Summer Season - Week Three - June 28th

Week 2 saw a short-handed Haya hand Yaqeen their second straight loss (score: 4-2). In the double header Ihsan used a dominant second half to run Sabr out of the building (score: 4-1).

Week 2 Three Stars:

1^st Star: Dawood Ciombar (Haya) - 2 Goals
2^nd Star: Yusuf Ingar (Ihsan) - 2 Assists
3^rd Star: Ajmal Esmatyar (Ihsan) - 1 Goal + 1 Assist

- Omar Essawi (Haya) is on a nice 2 game goal scoring streak, with goals against Ihsan and Yaqeen

- Suleman Bhatti (Haya) has is on 2 game goal streak going as well

- Rumour has it that Ihsan’s goaltender, Imran Alvi will not be in the lineup today as he is getting married this weekend. All the best brother!

- Getting married and missing Friday Night Lights is a borderline acceptable but what is not an acceptable reason to miss hockey is this. When Sabr gm Arslan Mian became aware of this, he had the following to say, “Saqib Khokhar, is the face of our franchise. By placing this tag on him I was hoping that he accepted this challenge and rise to the occasion. Right now we need him to start producing as Sabr can only go as far as he can take us. Hopefully this is the first and last time he will miss games this season. My team is putting this situation behind us and are now moving on… Our focus is having a strong bounce back game against Haya.”

- In the Haya vs Sabr matchup, Sabr will start off on the power-play as Haya has been assessed a 2-minute penalty for failing to submit their Week 2 recap on time.  Deadlines matter people!

- No word if there will be a Hamidi Report for this week as Samad has been closely following the NHL Free-Agency updates hoping that his beloved Ottawa Senators can return to competitiveness by signing some big names.

- For this season, your team plays the other teams three times. As Week Three marks the end of the first circuit, Yaqeen is hoping to avoid the season starting 0-3.  Yaqeen’s GM Mohammed Hamoud, has put pressure on Ahmad Ibrahim (the All-Star formerly known as the Black Panther) in hopes to light a fire under his pyramid.
“Ahmad Ibrahim is family and will always be family but when he forced my hand to trade for him I was hoping to get some production from him. He seems to be gripping his stick too hard and over-thinking things. He needs to let the game come to home and just relax and play. We know he is disappointed on how his season has started but we need him to fight through this rough patch. It is just a matter of time until he turns things around.”

- Brotherhood Moment: Yaqeen’s Samad Hamidi forgot his helmet and gloves. (Former) Ihsan player Syed Iftikhar lent him his helmet and gloves so Hamidi can play his game. Great brotherhood spirit but Yaqeen’s GM, Mohammed Hamoudi was not too pleased with Hamidi and released this statement, “I expect all my guys to prepare themselves throughout the week and be ready to play each and every Friday. Not having your equipment with you shows lack of preparation. We all know Hamidi is a veteran of this league and this is highly uncharacteristic of him. I expect this to be a non-issue moving forward.”

- On the topic of helmets: All players registered in the Summer (and future) seasons must wear some form of protective eyewear. Protective eyewear includes a visor, cage or goggles. As this rule is new for the Summer season, players have up until Week Five to have this equipment in place - players who do not have protective eyewear for their Week Five game are not eligible to play until they have this equipment in place.

- On the topic of gloves: only ice hockey or lacrosse gloves are permitted with proper wrist protection during sanctioned CBHA and OBHF games for the protection of all players

- We had some player movements during the past week. For those unfamiliar with the waiver system here is a brief over-view:
If a player has dropped out of the league, a team can bring in a new player. That player must first clear waivers where the other 3 remaining teams have the opportunity to put in a claim (with the team with the poorest record having priority). If all teams pass on the new player then he can join the team in which brought him in. However if a team makes a claim they must give up a player from their roster who was drafted in the same round or better as the player who dropped out. The team who originally brought in the new player can either accept this or select a player from the other team’s roster who was drafted lower than the round they are replacing. It is not as confusing as you think. Perhaps the following two examples will clear things up!
Here are the replacements that happened after Week Two:

