Search the Community

Hey NHLGamers, ECL 7 was the biggest season for our community yet! That's both in terms of registered teams, players and the newly introduced price pool. Once again, we were treated to some incredibly exciting action as skillful teams and players went head-to-head in all three divisions. We'll be kicking off our look in the rearview mirror with this season review of ECL 7 Lite, which included a total of 73 teams divided into eight groups. Group 1: The Black Jacks The eventual champions surely had a season to remember! This Swiss-based team went into their second ECL season with one goal in mind only: promotion. Their offensive trio of @Krinke-@Original-SnuS-@Freeman7187 was unstoppable and proved incredible dominance all season long as the fast-paced passing ice hockey seems to have been absolute poison to the opposing teams. With their promotion it'll be interesting to see if they'll be sticking together to continue on the same note in the Pro division. Arguably, their breakout game and defense will need to step up in order to compete on the next level. The Black Jacks managed to string together a row of excellent performances all season long, seeding 3rd into the playoffs and being in the driver seat through most of their playoff matchups too. Their second round opponent Lehmannen Badboyz proved to be a difficult obstacle to overcome though, as the series went into game 7 and nail-biting overtime before captain @Original-SnuS sent the Badboyz packing. All in all, the performance put up by TBJ this season was nothing short of perfection, as they absolutely crushed the whole division and put forth a very convincing run to the championship. Mentula SKA Mentula SKA was a team that a bit surprisingly battled their way to a promotion spot. They're in their third season of ECL competition already without any mentionable prior success. However, this season was one to take note of. The team has managed to stick together for a few seasons and seemed to find some consistency this year. Also the acquisition of their top scorer and rookie @Meiccimoi seemed to have been a key factor in their success. Group 2: The Next Gen Newly established TnG was an interesting team all season due to their roster including lots and lots of 1vs1 talent and some young, potential players. Their talent seems to have translated well into 6vs6 play as the team managed to pave their way through to the finals, where they suffered a tough 4-2 series loss at the hands of The Black Jacks. Rajatorpan Mafia Rajatorpan Mafia put up a respectable fight this season, finishing 2nd in their group and going on until round 3 in the playoffs before being eliminated by Dubnation Gaming. The team has an extremely strong defensive game, showcased by their 0,94 GA/GP in the groupstage. Lack of firepower ended up being their demise in the playoffs. Group 3: We Kings We Kings consist of some veteran players who are making a very welcome comeback into the scene and being rather successful in doing so. The team went undefeated for a large part of the group stage, falling just short of a perfect run in the closing rounds. Captain @Hbnzo and everyone's favourite tactician @pelimies80 were the most important building blocks in the success of the team this season. SPARTANS Newly formed SPARTANS had a strong showing in ECL 7, managing to pave their way into the quarter finals where they fell one win short against Supernatural. When watching this team, don't miss LD @Drunkendefender, who accounted for 1/4 of the teams total goals in the regular season and led his team in scoring in the playoffs. Talk about an offensive defenseman! Group 4: Prowlers Swedish team Prowlers did good in the groupstage, but ended up falling short in a disappointing round 3 exit against the lower seeded Infinity. In fact, Prowlers were on fire offensively and managed to seed 6th into the playoffs while scoring a total of 71 goals. Their top scorer of the regular season was @RullAthor1991, who amassed 60 points in 18 games. Farminaattori Farminaattori is a new acquaintance for me, personally. The team is rumoured to play a fast paced hockey, the kind some might call straight up wild. Their game