Haradrim

I was just messing with you Haradrim - nice use of exacerbate by the way (no sarcasm). I can't remember the last time I used that in a sentence.
 
LittleB, I agree with Haradrim, I think you will be ok this season but it is a close one for sure. You can keep losing to us, that would really help

This should now be fixed. Thanks for the reports!

Class act, Jon is.  These are the kind of things I like to hear!  There are still good people out there!

Big shout out to Jon Carignan (Deadwood Irishmen) who agreed to reverse a trade I accepted by mistake!
 
Great sportsman!

YES, we did it! I'm shocked we made it because all the odds were against us. Going into the last match we were tied in points but we're sitting in 10th due to point differential. We had to win and also have Lake St. Louis either lose or go into extra time. On top of that, I made a crazy big trade before the game leaving me with a new goalie. For whatever dumb reason I decided it would be a good idea to start the new guy. He got owned in the first period and after my veteran replaced him, after 9 shots against, it wasn't looking good. All other games against the Wild Wings resulted in losses for us this season, and by good margins - we were not favored to win at all....but in the end we score a season high 7 points to win...and Haradrim's TopCats got forced into OT. What a crazy end to the season. Now it's time to prepare for getting spanked in round 1 of the playoffs!

Back again with the new power rankings for Fishbowl season 12, on day 5.
 
I decided to change the formula slightly. Rather than only considering the best goalie, I've decided to weigh a teams best goalie at 0.75 and second best goalie at 0.25. Formula used for overall is:
[(average offence) * 12 + (average defence) * 12 + (best goalie) *0.75 + (second best goalie) * 0.25]/25
 
 
1. Larson Knights - Kelvin "unknown forum name"
Off: 90.67 Def 92.33 Glt:89.75 Ovr: 91.43
Previous position: 2nd, playoff 2
 
2. Hawkeye Revolution - Marcel Proust "MProust/Haradim"
Off: 89.42 Def: 92.17 Glt: 91.5 Ovr: 90.82
Previous position: 3rd, playoff 4
 
3. Horn lake Hooligans - Mike Grubb "Mickg34"
Off: 89.17 Def: 90.67 Glt: 95.25 Ovr: 90.13
Previous position: 1st + Golden cup winner
 
4. Pinewood Lumberjacks - Matt H "Mattlumberjacks" aka "me"
Off: 89 Def: 90.83 Glt: 90.75 Ovr: 89.95
Previous position: 10th
 
5. Cuba City Eagles - Mare Maro "unknown forum name"
Off: 89.17 Def: 89.33 Glt: 89 Ovr: 89.24
Previous position: 4th, playoff 2
 
6. Wynward Wildfire - Matthew Bernsten
Off: 88.33 Def: 89.83 Glt: 91.75 Ovr: 89.19
Previous position: 9th
 
7. Wildwood Violent Rush - Juho Kainulainen "Keskustankeisari"
Off: 88.75 Def: 89.5 Glt: 90.5 Ovr: 89.18
Previous position: 6th, playoff 2
 
8. Wolfe Wolves - Marcel Cloutier "unknown forum name"
Off: 87.58 Def: 90 Glt: 89.5 Ovr: 88.82
Previous position: 7th, playoff 3
 
9. Cedar Rapids Panthers - Mauri Nieminen " unknown forum name"
Off: 89.17 Def: 88.17 Glt: 90 Ovr: 88.72
Previous position: 5th, playoff 3
 
10. Urbancrest Comets - Noah High "unknown forum name"
Off: 88.33 Def: 88 Glt: 95.5 Ovr: 88.46
Previous position: 14th
 
11. Sellwood Spirits - Misco Grossi " unkown forum name"
Off: 87.75 Def 88.17 Glt: 88.75 Ovr: 87.99
Previous position: 11th
 
12. Molson Monkeys - Nathan Macdonald "unknown forum name"
Off: 87.42 Def: 88 Glt: 90.75 Ovr: 87.83
Previous position: 13th
 
13. Montmorency Vortex - computer (previously ineffableleafs)
Off: 86.92 Def: 87.83 Glt: 92.5 Ovr: 87.58
Previous position: 8th, playoff 2
 
