AlexanderRasputin

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Posts posted by AlexanderRasputin


  1. Congratulations to everyone on another brilliant GHL season! 

    As usual, discussions AND ADDITIONAL TROPHIES are welcome.

    You know the drill.

     

    GOLDEN CUP CHAMPION: SLAUGHTERVILLE RED TIDE (Alexander Rasputin)

    Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP):

    ARTEM PSCHENICHNIKOV (Red Tide) - 23 points - (13GP - 9G/14A/+18)

    An absolutely dominant performance from the sophomore offensive defenceman, involved in everything positive the team created, and putting up monster performances when it mattered, such as a 5-point game in the GHL cup final series. 

     

    GHL East Champion: SLAUGHTERVILLE RED TIDE (Alexander Rasputin)        *NEW GHL POINTS RECORD (185)

    GHL West Champion: SHEBANDOWAN NATIVES (Antti Aikko)

     

    Managers of the Year: 

    Mark Z (NEW CASTLE KNIGHTS) - West

    Alexander Rasputin (SLAUGHTERVILLE RED TIDE) - East

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     

    ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points)

    JUBA DESSANE (Bangers) - 86 points      

     

    OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer)

    JERALD WHITELY (Trojans) - 38 goals              

     

     GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) 

    JUBA DESSANE (Bangers) - 63 assists         

     

    VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender)

    SAGIV SCHUPPAN (Red Tide) / COLBY GLORIA (Stealheads)               *SHARE TITLE

      

    ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman)

    ARTEM PSCHENICHNIKOV (Red Tide) - 85 points     *RETAINS TITLE                      

     

    NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman)

    ARTEM PSCHENICHNIKOV (Red Tide)                    

      

    • ORR - Points leader among defencemen

    • NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among D-men [BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration, removing +/- for more fairness 

     

    SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)

    NICOLA MOUTON (Red Tide)                   

    • Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA] Hits and +/- also relevant.

     

    LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player)

    JEREMIE CLINE (Stealheads)               

    • Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM]

     

     HART TROPHY (League MVP)

     ARTEM PSCHENICHNIKOV (Red Tide)             *RETAINS TITLE

     

    CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie)

    ANDREAS BARDET (Ghosts) - 58 points           

     

    GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways)

    MIROSLAV PAJTINKA (Plastic Attack) - 28 GVA

     

    ROID RAGE TROPHY

    PIERROT RIDDLE (Knights/Yale Men)            

    (Most Hits + PIM + MP)

     

    BEST BREAKOUT PLAYER AWARD

    ZIKMUND KUPEC (Rage) - Doubled his points output since transfer to Rage, top 5 in league scoring with 76 points

     

    LATE-BLOOMER AWARD

    ZIKMUND KUPEC (Rage)

     

     

    NOTABLE RETIREMENTS

    Will update as they show.


  2. In my opinion, one interesting cosmetic feature GPHM is missing are player faces. Given how we as managers build relationships with our players and how player Traits play into developing that further, player faces are a logical next step. That said, this is a very challenging feature to integrate into the game, though I know Anders has thought about it.

    In the meantime, having played with it in the past, I decided to create FIFA - style player cards to commemorate my current GHL champion Red Tide squad. Not all players will be included, but the key figures are there. 

    The player attributes are lifted straight from GPHM. The player faces - the interesting part - are all generated through an AI algorithm called a GAN (generative adversarial network). In other words, none of these are real people, except in my (and now your) mind, when playing GPHM.

    So rejoice - you now get to meet the players that you face on a weekly basis, in person. 

    Images are attached - have fun. I certainly did, putting them together. If anyone wants to do something similar for their team, reach out - I'll see if I can help.

    Cheers!

    Alex

    HERMANNI PENTTI.png

    NICOLA MOUTON.png

    ROGER MULLER.png

    SAGIV SCHUPPAN.png

    A. PSCHENICHNIKOV.png

    AMIR BJORNRAM.png

    IVAN PODA.png

    SHMUEL ELIE-BRETON.png

    V. SEMICHAEVSKIY.png

    VICTOR CHEZHEKOV.png

    ARGUS CHRISTENSEN.png

    DMITRI NAZAROV.png

    ELOUAN SCOTT.png

    PATRICK GORNELL.png

    VILHELM SALMELA.png

    YAN SHARSHIN.png


  3. Congratulations to everyone on an epic Season 7! 

    As usual, discussions AND ADDITIONAL TROPHIES are welcome.