seemed to work out fine in the group stage, pushing them into the playoffs at 7th seed, a push which ended rather quick in the second round at the hands of community sweethearts Elämäm Kiekko. Group 5: Dubnation Gaming Dubnation is a team full of young potential players. They don't play a flashy game, but it is effective in securing points. You could say they have a more mature playstyle than you'd expect from a new Lite team. Despite not scoring a tremendous amount of goals, the team managed to do very well throughout the season, which didn't end until the quarter finals when they came up against the eventual champions The Black Jacks. K A R H U T The roster of K A R H U T include some veteran names such as @Ubula (RuttuBerse), the team was placed in an arguably easy group 5, which they handled very well, ultimately seeding into the playoffs at 23rd. Winger @Jii1984 led the team from the front all the way into the 3rd playoff round, where they were knocked out by Supernatural. Group 6: Clowns On Ice I think we can call Clowns On Ice a veteran team by now. They're a common sight on the ice and have managed to string together a few good seasons recently, making the playoffs of ECL Pro last season. However, the team lost captain @Tim_FlyersFan in the offseason and decided to step back a bit. They must feel rather dissappointed about the outcome though, as a convincing groupstage wasn't enough, they fell short in the playoffs against Supremacy in the 3rd round. Poston Fruits Led by veteran Lite player @Jobeyz, Poston Fruits were making their inaugural appearance in the ECL and did so on a successful note. Although being eliminated in the second round by SPARTANS must sting, we'll be hoping for a comeback in ECL 8. Group 7: Supernatural Supernatural is a team consisting of several experienced players who haven't really managed to find a home for themselves in an established team. We were surely aware that this was a skilled group of guys, but I must say they put up a far better performance than I expected. The team seeded 8th into the playoffs and kept their level of play high in the playoffs, eventually faltering in the semifinals against The Next Gen. Supremacy Former Soldiers of Odens consists of some very skilled and potential players who seem to be playing the game rather casually. I know the skill level and potential is there to see some success in ECL games too and they started showing signs of that in ECL 7. Supremacy finished 3rd in their group, seeding 24th into the playoffs, but took their minor underdog status and ran with it all the way to the quarter-finals, where they didn't manage to surprise The Next Gen. Group 8: Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat Hinkkaajat has been grinding it out in Lite for some seasons already, often having a decent group stage campaign but quickly running into trouble in the playoffs. This season showed some promise as they were able to win their first two playoff matchups, but ended up falling short against The Next Gen in round 3. Finnish Snipers Finnish Snipers looked great in the groupstage and through the first round of the playoffs, as they dominated group 8 and seeded 2nd into the playoffs. Hockey Hooligans was no match in the first round but groupstage opponent Rukoilevat Hinkkaajat sent them home in round 2. Under the radar: Freddie Mercury Institute FMI is a tough team to play due to their tight defensive trap, but they've had trouble converting in the offensive zone. This season they ended up in a quite tough group together with the likes of We Kings and SPARTANS, eventually finishing 3rd in the group and seeding into the playoffs at 13th. The team managed to make their way into the quarter finals, where they suffered a devastating loss against Mentula SKA. AWARDS Playoff MVP: @Original-SnuS Most Points: @Original-SnuS, The Black Jacks, 37 Goals, 53 Assists, 90 Points in 18 games Most Goals: @Original-SnuS, The Black Jacks, 37 Goals, 53 Assists, 90 Points in 18 games Most Assists: @Original-SnuS, The Black Jacks, 37 Goals, 53 Assists, 90 Points in 18 games Most Hits by a Forward: @Enerfity, Finnish Snipers, 142 Hits in 16 games Best +/-: @Freeman7187, The Black