The EUSL Pro Season 12 is right around the corner! We have a lot of fresh line-ups heading into this season including decorated EUSL veterans and upcoming rookies. In this article we’ll explore each team, key players, matchups and predictions!

EUSL Pro Team Analysis

Let’s dive straight in and take a look at the teams that will be competing in Pro Season 12.

Bald Heads

The signup of Bald Heads rejuvenated roster introduces the addition of multiple EUSL medallists. Three arriving from the dominant Za line-up from previous seasons, gold medallists Deng and Insecure from the mighty Sark Hockey Team and Henze remains as one of Bald Heads’ founders.

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

With this being a completely new line-up we’ll be making some assumptions but this blend of players seems to suit the way we’ve seen Alpi and Lamelo Ball play. Expect to see a lot of play behind the opposition net with wrap attempts, intricate passes to holding players Alpi and Insecure and overall a very aggressive style in possession and transition.

The only real question mark is how the attackers will gel. Lamelo’s signature playstyle is holding up play and retaining possession in the opponents half, especially behind the net. Deng also operates in the same area but forces the play much faster. Will we see Lamelo transition into a slightly more supporting role? Henze is also at their disposal to balance things out if needed and options where Manu could GK and Insecure move outfield to provide some of that balance also.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be comfortably top 4. With the ability to be challenging for gold.

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Brunk HC

Brunk are back! Re-joining for EUSL Pro Season 12 are the most highly decorated team in EUSL history. Will Sesy, Jeffsson and Kony, the core of this historic line-up, be able to repeat the previous success and add another gold medal to their tally? Joining them are season 10 and 11 gold medallists, Jone and Lwke.

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

We know that Brunk had a problem in pre-season finding a goalkeeper. They seemingly have found an answer to this problem. We assume from murmurs in the community Sesy is reluctant to have another season as GK as he did in s10 so we’re placing our bets that Jone will be the starting GK for Brunk. Mechanically this a huge upgrade on previous Brunk GK’s but we’ll have to see how Jone holds up in the shot stopping department compared to the legendary MRBROE and the eccentric performances from Golgenator.

Up top this team should have no issues. Sesy, Jeffsson and Kony are all in the top 5 all time goals for pro division. Lwke has been in fine form too with back to back golds, with his playtime increasing last season from a backup option to starter alongside Sesy in Ratatouille HC.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be comfortably top 4. With the ability to be challenging for gold.

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Fcaz JHT

Fcaz JHT are back for a second season running but this team has a longer history that goes back even further after the unification of Fcaz and Jersey Hockey Team two seasons ago. This team will be looking to build on previous pro seasons with their first playoff appearance. With the EUSL Pro Season 12 adding two more playoff spots, there’s every chance they make it!

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

It’s difficult to know what exactly to expect with this line-up. We’ve seen all sorts in the past with Dax starting as GK and ending games as Poacher. The team does have some talent in the roster it’s just a question of how well they can get things going as a team. Xorx and Matikor are players adept at playing further back on the rink but still offering support to the attack. Gordosuper and Kitsune always have a way of finding the back of the net and Enkidu can be a great facilitator on his day.

Defensively they might have some issues if they’re playing both Gordosuper and Kitsune but overall the team could have good balance with Dax – Matikor / Xorx – Enkidu – Kitsune / Gordosuper. With the option to play both Matikor and Xorx when they want more strength in the midfield.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be in the middle to bottom half of the table. With the ability to be challenging for a top 5 seed in playoffs.

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Grubbers

Grubbers sees the return of some familiar faces to the EUSL Pro division. Many of these players have played together before too. Callum may have recent gold medals to his name but this team throws back to his entry roots playing alongside Max and Joakim again. We also see Simson back in action, who alongside Max and Joakim took the league by storm with their debut Trikrowave appearance in Pro S9.

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

With this team it really comes down to how much they want to succeed. We know from history how well this line-up could do. In my mind Simson – Bjorkz – Callum – Joakim is one hell of a line-up provided they practice and have some discipline in their positioning. Max is a solid rotation option for the team too with previous pro performances. I’m unsure how much Lajan can bring to the table, but we had the same doubts when Simson first picked up the likes of Karlssonq and Alvin Sandler. Both of whom turned out pretty well! Simson has an eye for talent.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I predict this team will be in battling against relegation. With the potential to pick up a 6th seed playoff spot. 

