Hello NHLGamers,
Welcome to another edition of "Who's Hot and Who's Not". A format first introduced last summer during the ECL Summer Cup, the "Hot or Not"-column was a source of much emotion and debate during its first tour of duty... so naturally we decided to bring it back! This time around the lists will be a bit shorter (we have atleast five times more teams and three different divisions to cover) but hopefully just as accurate and prone to create debates. As always, we have the great @OxtreeLAT providing some terrific art for both the cover and the different sections within the article - but when it comes to the text, I will handle all the list-making myself this time.
Let's get to it!
WHO’S HOT - ELITE
Forward:
Dominointi, LHT - Laser HTs captain is usually a team-first, positionally solid two-way center who always makes sure to cover the correct passing lanes - a Selke Trophy candidate, if you will. However this season, facing the toughest competition in ECL tournament history, he's been doing all that while having a career season offensively with 66 points in 22 games.
Defender:
liSvampl, WHO - Unknown has certainly backed up their pre-season talk that they should be in Elite with a terrific season in the ECL top division thus far. A big part of their success has been the #1 defensive pairing of iSvamp & Terasniska. Playing in most of WHOs games thus far, both skaters are currently in the Top-10 for defensive scoring but iSvamp gets the nod due to having more goals, assists and points with his 23 points in 21 games.
Goalie:
Ranta83, WHO - Another component to Unknowns success has been their constant goaltender Ranta83 who, besides from having the most goaltending Wins in Elite by a mile, sports some very respectable numbers with 80.42%, 2.20 GAA and 2 shutouts to his name.
WHO'S NOT - ELITE
Forward:
Mullweiser, NOS - A big part of Northern Stars #1 line, Mullweiser is by no means having a bad season... it just probably hasn't been all he hoped for thus far, something that goes for the entire NOS team. Relying on team defense to win games isn't a bad strategy (especially not in the playoffs) but it puts an awful lot of pressure on the teams attackers to perform using limited opportunities. With 9 goals, 24 points and a -11 in 24 games, Mullweiser gets the nod here this time.
Defender:
Maqruusi, RTL - Refuse To Lose gets a spot on the Not-list for the second straight edition as their season really hasn't improved that much since last time. This time they are represented by defender Maqruusi who sports a challenging -29 while managing just 1 goal and 8 points in 16 games.
Goalie:
octobussy, ESA - TIKI TALK is having a decent surge in the second part of their season, but octobussy still gets a nod here due to some tough personal stats. Outside of personal stats, 'Wins' is the most important metric there is for ECL goaltenders and while octobussy doesn't have the least wins per game, 5 wins in 14 games isn't quite good enough.
WHO’S HOT - PRO
Forward:
Tapparafan-, NS - The ECL 2 point scoring champion is back in the same team enviroment that made him a star and his production has followed suit. Nordic Stars' offensive catalyst has lit the lamp an astounding 44 times in 26 games thus far and looks poised to add some more scoring trophies to his name.
Defender:
Janzuh, Car - Carlsberg HC has dominated Pro Group 1 the last couple of weeks, something that has led to Car top defender Janzuh running away with the defender scoring title. This sturdy blueliner isn't just a product of his team though, he is as much part of Carlsbergs success as any of their forwards or goaltenders and if you'd poll the Car players themselves - Janzuh would be a safe bet for MVP of the team.
Goalie:
hoiggaa, CAT - Being a runner-up on this list last time seemed to motivate Kattiautomattis #1 goalie who has continued his torrid pace ever since. Currently the leader for goaltending Wins, hoiggaa probably has his eyes set on quite a few of the Pro goaltending trophies - he just needs to stick the landing with CAT's final 6 games.
WHO'S NOT - PRO
Forward:
XelsFIN, NEM - A league-worst -42 is enough to get XelsFIN on this list this time. His 25 points in 21 games is respectable but the plus/minus, combined with the 23 PIMs, is the anchor for one of Nemesis' most important players this season.
Defender:
ac_tiska, T T - Just like in the Forward-section, it's a combination of factors that gets ac_tiska on the Not-list for defenders this time. His -25, 0 goals and 16 PIMs in 15 games leaves room for improvement.
Goalie:
Popensans, KNS - No wins in 10 games played is a tough pill to swallow for anyone and you got to believe nobody wants that first win more than Popensans himself or his teammates. Once Pop gets that out of the way, he'll be able to move out of this spot.
WHO’S HOT - LITE
Forward:
KattenJansson97, Lav - In the interest of having some diversity on this list, JPT will not be featured this time, even though their personal achievements remain impressive. Instead we have the 3rd ranked Lite scorer from surprise team Lavetten, KattenJansson97, getting a shoutout. The whole team has been rising steadily in the standings since the start and a big factor has been their #1 center and his 76 points.
Defender:
Rankaisija_, OLD - Going from Elite to Lite should mean a dominating performance and Ranksu has not dissapointed. With 50 points in 25 games, this hard-hitting defender has been just as good as expected - just like the rest of the Old Farts team.
Goalie:
Nebelparder55555, HHC - Being 2nd in Wins and with 82% and a GAA under 2, Nebelparder has led Hawks Hockey Club to one of the top seeds in Lite just ahead of the playoffs. That's really all you can ask for when it comes to your goaltender.
WHO'S NOT - LITE
Forward:
rjounila, POH - A -56 and 11 points in 20 games played mostly as a forward will get you on the Not-list, sadly. Up to jounila and his teammates to bounce back in the final stretch.
Defender:
moitzi, 666 - Another player with a low plus/minus rating and low point totals, moitzi gets the nod here. A Dream Valhalla has a lot of work to do before the playoffs and moitzi needs to be a part of the teams' turnaround.
Goalie:
Vanish71, IPH - 2 wins in 14 games will get you on this list. Vanish71 needs to make sure the pucks start vanishing into his catching glove a bit more in the future.
See you in the playoffs - later skaters/
The_Alpha_Furyan for NHLGamer.com
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