The Klein Cup playoffs produced mixed results in the second round, with the underdogs prevailing in the Legends Conference and the favourites advancing in the Allan Conference.
Now the final four are set — the conference finals! They feature a 1-versus-2 showdown in the Allan Conference and a 3-versus-4 matchup in the Legends Conference.
4) Monarchs defeated 1) Grizzlies
3) Titans defeated 2) Gators
1) Defenders defeated 4) Rock Republic
2) Strong Island defeated 3) Tornadoes
3) Titans vs. 4) Monarchs
1) Defenders vs. 2) Strong Island
Here is how the franchises stack up for the third round, with a roster comparison followed by a bit of analysis.
NOTE: These four playoff franchises are leasing players from the 15 non-playoff UFHL franchises (listed in parenthesis).
Forwards (2)
Steven Stamkos — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders (Murder Hornets)
Reilly Smith — Vegas vs. Dallas
Defencemen (1)
Esa Lindell — Dallas vs. Vegas (Norse Stars)
Goaltenders (2)
Andrei Vasilevskiy — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Curtis McElhinney — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders (Norse Stars)
Forwards (9)
Nikita Kucherov — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Brayden Point — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders (Red Army)
Tyler Johnson — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders (Royals)
Anthony Cirelli — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Alex Killorn — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Yanni Gourde — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Mitchell Stephens — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders (Vengeance)
Carter Verhaeghe — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Ross Johnston — New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay
Defencemen (2)
Victor Hedman — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Miro Heiskanen — Dallas vs. Vegas (Bombers)
Goaltenders (1)
Ben Bishop — Dallas vs. Vegas
ANALYSIS: This matchup is lopsided in terms of roster totals, with Monarchs having a 12-5 advantage in players advancing to the third round — thanks in large part to their nine Lightning players. Monarchs were always going to go as far as Tampa Bay could take them and both are into the conference finals in their respective leagues. Titans have Steven Stamkos from Tampa Bay, but he has yet to play in this year’s playoffs and has already been ruled out for this round — for the Eastern Conference Final. Even with Stamkos scoring and Andrei Vasilevskiy standing on his head, Titans wouldn’t have been able to overcome their manpower shortage. Monarchs should cruise to victory, unless the Islanders shut out the Lightning throughout their series, which seems unlikely.
Forwards (3)
Jamie Benn — Dallas vs. Vegas (Elite Assassins)
Denis Gurianov — Dallas vs. Vegas (Royals)
William Carrier — Vegas vs. Dallas
Defencemen (2)
Jamie Oleksiak — Dallas vs. Vegas (Ice Vikings)
Andrej Sekera — Dallas vs. Vegas (Elite Assassins)
Goaltenders (0)
None
Forwards (5)
Corey Perry — Dallas vs. Vegas (West Coast Express)
Blake Comeau — Dallas vs. Vegas (Royals)
Jason Dickinson — Dallas vs. Vegas
Jordan Eberle — New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay
Cedric Paquette — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders (Bombers)
Defencemen (3)
Ryan Pulock — New York Islanders vs. Tampa Bay
Zach Bogosian — Tampa Bay vs. New York Islanders
Jon Merrill — Vegas vs. Dallas (Blades of Steel)
Goaltenders (1)
Anton Khudobin — Dallas vs. Vegas (Warriors)
ANALYSIS: Strong Island have a 9-5 advantage in players advancing to the third round, but this matchup should be more competitive. Defenders have the best player left in Jamie Benn and all five of their remaining players have been contributors through the first two rounds. Strong Island doesn’t have any big names left, but Jordan Eberle is due to break out after being extremely snakebitten against Philadelphia. Eberle looked dangerous in that series and could light the lamp against the Lightning. Ditto for Islanders teammate Ryan Pulock, who hasn’t done as much damage as he’s capable of either. Those two could be difference-makers for Strong Island in this conference final. Anton Khudobin has been doing a passable job in place of Ben Bishop as Dallas’ starter and that trio of Stars’ forwards should chip in some offence for Strong Island. Zach Bogosian has been surprisingly good — and solid — for Tampa Bay and Cedric Paquette is another role player for the Lightning who could help lift Strong Island to victory. Defenders should put up a decent fight, but Strong Island has strength in numbers.
NOTE: These 15 non-playoff UFHL franchises are loaning players to the four playoff franchises. The non-playoff franchises are listed in order of most players remaining in the Klein Cup playoffs.
Forwards (6)
Alex Ovechkin — Strong Island
Max Domi — Strong Island
Blake Comeau — Strong Island
Tyler Johnson — Monarchs
Tyler Bozak — Titans
Denis Gurianov — Defenders
Defencemen (0)
None
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Royals didn’t lose anybody from the second round and are back to being the leader with six players left for the third round, including three on Strong Island. Royals are the only franchise with at least one player on each of the final four — meaning Royals are guaranteed to win a portion of the prize money. The way it works with the payouts and the loan system, the eventual champion will be paying out approximately $17 per leased player on their 23-man roster — $17 translates to 850 score coins (SCO), which is the in-game token on the UFF Sports’ platform. The total prize for the Klein Cup champion is $780 USD, which equates to 39,000 SCO, with 50 per cent of that purse ($390 USD or 19,500 SCO) going straight to the winning franchise (owner/GM), while the other 50 per cent is evenly distributed to every player on their roster. Like the NHL, this is a winner-takes-all tournament, with only the Klein Cup champion receiving a prize — at least for this year.