    You know the drill.

     

    GOLDEN CUP CHAMPION: SLAUGHTERVILLE RED TIDE (Alexander Rasputin)

    Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP):

    ROGER MULLER (Red Tide) - 18 points - (17GP - 9G/9A/+8)

    Following his breakout regular season, Muller continued to be hot in the playoffs, centering the Tide's most effective line, and playing a key role on both the PP and the PK. He led the team with 11 TKA, and shared the lead with 2 PPG and most combined special teams time. 

     

    GHL East Champion: BIG DELTA STEALHEADS (Paul T)        *NEW GHL POINTS RECORD (176)

    GHL West Champion: PITTSBORO PLASTIC ATTACK (Makate Naekfor)

     

    Managers of the Year: 

    Makate Naekor (Plastic Attack) - West

    Paul T (Stealheads) - East

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     

    ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points)

    ELOUAN SCOTT (Red Tide) - 97 points      *NEW GHL RECORD    *RETAINS TITLE

     

    OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer)

    RAPHAEL BOLDUC (Bad Apples) - 46 goals              

     

     GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) 

    KIERON MONTGOMERY (Bad Apples) - 57 assists           

     

    VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender)

    JEAN-FRANCOIS SHORE (Rage)               

      

    ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman)

    ARTEM PSCHENICHNIKOV (Red Tide) - 88 points     *NEW GHL RECORD                       

     

    NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman)

    PIERROT RIDDLE (Goldville Knights)       *RETAINS TITLE                

      

    • ORR - Points leader among defencemen

    • NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among D-men [BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration, removing +/- for more fairness 

     

    SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)

    ELOUAN SCOTT (Red Tide)                   

    • Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA] Hits and +/- also relevant.

     

    LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player)

    LISAKKI JARVELA (Yale Men)               

    • Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM]

     

     HART TROPHY (League MVP)

     ARTEM PSCHENICHNIKOV (Red Tide)   

     

    CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie)

    ARTEM PSCHENICHNIKOV (Red Tide) - 88 points           *NEW GHL RECORD

     

    GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways)

    AADEN BABIN (Ithaca Doom) - 32 GVA

     

    ROID RAGE TROPHY

    CECIL BRANCO (Shebandowan Natives/Bodmin Bangers)            *RETAINS TITLE

    (Most Hits + PIM + MP)

     

    BEST BREAKOUT PLAYER AWARD

    JUBA DESSANE (Bodmin Bangers) - 93 points after never scoring above 63

     

    LATE-BLOOMER AWARD

    SEET ESKOLA (Eastern Outlaws)

     

     

    NOTABLE RETIREMENTS

    YAN SHARSHIN (Red Tide)

    JOAQUIM HARTER (Rome Trojans)

     


  4. Also, upon further reflection, I don't even fully agree with the opinion that increasing team salaries will affect hoarding. It will affect average team strength and the ability of managers to stack their teams, sure - but what does it matter when you can sign the same player on a two-way 2M contract (instead of, say, 1M), and still stick him in the minors, and be on the hook for only 200K?

    A hard roster limit, in my opinion, is the only legitimate solution to this problem. Everything else won't have nearly as much of an impact. 


  5. Don't disagree with skater limit and salary increases.

    But I think we are starting to veer off course. The intent of @zinnyzxx's original post was to highlight some examples of why teams promoting to GHL are currently f*cked when it comes to squad strength. Yes, the salaries are part of this, but there are two equally culpable elements:

    1) Smart relegating managers trading away one-way assets ahead of time, preventing them from going to FA, and 2) Hoarding players. The former can't be fixed unless we do something with transfer windows. The latter - can. 