14. Batchawana Battlin Bears - Joe Leconte "forum name unkown"
Off: 86.92 Def: 87.5 Glt: 91.5 Ovr: 87.38
Previous position: SHL 1st
 
15.Blenheim Pirates - Martin J. "unknown forum name"
Off: 87.08 Def: 86.67 Glt: 91.5 Ovr: 87.06
Previous position: 12th
 
16. Morden Defenders - Justin Camara "JMonkey"
Off: 85.08 Def: 87.83 Glt: 89.75 Ovr: 86.59
Previous position: SHL 2nd

Congratulations on the Cup!
It was well-deserved, although I had hopes I could sneak a win in Game 3. However I think I lost it in Game 1.
 
Good luck next season, let's hope it will spectacular for all of us!
This is a great game.
 
 

Hey IneffableLeafs...that was remarkable how accurate you were with your predictions! We were very fortunate that your Finals prediction was just slightly off as it did come down to a game 3 that the Hooligans fell behind 2-0 early in the first period. Keep up the good work all! Great season, Hawkeye! Good luck with the draft, all!
 
Mike G
Horn Lake Hooligans

My Predictions:
 
Season
 
1. Horn Lake
2. Larson
3. Hawkeye
4. Wildwood
5. Cuba City
6. Sellwood
7. Urbancrest
8. Montmorency
----------------------------
9. Pinewood
10. Wolfe
11. Cedar Rapids
12. Wynyard
----------------------------
13. Molson
14. Blenheim
----------------------------
15. Portland
16. Jolly
 
As for the playoffs, I think Hawkeye will take it over Horn Lake in the finals. No one will go down in the relegation playoffs.
 
The top 5, as I've called them the past few seasons (Larson, Hawkeye, Horn Lake, Wildwood, and Cuba City) are all stacked, and experienced. They shouldn't be displaced at the top. If they are, they shouldn't miss the playoffs.
 
Last season, Urbancrest was pretty much the 2016-17 Toronto Maple Leafs, unexpectedly finishing 2nd with Bonnier (Matthews) leading the team in goals, and some excellent goalkeeping from McCready (Andersen). I wouldn't expect them to miss the playoffs.
 
Sellwood has a lot of tall, strong players, and they are very underrated. I have them finishing 6th.
 
Me finishing 8th may be a stretch. I think 6th to 8th will be very close, with teams missing the postseason by 3-6 points.
 
Pinewood and Wolfe are both good on paper, but time will tell if they can realize their potential.
 
Cedar Rapids is regressing, and Wynyard shouldn't finish in the playoffs despite a high power ranking. A lack of veterans will be their Achilles heel. 
 
Jolly should finish dead last, by far, while the remaining teams will likely be scrapping it out to avoid 15th.
 
Players
 
Top Goal Scorers
 
Audrick Pipe (Cuba City)
Espen William Renshaw (Wildwood)
Carl Nadeau (Sellwood)
 
Top Point Getters
 
Oliver V-G (Larson)
Zain Gracie (Horn Lake)
Alexander Bodrov (Cedar Rapids)
 
Top Goaltenders
 
Bernardo Del Grosso (Horn Lake)
Chris McCready (Urbancrest)
Cornelius Chao (Montmorency)
 
"Calder" Candids (Or Rookies to Watch)
 
*** I didn't include rookies in the minors
 
© Christopher Audette (Montmorency)
© Sam Cardy (Wynyard)
© Waltteri Anttila (Sellwood)
(G) Bronson Brayford (Horn Lake)
(F) Ivan Handlir (Pinewood)
 
"Norris" Trophy Candids
 
George Gales (Larson)
Milan Frost (Larson)
Harun Kucera (Horn Lake)
Rory Grigg (Hawkeye)
Luka Berger (Wolfe)
 
Breakout Player of the Year Candidates (Guys I think will break out)
 
Joen Jacobsen (Horn Lake) - I'm expecting 50-60 points
Hanus Kubacky (Wynyard) - Probably 45+ points
Espen William Renshaw (Wildwood) - Despite putting up 17 goals and 44 points, I think he can go 30-30 and 60 points.
Emeric Dagneault-Laprise (Larson) - In his first full season, I won't consider him a rookie, but the sky's the limit on a stacked team.
 
