Who knows where this, or indeed any season is going to take us? Most of us go into each one with renewed hope and enthusiasm but we have no idea where our team is going to end up or when the season will come to an end for us.
There will be highs and lows along the way, some of us may experience more of one than the other but we’re in it for the silverware and if you take away a trophy at the end of it all then it makes the sweat, nail biting, the near heart attacks and the despair worth it.
So here are our humble predictions for the coming season, we’ll revisit them when we get to the other end to see if any of us can claim to be a budding ‘Mystic Meg’ or if anyone got it so wrong that they deserve to be soundly ridiculed!
(Note: These were locked in before Cardiff’s CHL campaign began so a couple of us are already vying for a sneaky resubmission!)
Aaron Lord
Devils CHL Position: 3rd in the group
EIHL League Winner: Nottingham Panthers
EIHL ‘Wooden Spoon’: Milton Keynes Lightning
Challenge Cup Winner: Cardiff Devils
Final Eight:
Nottingham Panthers
Cardiff Devils
Belfast Giants
Sheffield Steelers
Manchester Storm
Glasgow Clan
Fife Flyers
Guildford Flames
Playoff Winners: Nottingham Panthers
Panthers Top Scorer: Luke Pither
Panthers PIMS Leader: Jacob Doty
Adam Reddish
Devils CHL Position: 2nd in the group, elimination in the first knockout stage
EIHL League Winner: Cardiff Devils
EIHL ‘Wooden Spoon’: Milton Keynes Lightning
Challenge Cup Winner: Cardiff Devils
Final Eight:
Cardiff Devils
Nottingham Panthers
Belfast Giants
Sheffield Steelers
Fife Flyers
Glasgow Clan
Guildford Flames
Manchester Storm
Playoff Winners: Nottingham Panthers
Panthers Top Scorer: Luke Pither
Panthers PIMS Leader: Jacob Doty
Antoine Marie-Jeanne
Devils CHL Position: 3rd in the group
EIHL League Winner: Cardiff Devils
EIHL ‘Wooden Spoon’: Coventry Blaze
Challenge Cup Winner: Belfast Giants
Final Eight:
Cardiff Devils
Nottingham Panthers
Belfast Giants
Fife Flyers
Sheffield Steelers
Manchester Storm
Glasgow Clan
Guildford Flames
Playoff Winners: Nottingham Panthers
Panthers Top Scorer: Jon Rheault
Panthers PIMS Leader: Jacob Doty
Joe Balm
Devils CHL Position: 4th in the group
EIHL League Winner: Nottingham Panthers
EIHL ‘Wooden Spoon’: Milton Keynes Lightning
Challenge Cup Winner: Cardiff Devils
Final Eight:
Nottingham Panthers
Cardiff Devils
Belfast Giants
Sheffield Steelers
Glasgow Clan
Guildford Flames
Manchester Storm
Fife Flyers
Playoff Winners: Nottingham Panthers
Panthers Top Scorer: Luke Pither
Panthers PIMS Leader: Jacob Doty
Sam Balm
Devils CHL Position: 4th in the group
EIHL League Winner: Nottingham Panthers
EIHL ‘Wooden Spoon’: Milton Keynes Lightning
Challenge Cup Winner: Cardiff Devils
Final Eight:
Nottingham Panthers
Cardiff Devils
Belfast Giants
Sheffield Steelers
Glasgow Clan
Fife Flyers
Guildford Flames
Manchester Storm
Playoff Winners: Nottingham Panthers
Panthers Top Scorer: Luke Pither
Panthers PIMS Leader: Tyler Biggs
Tina Taylor
Devils CHL Position: 2nd in the group, elimination at the first knockout stage
EIHL League Winner: Cardiff Devils
EIHL ‘Wooden Spoon’: Milton Keynes Lightning
Challenge Cup Winner: Manchester Storm
Final Eight:
Cardiff Devils
Nottingham Panthers
Belfast Giants
Guildford Flames
Sheffield Steelers
Manchester Storm
Glasgow Clan
Fife Flyers
Playoff Winners: Sheffield Steelers
Panthers Top Scorer: Alex Guptill
Panthers PIMS Leader: Jacob Doty
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