Jacks, +62 in 18 games Most Points by a Defenseman: @Drunkendefender, SPARTANS, 13 Goals, 25 Assists, 38 Points in 16 games Most Goals by a Defenseman: @Drunkendefender, SPARTANS, 13 Goals, 25 Assists, 38 Points in 16 games Most Assist by a Defenseman: @Drunkendefender, SPARTANS, 13 Goals, 25 Assists, 38 Points in 16 games Most Hits by a Defenseman: @kenamo28, Outrageous Falcons, 92 Hits in 24 Games TOP 3'S OF ECL 7 LITE Top 3 Forwards Regular Season: 1. @Original-SnuS, The Black Jacks, 37 Goals, 53 Assists, 90 Points in 18 games 2. @Freeman7187, The Black Jacks, 37 Goals, 36 Assists, 73 Points in 18 games 3. @Krinke , The Black Jacks, 27 Goals, 37 Assists, 64 Points in 14 games Top 3 Defenders Regular Season: 1. @Drunkendefender, SPARTANS, 13 Goals, 25 Assists, 38 Points in 16 games 2. @Koppipelaaja, The Next Gen, 3 Goals, 25 Assists, 28 Points in 16 games 3. @pelimies80, We Kings, 5 Goals, 19 Assists, 24 Points in 14 games Top 3 Goaltenders Regular Season: 1. @ramseyy2, The Next Gen, 16 Wins, 87,36%, 1,27 GAA, 5 SO in 18 games 2. @PeeloJombb, Mentula SKA, 15 Wins, 87,50%, 1,22 GAA, 4 SO in 18 games 3. @mythThor, Prowlers, 15 Wins, 86,34%, 1,55 GAA, 2 SO in 16 games Top 3 Forwards Playoffs: 1. @Original-SnuS, The Black Jacks, 39 Goals, 48 Assists, 87 Points in 32 games 2. @Krinke, The Black Jacks, 42 Goals, 42 Assists, 84 Points in 32 games 3. @Freeman7187, The Black Jacks, 36 Goals, 39 Assists, 75 Points in 32 games Top 3 Defender Playoffs: 1. @Drunkendefender, SPARTANS, 18 Goals, 31 Assists, 49 Points in 21 games 2. @Koppipelaaja, The Next Gen, 6 Goals, 21 Assists, 27 Points in 32 games 3. @burban26, The Black Jacks, 3 Goals, 22 Assists, 25 Points in 16 games Top 3 Goaltenders Playoffs: 1. @ramseyy2, The Next Gen, 22 Wins, 89,78%, 1,50 GAA, 9 SO in 32 games 2. @PeeloJombb, Mentula SKA, 17 Wins, 83,68%, 1,70 GAA, 3 SO in 27 games 3. @afc_Tschitsch, The Black Jacks, 15 Wins, 84,91%, 1,94 GAA, 3 SO in 18 games The controversial 'Top 6' of the season is making a comeback! What this means is a selection of six players in a starting lineup, that have showed exceptional skill and played a good season. Please note that all selections are subjective and they are made by community members who have been keeping an eye on ECL 7 Lite. Without further ado, here's the top 6 of our Lite division in ECL 7: @Krinke (The Black Jacks) - @Original-SnuS (The Black Jacks) - @Freeman7187 (The Black Jacks) @Drunkendefender (SPARTANS) - @Koppipelaaja (The Next Gen) @ramseyy2 (The Next Gen) The NHLGamer staff congratulates The Black Jacks for winning the Lite division and furthermore The Next Gen, Mentula SKA and Supernatural for their promotions to the Pro division. We want to thank all participating teams for their efforts and hope you all enjoyed the season! If you have any suggestions on how we could improve our website, please let us know by contacting any staff member. The recaps of our other divisions will be published soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

DRAFT REVIEW – by The_Alpha_Furyan When I first started discussing with the NHLGamer staff about contributing to the site, I knew I wanted to write and I also knew this was exactly the kind of texts I wanted to produce. I've always been a self-proclaimed stats- and prospects buff, with a fascination for everything from scouting reports to the drafting process to discussing different stats to gaining an interest in the modern "advanced stats". Combine that with my interest in writing and I knew we could be on to something! Anyway, without further ado, here is my first contribution to NHLGamera as a very loose member of the talented website staff. I'm going to start off this draft review by looking backwards, to the Mock Draft I posted in the days leading up to the draft. Let's take a look at those rankings (you can view that topic in the forums here: http://nhlgamer.com/community/topic/309-mock-1st-round-for-summer-cup-draft/) : 1. Dominointi (Forward) 2. Joukki13 (Forward) 3. OxTreeLAT (Goalie) 4. imosi1 (Forward) 5. poliskontroll (Goalie) 6. bjono (Forward) 7. Egyptologen (Defenseman) 8. FinKonna (Goalie) 9. Hanssoni (Forward) 10. plee999 (Forward) 11. tbantti (Forward) 12. SadaPoika (Forward) 13. Pelle3000 (Forward) 14. Chafak (Forward) In total I predicted 10 Forwards, 3 Goalies and 1 Defenseman for the first round. Now, lets compare that with how the actual first round turned out: 1. imosi1 (Forward) 2. vatalisti (Defenseman) 3. Dominointi (Forward) 4. joukki13 (Forward) 5. Foppatofflan (Forward) 6. bjono (Forward) 7. plee999 (Forward) 8. Chafak (Forward) 9. SadaPoika (Forward) 10. OxTreeLAT (Goalie) 11. tbnantti (Forward) 12. TehhAhola (Forward) 13. Tapparfan- (Forward) 14. wickedtah69 (Forward) For those keeping score at home, that is a total of 12 Forwards, 1 Goalie and 1 Defenseman - suggesting the team captains prioritized getting those high-scoring forwards as soon as possible. Now, while I had counted on this being a factor in the first round, I also thought goalies would be a higher priority than they were. Interesting how that turns out sometimes! Finally, the results of the mock draft had 9 out of the 14 players I predicted actually being picked in the first round with bjono at #6 an tbnantti at #11 being perfect matches. The remaining 5 were all picked in the first three rounds so all in all, I consider the mock draft a success and encourage others to join me in the mock drafting for the next Summer Cup! Moving on, let's take a look at the players that were picked: #1 Overall - imosi1 # in mock draft - 4 Pick made by - vSilenttio Previous Teams - SIKA, Finnish Roosters ECL Stats - Regular season: 32GP, 31G 38A = 69P. Playoffs: 31GP, 15G 26A = 41P. Scouting - When I suggested imosi1 might go as early as #4 he wanted to know if I had consumed mushrooms. Turns out he was right to doubt me as he ended up going first overall. Captain vSilenttio probably knows full well what imosi1 brings to a team seeing as they've played together quite a lot through the years. For those of you who don't know imosi1 I can tell you that this #1 pick brings a high level of skill and two-way responsibility to his team. If asked to perform as the teams sniper, he does. If asked to shut down the oppositions top forwards, he does. If asked to create plays, he does. As someone in the draft sheet said - "this guy does it all!". #2 Overall - vatalisti # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - Billy44205 Previous Teams - Carlsberg HC, Victorious Secrets HC ECL Stats - Regular season: 29GP, 7G 48A = 55P. Playoffs: 52GP, 14G 48A = 62P. Scouting - The only defenseman picked in the first round, vatalisti should provide a solid base for Billy44205 to organize his team around. A solid two-way, pass first defenseman (who can also play center), vatalisti has proven his worth in the two previous ECL tournaments with Carlsberg and VSH. Look no further than the fact that this defender has 29 games in the regular season to 55 in the playoffs to know that he is a proven playoff warrior who will be looking to take his team to a third straight appearance in the finals. #3 Overall - Dominointi # in mock draft - 1 Pick made by - mir021k Previous Teams - Nordic Blizzard ECL Stats - Regular season: 26GP, 41G 42A = 83P. Playoffs: 26GP, 31G 41A = 72P. Scouting - The first overall pick in the mock draft fell to 3rd here but it was still an expected early pick for Dominointi. This number one center for the one-time ECL champions Nordic Blizzard is an incredibly skilled point-producing center who besides putting up goals and assists in droves, still finds the time to be ranked #1 in the world in Online Vs. for NHL 16. If one were to describe this players style, it would be "dominant" - not unlike the name he has chosen for himself. Look for mir021k's team to lean heavily on Dominointi to gain success in this tournament. #4 Overall - joukki13 # in mock draft - 2 Pick made by - debi_85 Previous Teams - Carlsberg HC, Victorious Secrets HC ECL Stats - Regular season: 31GP, 71G 55A = 126P. Playoffs: 50GP, 57G 62A = 119P. Scouting - In my opinion, the best and purest sniper in this draft. joukki13 has, just like vatalisti, been a part of two straight ECL finals without yet having a trophy to his name - something that has to be frustrating for this goal-scoring LW. His skill in scoring goals is only matched by his undying love for The Walking