Please don't slam me over this, these are my honest predictions.

Lol why can't I get your team right. But I see why, most teams had a bunch of assigned players and few goalies while you have 2 assigned players and a number of goalies, so I mistakenly grabbed your best affilîate rather than goalie. I'll fix that later today.

Here, I had some free time so I decided to once again do the Fishbowl Power Rankings for this new season.The formula is the same for total overall average as past season (offensive players + 2 * defensive players + best goaltender)/25. Rather than just chose the top players from each team, I selected players in order as your regular lineup or a swap of players if there is a stronger injured player and then filled any remaining holes with the top scratched/affiliated players. I've also done an average for height (in cm as it's easier) excluding goalies as I was curious.
 
1. Larson Knights - Kelvin.
off: 89.58 def: 92.17 goal: 93 ovr: 90.96
Average height:
off: 187.58 def:186.83 avg: 187.93
Previous position: 4th, Golden Cup
 
2. Horn Lake Hooligans - Mike Grubb
off:88.75 def: 90.83 goal: 98 ovr: 90.12
Average height:
off: 187.25 def:187.12 avg: 187.22
Previous Position: 3rd
 
3. Hawkeyes Revolution - MProust
off: 88.67 def: 90.83 goal: 91 ovr: 89.8
Average height:
off: 187.5 def: 183.5 avg: 186.17
Previous position: 1st
 
4. Cuba City Eagles - Mare Maro
off: 88.42 def: 89.33 goal: 89 ovr: 88.88
Average height:
off: 185.17 def: 185.83 avg: 185.39
Previous position: 6th
 
5. Montmorency Vortex - ineffableleafs
off: 87.33 def: 89.17 goal: 94 ovr: 88.48
Average Height:
off: 185.67 def: 181.5 avg: 184.28
Previous position: 8th
 
6.Wynward Wildfire - Matthew Bernsten
off: 87.58 def: 89 goal: 88 ovr: 88.28
Average height:
off: 185.5 def: 192 avg: 187.67
Previous position: SHL 1st
 
7. Pinewood Lumberjacks - MattLumberjacks
off: 87.67 def: 88.5 goal: 90 ovr: 88.16
Average height: 
off: 189.58 def: 186.17 avg: 188.44
Previous position: 12th
 
8. Wolfe Wolves - Marcel Cloutier
off: 87.33 def: 88.67 goal: 91 ovr: 88.12
Average height: 
off: 182.42 def: 184.83 avg: 183.22
Previous position: 12th
 
9. Wildwood Violent Rush - Keskustankeisari
off: 86.92 def: 89 goal: 91 ovr: 88.08
Average height:
off: 190.42 def: 180.33 avg: 187.06
Previous position: 5th 
 
10. Urbancrest Comets - Noah High
off:  87.58 def: 87.33 goal: 96 ovr: 87.8
Average height:
off: 186.58 def: 187 avg: 186.72
Previous position: 2nd
 
11/12. Cedar Rapid Panthers - Mauri Nieminen
off: 88.92 def: 85.17 goal: 90 ovr: 87.16
Average height: 
off: 187.75 def: 187.83 avg: 187.78
Previous position: 12th
 
11/12. Sellwood Spirit - Misco Grossi
off: 87.58 def: 87.33 goal: 89 ovr: 87.16
Average height:
off: 191.75 def: 192.17 avg: 191.89
Previous position: 10th
 
13. Molson Monkeys - Nathan Macdonald
off: 86.17 def: 87.83 goal: 90 ovr: 87.12
Average height: 
off: 181.17 def: 180 avg: 180.78
Previous position: SHL 2nd
 
14. Portland Cyclones - Zach Furness
off: 85.83 def: 87 goal: 91 ovr: 86.6
Average height: 
off: 179.67 def: 175.67 avg: 178.33
Previous position: 14th
 
15. Bleinheim Pirates - Martin J.
off: 85.92 def: 85.67 goal: 92 ovr: 86.04
Average height: 
off: 188.92 def: 179.17 avg: 185.67
Previous position: 7th
 
16. Jolly Rattlers - computer
off: 85.83 def: 85.67 goal: 88 ovr: 85.54
Average height: 
off: 186.83 def: 192.17 avg: 188.61
Previous position: 13th
 
League average team overall: 88.025
Leave average team height: 186.03

Congrats, glad you won the cup. You perform well every season.

