be way better than that of last season, when they only got three points out of their first eight games. YMCA's weakness is that they feel a bit dull at the moment and are missing that last piece of the puzzle that would elevate the game and make them a serious threat. Las season, their scoring was atrocious at 1.5 goals per game, so they need new ways to finish. Especially getting the defensemen Jukka @Jugeh_ Salokoski and Julius @Exel56(julius97_) Rissanen more involved with the offensive game. Player to watch: Ben @benu(benuh_) Rinnet Saved over 300 shots last season and had the best saving percentage out of the goalies whose teams didn’t make it to the playoffs. Has to make big saves this season again if YMCA wants to keep their Elite spot. You can expect the next part of our three part season preview to drop already this evening! In the meantime, please let us know what you thought about this one and if our ranking looks similar to yours, we'd love to hear from you regardless!

SportsGamers, It's time to put yet another exciting season of the best virtual hockey in Europe in the rearview. This season, we had also an influx of fresh blood into the division with Roots Gaming, HV71 and Djurgården Hockey all having their first sniff of action in the top 16. On the other hand, we also saw the rivalry between top teams hREDS and Frölunda HC grow deeper, while trusty old HAVU Gaming was once again forced out of the battle for the brightest positions. One of the most exciting storylines of the season was the explosive growth of the talent in SAWO ESPORTS, who against all expectations managed to grab a #2 seed into the playoffs, and as a result were rewarded with several individual player awards at the end of the season. For some, this season will be the end of their time at the top for now, whereas others will come back in a few weeks time to continue their quest for greatness and a ticket to the Grand Finals. Regular season Throughout the regular season, we saw some fluctuation in the standings. Characteristic to the NHL 22 game, some games were perhaps tighter than usual, resulting in several somewhat surprising outcomes in individual games. In the long run, however, also luck and fortunate bounces have to be earned, which led to hREDS being the sole team to dominate the standings throughout. As stated, the biggest success story of the season was SAWO ESPORTS, who surprised everyone with their very mature play despite being such a young team. In fact, SAWO were the best defensive team in the regular season with a GAA of only 1. At the other end of the spectrum, we've got HV71 with a GAA of 3.2, which is interesting for a team that has been notorious for their structured defensive play. This season, we expected to see GOONS cement their place at the top in contention for the title along with the greats Frölunda HC, HAVU Gaming and hREDS, but that storyline didn't unfold quite as expected. GOONS acquired talented young centerman Arttu @laitineen64 Laitinen from IQUE in the offseason to bolster their offense, but their play never really seemed to click as expected. Instead, we saw IQUE take some great steps forward as they had greatly improved on the defensive side, which had been one of their biggest problems in previous seasons. Their acquisitions of Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko and Jean-Patrick @Patsberg_ Kotonen proved to work out excellently as both managed to improve, and are looking as formidable top player competitors moving forward. The Swedish side Granit Gaming gathered a real super team for their push to glory, but at leas their regular season ended up being a minor disappointment. We were certainly used to seeing the great chemistry between cover gamer duo Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann and Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt, but while they were great on the offense, the team struggled a bit in keeping the puck out of their own net at times, which led to them missing out on very important points at times. Outside of the playoff picture, teams like Roots Gaming and ZSC Esports fell short, eventually by quite a large margin, but their campaigns can be considered successful nonetheless. On the other hand, Örebro Hockey and YMCA Esports finished in no man's land and would have liked to do way better based on their starting point. Northern Ascendancy, HV71 and Conquer Gaming would head to relegation battles, whereas Djurgården Hockey would face direct relegation to end their first stint in the Elite division. Playoffs Quarterfinals didn’t let anybody cold as for example we had battle between two of the biggest dynasty´s in ECL history, Frölunda HC and HAVU Gaming. Every tight game ended up going for indians and they became second team going to the semifinals by a sweep with hREDS getting it done as well against GOONS. Quarterfinals also offered us one of the biggest surprises of ECL 22 Winter. After great regular season second seed SAWO ESPORTS didn’t get their game going against Granit Gaming. After being down 3-0 Sawo found a way to get things going on the other way by winning two next games. This wasn’t enough as Swedish guys punched their ticket to semifinals in game 6 with a 2-1 win. Fourth team going to the semifinals was the other Swedish group Färjestad. They got things done as well in six games against regular season surpriser IQUE. Like Sawo also IQUE started a little comeback after being down 3-0 but couldn’t finish it.If you have to choose one player who was most important for their team you have to go with Andreas @affelj96(affelj-) Ljundberg. Färjestad BK´s winger found a way to light the lamp 9 times when the whole team scored 10 goals in quarterfinals. You have to give credit also to the whole Granit Gaming squad because beating talented Sawo wasn’t an easy task. Other semifinal pair Frölunda HC-Färjestad BK wasn’t first between these two but again the result was the same. Frölunda had the control in the series whole time and found a way to get in to the ECL Elite finals in 5 games. Fans got their wanted trilogy as hREDS was on another level in the semifinals too against Granit Gaming like they were the whole season. Filip @Faze91- Azri continued where he left last season in these playoffs and one of his highlights this season was 2 shoutouts in a row to start the series against Granit. In the finals we hoped for a long series but first day didn’t go in that way. HREDS continued were they left last season by winning all three games and led the series 3-0 after first night. It wouldn’t been unfair if Frölunda would have gotten at least their first win in the series that night because games were played good by both and there weren´t big margins between these two. Second day started with game 4 and Frölunda came to the ice with lots of energy. They didn’t look team that were down 3-0 and Paul @PleeMaker Arontie was the key for their first victory against hREDS by scoring three goals and one assist. Frölunda gained a lot of momentum from that game but it wasn´t enough. After Frölunda tied game 5 minutes before third period ending everybody expected to see overtime action but that didn’t happen as Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen scored a real buzzer beater only second before time expiring. With that goal hREDS became the first back-to-back champion in ECL Elite and they also got their ticket to the Grand finals. Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen for SAWO ESPORTS really put on a clinic in net all season long. There's no overstating how great he was for his team despite their amazing defensive efforts. Also, it's not like SAWO ESPORTS managed to suffocate all of the oppositions chances, uhNikke certainly did it all, from backstopping his team steadily throughout to timely gamesavers when needed the most, this man deserves the Goaltender of the season title above anyone else this season. Some othe goalies worth the mention were ZSC goaltender Reto @afc_Tschitsch Ulrich, who despite missing out on the playoffs, managed to push his team to their highest Elite finish yet, playoffs next perhaps? On the other hand, your usual suspects Filip @Faze91- Azri and Johan @McSavid Rundqvist were as strong as ever for their teams, guaranteeing success and the big saves when called upon. There is no denying that Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen was one of the biggest factors in hREDS' domination this season. Stats don’t lie as this youngster was the top point producer among defencemen in both the playoffs and the regular season in his second season with hREDS. You have to have a great defensive pair to even have the possibility of producing those numbers, but it isn't a coincidence that after this guy came to hREDS they have won almost every possible tournament. There were a lot of great defenders this season including top defender trophy winner @xDoumi. You have to mention Tuukka @Tuukka.R(KingOfApes) Röpelinen who played once again a very solid season throughout. The semifinal matchup Frölunda HC - Färjestad BK also included two great defense pairs. From the regular season you have to mention Wille @willekunq Juntunen and Putte @Putteekiing Unasin, both of these guys scored 11 goals which was most among defensemen. When you talk about top forwards this season you have to mention the whole trio of hREDS. Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen scored an incredible 47 goals in the regular season and was the top point producer in both the playoffs and the regular season. Two dynamic duos who also deserve credit from this season comes from SAWO ESPORTS and Frölunda HC. Erik @Eki Tammenpää and Paul @PleeMaker Arontie were enjoyable to watch just like rookie of the season Jere @jxrska Laukka and top forward nominee Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen. With the season now being in the rearview, we once again take this chance to congratulate the decorated players and teams of the season. The spring season is just over a week away, so it's time to sharpen up the skates and warm up the thumbsticks again. Puck drop isn't far away!

After a couple of months we have finally arrived at terminus of the Winter season - only two teams remain. This season has again offered us some big surprises and exciting moments. It's been a grind throughout, but we're now seeing the new ECL El Clasico get a Finals trilogy, when hREDS and Frölunda HC will clash for the third time in a row. We will see what the future holds for us, but it's also interesting that the winner of this series will be the first one to claim their ticket to the June Grand Finals. If one team manages to win both the ECL Winter and Spring seasons, they will automatically be crowned the Grand Champions. Tune in for the ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals this weekend! The broadcast will start at 19:30 CET on both Friday and Thursday. You'll find us at www.twitch.tv/SportsGamerGG with Cody "Tougie" Tougas and Paul "Cyn" Anderson in the booth to call the action! hREDS (1) vs Frölunda HC (3) TOP SCORER Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen 9 GP, 7+10=17 vs Paul @PleeMaker Arontie 9 GP, 7+8=15 GOALTENDER Filip @Faze91- Azri 9 GP, 8W, 80,28 SV%, 1.56 GAA, 2 SO vs Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 9 GP, 8W, 83,33 SV%, 1.22 GAA, 1 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 25-2-3 vs 22-5-3 REGULAR SEASON SERIES 0-1, 4-5OT After winning the regular season and dominating all player statistics, the red beasts are looking for their second consecutive ECL Elite title, this time not YET crowning them the European Champions, but earning them a spot in the Grand Finals, awaiting in June. In the semifinals, hREDS were able to stop Granit Gamings dream for their first final spot in the highest league of Europe by besting the Swedish group 4-1. Like the whole season also in those games every guy from red and black jerseys had their shining moments and proved that there are no missing pieces to the puzzle that is this team. hREDS made their Elite debut in ECL 10, and since then, every season they have managed to get into the semifinals. This season, hREDS got to start with the same lineup as last season. The main changes they made after the ECL 11 season were on the left side where they got Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen and Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen to boost their squad. Especially the latter one of these two has been able to find a new level to his game in hREDS. There's also some history of player movement betwee the two finalist teams, as Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila played for hREDS in ECL 10 and 11, but left for Frölunda HC after his tenure there. Last season, he made his debut in the new jersey and he's had time to make both good and bad memories in this squad - first losing to his old team in the ECL 12 Finals, after which they made up for that with a FCL 2021 Finals win in the rematch. This regular season was the most difficult in a long time - if not ever - for Frölunda HC. Despite that, the multiple European champion was able to secure the third seed and go into the playoffs just behind SAWO ESPORTS and their final rivals hREDS. By the numbers, it looks like the playoffs have been a cakewalk for Frölunda, but especially the sweep against HAVU Gaming looked like a way tighter series than the result would suggest. Their semifinals opponent Färjestad BK was familiar for the Indians because it was actually the third time in four seasons those teams went head-to-head in the semifinals. The record from those games is a miserable story for Färjestad BK as Frölunda has a 12-2 stranglehold on that rivalry series. Frölunda has been a dynasty over the last few years and there's no denying that. Since ECL 7, they have three ECL titles and they've appeared in the finals every season. However, even this group hasn't been able to get two championships in a row. Their offensive trio has stuck together throughout the years, which definitely gives them the edge of superior chemistry, and it's easier to trust the guy next to you when having all that experience together. Defensively, they've seen some changes like mentioned earlier, but Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta has been a lock down low since ECL 7, with one season of absence in ECL 8. @loimmu centerman Joonas @PatzlafPaatiala also have some memories together with a few hREDS players way back from the days with