Replacement One: Sabr’s Zahid Hussain (12th round pick) dropped out of the league due to personal reasons. Sabr nominated a ghost from the past, Shan Malik as a replacement. Yaqeen passed and so did Haya. However Ihsan put in a claim for Malik and offered their 8^th round pick Abdul-Jalil Shaikh as compensation. Sabr had the choice to accept this or claim or claim Ihsan’s 12^th round pick- Hamza Gaya or 13^th round pick Syed Talha Iftikhar. Sabr selected Iftikhar and Malik now joins Ihsan.

Replacement Two: Yaqeen’s Abdu Sharkawy has dropped out due to injuries. Yaqeen nominated Mudassir Hussain as a replacement. Any team wishing to claim him would have had to give up their 6^th round pick (where Sharkawy was selected) or higher as compensation to Yaqeen. The three other teams passed and Hussain is now on Yaqeen 

Syed Iftikhar is now on Sabr after scoring his first career goal against Sabr (as a member of Ihsan) last week! Sabr is hoping that Iftikhar brings more of that scoring touch for them.

- Latest reports on Shan Malik was that he is a bit out of shape. Perhaps that partially explains why two teams passed on him when he went through waivers.

The latest we are hearing is that the following players have been rumoured to be on the trading block:
Emad Hussain (Sabr): the belief is that he does not fit into Sabr’s lineup as a forward
Samad Hamidi (Yaqeen): teams are looking for a right-handed d-man
Ibrahim Hindy (Haya): attendance issues
Naiem Malik (Haya): attendance issues
Saajid Bhayat (Ihsan): would like to re-join Yaqeen and play with his friends
Arif Khan (Sabr): he gets traded every season!

The following seven players are tied for the points lead:

2019 SUMMER LEAGUE POINTS LEADERS
RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	PTS
1	Arslan Mian	Sabr	1	3
2	Abraar Gangat	Ihsan	2	3
3	Ajmal Esmatyar	Ihsan	2	3
4	Dawood Ciombar	Haya	2	3
5	Omair Syed	Ihsan	2	3
6	Omar Essawi	Haya	2	3
7	Yusuf Ingar	Ihsan	2	3

The following 5 players are tops in goal-scoring:

2019 SUMMER LEAGUE GOALS LEADERS
RANK	PLAYER	TEAM	GP	G
1	Dawood Ciombar	Haya	2	2
2	Mehmed Rizvanovic	Sabr	2	2
3	Omair Syed	Ihsan	2	2
4	Omar Essawi	Haya	2	2
5	Suleman Bhatti	Haya	2	2

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Summer Season - Week Two - June 21st

Opening Week of the 2019 Summer Season saw Sabr (yellow) leveling the match with Yaqeen (white) with 2:18 left in the second half and subsequently scoring the go-ahead goal with 1:52 remaining (score 3-2).  In the other game, Haya (grey) looked poised for a certain victory, but credit Ihsan (red) for their resiliency and ending the game in a tie with a goal at 1:42 in the second half (score: 3-3)

Three Stars of Week One:

1^st Star: Arslan Mian (Sabr): 1 G, 2 A
2^nd Star: Ali Murtaza (Yaqeen): 2 G
3^rd Star: Ommar Din (Haya) 1 G, 1 A

- Ommar Din (Haya) making GMs regret their decision on passing him up in the draft. The Analysts at the draft were shocked that he ended up being the last pick of the draft. Literally started from the bottom (of the draft) and now he’s here (third best player in the league for Week 1). We have video of Din’s current mood here.

- Health Benefits of Fasting: Observers were quick to note the massive transformation of the physical appearance and fitness level of Haya’s Omar Essawi. “He’s flying out there”, noted by one spectator. The off-the-board surprise first round pick of Haya paid immediate dividends as he blasted his patented slap-shot into the back of Ihsan’s net.