Congrats! Lake St. Louis Topcats GHL Champs!

Looks like a northern and southern conference would be more appropriate for this league. A theoretical current Conference standings for Fishbowl gold would be something like this:
 
(x indicates playoff position)
 
Northern Conference
 
1.x Wildwood Violent Rush
2.x Montmorency Vortex
3.x Larson Knights
4.x Sellwood Spirits
5.x Hawkeye Revolution
6. Pinewood Lumberjacks
7. Wolfe Wolves
8. Batchawana Battlin Bears
 
Southern Conference
 
1.x Urbancrest Comets
2.x Horn Lake Hooligans
3.x Jolly Rattlers
4. Portland Cyclones
5. Cuba City Eagles
6. Cedar Rapids Panthers
7. Blenheim Pirates
8. Mississauga Masons
 
However, if playoffs were determined by conference standings instead, 6th place Hawkeye would miss the playoffs in favour of 9th place Portland.
 
Clearly the Northern Conference is the better conference on paper, boasting 5 out of the eight current playoff teams. However, historically the Southern Conference has been much better, with Jolly, Blenheim, Horn Lake, Cedar Rapids, and Cuba City awarding the South seven out of only nine cups ever awarded in Fishbowl. Larson and Wildwood have two cups representing the North.
 
Sigh, just like in real life, Canadian teams seem to completely struggle in the playoffs. Perhaps Canadian cities are cursed?

Copying Paul T in biscuit, I thought it would be cool to see where everybody's teams are located! I only did the GHL, but I might do the SHL in the future. I definitely won't be doing the other leagues as they get changed quite a bit.
 

Welcome, Kim!
 
you will certainly be a powerful opponent. 

Hi everyone,
 
Been playing for over 2 years in Biscuit now and I've created a new team in Fishbowl, Miami Walkers.
Best of luck to all.
 
Cheers,
 
Kim

Notes:
* This is slightly different from other formulas used. I thought that the performance of goalies varies so much that I thought that their values weight shouldn't be changed. Here's what I used: Overall = (OFF + DEF * 2 + SG) / 25
* Like others, I went for 3 significant digits - however, I went to 4 whenever I needed to break a tie.
* This is based off day 3 teams after free agents were signed.
 
1.Larson Knights (GM: Kelvin .)
              OFF: 89.4 DEF: 92.2 SG: 92 OVR:  90.8
Previous finish: 1st
 
2.Horn Lake Hooligans (GM: Mike Grub)
              OFF: 87.8 DEF: 89 SG: 97 OVR: 88.72
Previous finish: 10th
 
3.Hawkeye Revolution (GM: Marcel Proust - MProust)
              OFF: 87.8 DEF: 89.5 SG: 89 OVR: 88.68
Previous finish: 3rd
 
4.Cuba City Owls (GM: Mare Maro)
              OFF: 87.8 DEF: 88.8 SG: 88 OVR: 88.3
Previous finish: 5th
 
5.Urbancrest Comets (GM: Noah High)
              OFF: 86.4 DEF: 88 SG: 93 OVR: 87.4
Previous finish: 12th
 
6.Cedar Rapids Panthers (GM: Mauri Nieminen)
              OFF: 88.8 DEF: 85.7 SG: 89 OVR: 87.3
Previous finish: 4th
 
7.Wildwood Violent Rush (GM: Juho Kainulainen - Keskustankeisari)
              OFF: 86 DEF: 88.2 SG: 91 OVR: 87.24
Previous finish: 2nd + Golden Cup
 
8.Pinewood Lumberjacks (GM: Matt H - MattLumberjacks)
              OFF: 87.1 DEF: 87.2 SG: 89 OVR: 87.20
Previous finish: 9th
 
9.Montmorency Vortex (GM: Peter T. - Ineffableleafs)
              OFF: 85.8 DEF: 87.5 SG: 93 OVR: 86.9
Previous finish: 7th
 
10.Jolly Rattlers (GM: computer, previously Jaryn Barnes)
              OFF: 85.5 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 86.7
Previous finish: 8th
 