Carlsberg HC. All ECL seasons combined, Frölunda and hREDS have clashed eight times in the regular season. The record is 6-2 in favor of Frölunda including this seasons wins in both games in the season series. A strange coincidence between these two is that both ECL Finals and the FCL finals have ended in a sweep in either way. Every one of these series have been expected to be really tight but it seems that in every series the first win has started a snowball effect and the winner has gained the momentum. We will see which way this series starts to go but maybe now it's time for us to see a longer series than four games. Two very skilled teams are going up against each other again but right now it feels like hREDS has a slight advantage on their side. Prediction: hREDS will become the first team to win back-to-back ECL Elite champion titles with a 4-2 series win. Read more: ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals: "You haven't seen the best of us yet" - with Paul @PleeMaker Arontie from Frölunda HC Read more: ECL '22 Winter Elite Finals: "We have some aces up our sleeves" - with Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen (KingOfApes_) from hREDS

We are in for several very exciting series straight from the get-go. It's been a very tough season for several teams, and there's whispers in the wind about a new champion on the come up, perhaps. We're mere hours away from puckdrop for the first series of this seasons playoffs, and it's really tough to know what to expect. Honestly, we've got more serious contenders than ever before, with the tough times the likes of GOONS and HAVU Gaming have fallen into, and the challenge that SAWO ESPORTS have posed, there's no telling what is going to happen, so you'll have to tune in with us tonight at 19:45 CET. hREDS (1) vs GOONS (8) TOP SCORER (Regular season) Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen 30 GP, 47+23=70 vs Roope @pikkuroger Bergström 30 GP, 32+21=53 GOALTENDER (Regular season) Filip @Faze91- Azri 30 GP, 25 W, 83,26 SV%, 1.2 GAA, 8 SO vs Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu 30 GP, 17 W, 80,26 SV%, 2 GAA, 5 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 25-2-3 vs 17-9-4 REGULAR SEASON SERIES 1-2 OT, 3-0 After winning their first ECL Elite title last season it feels like hREDS have found a new level as now they were able to win the regular season in ECL 22 Winter too. The only team that were able to beat them in both regular season games were their last season finals opponent Frölunda HC. Maybe the best way to describe the REDS domination is to take a look at some of the leagues player stats. As crazy as it seems, hREDS has all of their forwards in the top 3 point producers and both defenders at the top of the standings when it comes to defenders scoring. A top team also needs a top goalie and Filip @Faze91- Azri has been that for hREDS with the second best saving percentage and most wins in the league. The one thing they could use some improvement on is faceoffs, in which they performed below the 50% level throughout the 30-game regular season. The regular season didn't go as planned for GOONS but the main thing was that they managed to secure the last playoff spot. In the first round they have huge mountain to climb against the best European team there is right now. In their inaugural Elite season last year, the team faltered in the Quarterfinals at the hands of Farjestad BK, and they're determined to do better now. Roope @pikkuroger Bergströms goal scoring power has been their biggest strength in offense. The youngster lit the lamp a total of 32 times, which put him at fourth best in the league. One thing that was a weakness for GOONS were their powerplay - a 6% success rate will not fly at the highest level of European virtual hockey. In the regular season, GOONS was able to cause hREDS one of their five losses. In the first game, GOONS managed to steal a 2-1 win with a last minute OT goal and in the second game hREDS did shut their doors by winning 3-0. This series can be a really tight battle if GOONS are able to bump up their game. We will see how experienced netminder Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu matches up against @Faze91- in the goalie battle because it will be a big difference maker in this series. As I already mentioned about GOONS, their powerplay hasn't shined but when you add the fact that hREDS has had the best penalty kill percentage with 96.55%, you can't understate the importance of special units in this series. In the physical department, these teams couldn't be further from each other in terms of aggression level. hREDS has had less hits than any other team with 165 and on the other side GOONS has had second most of them with 384. Every mistake could be costly in this series with both having skillful forwards. Even if GOONS could get their game going better than it was in regular season it's impossible for them to match hREDS right now. The reigning champion will continue their journey towards a possible back to back with a 4-1 series win. SAWO ESPORTS (2) vs Granit Gaming (7) TOP SCORER (Regular season) Jere @jxrska Laukka 30 GP, 31+32=63 vs Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund 30 GP, 22+28=50 GOALTENDER (Regular season) Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen 30 GP, 23 W, 89,8 SV%, 0.93 GAA, 11 SO vs Edvin @Thunborg5 Thunborg 16 GP, 9 W, 78,23 SV%, 2 GAA, 4 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 25-4-1 vs 18-10-2 REGULAR SEASON SERIES 1-2, 2-1 OT What a run SAWO ESPORTS is on in their new colors. It's been great to watch these young talents come together to form a squad that could truly challenge those at the top. One of biggest reasons for the Karelian's making it to the top 2 in the regular season was their goalie Niklas @uhNikke Nieminen. In his second season as a starting goalie in Elite, the talented netminder topped the stats in both best save percentage and lowest GAA. The whole defensive game has to be on fire when your team only lets in one goal per game and their offense hasn't left any questions unanswered either, since both wingers can be found in the top 10 point producers and center Aleksi @MozjaTG(mozjayh) Kähkönen had the third most assists. Compared to Granit Gaming, SAWO's players have less playoff games played. The Finnish guys still have experience from tough games but winning in this first round would definitely boost their confidence for the future. Granit Gaming was one of the few teams that managed to steal points from SAWO in the regular season, and despite that being some weeks ago, it could be an indication of Granit's style of play matching up very well against SAWO. This talented Swedish lineup will in for a tough test right away in their first playoff round together. Their offense has a good balance in this lineup as scoring is divided very evenly, showing that they have several go-to options. From the defense you can also find a good mix of offensive skill and defensive awareness. Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann and Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt are known for their great chemistry and again it's evident from the defenders scoring leaders. In goal they have two potential guys but right now it looks like Reittu @Roisto999 Hynynen will get the start in the playoffs. He joined Granit mid-season and will face the best goalie in the regular season in this matchup. One decisive factor is how well they can defend against the leagues third most effective offense. The fact that Granit was able to get more points out of the regular season series is making this matchup even more exciting. These starting points will foretell long series for us. The special units differential for these teams isn't that big so if some scouting has been done to expose potential weaknesses, that could make a big difference. SAWO's balance between offense and defense will be a little bit too much for Granit and the hungry young guys will go to the semifinals in 6 games. Frölunda HC (3) vs HAVU Gaming (6) TOP SCORER (Regular season) Erik @Eki Tammenpää 30 GP, 38+24=62 vs Juho @Juigelson Kinnunen 30 GP, 30+31=61 GOALTENDER (Regular season) Casper @ICappeI Lundgren 28 GP, 21 W, 78,3 SV%, 1.82 GAA, 6 SO vs Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos 30 GP, 10 W, 79,39 SV%, 1.69 GAA, 3 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 22-5-3 vs 20-7-3 REGULAR SEASON MATCHUP 2-1 OT, 1-4 This is going to be a wild one for sure. The history between these two can't be missed and anyone who's been along for the ride is surely beside themselves about seeing such a delicious matchup this early on. Countless titles have been a fight between these ensembles, and now, due to other strong outfits emerging to contest them, we find Frölunda and HAVU going up against each other in the Quarterfinals. Several established teams have found themselves struggling with the meta this season, but Frölunda has been among those who have adjusted successfully. Perhaps a bit uncharacteristically, Erik @Eki Tammenpää has been the guy found in front of the net, shoveling pucks into the twine, while the rest of the team have found roles fitting that style of play. Make no mistake, however, Frölunda is able to transition smoothly into their possession play and patient controlling of the pace, but they are definitely able to do the dirty work that the game needs from time to time. On defense, Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila and Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta have been rock solid, and especially the latter stands out as one of the most accurate and reliable breakout guys in the league. In net, we know that Casper @ICappeI Lundgren is perhaps the most solid performer you'll find when it comes to big games and having him as backstopper definitely gives this team a boost. HAVU Gaming have been falling into some tough times for quite some time already, but somehow they always find a way to be competitive, no matter how difficult the going looks from the outside. Captain Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha is the definition of a heart-and-soul player, who will do everything in his might to make his team succeed together with his centerman Risto @Dominointi Järvi. The solid play of this duo has allowed for new recruit Juho @Juigelson Kinnunen to blossom, but a more sustainable symbiosis between the three would be required for postseason success. We'll have to see what they can do when it's time for puckdrop. On the back-end, we've been treated with the exceptional play of Wille @willekunq Juntunen and Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto, who continue to be one of the most complete duos in the league. HAVU can go one of two ways when picking a netminder, but we know that both guys will get the job done in a tough spot. Both clubs walked away with a victory in the regular season series, but from this matchup, only one can come away unscathed. Frölunda looked a bit out of focus in the regular season from time to time, but at this point, they will definitely bring it all, especially against a dear rival like HAVU Gaming. Based on what we've seen this season, it would be a surprise if HAVU would be able to overcome the Indians in a long series, but you never know. We'll throw caution to the wind with a bold 4-1 series prediction in favor of Frölunda HC. Färjestad BK (4) vs IQUE (5) TOP SCORER (Regular season) Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg 30 GP, 29+21=50 vs Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko 30 GP, 24+22=46 GOALTENDER (Regular season) Johan @McSavid Rundqvist 26 GP, 19 W, 80,57 SV%, 2.12 GAA, 3 SO vs Teemu @ITemeI Laukkanen 30 GP, 21 W, 83,22 SV%, 1.63 GAA, 7 SO REGULAR SEASON RECORD 22-7-1 vs 21-8-1 REGULAR SEASON MATCHUP 0-5, 2-0 The semifinals have been a curse for Färjestad, who have made the playoffs consistently over the past few seasons, but have never managed to cross that treshold that would solidify them among the top contenders. Losing a couple of key pieces over the offseason and coming together in their final formation mere days before puckdrop for the regular season caused them to be underestimated, but once again, the squad under command of Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson came through, collecting a franchise high 45 points in the regular season and gaining them a favourable position going into the quarterfinals. The Swedish outfit looks really good in time for the playoffs and their offense with Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg and André @Foppatofflan Liljegren flanking Maise is certainly more balanced than ever before. Defensively, however, the team has had some fluctuation along the way, causing them to bleed a bit too much along the way. That is one thing they are hoping to get in check heading into this matchup, since their opponent has the skill to capitalize on any given opportunity. The excellent performance of IQUE is one of the greatest surprises of the regular season. They had to make some changes over the offseason and while their recruits were talented, none could expect that they'd be even stronger than before. It's been a great team effort all season long for IQUE, but one player that has definitely exceeded expectations is centerman Aaro @Ikavalko Ikavalko, who joined the club after spending a few seasons away from the Elite spotlight, and immediately set a personal high in scoring, while staying responsible on defense too. Captain Janne @Nieppii Niemelä is a beast with the puck and plays a big part in generating offense for the team, while they've been able to lock things up defensively thanks to great efforts by Nico @zNico Tuoreniemi and Jean-Patrick @Patsberg_ Kotonen down low. One of the greatest success stories has been the development of goalie Teemu @ITemeI Laukkanen, who has bounced back nicely after some time away from the spotlight. This is a series that is a real coin toss. Färjestad is a team that tends to be underestimated, but they prove doubters wrong time and time again, and it feels like we are at a similar crossroad again. IQUE has all the skill to win this series, but there's an intuition that FBK will not let it go. Therefore, we're predicting a tough seven game series, ending in a FBK win. Join us tonight for the ECL Winter '22 Elite Quarterfinals at www.twitch.tv/sportsgamergg. We're kicking things off at 19:00 CET with a season recap, after which it's time for puckdrop!