- Many were impressed with Haya’s 3-3 tie versus Ihsan, as they held their own despite key absences: Ibrahim Hindy and Naem Malik

- The immortal Malton Maverick/Jet Erfan Bhanapatel AKA EBP has never played with his Malton boys will participating in I-Slam.  He came close this season as Abraar Gangat was drafted on his team only to be dealt soon after the draft in a package deal to acquire the Commish Ahmad Ibrahim

- Yaqeen’s GM, Mohammed Hamoud remains committed in allowing his players to grow and developed their games. One player in particular is Samad Hamidi, who had several key blocks in Week 1. Hamoud intends on playing Hamidi to have him gain some confidence and belief in his game. 

- Speaking of confidence in one’s game, during the warmups members of Sabr saw that Saqib Khokhar has all the tools to emerge as one of the league’s top superstars. He possess a deadly slap-shot easily in the top 5% in the league. However he plays the game a bit to passively and does not get an opportunity to deliver those bombs. Sabr’s gm Arslan Mian is hoping Khokhar can break-out of his shell and has paired him up with teammate Arif Khan serve as his mentor and help take his game to the next level.          

- Staying on the topic of Sabr, Arslan Mian was the best player in the league in Week 1 and in the process is slowly escaping from the label that “he needs to play with Humza Chaudhry in order to be successful”.  During his time with Ikhlas last season he was a star as under the guidance of Coach K and hopes to find that form again.

- This season the roster sizes are smaller which gives everyone more playing time. So cardio and attendance will play a pivotal role in teams’ success. We already saw late game fatigue be an issue where Haya failed to back-check late in their game and allowing Ihsan to tie the game. Points are at a premium as the importance of finishing either first or second overall is huge for the playoffs (see point below). With this in mind GMs are encouraging their players to ensure they are doing cardio throughout the week and come be ready for the grind Friday nights.   

Playoff Format: All four teams make the playoffs!

Here is the general format of the playoffs:

Playoff Week 1:  Semi-Finals
i) 1^st vs 4^th 

ii) 2^nd vs 3^rd 

Playoff Week 2:  Championship Game
(Winner of 1^st vs 4^th ) versus (Winner of  2^nd vs 3^rd  )

The regular season has great significance especially for the semi-finals. The semifinals will be a “best of two”, where the 1^st and 2^nd seed respectively will start their series with a one game lead. That means the 3^rd and 4^th seed must win (not tie) in Playoff Week 1 to force a sudden death overtime and if still tied after that a shootout to determine who advances to the Championship Series.

For the finals it is a single game winner-take all. Also for the Finals if the game is tied after regulation we will be piloting multiple overtimes to crown the championship. 

- Vasim Kagzi has been challenged by his Sabr teammates to bring the heat this season and play like its 2012 when he was more informally known as “Koko”.  If those who are unaware Koko was a bad man from Scarborough with a blistering slapshot from the point. 

- Ali Murtaza (Yaqeen) scored both goals for his team in a losing effort versus Sabr. He will undoubtedly need help from others to step out. Expect to see Erfan Bhanapatel and Abdu Sharkway chipping in as the season progresses as the duo were creating high quality chances for their team in Week 1.  

- Another player with a pair of goals in Week 1 was Mehmed Rizvanovic of Sabr. Rizvanovic was a waiver replacement that is providing a high return on invest for Sabr. 

- Abraar Gangat  (Ihsan) started the season off strong with recording 2 points. Playing with Yusuf Ingar, look for him to be in contention for MVP this season.   Gangat will be looking for redemption after finishing a close second for Rookie of the Year last season.

- Sabr is expected to be a bit short-handed as Emad Hussain is a game time decision as his flight from Egypt lands hours before puck drop. Budding super-star Saqib Khokhar is not expected to be in the lineup either. 

