Megildur wrote:

Here to support Narwhal HC! I'm impressed with the Fan Center spreadsheet, all of this looks great.

I missed out on adding some prospects for this draft, but if I add some now, will they be included in the next one?
 

Welcome to the series! Narwhal is one of the more popular teams so far. You can send over prospects at any time, I'll be adding and collating them into the prospect pipeline for future drafts. (just choose an alliterative scout name when you do so!)

If I had a nickel for every time someone honked the horn of their own car in this thread, I’d be able to buy Metro NYC. Who I despise. The Cuban lover is relatable tho.

Just heard Henry Ford II retired and the next guy to take over wants nothing to do with the new “entertainment venture” that Ford left behind.

PUCH's lead news and rumor reporter Merle "Merman" Miller dropped his first power rankings today. Merman is known to be a little loopy at times when he forgets to take all his meds, so take his rankings with a grain or box of salt. Merman definitely has the best of intentions but he's become somewhat senile even at an early age. He doesn't like to talk about how he acquired his nickname but it stuck and he's had it most of his life. He has rocky relationships with pretty much every owner in the league except for Mr. Emerson, which is how he got the job. Merman isn't afraid to throw a little shade in lieu of actual reporting so expect some rumor bombs to drop periodically depending on which medications he forgot to take that week.

Merman has a junior reporter named Penn Pressor who will also be following in his footsteps after getting fired from every major network for "malicious reporting." Pressor will look to redeem himself but will probably be the one to crank the rumor mill and then be the one to "break" the news. Pressor has very few scruples and doesn't mind getting his hands dirty to track down a story or make one up.

Either way, PUCH is in very dirty hands for reliable and accurate reporting. They both have reported that the first season is dropping soon, so that's probably mostly true.

With New Year's Eve finally arrived, the first-ever official PUCH game kicked off in style in a new league tradition as the countdown to the new year coincided with the annual Midnight Madness game where the puck was dropped at exactly midnight. Nobody had played a game so late before but it was a massive hit and the arena was packed out. As the whole city counted down from 10 to midnight, the puck was dropped and the game between Empire City and Metropolitan NYC was underway.

Game of the Month: Empire City 3-5 Metropolitan NYC

1st Period 0-2
MNYC: Ken Yewdokimova (Lemieux, Etibridge)
MNYC: Aaron Cladd (Hayes, Overbay)
2nd Period 2-3
ECHC: Bo Schaffer (Jacobs-Warren, Aberdeen)
MNYC: Aaron Cladd (Yewdokimova, Klusman)
ECHC: Quinnton Harley (Minnemeyer, Aberdeen)
3rd Period 3-5
ECHC: Alex Bonds (Minnemeyer, Jacobs-Warren)
MNYC: Russell Cox (Ratnam, Zigich)
MNYC: Charlie Williams (Yewdokimova, Klusman)

Win: G Eddie Baugh | Loss: G Reggie Gisser

The game was a raucous affair with a packed house in Manhattan at the Macy's Center and both teams playing hard from the start. Young Metropolitan winger Ken Yewdokimova scored the first goal of the league and new season on a quick shot from the top of the slot to beat Empire goalie Reggie Gisser. Empire would tie the game up early in the third period but Metro took over after that and scored twice more to salt it away.



1982 REGULAR SEASON: January

EASTERN DIVISION:

District United surprised many with a more potent offense than expected, led by young center Fred Hellerstein who has become something of a sensation. District's defense is tough and tenacious and very difficult to play against, led by Ivan Taranov and Norm Hitchcock. The Ducks' weaknesses of goaltending and forward depth haven't been an issue yet but it could be problematic later in the season.

Metropolitan NYC started hot, cooled off midway through January, and then picked it back up again. Winger Ken Yewdokimova has been consistent and steady as the league's top scorer. Metro has a solid defense with excellent goaltending from Eddie Baugh but the team has had trouble finishing in close games.

Narwhal has played solidly but not spectacularly. Veteran winger Jimmy Jugo has carried the offense while the defense has been below average, even with Anthony Gumfunk playing well as the primary quarterback from the blue line. Al Bender, 19, has been good and bad which is to be expected for such a young goalie.

Empire City has struggled offensively but has found a knack for staying in close games along with a few clutch goals from Vince Aberdeen who has been phenomenal for EC. Goalie Reggie Gisser has found his footing and if the forward group can figure some things out, Empire can compete.

Liberty Athletic has suffered some bad luck combined with shaky goaltending. Todd Guerin has been good but had a pair of terrible games and backup Teddy Luciano hasn't been effective. Young center Geoff Ficociello has looked fantastic, however, in leading the Libby offense.

WESTERN DIVISION:

Howler-Hawkins has been one of the biggest surprises with goalie Stan Blackwood lighting up the league with his stellar play in the net. A team that wasn't expected to compete, the Dashers have found their groove behind Blackwood with Tony LaRue and Reggie Finland anchoring the blue line and just enough offense behind veteran winger Roman Harrison.

Ohio Republic leads the division in scoring behind a steady Gary Dunlap on the wing and key scoring and playmaking from defenseman Connor Greathouse who has looked very comfortable quarterbacking the power play. The Orcs have been solid defensively and are a difficult team to play against.

Monarques de Montreal have been up and down throughout the month but have been led by great games from playmaking winger Morgan Blair. Coach Francouz has gone with a goalie split with Kohler and Shiggs which has proved effective and kept the tandem fresh. The depth on both sides has been a work in progress but Monarques has been very competitive.

Toronto Fox is the biggest story as the league favorite coming into the season but struggled mightily before finally notching a couple of wins late in the month. Top pick Ruben Thornhill has carried the scoring but has been banged up and the rest of the roster hasn't picked up the slack. The defense has been decent with some notable lapses but the goaltending is a mess with neither Gillen or Shore very sharp. Toronto looks to turn it around in February.

Motown Chrome has been hampered by poor coaching from the start, so badly incompetent at times that Merman Miller reported owner Quincy Quarles was already ready to fire the whole staff. Motown has been allergic to scoring outside of Stan Oldham's best efforts but with goalie Rey Betz banged up and defenseman Louis Brooksfield dealing with a lingering illness, the prognosis looks grim.

Game of the Month: Howler-Hawkins 2-1 Monarques (OT)

1st Period 0-0
2nd Period 0-0
3rd Period 1-1
HHHC: Silas Silver (Finland, Harrison)
MDM: Eddie Frederick (Blair, Cook)
Overtime 2-1
HHHC: Roman Harrison (LaRue)

Win: G Stan Blackwood | Loss: G Abe Kohler

The late-month matchup between Howler-Hawkins and Monarques was a fantastic game, tightly-played and officiated, and capped off with a gorgeous finish on a Harrison goal in overtime to push Howler-Hawkins to the top of the division.


And the first month is in the books! How are you feeling about your club so far? Let me know what you think about the write-up and if there's anything more you want to know about your club. C&C appreciated!