Hey NHL Gamers!

Today marks one of those very special days in the short history of the website we have all been waiting for. In the past few weeks - alongside the ECL 4 Playoffs and our coverage of the IS Cup - interesting and highly promising connections have come together. Thanks to our Staff member Hampus (@The_Alpha_Furyan), who acted as the leading negotiator throughout this process, we are finally able to reveal the first official sponsorship for NHLGamer.com:

Summer Cup Season 2, Presented by Webhallen!

We could not be more proud of this partnership with one of the leading retailers for consumer electronics, hardware and software in Sweden - running a total of 26 stores scattered across the country. We believe this partner is a perfect match for a populated and innovative eSports platform like NHLGamer.

Webhallen can be found here:

THE DEAL

Webhallen will be accompanying us throughout the duration of Summer Cup Season 2, leading up to the announcement of NHL 18 during E3 in Los Angeles which takes place on June 13-15.

While everyone is going to be excited about EA SPORTS NHL 18 feature announcements, trailers and other types of content; Webhallen will act as NHLGamer's recommended retail source for purchasing the game, due to release in September 2017 (estimate).

Finally, to honor the best Summer Cup Season 2 teams, Webhallen will be offering the following prizes for Summer Cup Season 2:

Summer Cup winners receive one physical copy of NHL 18 (PS4) per player, arriving at launch

Members of the 2nd place team receive runner-up prizes, which are to be announced in due time

OUTLOOK

Last year around 150 players took part in this draft-type league, which was aimed at experienced players as well as community greenhorns. The stated goal of the tournament was to improve networking between our players and to open up ways for prospects to make their way into EASHL's best teams out there. This is the same promise we are going to deliver on with Season 2, only even better.

Based on this, there will be a few tweaks to the following aspects of Summer Cup:

Team building: No more than 2 players from a single ECL 4 team are allowed to play in the same Summer Cup team. This rule applies to the final rosters, after transfers and free agents.

No more than 2 players from a single ECL 4 team are allowed to play in the same Summer Cup team. This rule applies to the rosters, after transfers and free agents. Team names: Due to our new API reporting tool, the Summer Cup will be played in dedicated EASHL teams which will have "NG" as a prefix - for example "NG Golden Knights".

Due to our new API reporting tool, the Summer Cup will be played in dedicated EASHL teams which will have "NG" as a prefix - for example "NG Golden Knights". Sign-ups: To rule out unfortunate circumstances when it comes to player positioning, holidays and other aspects, the sign-ups will follow a clearer structure, allowing captains to recognize fitting players more easily.

To rule out unfortunate circumstances when it comes to player positioning, holidays and other aspects, the sign-ups will follow a clearer structure, allowing captains to recognize fitting players more easily. Draft procedure: We are working on improving our draft pick tool and simplifying communication towards and between team captains to reduce idling, allowing us to increase the speed in which draft picks are made.

LEAGUE DETAILS

Summer Cup Season 2 will take place on PS4 - if you are looking for Xbox action, we would love to see your team sign up for Xbox ECL!

- if you are looking for Xbox action, we would love to see your team sign up for Last day to sign up is Wednesday, May 24th.

Players instead of teams sign up using the registration tool linked at the bottom of the post.

sign up using the registration tool linked at the bottom of the post. All signed up players are aimed to be seeded into teams with a size of 10 players (may vary).

(may vary). Out of all registrations, NHL Gamer Staff will elect an according number of team captains from the players that offered to take on a captaincy rule in their sign-up post - anyone is allowed to apply for it.

from the players that offered to take on a captaincy rule in their sign-up post - anyone is allowed to apply for it. Team captains will receive a draft sheet on May 26th, containing all signed up players and relevant information in a structured form.

on May 26th, containing all signed up players and relevant information in a structured form. Team captains will be taking part in a live draft event on May 28th , picking their roster until all players are seeded.

, picking their roster until all players are seeded. All games are played 6vs6 using dedicated EASHL teams .

. The leagues are set to start on the week of May 29th and aimed to be finished in July.

and aimed to be finished in July. Full rules will be released after registration is over.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

To participate, make sure you are logged in or create an account first, visit the sign-up page and fill in all fields of the registration form like below - make sure the player positions in your Player Card are up-to-date so captains know who they are drafting! You can update your Player Card on the "Edit Player" page.

Sign-up page: Click here!

That's all you need to do... sounds easy eh? Let's take this opportunity - together with our new partner Webhallen - to finish NHL 17 with a bang: Sending shockwaves through the community and setting up NHLGamer.com's ambitious goals for NHL 18.

@gzell60 for NHLGamer.com