11.Sellwood Spirits (GM: Misco Grossi)
              OFF: 86.1 DEF: 86.6 SG: 89 OVR: 86.6
Previous finish: 6th
 
12.Mississauga Masons (GM: computer)
              OFF: 86.9 DEF: 85.5 SG: 88 OVR: 86.3
Previous finish: 14th
 
13.Batchawana Battlin Bears (GM: Joe Leconte)
              OFF: 85.7 DEF: 86 SG: 87 OVR: 85.9
Previous finish: 2nd SHL
 
14.Wolfe Wolves (GM: Marcel Cloutier)
              OFF: 85.1 DEF: 86.2 SG: 90 OVR: 85.8
Previous finish: 11th
 
15.Portland Cyclones (GM: Zach Furness)
              OFF: 84.1 DEF: 84.7 SG: 91 OVR: 84.7
Previous finish: 1st SHL
 
16.Blenheim Pirates (GM: Martin J.)
              OFF: 84.3 DEF: 83.3 SG: 92 OVR: 84.4
Previous finish: 13th
 
According to the overalls;
Best Offense: Larson Knights at 89.4
Best Defense: Larson Knights at 92.2
Best Goaltending: Horn Lake Hooligans at 97
 
I'll probably edit this in a little bit to show how much salary each team is spending on their top roster.

The Coquitlam Tribune
 
Savage Storm upend Timberwolves 5-2
 
SLAUGHTERVILLE, OK. The Savage Storm handily beat the visiting team last night, and boy was it a rough one. Credited with 23 hits, the home team spanked the Coquitlam Timberwolves on the boards and in the corners, and skated away from most of the physical play initiated by the visitors. After the first period, the Storm took a one goal lead and ground out the last two periods to a 5-2 final score.
 
Storm defenseman Lucas Calello shared the team lead of 3 hits last night and pitched in with a helper. "It's nice to be able to contribute on the gamesheet, but I feel better about beating on those wimpy SHL wannabees." 
 
'Wolves backup goalie Joen Berg put on a brave face after the game, having let 5 out of 35 shots get by him. "Coach let me know with 10 minutes to go that I'd be playing, and I guess I just couldn't find my angles in time." Shortly after the buzzer sounded, Berg's twitter account listed a post that read, "Hey @BergerFries -- I found you this protractor goo.gl/ZzHVZs. Luv Mum."
 
While the Coquitlam coach was quick to get on the bus to their next game at Pinehurst -- a 1,200 mile trip -- their assistant manager, Notta H. Uman, was happy to comment on the game. "The team had some tactical difficulties offensively against our opponent's defence. The opponent's defense and goalie was superior to our team's goal scoring in today's game. The opponent's defense was superior to our team's offense in today's game. The body checking of our opponent's offense was superior to our team's defense in today's game." The guy did not shut up. "At least the team did very well tactically during powerplay against our opponent's penalty killing." Also, the Wolves did not score one powerplay goal.
 
The Storm's coach liked their compete level. "I think that we..." The rest of his statement was boring and had five spelling errors.
 
The Timberwolves play the Razorbacks at 12am tonight. Maybe we'll think about broadcasting it.

Hey everyone! I'm Luke Ciccone and I've been the manager of the Reliance Renegades for over a year now. I guess that means I'm not exactly new, but I figured I might as well introduce myself. Some of you may already know me as I'm rather active with trading and messaging other managers in Clapper. I'm also Mike's brother, who is the manager of the Colome Knights. He got me into the game and I'd like to think I'm already a better manager than him. Haha, maybe not but it's nice to have someone to bounce trade ideas off of.
 
When I joined, I was randomly placed on a BHL team when the regular season had already ended. My team had finished last place and was going to be relegated. I lost essentially everyone due to 1-way contracts and I had quite a bit of cap space locked from the previous manager releasing players with years still left on their contracts. I started completely fresh from the IHL where I finished first place in my very first season. I've worked my way up into the upper half of the SHL now where I was close to promotion into the GHL last season through the playoffs, but lost in the third game of the series. This season has been all about building up a strong young team for the next season. I'll likely be in the playoffs again this season but I'm not expecting promotion in the slightest.
 