    In the case of Fury above, the players aren't exactly GHL quality, and I have no problem with having a full AAHL-LEVEL team in the minors. Where I do completely support @zinnyzxx, is in the case of the other teams he mentioned, who have players in their minors who would walk into the top 6 of any recently promoted team. Yet, they are out of GHL rotation entirely, and the hoarding teams experience zero penalty, team confidence or otherwise, for keeping these players in AAHL - a league way below their level.

    It would be less egregious if the managers in questions actually DID something with those players, but more likely than not, they just stay in the minors for a significant portion of their careers, and maybe a few eventually make their way out. This is damaging to the in-game economy. It's one of many elements that contribute to this damage, to be sure - not the only one - but it is the simplest to fix, in my opinion. So let's give @zinnyzxx some support and have Anders set a roster limit. 


  6. Congratulations to everyone on a brilliant Season 13! 

    Here come the season awards! As always, feel free to discuss.
     

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

    GOLDEN CUP CHAMPION: WINTERSVILLE LANCERS (Anders Granberg)

    Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP):

    Andreas Naf (Lancers) - 15GP / 6G / 13A / +4

     

    GHL East Champion: VERMILION BLACK DEVILS (Alexander Rasputin)

    GHL West Champion: WARMAN FIGHTERS (Wick Schozen)

    Regular Season Champion: VERMILION BLACK DEVILS (Alexander Rasputin) - 185 points. * NEW GHL RECORD

    Manager of the Year: Anders Granberg (Lancers) - Defeated top 3 regular season teams in Black Devils, Hawks, Fighters en route to the Cup

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     

    ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points)

    DIETER HAUK (Black Devils) - 102 points     *Retained

    Cullen Jolly (Doom)

    Dmitry Yakimov (Golden Flyers)

     

    OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer)

    DERRELL LAMPKIN (Outlaws) - 45 goals        

    Sergey Parshivlyuk (Bandits)

    Dieter Hauk (Black Devils)

     

    GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) 

    SVEN KELLER (Black Devils) - 63 assists           

    Simon Mineault (Outlaws)

    Dieter Hauk (Black Devils)

     

    VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender)

    NIKITA MINEYEV (Black Devils)   [51-10, 2.04 GAA, 92.8 SV%]            *3x in a row

    Kajetan Krajci (Lancers)

    Nicola Desroche (Razorbacks)

     

    ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman)

    SVEN KELLER (Black Devils) - 86 points            *3x in a row    *NEW RECORD    

     

    NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman)

    CEDRICK DIGNARD (Razorbacks)                       

      

    • ORR - Points leader among defencemen

    • NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among D-men [+/- + BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration 

     

    SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)

    CAMIL MCAULAY (Outlaws)                   

    • Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA] Hits and +/- also relevant.

     

    LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player)

    SERGEY PARSHIVLYUK (Bandits)     

    • Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM]

     

     HART TROPHY (League MVP)

     DIETER HAUK (Black Devils)        *Retained title

     

    CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie)

    JANTZEN LORENZEN (Barbarians) - 68 points           

     

    GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways)

    FRANK WEICHERT (Lynx)  -  29 giveaways

     

    NEWTON AWARD (Highest Plus/Minus)

    YURY NIZAMUTDINOV (Vermilion Black Devils) + 71       *Retained title

     

    ANTI-NEWTON AWARD (Lowest Plus/Minus)

    IVO WEBER (Shadows) - -39

     

    ROID RAGE TROPHY

    ALEXANDRE MCGLASHAN (Nightmares)

    (Most Hits + PIM + MP)

     

    LATE-BLOOMER AWARD

    YEGOR SIYANKOV (Black Devils) - 40/39/79 points

     

    JOHN SCOTT AWARD

    DMITRY YAKIMOV (Golden Flyers) - 87 points


  7. Congratulations to everyone on a magnificent Season 12! 

    Here come the season awards!
     

    NOTE: I am making a judgement call on a couple of the awards and attempted to be transparent as to formulas - but feel free to discuss.

