2017-2018 CLL Season

Summary
RENO COMPLETES REVENGE TOUR AND CAPTURES FIRST CAZAH CUP WITH "SUNDAY FUNDAY" CLUTCH PERFORMANCE PLAYOFF RUN

Championships call for clutch playoff performances, and that's exactly what the Reno Wildfire received from their players. Reno, also known as "Carlson & Karlsson LLP", had a consistent season, trending between the 2nd and 6th place mark for most of the season's 20 weeks. The franchise pulled a tough draw in round 1, facing the defending Wagon Memorial Trophy champion New England Kodiaks who had been in a top 3 seed for most of the season. On Sunday evening, trailing 6-5 and with only one player start remaining from veteran defenseman Johnny Boychuk vs. 4 New England skaters, the Wildfire pulled off the unthinkable, sinking the Kodiaks 7-6 to advance to the Cazah Cup Semi-Finals. Reno carried the momentum into the second round, defeating Brampton with a very strong Saturday and Sunday performance, and propelling the team back to the Cazah Cup final for the first time since the CLL's inaugural season in 2014-15. They would meet the Manitoba Elmos, who had dominated the entire regular season, setting several records and earning the 2017-18 Wagon Memorial Trophy. Once again, a clutch performance late in the match-up by Reno's veterans clinched them their first Cazah Cup title with a 8-6 win.

Other notable season events:
 * New kid on the block: Manitoba GM Greg Ragusich has an immediate impact in his first season as a CLL GM despite drafting from Asia, combining for a 14-4-2 match-up record and finishing as the only franchise with a Win percentage over .600. He also set several season records including most faceoff wins in a single week.
 * Fall of the kings: after three consecutive dominant seasons in the CLL, both the Quebec Bulldogs and New England Kodiaks fell from the top, finishing 6th (NE) and 14th (QC). This was the first season in CLL history that saw neither of the teams placed in the top 3.

Draft
The 2017-18 Cazah Draft took place at the John Molson School of Business on September 27th, 2018. The following is the draft order, inlcuding first round results:

Key Changes
The off-season brought two key additions to the league:
 * New franchise: Manitoba Elmos (GM Greg Ragusich)
 * Return of franchises: Peshawar Hashashin (GM Tee Tanoli) and Tel Aviv All-Whites (GM Izak Nagar and CJ Edouard)