Another week of ECL Elite has been played and I don’t think the action thus far has left anyone hanging. We are getting closer to the mid-season point as every team has now played against five or six opponents. This week, the last teams got their first wins of the season but we still got one team without any losses as hREDS won all of their six games this week, continuing undefeated. When we are talking about hot teams there is no denying that SAWO ESPORTS is one of those. Right now, they are at 2nd place in the standings and have won eight games in a row. They have three losses under their belt but two of those were against hREDS and one against IQUE, equally hot teams. All of those games were one goal games. Goal scoring hasn't been a problem for these young guys as both of their wingers Jere @jxrska Laukka and Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen have snuck into the top 5 of goal scorers within the league. Especially @Vattuyy was on fire last week with 13 goals in eight games. Another team that has just kept improving their game is IQUE. They started the week with full points against Conquer Gaming which isn't that surprising as they are right now manning the last place in the league. After that IQUE had their toughest challenge so far this season against Frölunda HC. A win against them in the other game was already a surprise but IQUE didn't stop there as they managed to get four points against another favorite GOONS. A huge week for IQUE and this week definitely gave them keys to the future. Captain Janne @Nieppii Niemelä showed his leadership for the team by scoring three of five goals against GOONS including the game winning goal in both games. On the other hand, those games against IQUE were not what GOONS wanted. Those two losses increased their losing streak to four games, as earlier in the week they lost both games to Färjestad BK. The Swedish team is right now in 5th place but their week ended in a loss against YMCA Esports. At the same time Färjestad BK said goodbye to their winning streak which ended up being seven games long. One important factor for them being in good form is definitely their goalie Johan @McSavid Rundqvist who gave them a chance to win in the last game of the week allowing only one goal. Speaking of YMCA Esports, they still have a lot of improvement to make in their game even though they managed to get four points out of another Swedish group, Granit Gaming. After a bit of a slow start, multiple champion HAVU Gaming is seeming to get back into form. We have to remember that this week their opponents weren't top tier but still, you have to get points from all possible games and that's what HAVU Gaming did as they got their six game winning streak going. An important thing for the future was that Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha got much needed success on the goal scoring front with eight goals last week, including two hat-tricks against Northern Ascendancy. The last four teams in the league right now are Northern Ascendancy, Djurgården Hockey, HV71 and Conquer Gaming. Djurgården Hockey have troubles scoring, only averaging a goal each game. The other three have to find a way to shut their doors as they are getting scored on at a rate of 3.0 goals per game or higher. Out of these team's, we have to mention Daniel @Demski_ Gadd and his performance last week for HV71 as against Roots Gaming. In the first game he scored the overtime winning goal and after that had a hat-trick in the second match. A big reason for hREDS keeping their winning streak alive this week was Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen, who scored a total of 11+7=18 points this week and had a 4 goal night against Örebro Hockey. We've also seen two new scoring duos sneak into the top 10. HAVU's Risto @Dominointi Järvi had a good week with together with @FlyerKungen, while SAWO dynamic duo @Vattuyy and @jxrska scored 27 goals combined out of SAWO's 31 in the past week. Our top 3 is the exact same as last week in terms of defender scoring. Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta is still in search of twine in 1st place with 14 assists. Niko @vVoDee Vottonen from Roots Gaming has found a way to put the puck in the net, leading all defensemen with four goals. In 7th place, we can find Fredrik @maharajah2014(sparkaronnberg) Mickelsson-Holm who, besides scoring points also blocked 28 shots which is the most among defensemen by a clear margin. Wille @willekunq Juntunen had a crazy six-point night against Northern Ascendancy, which boosted him a bit, let's see if he can repeat that later on. Transfers Granit Gaming IN Reittu @Roisto999 Hynynen, Goaltender The first transfer has been seen as Reittu @Roisto999Hynynen went to Granit Gaming. Last season he played in SAWO ESPORTS and has been on the free market until now. The goalie, who has been playing since ECL 4 will bring them a lot of experience and a culture of winning. We will see if he gets games for the Swedish team but one thing is sure that he will be good motivator for Edvin @Thunborg5Thunborg to stop pucks at an even better rate than before.

The new Winter-Spring split for the ECL kicks things into high gear for the biggest year of competitive virtual hockey to date. Check out all you need to know about how the action in the European top 16 is going to unfold. Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt and Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann from Granit Gaming are your ECL '22 Winter Cover Gamers, check out their presentation and interview here. Season information To find out about everything that's new with ECL '22, check out our earlier season information article. Notable dates for the ECL '22: Winter Elite season: Regular season: 10.1.-3.2. Transfer deadline: 16.1. 23:59 CET Quarterfinals (BO7) 14.2.-17.2. Semifinals (BO7) 04.3 [LAN] / 21.02 – 24.02 [Not LAN] Finals (BO7) 5.3 Default gamedays for the ECL '22: Winter Elite division will be on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, with broadcasts on the NHLGamer Twitch at 19:45 CET on every gameday. The very first broadcast will be on Monday, January 10th at 19:45 CET, and in the booth will be your favourite caster duo Cody @Tougie24 Tougas & Paul @Cyn Anderson! Make sure not to miss the season opener between Färjestad BK and Granit Gaming, followed by the clash of two potential contenders in GOONS vs HAVU Gaming. You can access the rulebook, schedule, standings, statistics and full rosters from the ECL ‘22: Winter Elite league page. The prize pool for ECL '22 Winter Elite is going to be 11000 EUR and will be split as visualized below. As you can see, ECL '22 Spring Elite will follow the same split and an additional 11000 EUR will be up for grabs in the grand final. Season preview Welcome to the first ever ECL '22 Winter Elite season. Our new Winter-Spring split brings everything up a notch as we'll be crowning one grand champion to cap off the ECL year. The stakes are higher than ever as this season gives the top 16 teams in Europe the chance to punch their ticket to the grand finals, and earn the biggest share of the 11 000 EUR prize pool. Over the past few competitive tournaments here at NHLGamer, it's been a back-and-forth battle between the reigning champion hREDS and Frölunda HC, who managed to win the FCL title to cap off the NHL 21 competitive season. The new NHL 22 game brings an interesting spice to the mix, as by now everyone would have had enough time to get accustomed to the game and apply any needed changes to their strategies and tendencies. One interesting thing to watch out for is who will have adapted in the best way to benefit them