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Kebab Kings

The Kebab Kings are a newly formed roster in all aspects. It’s not a line-up many would of expected to see in pro but Gububba has a knack for putting something together in the end and his record so far has been pretty solid!

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

Potential. I’ve seen great improvement from Drose in the last few months since his swap to playing on controller and he could cause some issues for some teams in attack. My biggest question is who will be the defender? And can they keep it organised at the back? I’d like to see Fabachko appointed with the primary defensive duties and Gubbaba doing what he always does getting stuck in in all areas of the rink. With Drose the outlet up top. Rumour has it Gaggio will not be so active so we do expect to see both rookies in the starting line-up most weeks.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be battling against relegation. With the ability to be challenging for 8th seed playoff spot.

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London Pumas

The London Pumas made no additions to their roster since last season’s silver medal. They’ll be hoping to at least mirror the performance and maybe even go one step further and take it all!

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

The biggest difference to expect from The Pumas this season is that they will go into more games being the favourites’. They no longer have the underdog boost on their side. We’ve seen how defensively compact and organised this team can be. It’s frustrated some of the top players in the game and we will expect more of the same thing. The biggest change will be the rotation of Shayku into a starting role as GK and Kro being a sub option for all positions.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be likely top 4. With the ability for an outside shot at gold. 

Old Gents Association

The Old Gents are back! Yes you heard right, the boys in blue are returning to the rink after their last showing in season 10 where they finished 4th. They’re consistently in the top half of pro division and saw their peak back in season 8 where they secured themselves a silver medal.

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

It’s only recently I returned home from a meetup with the OGA guys so I have the inside scoop! However it’s not all that interesting as the main news is that there hasn’t been all that much activity from most of the line-up. The team will be pinning a lot of their hopes on PP and Tomu, the more active players in recent times. We do see the return of, gold medallist, Emteewii to the line-up. If he gets active again this teams defence will be a tough one to crack.

Who will be leading the line up top though? Levi has been signed to teams the last two seasons but only accumulated 6 appearances. Alle hasn’t played in a long time either. Maybe we’ll see something funky like Matsoni striker again… or back in goal and let Emtweewii free outfield. Due to some of these unknown factors and massive potential for this team to get active again I have a hard time placing them.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be around the middle to bottom half of the table. With the ability to be challenging for a 5th seed playoff spot.

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Puckers

Our newly promoted team from challenger. Puckers! They can wear that crown on their logo with pride after a dominant season in challenger to secure their spot in pro. This season though they’ll need to up their game if they want to avoid relegation back to challenger and make playoffs.

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

This team will be used to having the puck after a season trying to break down weaker teams defences. They won’t always have this luxury in pro division though they’ll need to improve on their positioning without the puck and while pressed in their own half and seizing opportunities on the counter to maximise points this season. The addition of Cap was a great signing. He’ll add some valuable pro experience to this team as well as great playmaking ability.

My main worry roster wise is they have a lot of players that enjoy sitting further back on the rink. Cap, Nneo, Ettan, Penjamin are all more holding players and they’ll need to find the right combination at the puck finding the balance between holding the puck and fast passing opportunities. I’d personally kick the season off with Nneo in between the sticks with Cap alongside him in defence and have Ettan with more freedom in attack with Luca or Addhall.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be battling against relegation. With the ability to be challenging for a 8th seed playoff spot.

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Pulse: 404

Another new line-up and name into the EUSL. Featuring silver medallist Galaxy, and previous rookie of the season Karlssonq, this roster has the foundations to be a successful pro team. Joining them outfield are another nominated rookie Alvin Sandler, who featured on the same overachieving Trikrowave roster Karlssonq was on. Gabor (Redy) and Twice relegated Ice Reaper also joins this lineup – with the ability to prove a point this season.

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

This line-up features some very technical players and strong bumpers that will make life hard for some teams. I do wonder who will be the starting defender. Galaxy, Ice Reaper, and Karlssonq have all played here as their primary position before. It’s clear since the Euro Championships that Ice Reaper has been transitioning to attack but there is still a question about the starting defender.

Gabor in goal is a potential weak point in this team, only previously recording reasonable challenger performances in a mix of positions. If Galaxy or Karlssonq can put up with a season in goal or they manage to sign someone and getting scrimming I see a lot of potential in this team. Otherwise I see a Bald Heads 2.0, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be middle of the table. With the ability to be challenging for a 5th seed playoff spot.

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Vaasa Otters

Vaasa Otters are another legacy team in the EUSL returning to pro division having competed in seasons 2, 9 and our most recent season 11. They have two bronze medals as a team and return with essentially the same roster that secured bronze in season 9.