I didn't really mean to give my whole 11 season summary, but I really love the game and am always excited to get to talk about it. I wish everyone success in their future seasons. Thanks!

Does anyone in fishbowl GHL have any interest in acquiring my first round pick for a high quality forward or a decent performing bottom 6 center? 

Welcome to Clapper!
 
I also think you inherit a good team with a lot of excellent prospects, but also with chances to fight right now for the Cup! 

As per Keskustankeisari's request, here are Game World Fishbowl's GHL Power Rankings for season 9.
 
I calculated the averages the exact same way that Erzac did in his post, so if you want the calculation rules, visit this thread: GHL s10 power rankings.
 
This is based on the lineups after the first preseason game, or early day 5.
 
A Couple of Notes:
Pinewood doesn't have 12 forwards, I assume they sign an 84 rated center/forward. I may have missed someones forum name, if I have, post below and I'll add it. All predictions are unbiased, no prediction I made or calculation is meant to favour any team, including mine. Simply my opinion. Any star (*) indicates a tie in position in terms of overall. The team rated higher in the power rankings had a stronger finish last season. Alright then, the teams are listed best to worst in terms of overall:
 
1. Larson Knights (GM: Kelvin)
      OFF: 89 DEF: 92 SG: 91 OVR: 89.8
Previous Finish: 1st, Eliminated first round 
 
2. Cedar Rapids Panthers (GM: Mauri Nieminen)
      OFF: 88 DEF: 87 SG: 88 OVR: 87.9
Previous Finish: 8th, Eliminated semi finals 
 
3. Horn Lake Hooligans (GM: Mike Grubb - Mickg34)
      OFF: 87 DEF: 88 SG: 96 OVR: 87.7
Previous Finish: 3rd, Eliminated semi finals 
 
4. *Hawkeye Revolution (GM: Marcel Proust - Haradrim)
      OFF: 87 DEF: 88 SG: 90 OVR: 87.5
Previous Finish: 4th, Lost Golden Cup finals 
 
5. *Cuba City Eagles (GM: Mare Maro)
      OFF: 87 DEF: 89 SG: 87 OVR: 87.5
Previous Finish: 2nd, Eliminated first round 
 
6. Jolly Rattlers (GM: Jaryn Barnes - JBizzle)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 86.4
Previous Finish: 7th, Golden Cup Winner
 
7. Sellwood Spirits (GM: Misco Grossi)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 87 SG: 89 OVR: 86.1
Previous Finish: 13th, Survived relegation playoff 
 
8. Montmorency Vortex (GM: Peter T. - IneffableLeafs)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 85.9
Previous Finish: 1st, SHL
 
9. Wynyard Wildfire (GM: Matthew Berntsen)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 87 SG: 86 OVR: 85.7
Previous Finish: 12th
 
10. Canuck Mighty Rhinos (Computer)
      OFF: 86 DEF: 85 SG: 84 OVR: 85.6
Previous Finish: 9th
 
11. Pinewood Lumberjacks (GM: Matthew Henke - MattLumberjacks)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 85 SG: 89 OVR: 85.4
Previous Finish: 2nd, SHL
 
12. *Wildwood Violent Rush (GM: Juho Kainulainen - Keskustankeisari )
      OFF: 84 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 85.3
Previous Finish: 5th, Eliminated first round 
 
13. *Blenheim Pirates (GM: Martin J.)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 86 SG: 90 OVR: 85.3
Previous Finish: 6th, Eliminated first round 
 
14. Urbancrest Comets (GM: Noah High - Noah)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 85 SG: 87 OVR: 85.1
Previous Finish: 10th
 
15. Wolfe Wolves (GM: Marcel Cloutier)
      OFF: 85 DEF: 84 SG: 90 OVR: 84.9
Previous Finish: 11th
 
16. Merrick Thunder (GM: Matt Jaworski)
      OFF: 84 DEF: 85 SG: 86 OVR: 84.3
Previous Finish: 3rd, SHL, promoted via promotion playoff 
 
So there you go fishbowl GHL, use this information as you'd like.
 
8 Predictions for Season 9 in the GHL
 
1. Canuck Mighty Rhinos relegated - The only computer controlled team in the league, is likely to suffer the same fate as the computer teams in season 8, Red River Dragons and the South Township Spartans. Owning by far the worst starting goalie in the GHL, at only 84, they should have a dismal season as human managers pick off their stars.
 