this season. In this preview, we've ranked the teams based on insights from a group of panelists, and will be giving some additional info on what to keep an eye on for each squad. Without further ado, let's get to it: 1. hREDS The reigning champions are heading into the season with an unchanged roster and look as strong as ever based on their competitive form as of late in NHL 22. hREDS is a quick moving puck possession team that can and will outplay any other team in the division with their excellent puck movement and creative plays. Each of their skaters possess that X-Factor and it seems like newest recruit Aaro @xDoumi Ruuhinen has finally found a squad to really thrive with. The big, bad REDS are definitely one of the clear contenders this season and measured in raw skill could very possibly be the best team out there. However, it'll be interesting to see how they will be able to transition into a more straight forward game if they end up getting shut down at some point of the season. As we know, NHL 22 sometimes will call for players to make the simple, and sometimes boring plays - do they have that side of the game in them? Player to watch: Filip @Faze91- Azri - Goaltender The young Swede was a rising star some time ago but has now cemented his place as one of the top netminders in the league. Everything should be set for hREDS to take another title, and if he can up his game yet another level, there's no stopping them. 2. Frölunda HC As customary for this team, they haven't played as much as some other outfits during the offseason, in fact significantly less than most of the competition - but it hasn't slowed them down in the past either. This always begs the question, when is it going to catch up to them? It's tough to really question Frölunda with a straight face, as they always seem to prove doubters wrong, which is more than likely going to be the story this year again. Their roster will be unchanged and the chemistry is without a doubt still there, which is a massive factor every year, but especially in a game like NHL 22. On the individual level, it seems like especially Teemu @Teemuyy Polttila has taken a step forward and it'll be interesting to see how that translates to his 6v6 game. All in all, it's easy to say we know what we are going to get from Frölunda HC and that is top tier virtual hockey every night, based on their chemistry and routine. Player to watch: Aleksi @loimmu Loimuvirta - Right defenseman Perhaps the best all-round defenseman to ever play the game. Has several titles under his belt despite being paired up with various - albeit top tier defensemen by his side. Always brings his best game. 3. GOONS Last ECL season for GOONS ended against Farjestad BK in the Quarterfinals. In the FCL, GOONS managed to win bronze and they are looking to get into the top 4 places again in the ECL. After the FCL, youngster Arttu @laitineen64(laiitinen) Laitinen came from IQUE where he played his first Elite season. He will join one of best offense trios as he is playing with Kristian @kriketski17(kriketsi17) Veijola and Roope @pikkuroger Bergström. To boost their defense they got Ilmari @iilmarii Töyrylä from JYP and he will bring experience to their own zone as talented Viljo @viba2008 Kähkönen is the youngest player in Elite. In goal they have the most experienced goalie Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu who has played in net in every single season since ECL 1. For example he has played with both hREDS and Frölunda HC. GOONS' next step is to really challenge those two big teams. Player to watch: Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola - Center/Right Wing Knows how to put up points but great in the defensive zone as well. Captain and now with two younger guys next to him on offense, he needs to take leadership on and off the ice. 4. HAVU Gaming It was a tough 2021 for the former champions and continuous contenders. HAVU Gaming ended up having some turnover and losing their edge momentarily, but have still managed to stay within striking distance of the ultimate top. Despite not perhaps looking quite as good as the well-oiled machine they once were, the black and green are still a force to be reckoned with and especially the comeback of superstar defenseman Wille @willekunq Juntunen is going to be a massive factor in their success. For HAVU Gaming, the biggest challenge is going to find a way to incorporate their new left winger Juho @RutonMosse(Juigelson) Kinnunen into their game in an effective way. The younger Kinnunen brother has a lot of skill and is definitely good enough to play at this level, but will he be the right fit for HAVU? Player to watch: Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha - Right wing HAVU will be relying on their captain a lot this season and FlyerKungen will really need to step up his game in some situations. He's shown it before, but can he do it again and again when counted upon? 5. Granit Gaming Granit Gaming formed after the last ECL season ended and they've grown into the next Swedish superteam, with some Czech spice in the form of Adam @dzouvi Mensik at center. We're talking about a group of individuals with a tremendous skill level, but they haven't quite yet managed to show that teamplay factor that a true contender team has. Granit is one of the newest outfits in the Elite division alongside the new Conquer Gaming roster with the difference of being a lot more experienced, especially at the level. Their strength will lie in the offensive zone and the ability to stay on the puck, with two of the most elite defensemen in the league in Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann and Hampus @l-Furyan-l Duvefelt. One thing that could be worrisome is their goaltending situation - currently it looks like Edvin @Thunborg5 Thunborg is their sole netminder, and despite being able to perform in a big way in decisive moments, his average SV% in Elite lies around 76, which leaves some room for improvement. Player to watch: Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann - Right defenseman The ECL 12 Defenseman of the year AND Transfer of the year returns after his dominant outing. It'll be interesting to see if there's still some potential left in the bank to up his game, and will he be able to improve also on the defensive aspects of it. Definitely one of the most skilled defensemen in the league. 6. SAWO ESPORTS (Former Tunnel Vision) SAWO ESPORTS’ defense is the same as it was in the last ECL and FCL with Tomi @tombo_02(tomboo-_-) Laitinen and Veeti @Wenger(re_Wenger) Paloneva but their offense has had some big changes. Jere @jxrska Laukka's comeback is important for SAWO and if he continues where he left off in Pro he can be one of top goal scorers in this league. YMCA Esports and SAWO had some player changes between them as Eemil @Sokkelo__ Soikkeli went to YMCA and Aleksi @MozjaTG (Mozjayh) Kähkönen came back in return. Like jxrska, also the last piece of the puzzle Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen didn’t get to participate in the last ECL but was allowed play again in the FCL where he represented IQUE and from there he came to SAWO. This group has a lot of potential and one of their biggest strengths is chemistry. Friendships from off the ice can bump their whole game a lot. If their development keeps going, SAWO can battle for top 4 places. Player to watch: Valtteri @Vattuyy Virtanen - Right wing His first season in Elite showed already that he can be a really good asset at the highest level as well. Because of his one season absence, there must be some hunger for more. A really skilled player and has the potential to become one of the best players in Europe right away this season. 