Originally Posted by Anonymous
Four team race, ML, Hawks, NL, & Crabs.
ML: Can they make it three in a row? Undersized, will that finally catch up with them or can they hold off until middle school when all madlax teams implode.
Hawks: Added leading scorer from the circuit, could be the missing piece on offense to push them to the title? Outstanding at all three levels, can they find a faceoff guy to get their offense the ball?
NL: Outstanding individual athletes, especially in the midfield. Can they play as team and sacrifice personal stats for team wins?
Crabs: Have the former Wolfpack and holdover Crabs jelled as a team? Do they have the depth to hang with ML, Hawks, and NL?

VLC, Clippers, and Preds new to the elite division, can they spring an upset on the top 4? Can Team 91 make into double digits on the scoreboard for the season? Hopefully they added some firepower to give the boys a chance this spring.

Seems like a pretty fair rundown. My two cents:

ML takes it again, no question. Don't think lack of size will catch up to them quite yet except maybe against the Hawks D - their individual talent and coaching is still top-notch.

If the Hawks goalie continues to play lights out, they have the best chance to make a run at ML. The kid from the Circuit is a good player but nothing special among the top attack lines on top Hoco teams (check out his stats against the 2 or 3 teams that actually competed with Nationals LC at the Circuit and didn't get blown out by 15), so I don't think that tips the balance too much.

NL will beat up on the bottom half of the league, have good games vs. Hawks and Crabs but won't be able to take it to ML. They won't get over the hump until the ML squad inevitably dissolves and NL takes on a bunch of that roster.

Crabs are still a year away at competing solidly with NL, Hawks and ML. Could surprise one or two of the better teams in the regular season, but won't be able to make a serious run at the 'ship quite yet.

VLC, Clippers and Preds will compete well with each other but won't be able to do any damage against the top teams. Clippers got smoked this weekend against NL and barely beat 91 at NL's tournament, and VLC didn't even bother competing in the top division at the tourney. Team 91 will have trouble scoring more than 10 goals in total this season.