Dead character Rick Grimes. Look for joukki to once again be in the top-10 for goal scoring when the Summer Cup is over and who knows? Maybe another final is in the cards for mr. Grimes... #5 Overall - Foppatofflan # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - pelimies80 Previous Teams - Bombers Hockey ECL Stats - Regular season: 21GP, 20G 24A = 48P. Playoffs: 5GP, 0G 6A = 6P. Scouting - Looking at his ECL stats, taking Foppatofflan as the #5 overall pick seems like a misstep. For those who are aware of what this creative forward has accomplished in the past, it's not as much of a surprise. However absent from ECL Season 2, Foppatofflan is still a known commodity in what used to be the Xbox360 community. Famous for his unorthodox playing style where no one can ever predict if he will pull a triple deke, go for the behind-the-back pass or simply take the puck to the net and deke the goalie out of his jock. For those who didn't know him before, I suspect he will open a lot of eyes this Summer Cup. #6 Overall - |bjono| # in mock draft - 6 Pick made by - LastMandalorian Previous Teams - Sjukstugan ECL Stats - Regular season: 34GP, 38G 50A = 88P. Playoffs: 27GP, 21G 28A = 49P. Scouting - Exactly as predicted, bjono went as #6! All kidding aside, this is a very solid pick to build a team around. Having been around as the captain and leader of Sjukstugan for as long as I can remember, this forward is a consistent point producer who besides never missing a game is also defensively responsible and, just like all of Sjukstugans players, a talented hitter. Will probably be paired up with regular teammate pnordetun in what is looking like one of the tournaments strongest forward corps. #7 Overall - PleeMaker # in mock draft - 10 Pick made by - Patzlaf Previous Teams - Carlsberg HC, Northern Stars, Finnish Roosters ECL Stats - Regular season: 25GP, 44G 41A = 85P. Playoffs: 35GP, 34G 24A = 58P. Scouting - A controversial figure in the community, much can be said about PleeMaker. However, what cannot be denied is his skill on the ice. Having racked up over a goal per game in both the ECL regular seasons and playoffs, PleeMaker is seemingly most comfortable on one of the wings where he can use his feared one-timer to terrorize goalies. Combining his talent for goal scoring and point producing with high-skilled center (and captain) Patzlaf seems like a receipe for success. Don't be surprised if one, or both, of these players end up high on the Summer Cup stat charts for goals and points. #8 Overall - Chafak # in mock draft - 14 Pick made by - Basstian223 Previous Teams - Aapon Taikasauva ECL Stats - Regular season: 34GP, 53G 45A = 98P. Playoffs: 25GP, 32G 24A = 56P. Scouting - Chafak is somewhat of a new aquaintance for me but his stat line suggests a solid point producer who's been a consistent force to be reckoned with for home team Aapon Taikasauva. Playing exclusively on LW, this point producing winger will fit right in with captain Basstian223 who exclusively makes his home on RW. Regardless of who will be playing C between these two gentlemen, expect that C to enjoy two talented wingers who will score goals and rack up assists like no tomorrow. Chafak has also been at the top of the point rankings for both ECL seasons - suggesting consistency is one of his strengths. #9 Overall - SadaPoika # in mock draft - 12 Pick made by - KingOfApes_ Previous Teams - The Unstoppable Warriors, Victorious Secrets HC ECL Stats - Regular season: 29GP, 38G 31A = 69P. Playoffs: 30GP, 16G 20A = 36P. Scouting - Another new aquaintance for me, SadaPoikas stats dont lie. He seems to favor goal scoring just as much as passing judging by his point totals. Having started his ECL career with TUW and falling short in the playoffs, he moved to VSH where he - together with joukki13 and draft captain KingOfApes - took his team all the way to the finals. Seemingly a big fan of NHL'er Steven Stamkos, look for SadaPoika to try and deliver some thunder and Lightning together with old teammate KingOfApes in this newly created team. #10 Overall - OxtreeLAT # in mock draft - 3 Pick made by - selänne8 Previous Teams - Silver Sword Griffins ECL Stats - Season 1: 11-6-2, 