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Hey all,
Yet another PPM Magazine article, this time a debut article by coldmountainrebel who will be joining the English PPM Magazine team. Enjoy!

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What if PPM were in the NHL (USA Season 14 Edition)

I was reviewing USA playoff results for this season and a thought entered my mind, "What if PPM hockey was the NHL"?  After a stout cup of coffee, I decided to look deeper into the idea.  Who would be the Chicago Blackhawks?  Is there a clear winner of the Vezina Trophy?   What is the Vezina Trophy?  Who is the league's best player?  Can those winners be determined?  Those questions are just a few of those addressed in this article. 

The selection process was based solely on statistics from season 14.  In order to be eligible for the awards listed, a player had to have played on a USA team and generally should have been in league 1.   Award selections focused on the primary awards given by the NHL.  The following sections unveil winners for this year's awards.

HART MEMORIAL TROPHY.(Waldo Gould, St. Louis Saints)
 The Hart Memorial Trophy is awarded to the player judged to be most valuable to his team.  This year Alex Ovechkin won the NHL award.  For this award competition was fierce in PPM and there were several finalists.  Most of them played for Irresistible Force and a few from several other league leading teams.  However, this year's winner, was the only player from his team to be considered for the award.  He led his team in total points, goals, assists, 3 star selections, and was in the league's top 20 in all of those categories.  This year's Hart Memorial winner is Waldo Gould, St. Louis Saints 1^st line center.

TED LINDSAY AWARD. (Alex Cornillon, Irresistible Force)
The Ted Lindsay Award is given to the player who is determined to be "the most outstanding player" in the league.  In the NHL, the award was given to Sidney Crosby.   For PPM, the most outstanding player dominated play in his league.  This season's Hart Memorial Trophy winner is the line 1 center for Irresistible Force, Axel Cornillon.  He scored more goals than any other player in the league and was third in assists.  During season 14, he was a 3 star selection in 15 games. 

JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY (Rodrigo Kažulis, Irresistible Force)
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is awarded to a defenseman.  The award recognizes the defenseman with the greatest all-around ability at that position.  This player should demonstrate both offensive and defensive skills.  P.K. Subban won this year's NHL trophy.  Finding this player for PPM required looking at a variety of statistics.  After long research, comparing goals scored, assists, +/- (a statistic used to measure a player's impact on the difference between team's total scoring versus opponent's), penalty minutes, and star selections; this year's trophy recipient was chosen.  The winner had the best +/-in their league and was the 3^rd best defenseman in the total points scored category.  His abilities placed him in the position to claim this year's award.  Rodrigo Kažulis, a defenseman for Irresistible Force was this year's James Norris Memorial Trophy winner.

VEZINA TROPHY(Vinzenz Nicholas, Psychos)
The Vezina Trophy is an award given  to the goalie determined to be the best player at his position for the given season.  Sergei Bobbrovsky was the trophy winner for the NHL this season.  For season 14, the USA had several strong contenders for this trophy.  However, the winner of the trophy stood out in several categories.  He had the best save percentage for players with at least 10 games on the ice.  He started all but 4 of his team's games this season and was chosen a 3 star player in 14 of those games.  He was also the ONLY goalie to record a win against the league's juggernaut, Irresistible Force. This year's selection for best goalie is Psychos starting goalie, Vinzenz Nicolas.

STANLEY CUP (Irresistible Force)
The Stanley Cup is awarded to the league champion each year.  For those of you who aren't NHL fans, the Chicago Blackhawks were this year's NHL champions and Stanley Cup winners.  For PPM this season the USA had one strong force that was virtually unbeatable.  They won all but 1 game in the regular season and did not lose a single game in their march to the championship cup in the playoffs.  Irresistible Force deservingly claims this year's Stanley Cup.

There are numerous other awards that are given at the end of each season by the NHL, but, I'm sure that I've raised enough questions already.  This list of awards is my interpretation of the statistics this season provided.  There are many close races for those awards and just like in the NHL, people will agree and disagree with the varied selections.  If your team was not in the USA leagues, that could and should be another article.   Please don't be offended if your star player didn't make the list.  Just consider this one person's attempt to look at USA season 14.