7. IQUE FCL ended in a disappointment for IQUE as they were swept by Otukset. After that, their roster had a few changes. To noost the defense with Nico @zNico(zNicoPS) Tuoreniemi they got Jean-Patrick @Patsberg_ Kotonen from KOVA Esports, who will replace Markus @Makeaxl Lahti. Captain Janne @Nieppii Niemelä is the only forward remaining from FCL. Newcomers to the squad are experienced guys Aaro @Ikavalko Ikävalko and Jere @jergelii(jergeli) Jortama. Even though all new players have a lot of good history in Elite it won't be an easy season when half of your squad has changed. Their defense will have to get better as last ECL they allowed the third most goals. Player to watch: Jean-Patrick @Patsberg_ Kotonen - Left defenseman A great defender who is good in both ends of the ice. Will be in a big role next season if IQUE wants to succeed. 8. Örebro Hockey Örebro hockey is the former POGGERS and they had a pretty good offseason as they won Sauna Cup which contained basically all the top teams in Europe. Their strengths are definitely in the offensive zone because if they get their game going it is usually a sign for a high scoring game especially from Örebro.A big thing for Örebros game development has been center Jiska @Naeppae Näppä who has really taken some steps forward in his career. The question mark is their goalie Elie @eliekamel87(Eliekamel_) Kamel, he has to prove this season that he is a top goalie capable of performing in Elite. The upcoming season Örebro are looking to take develop even further and based on their recent performances, it would not be the biggest surprise seeing them getting past the first playoff round. Player to watch : Jan-Mikael @Janski(Jansku23) Aittoniemi - Right winger As we are talking about goal scoring power from Örebro there is no more important player for them than jansku23. Being the third highest scorer in ECL 12 doesn't require any more explanation. A huge part of which direction Örebro is going this season. 9. Farjestad BK FBK have been the top Swedish team around for quite some time already, but it feels like we're in for a change with all the turnover that Farjestad ended up having in the offseason. A big part to their success last season was their dominant defensive pairing that is now playing for Swedish rival Granit Gaming, but they've still got their true and tested sniper Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg on the left wing as usual. In the driver seat manning the center lane is Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson, who likes to be the playdriver for the team, but this season he'll have support on his right flank in the form of André @Foppatofflan Liljegren, who joins the green and white to bolster their attack. The biggest question mark is going to be their defensive corps consisting of new recruit Roni @MrNipsuli Kaján and Sebastian @SebbeLarsen86 Larsen. No doubt, the individual skill is there, but can these two find that much needed chemistry and perform in harmony throughout a gruelling regular season, or the playoffs for that matter? Only time will tell. Player to watch: Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg - Left wing It's not that hard to tell why he's the guy to keep an eye on. Affe seems to be the leading scorer for FBK every year and he has also snuck in there among the very Elite of scorers in the scene. Everyone knows he is their go-to-guy, but to this point, there's been no stopping him. 10. YMCA Esports After their 4-1 Quarterfinals loss to HAVU Gaming in ECL 12 YMCA Esports are looking for a playoff spot again. Joona @jm98II Muona and Antti @Anhel_Kuru Kuru have been playing together now for a couple of seasons. For this season they get Eemil @Sokkelo__ Soikkeli from Tunnel Vision as the final piece to the puzzle on offense. Julius @Exel56 Rissanen has also played two seasons in YMCA Esports and his defense pair will be Timi @Rimpe Rimpeläinen who had his last outing in ECL 11 for Gotham Knights. A lot of things have to get improved For YMCA to repeat a playoff appearance, but we'll have to wait and see. Player to watch: Joona @jm98II Muona - Left winger Got his game developed a lot last season and as a result he scored 10 more goals than in ECL 11. We'll see if he can continue trending upwards this season, which would be a big help for his team. Can be a real highlight machine at his best. 11. ZSC Esports After their first Elite season, ZSC Esports did make only one change to their roster but the new player Alex @IDangledYouOut Wagner is a familiar face because he played for ZSC Esports in ECL 10 and 11. The Swiss teams strength is definitely the fact that they have had the same core for a long time. In defense they have a good balance between offense and defense. Reto @Haldeem Haldemann is great in the defensive zone as the other defender Max @Toneee9 Tonitz was the top scorer for his team in ECL 12. Forwards have to get more offense going because last season they were the second lowest team in scoring. Player to watch: Reto @Haldeem Haldemann - Right defenseman Has taken big steps forward along his long career. One of the biggest reasons that ZSC made Elite back in ECL 11. 12. Roots Gaming In the offseason BoxinElite signed under Roots Gaming and will represent them in future tournaments. It wasn't the only good thing that happened to them because they got a chance to qualify for Elite from Pro and Roots didn’t let it slip out of their hands as they won Visu Gaming in the finals 3-1. The offense is the same old for Roots but defensively they've had changes after last ECL. Before the FCL they got Jonas @LE1PAKONE(NordZman_) Nordman from Rusty Blades and promising Niko @vVoDee Vottonen from Bjorkloven. We will see if playing under an organisation will give them an extra boost but at least the Elite qualifiers showed that they belong among the best 6v6 teams in Europe. Player to watch: Linus @Limu95 Christiansson - Center Much alike the entire team, he has really elevated his level of play over the past couple of seasons. If development continues could be one of the best forwards in Elite. 13. Djurgarden Hockey The ECL 12 Pro Champions will be taking their first strides on the Elite ice with the hopes of solidifying their spot among the European top 16. Captain Björn @Jungledonk Lindberg has managed to gather a solid squad that really does teamplay better than anything. They are a really strong unit and can utilize that in any area of the ice, in any game situation. They do have options up front but are most likely going to start out with Amadeus @amadee21 Carlsson, William @Mumsi- Lindblad and Philip @Strumpan87 Ström as their go-to-guys. They will however not be shy to change things up and have some great reserve in Joacim @LordStanley46_ Wilhelmsson if need be. Player to watch: Valtteri @Sorsa103 Mulari - Goaltender Sorsa will be making his rookie appearance on the Elite ice, despite his young age, he has slowly made an ascent towards the very top of the goltending talent pool. There's still some way to go, but this could be his real breakout season. 14. Northern Ascendancy Northern Ascendancy has played many seasons in Elite but almost every season their journey has ended in the regular season or in the first round of playoffs. Fredrik @maharajah2014(sparkaronnberg) Mickelsson-Holm played for the crabs defense already last season, but his partner Juhani @Tanski87Tanskanen came to Northern Ascendancy from Rusty Blades in the offseason. In offense they have captain Connor @MartindalexC Martindale who has played almost every season for Northern Ascendancy since ECL 1. The offense got two Finnish players as Jimi @SadaPoika Leskinen and Aleksi @ADETIKKI(dillynger) Kinnunen came to finish up the roster. Goalie Ville @Supreex Korhonen has to be one of best goalies again this season and their experienced guys needs to step up big for them to have a shot at the playoffs again this season. Player to watch: Ville @Supreex Korhonen - Goaltender No doubt one of the best goalies in Europe. Many top teams would want this guy in their net, but he is tough to lure away from the crabbos. 