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

    GOLDEN CUP CHAMPION: PINEHURST RAZORBACKS (PhoenixTF)

    Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP):

    Dominik Oresnik (Razorbacks) - 16GP / 7G / 5A / +9

     

    GHL East Champion: VERMILION BLACK DEVILS (Alexander Rasputin)

    GHL West Champion: WARMAN FIGHTERS (Wick Schozen)

     

    Manager of the Year: DR. WENDT (Tignish Animals) 

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     

    ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points)

    DIETER HAUK (Black Devils) - 107 points     *NEW RECORD

    Cullen Jolly (Doom)

    Simon Mineault (Outlaws)

     

    OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer)

    DIETER HAUK (Black Devils) - 49 goals        

    Sylvain Monciau-Desormeaux (Frost Giants)

    Pavel Statnik (Frost Giants)

     

    GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) 

    DANIEL SILLE (Frost Giants) / SIMON MINEAULT (Outlaws) - 59 assists           

    Dieter Hauk (Black Devils)

    Jean-Felix Rainault-Blanchard (Buccaneers)

     

    VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender)

    NIKITA MINEYEV (Black Devils)               *Retained Title

    Austin Mathew (Golden Eagles/Lynx)

    Haider Jannel (Hawks)

     

    ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman)

    SVEN KELLER (Black Devils) - 79 points            *Retained title        

     

    NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman)

    GABRYEL BELZILE-GAGNON (Razorbacks)                       

      

    • ORR - Points leader among defencemen

    • NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among D-men [+/- + BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration 

     

    SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)

    CLIFFORD SPIERS (Doom)                   

    • Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA] Hits and +/- also relevant.

     

    LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player)

    CLIFFORD SPIERS (Doom)     

     

    • Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM]

     

     HART TROPHY (League MVP)

     DIETER HAUK (Black Devils)   

     Clifford Spiers (Doom)

     Gabryel Belzile-Gagnon (Razorbacks)

     

    CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie)

    JAZEPS PAEGLE (Tigers) - 73 points             *tied record

    Thor Dam (Black Devils)

     

    GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways)

    MICHAEL MONROE (Animals) / RIKU JARVENPAA (Indians) -  33 giveaways

     

    NEWTON AWARD (Highest Plus/Minus)

    YURY NIZAMUTDINOV (Vermilion Black Devils) + 77       *New record.  *Retains title

     

    ANTI-NEWTON AWARD (Lowest Plus/Minus)

    DANIELS KANEPS (Indians) - -37

     

    ROID RAGE TROPHY

    MICHAEL BUXTON (Golden Eagles/Animals)

    (Most Hits + PIM + MP)

     

    LATE-BLOOMER AWARD

    ANTON VERESCHAGIN (Frost Giants) - 83 points


  8. Congratulations to everyone on yet another fantastic season! 

    I am making a judgement call on a couple of the awards, but generally, there was clear consensus, and as usual, discussions AND ADDITIONAL TROPHIES are welcome.

    You know the drill.

     

    GOLDEN CUP CHAMPION: CEDAR RAPIDS MINUTEMEN (Richard Armour)

    Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP):

    Viteszlav Predajna (Minutemen) - 13 points - (14GP - 5G/8A/+1)

     

    GHL East Champion: BIG DELTA STEALHEADS (Paul T)

    GHL West Champion: ENIGMA RAGE (Wendel Clark)

     

    Manager of the Year: Richard Armour (Minutemen)

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     

    ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points)

    ELOUAN SCOTT (Red Tide) / JEREMIE CLINE (Stealheads) - 84 points

     

    OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer)

    ELOUAN SCOTT (Red Tide) - 40 goals              

     

     GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) 

    PATRICK GORNELL (Red Tide) - 54 assists           

     

    VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender)

    ZACH WOODLEY (Eastern Outlaws)               

      

    ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman)

    GUSTAVS KUNDZINS (Bodmin Bangers)                        

     

    NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman)

    PIERROT RIDDLE (Victoria Lions)                       

      

    • ORR - Points leader among defencemen

    • NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among D-men [BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration, removing +/- for more fairness 

     

    SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)

    RICHARDS AUNINS (Battlin Bears)                   

    • Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA] Hits and +/- also relevant.