Season 12 Lineup

What to expect

I really hope we see MitchP or Lallaren starting as defender. LiAngelo Ball left SpookyIsMyName with a lot of shots to block last season with this team being one of the best offences in the league but at the cost of being one of the leakiest defences too.

In attack DamnTheFish will be causing teams problems from all angles as he always does and teams will have to be mindful of Khosty cutting inside and finding the top corner. There’s no doubt that SpookyIsMyName is one of the best shot stoppers in the league and would make for a strong defence paired with MitchP. I think these two at the back could patch up some of what they were missing last season and return to being a more balanced team that finished 2nd in the regular season 9.

Prediction for the Pro Season

I expect this team to be likely top 4. With the ability for an outside shot at gold. 

 

EUSL Pro Season 12 Predictions

Measured Prediction

This prediction is based off of my knowledge of players, their commitment to practicing and rumours of how active they are.

Ambitious Prediction

This prediction is a more based on every team hitting their potential this season and gave the same level of effort.

Let us know what you think!

Comment below what your prediction is for the EUSL Pro Season 12!

EUSL Season 12 is here! With new teams entering the fold as well as returning seasoned veterans going for gold, this season promises to be one of the most competitive yet.

Format Changes

Season 12 shapes up to be a little different to previous iterations of the EUSL. In summary, We’re moving away from the BO1 double round robin format and moving to a BO2 single round robin.

Terminology Guide

• Match or Series: The overall event. From a best of 1 to best of 5.
• Game: An individual game of slapshot in a match or series.
• Round Robin: To play vs each team once. Double is twice.
• Match week / day: The week or day your match or series is designated to.

The Best-Of-2

Rather than playing a single game vs each team this season on two separate match weeks teams will be playing two games vs a team in a single match week. These games will be considered as a series and the points distribution reflects that. They are not two individual matches.

The Points

Total Win	tw	2 regular time wins OR 1 regular time win / 1 OT win	4pts
Minor Win	mw	1 regular time win / 1 OT loss OR 2 OT wins	3pts
Draw	d	Both teams win by same method (regular or OT)	2pts
Minor Loss	ml	2 OT losses OR 1 OT win / 1 regular time loss	1pts
Total Loss	tl	2 regular time losses OR 1 regular time loss / 1 OT loss	0pts

League Structure

The EUSL Season 12 league structure remains mostly the same with just a couple of changes in pro playoff spots to compensate for less opportunities vs each team in the regular season.

Pro

• 1st: Table winner and decides which side of the bracket they wish to be on in playoffs. 1st seed for playoffs. (No longer receives a bye to semi-final)
• 2nd – 8th: Qualified for playoffs. Seeds match regular season finishing position. (Changed from 2nd – 6th)
• 9th: Will have to play in The Gauntlet final vs a rising challenger team to defend their spot in pro.
• 10th: Relegated.

Challenger

• 1st: Promoted to pro
• 2nd – 5th: Qualified for The Gauntlet. Seeds match regular season finishing position. 1st seed is awarded to the 9th placed pro team.

Scheduling Changes

Okay so now the boring stuff! This is mostly only relevant to teams General Managers but it may still interest some. Below are some of the key changes but for the full technical rules see Full Scheduling Rules.

All Scheduling Theads Released

Rather than release the discussion threads on a weekly basis we have released every one of your fixtures discussion threads ahead of time. This is partly in place due to enable other new rules. To access inactive threads you just click on the threads icon in the relevant match scheduling channel. (see image below.)

Postponements + Extensions

Unlike league issued extensions. We are allowing teams to postpone matches to a new Match Week if both teams agree. Extensions are mostly unchanged but are reserved for when a team does not want to change the original Match Week. Both are to be approved by a League Referee.

Early Matches

Teams may play matches ahead of schedule if both GMs agree, provided the match is scheduled on the permitted days and communicated in the match thread.

Minimum Matches Played

Teams are expected to play a minimum of 3 matches every 3 weeks. Failure to meet this threshold will result in an automatic forfeiture of the unplayed matches unless a valid reason is communicated to league administrators. This rule is added to ensure a good pace of matches played along side the new tools available to GMs.

League Issued Match Days

If teams cannot agree on a match time within the allowed days or fail to play by the deadline, the league will intervene. The league will automatically set the match time on the next available default day. This is to give teams final chances beyond deadlines to show up and complete a fixture.