15. HV71 One of the new Swedish teams at the highest level with a great hunger to prove that they do belong among the very best. The meaning of captain Daniel @Demski_ Gadd to this team cannot be understated, but as seen in the ECL 12 Pro playoffs, the addition of Robin @Rubituss Söderqvist has given them some much needed support on the leadership front. However, with the exception of these two, their roster is very green at the Elite level. This means that 4/6 players on their starting roster are rookies, which of course makes for a very interesting story to follow. It's looking like Putte @Putteekiing Unasin and Martin @Zupancic_King424 (Zuppe_29) Zupancic will be their defensemen for the season, while Rubituss and Demski will be joined by new recruit Tuukka @Tukexi (MATILAISKA_) Matilainen on their right flank. Much alike many other Swedish teams, teamplay is the key factor for HV71, but the fact that they are relying on very many players to take a successful step up to the next level puts some clouds on the horizon. Player to watch: Daniel @Demski_ Gadd - Center The captain returns to the Elite division for the first time since ECL 8, where he played for one season with Bucketeers (now Färjestad BK). He is the true heart and soul of the team and without a doubt will determine the course of their season. 16. Conquer Gaming Conquer gaming or former KOVA Esports had a wild offseason to say the least. After last ECL and FCL both their defense and offense have changed almost completely. Juho @juhkis96 Katajamaa, Matias @theMaddias Kilpinen and Valtteri @Kaikkien Janoisten Sankari (Kihan64) Yli-Olli came from Otukset who were the biggest dark horse in the FCL. Eren @Kucherov86(jalkkin-) Yalcin came from Rusty Blades where he played last FCL. There is no denying that their Otukset trio has a good chemistry but it’s interesting to see how their only players left from the original team Axel @MonkeyHeadAF Falck and Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho will adapt to playing with them and Jalkkin-. Conquer has potential in their squad but the first season with new players will be tough and it’s looking like a relegation battle for them. Player to watch: Valtteri @Vire30 Vireaho - Center The experienced forward will face his biggest challenge in his career in keeping Conquer in Elite. This season, there's a lot more on his shoulders than only offensive production.

Roots Gaming returns to competitive virtual hockey after a short break. The goal of the organization is to provide its players with great opportunities to focus on gaming and things around it that make the gaming itself a better experience. After a break of around half a year, Roots Gaming makes a comeback to the virtual ice. Their first time around, they played in Elite with no changes in their core roster. Back then Roots had three top 8 placements at the highest level of NHL 6v6 gaming.   The new team that’s going to compete under the Roots Gaming organization is former BoxinElite. Next ECL season they will play in the Pro division. We asked from the team captain Santeri @xleksa35(xleksa_) Levänen how it all got started with this lineup: “The dea of an own team got started in May 2020 when we used to play the 1v1 game mode on Xbox. In spring 2020 we decided to move to Playstation with Linus @Limu95 Christiansson, Samuli @ssampee37 Mäntylä and a couple other of our friends. In that year’s autumn we participated in our first tournament and after that we have had quite favorable results in tournaments with small roster moves. Last Pro season we proved that we belong among the top teams but now it’s time to take the next step.”   The captain says that the biggest strengths in their team consists of team spirit and the fact that every player has a big role: “Our team has a couple experienced guys and the rest of the group are hungry young talents. Every team member has an important role on achieving our future goals as a team."    Roots Gaming ry is from Kerava and was founded in 2019. They are a non-profit esport organization with a goal to develop the Finnish esports and culture in Kerava. They also want to provide a safe and modern environment for children to practice and improve themselves in esports. Roots Gaming also offers coaching activities. Their objective is to change certain attitudes towards esports and that’s why physical activity, healthy eating habits and understanding rest are important things for them along with the core operation of gaming.   Esports director of Roots Gaming Väinö @vSilenttioPietilä was playing for Roots Gaming when they made their first appearance in the scene. We asked him to share some thoughts about the past and what things he’s excited about in future with BoxinElite: “Our first one and a half years in NHL taught us a lot of good things on and off the ice. We realized during that time as an organization that like many other esports games also NHL 6v6 playing consists of many other things besides just individual skills on the ice. That’s why we think that NHL as a team sport is made for us.” ”When we stepped aside from the scene in May 2021, we already knew that we would come back and now after we have looked into different teams, NHLGamer and the whole scene, we are ready to come back to our beloved esport. BoxinElite was one of the first teams that were under our radar for a long time and was actually the first team who we were in touch with about a possible cooperation. The team has done some good long-term work in all silence, even though they have only played a couple of tournaments together where they have got some good results. I see a lot of great things with the team and their team play, and with those things it’s easy to get started with our mutual journey”, Pietilä continues. Boxinelite is also really excited about their future with Roots Gaming: ”A little while ago, Väinö contacted us and told that Roots would be coming back to NHL esports and they would want us to join the project. We were humbled by that and realized in a short time that Boxinelite and Roots had similar ambitions and the desire to push things forward. Our cooperation with Roots Gaming is kind of a reward to us for our hard work but also it is a good motivator for the future!", states captain @xleksa35. Sonja Ahtiainen, Vice Chairman of Roots Gaming wants to emphasize some major points from their organization’s values and their future objectives: “We have experienced with our CS:GO team as also with our former NHL team that participating in everyday life with them has a comprehensive effect. Improvement of performance and team skills in a team sport and at the individual level are clearly noticeable. As an organization we want to be a part of our team’s actions and we want to improve it as a whole instead of only bringing basic things to them and after that leaving responsibility to the players. Our player’s wellbeing is at the center of our actions and our main target is to reform people’s thoughts about esports. The fact that Finnish esports culture has grown little by little in past years doesn’t mean that we could sit there and watch what happens next. It’s time to talk less and really turn the work mode on!”