- Did you know Egypt is well represented on Yaqeen: Abdu Sharkawy, Ahmad Ibrahim, Mohammed Hamoud

- Sabr was the only team to win in Week 1. For Arif Khan and Ahmad Mobin it was a long time coming as both players failed to win a game last season in the winter. After the victory Khan was shouting “I like my chips with dip.”

- There were several reports that Ahmad Ibrahim (Yaqeen) put his Black Panther trainings to use and climbed a city of Toronto truck to get a better view during the Raptors Parade.  He could be heard yeling at Drake, “Chips with Humus… Chips with more Humus”

- Arif Khan was named as Sabr's Captain, a fitting role for the veteran forward who was debating being a GM this season.

- By his standards, Yusuf Ingar (Ihsan) is having a slow start to the season. Projected to be lead the league in goals expect Ingar to start filling the net soon. 

- The H Report will be going on a hiatus for the Summer Season despite the great reviews and positive feedback from players, to attempt to fill the void the Hamidi Report will be returning on a weekly basis

- We received a lot of positive feedback in Week 1 on how much fun this season is going to be because of getting more playing time. In addition it was noted how competitive this season will be because with only 4 teams talent is more concentrated on each team. 

Heads up, the remaining schedule is now available on our website. 

- Also we usually have stats updated consistency. We apologize for the delay this week. Moving forward to ensure you get credit for your goals and assist please write your name clearly on the game sheet and do not switch jersey numbers during the season. Also if the scoresheet has any errors please notify your GM and they will bring it to the Organizing Committee. 

Reminder: For those new to the league gloves and a helmet are mandatory. In light of the numerous facial and eye injuries over the past few seasons and after consulting with players and GMs, I-Slam Hockey has decided to implement a new player safety rule. All players registered in the Summer (and future) seasons must wear some form of protective eyewear. Protective eyewear includes a visor, cage or goggles. As this rule is new for the Summer season, players have up until Week Five to have this equipment in place - players who do not have protective eyewear for their Week Five game are not eligible to play until they have this equipment in place.

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Summer Season - Week One - June 14th

Welcome to the very first I-slam Hockey Summer Season! 

 For those new to the league gloves and a helmet are mandatory. In light of the numerous facial and eye injuries over the past few seasons and after consulting with players and GMs, I-Slam Hockey has decided to implement a new player safety rule. All players registered in the Summer (and future) seasons must wear some form of protective eyewear. Protective eyewear includes a visor, cage or goggles. As this rule is new for the Summer season, players have up until Week Five to have this equipment in place - players who do not have protective eyewear for their Week Five game are not eligible to play until they have this equipment in place.

The team that wins the 2019 Summer I-slam Hockey Cup will have a donation of the league’s proceeds made towards a charity of their choice. Details on the charitable donation for 2019 Winter I-slam Winter Champions-Ikhlas will be announce soon. 

2019 Winter I-slam Hockey Champions: Ikhlas

To do what Ikhlas did last season, here is my advice to all 4 teams: championship team building is a complex process which must be continually monitored and improved. Regardless of your talent level, invest some time and tap into the power of teamwork to help your team perform at a higher level. A championship team is a group of players who can effectively handle adversity and conflict, trust one another, communicate clearly and authentically and appreciate each other in a positive way. The most talented team does not always win the I-slam Cup and that’s why we play the games every Friday Night. Get ready, season about to start….

Playoff Format: All four teams make the playoffs!

Here is the general format of the playoffs:

Playoff Week 1:  Semi-Finals

i) 1^st vs 4^th 

ii) 2^nd vs 3^rd 

Playoff Week 2:  Finals

( Winner of 1^st vs 4^th ) versus (Winner of  2^nd vs 3^rd  )

The regular season has great significance especially for the semi-finals. The semifinals will be a “best of two”, where the 1^st and 2^nd seed respectively will start their series with a one game lead. That means the 3^rd and 4^th seed must win (not tie) in Playoff Week 1 to force a sudden death overtime and if still tied after that a shootout to determine who advances to the Championship Series.