     

    LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player)

    JOESPH RACKLEY (Enigma Rage)               

    • Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM]

     

     HART TROPHY (League MVP)

     ELOUAN SCOTT (Red Tide)   

     

    CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie)

    DANICK GRAHAM (Marietta Sand Storm)

     

    GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways)

    COLE ADAMSON (Eastern Outlaws)   

     

    ROID RAGE TROPHY

    CECIL BRANCO (Shebandowan Natives)

    (Most Hits + PIM + MP)

     

    LATE-BLOOMER AWARD

    BRENDAN ROWLETT (Enigma Rage)


  9. Congratulations to everyone on an epic Season 11! 

    Here come the season awards!
     

    NOTE: I am making a judgement call on a couple of the awards and attempted to be transparent as to formulas - but feel free to discuss.

    _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

    GOLDEN CUP CHAMPION: WARMAN FIGHTERS (Wick Schozen)

    Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP):

    Ulric Kristensen (Warman Fighters) - 14GP / 5G / 8A / +7

     

    GHL East Champion: VERMILION BLACK DEVILS (Alexander Rasputin)

    GHL West Champion: WARMAN FIGHTERS (Wick Schozen)

     

    Manager of the Year: Alexander Rasputin (Black Devils) - Hate to do this, but my team did tie the all-time points record in GHL, and set the GF record

    ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

     

    ART ROSS TROPHY (Most League Points)

    MATEI MITCHEL (Black Devils) - 95 points     *tied record (Kyrylo Voloshyn)

    Ulrik Kristensen (Fighters)

    Aaron Mallard (Fighters)

     

    OVECHKIN TROPHY (Top Goalscorer)

    Ulrik Kristensen (Fighters) - 47 goals        

    Yego Siyankov (Black Devils)

    Jindrich Kuhnsman (Buccaneers)

     

    GRETZKY TROPHY (Best Playmaker) 

    ANTON VERESCHAGIN (Frost Giants) - 63 assists      *New league record       

    Sven Keller (Black Devils)

    Kyrylo Voloshyn (Lynx)

     

    VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goaltender)

    NIKITA MINEYEV (Black Devils)               *New league record: 57 wins

    Zikmund Bowman (Movement)

    Ahto Knuutila (Fighters)

     

    ORR TROPHY (Best Offensive Defenceman)

    SVEN KELLER (Black Devils) - 81 points            *New league defenseman record             

     

    NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defensive Defenceman)

    YURY NIZAMUTDINOV (Black Devils) / JUAN FELIPE GODARD-LAPOINTE (Sea Warriors)                       

      

    • ORR - Points leader among defencemen

    • NORRIS - Calculated with the following formula among D-men [+/- + BKS - GVA + TKA], PER also taken into consideration 

     

    SELKE TROPHY (Best Defensive Forward)

    CLIFFORD SPIERS (Blazers/Doom)                   

    Ulrik Kristensen (Fighters)

    Matei Mitchel (Black Devils)

     

     

    • Calculated with the following formula among F: [PTS + BKS - GVA + TKA] Hits and +/- also relevant.

     

    LADY BYNG TROPHY (Most Gentlemanly Player)

    PAVEL STATNIK (Fairford Frost Giants) - 86 points / 2 PIM        *Retains trophy     

     

    • Calculated with the following formula [PTS - PIM]

     

     HART TROPHY (League MVP)

     MATEI MITCHEL (Black Devils)   

     Aaron Mallard (Fighters)

     Nikita Mineyev (Black Devils)

     

    CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie)

    AMIR ASAY (Sea Warriors) - 52 points

    Emilio Kain (Nightmares)

    Paul Deane (Razorbacks)

     

    GOOD SAMARITAN AWARD (Most Giveaways)

    ROCCO PENNELLE (River Eagles) -  48 giveaways 

     

    NEWTON AWARD (Highest Plus/Minus)

    YURY NIZAMUTDINOV (Vermilion Black Devils) + 67       *New record

     

    ANTI-NEWTON AWARD (Lowest Plus/Minus)

    NIKOLAY NIKISHIN (River Eagles) - -90

     

