Meet the Underdogs, a Top-tier NHL 6v6 Competitive Team From Quebec

The Underdogs are a competitive 6v6 EA Sports Hockey League Club based in Quebec. The team is comprised of highly accomplished and prolific players, most of whom have several titles in various capacities, either individually or with other 6s teams from the past. I had the privilege of learning more about the team's history, the players on the team, and their goals moving forward.

The Underdogs were initially founded in 2019, but the existing friendships extend beyond their current team. Goaltender of the Underdogs and hockey scout for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL, "Rainz" @Rainz1eshl, elaborates on their shared story and how the players on the existing team are part of a larger friend group. Many of them have extensive experience competing with and against each other on various teams and tournaments.

"We are pretty much a bunch of friends that met a long time ago because of LeagueGaming Hockey League. Most of us met in real life and became close friends. "Olympia," "Virtual Brothers," "Underdogs," and "Phantoms" are all 6s clubs that include players from the same group of about 20 friends. We even made a ball hockey team the last two summer seasons."

The current iteration of the Underdogs accomplished a lot during the NHL 23 competitive year. Twenty-one-year-old defenseman, Deeks @DeeksNHL, shares, "It was our first year together. Underdogs used to be a team two or three years ago, but there have been multiple rosters. We had several top placements in our first year together."

Led by their twenty-one-year-old captain, "Ket" @RocketNHL, the Underdogs most notably had a dominating run in the fourth season of the CapsGaming Showcase tournament, where they had a finals appearance against the Isles Gaming Team, the professionally signed eSports team for the New York Islanders. The Underdogs also placed third in the Ducks Gaming launch tournament and fifth in the most recent Kroger Columbus Blue Jackets 6v6 Finale. 

Ket says, "I had planned to make the team for a while when the NHL beta came out last summer. It was not hard filling in our roster as those I wanted to play with were friends from real life, which helped us perform well with each other. We have only been together for a year now, which is surprising considering our success in only a few months."

Ket's perspective is illuminating because he emphasizes that their team's success is secondary to the friendships they have built over the years. Regarding rostermania, he shares, "I am not a fan of rostermania. I enjoy knowing what is happening around the league, but I would always rather keep all my friends together for our team than try to find new people every event."

Rainz elaborates on this by saying, "It is more of a group of friends playing together than a play-to-win team that only tries to get the best players."

Ket and Rainz show that rostermania does not necessarily help a team if they only care about what looks good on paper. The personalities, characters, and ability of players to mesh well and form meaningful connections are critical, and the players on the Underdogs have that. Thus, given the skill set of the players on the team and the broader history with their group of friends over the years, it should come as no surprise that the Underdogs achieved tremendous success in NHL 23.

Although the players on The Underdogs came together from a laid-back mindset, they quickly realized their potential. Rainz shares, "There is not much to say on how we built that team. It has been pretty much Rocket who wanted to make a team for fun. At the start, we were more on a play-for-fun mindset, but we quickly realized that we were a good team and started to grind more because we started to believe we could win with this lineup."

The mindset of the players shifted throughout the competitive year. They knew they were good, but they found out they had the potential to be great. Ket adds, "It is easy for us to work together as our main goal now is the same, to win."

Ket also says, "If there is one reason we had success this year, it is because we like to play with the opponent's weaknesses rather than trying to play the same way against every other team. This makes it hard for our opponents to know what playstyle we use against them."

To summarize, Ket and Rainz demonstrate three key ingredients to their success. They include playing with a close group of talented friends, having mental confidence against any team they go up against, and being adaptable in games by quickly recognizing weaknesses in opposing teams and capitalizing on them.

The Underdogs recognize that their potential as a team is even more significant than what they showed in NHL 23. Rainz shares, "Beating Entourage and IslesGT has been our struggle in tournaments. Motivation might also be the toughest enemy. We all have pretty busy lives, so practicing and putting a lot of energy into it has been tough at times. The CapsGaming Showcase LAN event in Washington helped overcome that a little bit."

Ket adds, "Our biggest challenge was by far when we made it to Washington in the top four as we had to use a utility player instead of the roster player that played all season long. We won the semi-final and came up short in the finals against IslesGT in four games."

The Underdogs are currently enjoying their off-season but are poised for a big push in NHL 24. Ket shares, "For now, our plan is simple, take some time off until the game comes out, then grind our way back and finally win our first chip together. Considering the challenges we went through, we had a great year, and I cannot wait to see how we do in the upcoming year."

The upcoming competitive year will include some of the biggest storylines we have yet to see in competitive 6s, and the Underdogs will be part of many of them. With significant potential and arguably already a top-five team in all of 6v6, the Underdogs will be looking to take the scene by storm in NHL 24. Visit here to follow the team's journey moving forward.