Forwards (0)
None
Defencemen (3)
Esa Lindell — Titans
Robert Bortuzzo — Titans
Carl Gunnarsson — Titans
Goaltenders (1)
Curtis McElhinney — Titans
ANALYSIS: Norse Stars are one of three franchises with four players left in the third round and they are now fully on the Titans’ bandwagon. But with Titans looking overmatched against Monarchs, it’s not looking good for Norse Stars either.
Forwards (2)
Jamie Benn — Defenders
Mikael Backlund — Defenders
Defencemen (2)
Jason Demers — Monarchs
Andrej Sekera — Defenders
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Elite Assassins will be rooting for Defenders first and foremost but will have better odds with their lone Monarch.
Forwards (0)
None
Defencemen (4)
Brenden Dillon — Defenders
Jamie Oleksiak — Defenders
Ilya Lyubushkin — Defenders
Radko Gudas — Strong Island
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Ice Vikings are also pulling for Defenders but are guaranteed to have at least one player in the Klein Cup Final if Strong Island prevails.
Forwards (2)
Vladimir Tarasenko — Titans
Cedric Paquette — Strong Island
Defencemen (1)
Miro Heiskanen — Monarchs
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Bombers are one of four franchises with three players left in the third round and are also guaranteed to have at least one player in the Klein Cup Final — most likely Miro Heiskanen with the Monarchs and perhaps Cedric Paquette with Strong Island as well.
Forwards (2)
Sean Couturier — Defenders
Derek Stepan — Defenders
Defencemen (1)
Travis Sanheim — Monarchs
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Chilean Sea Bass remained at three players, with two on Defenders.
Forwards (3)
Johnny Gaudreau — Strong Island
Corey Perry — Strong Island
Brad Richardson — Titans
Defencemen (0)
None
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: West Coast Express are down to three players, with two on Strong Island.
Forwards (2)
Brad Marchand — Defenders
Travis Konecny — Titans
Defencemen (1)
Robert Hagg — Titans
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Blizzard also have three left but two are with the underdog Titans.
Forwards (0)
None
Defencemen (1)
Jon Merrill — Strong Island
Goaltenders (1)
Darcy Kuemper — Defenders
ANALYSIS: Blades of Steel are one of two franchises with two players left but are guaranteed to have one player in the Klein Cup Final. That is good news!
Forwards (2)
Steven Stamkos — Titans
Zach Sanford — Titans
Defencemen (0)
None
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Murder Hornets also have two left but both with Titans, which doesn’t bode well.
Forwards (0)
None
Defencemen (0)
None
Goaltenders (1)
Anton Khudobin — Strong Island
ANALYSIS: Warriors are one of five franchises down to their final player, but all five could advance to the Klein Cup Final. All five are rostered by the favourites — three by Strong Island and two by Monarchs. Warriors are on Team Strong Island!
Forwards (1)
Teuvo Teravainen — Strong Island
Defencemen (0)
None
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Outlaws are also on Team Strong Island as their last hope.
Forwards (0)
None
Defencemen (1)
Jakob Chychrun — Strong Island
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Ditto for Brutes, rounding out the Strong Island supporters.
Forwards (1)
Brayden Point — Monarchs
Defencemen (0)
None
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Red Army didn’t have many players in the playoffs to begin with, but Brayden Point was always their best chance at cashing in with the Monarchs.
Forwards (1)
Mitchell Stephens — Monarchs
Defencemen (0)
None
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: Vengeance are also down to their final player — another Lightning forward with the Monarchs in Mitchell Stephens.
Milan Lucic — Defenders
Tobias Rieder — Defenders
Nate Thompson — Monarchs
Troy Brouwer — Titans
Defencemen (2)
Niklas Hjalmarsson — Titans
Justin Braun — Monarchs
Goaltenders (0)
None
ANALYSIS: There are still six UFHL free agents left on Klein Cup rosters — two each for Defenders, Titans and Monarchs.
1) Vengeance
2) Outlaws
3) Red Army (from Brutes)
4) Chilean Sea Bass
5) Blades of Steel
6) Murder Hornets
7) Warriors
8) Elite Assassins
9) Blizzard
10) Royals
11) Dynasty (from Ice Vikings)
12) Norse Stars (from West Coast Express)
13) Red Army
14) Bombers
15) Murder Hornets (from Norse Stars)
16) Crypto Knights
17) Stallions
18) Ice Vikings (from Dynasty)
19) Battle Hawks
20) Power Players
21) Snipers
22) Duckman’s Domination
23) Yetis
24) Rock Republic
25) Tornadoes
26) Gators
27) Grizzlies
28-31) To Be Determined
The Entry Auction is the UFHL’s version of the annual NHL Entry Draft but works a little differently with five franchises getting to bid on every prospect. So 1-5 will be bidding on the NHL’s first overall pick, with the remaining four and 6 bidding on the NHL’s second overall pick.
The franchises from 24-27 lost in the second round of the Klein Cup playoffs and are placed in reverse order of their regular-season standings.
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