76.07 %, 2.63 GAA, 1 shutout. Season 2: 9-4-2, 86.06%, 1.13 GAA, 7 shutouts. Scouting - The first and only goalie to be picked in the first round, OxtreeLAT was my first goalie pick in the mock draft as well. Having delivered solid stats in ECL 1, he absolutely exploded in ECL 2 - putting up staggering numbers bested by no other goalie. Some would say playing behind the defensively oriented SSG squad might have boosted his stats, but for anyone who has faced OxtreeLAT (or seen him play) they know he's as much a factor in that teams defensive prowess as their skaters. Overall one of the best goaltenders in the EASHL community and will look to lead his team to the promised land for this Summer Cup. #11 Overall - tbnantti # in mock draft - 11 Pick made by - FINSeRe Previous Teams - Kattiautomatti ECL Stats - Regular season: 24GP, 37G 40A = 77P. Playoffs: 31GP, 33G 33A = 66P. Scouting - Another one of my patented "Perfect Picks", tbnantti went #11 as predicted. This is a very solid pick for a team to build their offense around and a remarkably consistant point producer in both the regular season and the playoffs. One peek at tbnanttis stats and you are instantly struck by how evenly distributed his point totals are between goals and assists. Mostly a center from what I've seen, tbnantti has been around in the community for a long time and his team Kattiautomatti (seriously tough to spell and I probably still got it wrong) was previously known as Budcats and Blades of Steel. #12 Overall - TehhAhola # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - Juizki Previous Teams - Finnish Roosters ECL Stats - Regular season: 18GP, 14G 34A = 48P. Playoffs: 8GP, 3G 11A = 66P. Scouting - As we get into the later picks for round 1, my knowledge decreases. I admit to not knowing very much by TehhAhola (he wasn't on my radar when I put together the mock draft) except that his stats for ECL 1 - he did not participate in ECL 2 - were very impressive, particularly during the regular season. Being back in the community now and having been honored with the #12 overall pick, you can bet that TehhAhola will be hungry to prove Juizki right in picking him this early. #13 Overall - Tapparafan- # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - DieCutterMC Previous Teams - Nordic Stars ECL Stats - Regular season: 32GP, 51G 37A = 88P. Playoffs: 11GP, 14G 5A = 19P. Scouting - I struggled for a long time with putting Tapparafan- in my predicted first round and he got cut just at the last minute. One look at the goal scoring skill of this LW/C and you can see why I struggled with my selection. Having been a leading presence on Nordic Stars, Tapparafan- will be expected to shoulder a heavy offensive burden for DieCutterMCs team as well - a challenge he will probably be more than up for. A very solid late first round pick that will pay dividends for his team in this tournament. #14 Overall - wickedtah69 # in mock draft - N/A Pick made by - juha96 Previous Teams - Infinity ECL Stats - Regular season: 10GP, 12G 10A = 22P. Playoffs: N/A. Scouting - One of the biggest surprises this draft, wickedtah69 rounds out this preview of the first 14 picks. Having solid stats for Infinity in the 10 ECL games he has played, he is somewhat of a mystery to me. Has he played together frequently with juha96? Is he, like Foppatofflan, another "legend" from previous PS3/Xbox360 community that just hasn't had the time to play many games in the previous ECL tournaments? An exciting mystery that will have to prove himself in this Summer Cup! Finally, I'd like to conclude this draft review by listing my biggest surprises of the draft: - Goalies not being picked sooner. I thought for sure the captains would go for goalies in the first two rounds. - wickedtah69 going in the first round. Prove me wrong, mystery man! - ProMinx24 not being picked until the 4th round. Mr. Darzins is an insanely talented player who would've been a solid second round pick! Please leave your thoughts and voice your agreements/disagreements (or point out factual errors) to the post in the comment section so we can get some discussion going - that's what makes it all worth it. Later skaters // The_Alpha_Furyan