2. It's the same old contenders - The talent gap after the Cuba City Eagles is immense. The contenders: Larson, Cedar Rapids, Horn Lake, Cuba City, and possible Jolly, should all clinch playoff spots due to the talent difference. Expect Larson to bounce back after winning three league titles in a row and being beat by Cedar Rapids, who will likely finish higher than 8th this season.
 
3. Tight battle for 7th and 8th - After playoff runs, Wildwood and Blenheim both regressed, due to old age, and expiring contracts. However, they will both be expected to finish 7th and 8th due to their experience. However, the emergence of the Sellwood Spirits should not be ignored, and the Montmorency Vortex and Wynyard Wildfire both look to make the playoffs as well, possibly the first for both managers in Fishbowl.
 
4. Emergence of new talents - At season 9, the stars that fist emerged in season 1, such as Ivar Lund, Eser Heinze, Dominik Svidran, and Nilo Strinberg, all are on the verge of declining, making room for new stars to step up to the plate, starting with season 4 and 5 draftees: Jeffrey Richardson, Joen Jacobsen, and Bo Welker.
 
5. Emergence of new playoff teams - After teams such as Hawkeye, Wildwood, and Canuck, who came out of lower leagues and established themselves in the GHL, with managers Matthew Henke, Matt Jaworski, and  Peter T. building formidable teams directly after promotion, and Sellwood also having a great offseason, expect new playoff teams. This will be the first taste of human competition to stay in the league for some established teams, and don't be surprised if a formidable team goes down instead of the recently promoted. Also, the Jolly Rattlers' offense is ageing, and will start to regress, and along with a poor defensive corps for a playoff team, even a 90 rated goalie may not save them from a mid table finish this season.
 
6. A decent draft - Analysis of major junior teams throughout the world shows that this draft will be pretty strong, and should have an above average top 10, with okay depth. Early in the season, no game-breakers have emerged yet, but in the USA, goaltender Chris McCready is surprising many scouts with his superb ability, notably his athleticism. He looks like a GHL star for sure.
 
7. Expect Batchawana back - The prime favourite for the SHL title, Batchawana should solidify the GHL as a completely human division next season, assuming Canuck is relegated, and their reputation as a 'battlin' team should pull them a long way, especially in hopes of landing them Chris McCready in the upcoming draft.
 
8. Team spirit will be important - Looking at the league, other than contenders, the rest of the standings will be anyone's guess. Many are expecting that winner instinct, teamwork, and most importantly confidence will greatly influence the table this season, with such even teams.
 
Hope you guys found this useful or interesting 

I don't see how he is speaking for Anders, he is just stating the facts previously given to us. And I think you read his tone wrong as I don't think he's insulting you, just pointing out how to deal with injuries and mentioning that sometimes, it's down to luck.
 
As for your original suggestions, I think CPU trading is a lot better. You now have to give something of value that the CPU wants in order to get anything of value back. For server speed, that takes time and I'm pretty sure Anders tries to keep it as fast as possible, but every update with new content is going to inevitable slow the game down a tad. Also, our last update has noticeably gotten the game to run faster.
 
I do agree with your mention of player degradation. Right now it needs to be fixed, but before this last update, there were too many prospects developing too quickly and people were calling for the oldest players to degrade a little bit faster as they remained in their prime too long. It looks like a delicate balance that will probably take multiple updates to get right.
 
Finally, I don't think it's fair that you are comparing our time to Anders time spent on this game like they are equal. They are not. We only have to spend a few minutes a day to enjoy this game, Anders has to spend hours writing and fixing code. Sure it's something he does for fun, but too many of our own immediate demands can burn him out and make this feel like a job. I'm probably speaking for him there and he can correct me if I am wrong, but it's something I've seen happen before. So just have a bit patience while we wait for a fix.
 
 
 
 
Exxeo, did that 19-year old play in juniors? If he did, he looks like he was barely progressing before this last update, I actually think that his max potential might be around 83ish overall.

Could be the bolded, but I'm leaning now that they shouldn't be arrogant and have good leadership (and biggames) trait(s)?