What is the Elite Series 2021?
The Elite Series 2021 is a mini-league/tournament created due to Covid-19. The English (not Welsh, Scottish or Northern Irish) government offered a sum of money for teams to play in light of Covid-19. Some of this money was in the form of loans and not ‘free’ and so not all English teams agreed to play in the mini-league/tournament.
For those left, the end result is actually quite exciting (in our biased view)! You have been given a 4 team mini league, played over 5 weeks in the ‘hub-city’ of Nottingham (just like the 2020 NHL playoffs). The Elite Series starts early April 2021.
The fixtures for, lets be frank, the only team we care about are:
The Elite Series teams
The series will be played between the Manchester Storm, Sheffield Steelers, Coventry Blaze and Nottingham Panthers (hosting).
Due to Covid-19 many of the involved teams’ rosters were all over the place. A lot of players in the Elite League are not UK nationals and also given that there was no normal Elite League, many team stalwarts had left to play in other ‘open’ leagues across Europe.
One of the key reasons for the English Ice Hockey Association (“EIHA”) being so keen for hockey is that the World Championships are taking place in Riga later in the year. Many UK players have played little or no hockey leading up to this tournament and that could be detrimental for the team’s performance.
The series draft
What the Elite League did for the series is actually great! The Elite League held a draft of UK players for the upcoming series! This was massively undersold and under-publicised and was actually great.
For those that aren’t familiar with the US system. Each year, all players leaving college (university in the UK) or junior unsigned professional players are placed into a pot. NHL teams then take turns picking from the pot, with the worst performing teams from the previous year getting the first picks. This is a simplified version but is more or less how it works. The draft means that the worst teams should theoretically get first ‘dibs’ on the best young players. This ensures that the league is always highly competitive and that all teams have a chance of winning.
Slightly different to the US draft, for the series, each team could ‘protect’ five players from the draft. Usually these were players that have been previously signed (or were still signed) to the team.
Below are the players that the Manchester Storm chose to protect before the draft. What do you think of these?
The Storm’s Elite Series draft
So how did the Storm do in the draft? Only time will tell, when the first puck is dropped on the first game. Having said that, we like it. What could be more exciting that a a four team mini-league, showcasing the best of genuine British ice hockey talent. There are two things that we really enjoyed that Mr Finnerty did in the draft.
Trading down
The Storm had the number one overall pick! This means that they could pick the best overall player available. What happened next though was super exciting and one of the reasons why drafts are so much fun.
The Storm gave the first, ninth and sixteenth picks to the Nottingham Panthers, in exchange for the second, seventh and tenth picks. Sounds confusing? It is a little. Essentially, what happened though is that the Storm gave up the first pick to the Panthers, still got the second pick and at the same time, improved the position (upwards) of their second and third picks. The Storm therefore went for improving two lower picks slightly, in exchange for taking the second best player rather than the first!
Experienced picks
The Storm also appeared to prioritise picks with sold experience of playing in the Elite League. This can be seen from the amount of Elite League games that have been played by the likes of Peacock, Ulrick, Lake, Long, Davies and Haywood! Overall, we think the picks look great and can’t wait to see them on the ice. Bear in mind though that this roster might change (be added to) in the coming weeks, leading up to the series.
Let us know in the comments what you think if the Manchester Storm draft. Could the Storm have done better? Who would you have taken? Would you have traded?
Support the Storm
Elite series streaming
The matches wont sadly have any supporters in the stands. Following the success of the NIHL streaming series however, they will all be streamed online. We don’t know yet what services will be providing this or the cost will be. Keep an eye on the Manchester Storm social media pages for more information in this regard.
Face in the crowd
Just like in the NHL, the Elite Series are allowing fans to purchase a picture of yourself being placed in the arena, which will be shown on the streaming services! If you are interested, check out the link below:
Check out our Storm blog posts for more Manchester Storm content
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- Complete season preview 2021/2022
- Manchester Storm visiting away fans – The Guide
- The Elite Series 2021 – Storm preview
- How much do Manchester Storm players get paid?
- Elite League Hockey – The best in Europe?
All pictures are from Manchester Storm official social media channel. Check them out for more Storm news!
Yak
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