    ROID RAGE TROPHY

    AMIT GOIN (River Eagles)

    (Most Hits + PIM + MP)

     

    LATE-BLOOMER AWARD

    ZIKMUND BOWMAN (Mississauga Movement) - 41 years old, 45W, 2.74 GAA, 90.5 SV%          *Retained trophy


  10. These are super useful. Thanks for putting in all this work, the insight into the national teams is something that’s definitely missing in this game. Maybe Anders can look at this and finally implement national teams since you’ve done half the work here. May be worth asking him about it. Having a World Cup in the off-season would be extremely cool.


  11. Fantastic. Some thoughts on the teams:

    CZECH - Very good traits for the squad. They have good teamwork and are stable in terms of their winner instinct - a dirty team though, which may help them destabilize stronger opponents. The definition of winning via a strong group rather than individual performance.
    Wildcard: F Kuhnsman. He had a breakout season this year with 42 goals and can be the go-to scorer for this team.

    SWEDEN - Pleasantly surprised how accurate GPHM's algorithm at predicting player personalities - Swedes are known to be friendly, and this team is so friendly and respectful, they probably have trouble deciding who goes on the ice first. But at least they're enthusiastic about saying "you first")). The Nervousness will be a problem, but their extremely good and mostly Heroic defence should cover it up. 
    Wildcard: D Josefsson. If anyone can pull this team together via leading by example, it's this very strong veteran defenceman.

    FINLAND - Like the common perception of Finns, the team is quite reserved and has a leadership void, as mentioned before. However, much of the team are incredibly ambitious, and they have plenty of high performers. Will likely rely on a few key players stepping up, as, from a basic knowledge of the players, this is a very offensive team, and will likely need to win plenty of high-scoring games.
    Wildcard: G Kanerva. Determined and will have plenty of game-saving saves to make to win those one-goal games.

    RUSSIA - What a team. Obviously I am somewhat biased, but even looking at the traits, this squad looks fantastic. Only two Nervous players, only one Arrogant player, and not a key one - rarity for Russian teams. With the Black Devils contingent of Siyankov, Mineyev, Nizamutdinov leading the way, elite offensive talent, out of this world top D pair and goaltending, and a surprisingly good balance between offensive and defensive players - what's not to like? The only significant weakness for this team is defensive depth, but an offensive focus and the Mineyev/Alenin tandem should more than address that small deficiency. 
    Wildcard: F Siyankov. Legendary veteran captain, cup winner, 43 goal scorer, and leader embodying the Russian win-at-all-costs offensive mentality. The team will follow behind him.

    CANADA - I'm guessing the team is trying to use dark arts to sneak in GHL MVP and 95-point scorer Matei Mitchel without officially declaring him a roster player, but even without him, this Canadian team is the clear favourite in the tournament. Insane defence. Even with the anxious goaltending, I would be surprised to see them concede more than a couple of goals a game. And no one should question their ability to put the puck in the net. Top, top team - I would love to see a series simmed between them and Russia. 
    Wildcard: F Mitchel. Will he or won't he make the team is the question on everyone's lips!



     


  12. Keller and Hauk have an epic bet going on which of them can drag their mediocre squad further. 

    US is quite stacked - but as they have no Black Devils players, they are clearly below par and will be eliminated ;). Also - the trait spread is eerily accurate to the real life US hockey team. GPHM is a solid predictor of real life, it appears!


  13. Stuk is elite, can drag a team to a win all on his own. Zabka is also an extremely underrated scorer, he would be a huge threat with a good playmaker in the top 6. Slovakia would definitely be a challenging team to play against. 


  14. 22 hours ago, Steve said:

     

    1.  Yatchenko 40+ goals.  The future franchise player.

    2.  Veres 50+ assists.  This will require several on PP, but as the other franchise player, he needs to continue his rise to keep the title.

     

    This is looking like an extremely volatile combo. Always rated Yatchenko, and Veres has had some very impressive development the last two seasons.

    I'm 100% about chemistry between duos as a driver for success, so will be checking this one out during the season for sure.