For the finals it is a single game winner-take all. Also for the Finals if the game is tied after regulation we will be piloting multiple overtimes to crown the championship. 

The season has not started and we have a few transactions that occurred since the draft:

• Yaqeen trades picks #14 Abraar Gangat and #30 Saajid Bhayat to Ihsan for picks #18 Rizwan Malik and #26 Ahmad Ibrahim.
• Sabr's Yasser Habib is injured. Mehmed Rizvanovic was nominated as a replacement and cleared waivers, having now joined Sabr. Get better Yasser and hope to see you in the fall season.

Some notes from the draft:

-Ahmad Ibrahim was infuriated when his brother-in-law Mohammed Hamoud- GM of Yaqeen (white) did not draft him originally on his team. Ibrahim felt that Hamoud made a gamble by select Abdu Sharkawy before him. What transpired in the days subsequent from the draft no one quite knows but we assume some family politics were in play as Ibrahim has now ended up on Yaqeen. The trade also re-unites Ibrahim with Sharkawy, a bromance that goes back to the Winter 2018 season: see here

- Staying on this story, few have nicknamed Yaqeen as “This 70s show team” as this team has more miles behind them than infront of them. Apparently they are coordinating a team bus from the Bingo-Hall Friday’s after Jummah to the Rink Friday Nights. 

- Sabr GM Arslan Mian expects his team to go as far as Saqib Khokar takes them. There is a lot of pressure for that Saqib kid to come through this season. Rumour has it seasoned veteran Arif Khan will take him under his wing and mentor Saqib all throughout the season to help with his development. 

- Emad Hussain seems keen on playing as a forward this season. However when Arslan Mian drafted Hussain he originally slotted him in as a top four defenseman. Negotiations have been going on back and forth as Mian desperately needs d-men as a result of primarily drafting forwards., whereas Hussian feels that he can be one of the top prolific scorers this season. Latest we heard is that the two parties have not come to an agreement and Mian has made Hussain a healthy scratch for tonight.  

- Haya’s GM Dawood Ciombar made some interesting picks. He drafted Omar Essawi in the first round, which surprised everyone in the room including Essawi (who was there as he generously offered to host the draft at his school). Overall though Ciombar’s strategy seemed that he was content on drafting guys who he had recently played with instead of trying to develop chemistry with someone knew. From that perspective we can see his reasoning for his drafting strategy. 

- Naiem Malik (Haya) makes his long-awaited return to I-slam Hockey. According to reports from social media he was out downtown celebrating the Raptors’ Championship with the rest of the Maliks. Will he be fatigued for tonight’s game?

- Ibrahim Khan (Haya) is planning to show up to tonight’s game with a suit and shout “Board Man Gets Paid”

- Abdul Nafea Zuberi (Ihsan) was hoping that his line-mate from last season, Sulman Azmat would be on his team this season. Unfortunately Azmat did not join for the summer session as he is rehabbing a back-injury sustained during a Russian-Ballet recital late last year

- Mohammed Hamoud (Yaqeen’s GM) said that he intends to put Samad Hamidi out on the floor in key defensive moments in the game. Hamoudi feels it is important to build Hamidi’s confidence as strength in numbers is crucial for a successful playoff run. 

Opening faceoff has not even happened yet but we are hearing several names are already on the trading block primarily because GMs are finding out players might be away for extended periods of time. With the new adopted playoff format GMs are seeing the value of each and every regular season week:

Arif Khan (Sabr)
Emad Hussain (Sabr)
Ibrahim Hindy (Haya)
Naiem Malik (Haya)
Imran Lakhanpal (Haya)
Ali Haroon (Haya)
Faraaz Alvi (Ihsan)
Aamir Hanif (Yaqeen)
Usamah Rao (Yaqeen)
Farrukh Khan (Yaqeen) 

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