6/1/20, 1 PM PST

Joe Lacob has announced the name and logo for his new WHA team. They will start playing in the 2020-21 season at the Chase Center in San Francisco

Ladies and gentlemen, the Bay Area Sea Lions!
https://i.gyazo.com/bd4cbbff04a20db7...3af06710c6.png

Alternate logo:
https://i.gyazo.com/0f4f8347cbc4e6e9...3af0c38e7c.png

The Worcester Bobcats are the 2020 National Cup champions!

https://i.gyazo.com/32ad5c4f6c5c9a27...e16ff73387.png

Awards:

https://i.gyazo.com/15a390c4b4affded...91d9a17183.png
https://i.gyazo.com/7062da545283575c...becdf09a5e.png
https://i.gyazo.com/0e273ac26ba72650...8a78477a03.png

Draft order:
https://i.gyazo.com/65e55c5f938a997c...413503e7bb.png
It's the same order every round

TOP 5 DRAFT PICKS BY POSITION (2020 edition)

Goalie:
Round 2, 13th overall: Slovakian Jozef Heriban (Indianapolis)
Round 3, 24th overall: American Dan Avery (Baltimore)
Round 4, 37th overall: American Raleigh Woods (Quebec City)
Round 4, 38th overall: Austrian Manuel Bernhard (Worcester)
Round 5, 49th overall: American Pat Peterson (Albany)

Left Defense:
Round 1, 9th overall: American Denny Franklin (Albany)
Round 2, 14th overall: Swede Anton Blomkvist (Baltimore)
Round 3, 22nd overall: American Ken Lott (Hamilton)
Round 3, 26th overall: American Arnie Montgomery (Cincinnati)
Round 4, 31st overall: American Kyle Kessel (Portland)

Right Defense:
Round 1, 4th overall: American Scott Kilters (Baltimore)
Round 1, 5th overall: Canadian Alex Flesch (Cleveland)
Round 2, 16th overall: American Desi McCarthy (Albany)
Round 2, 17th overall: Finn Janne Raisanen (Quebec City)
Round 5, 41st overall: American Duane Sparks (Portland)

Left Wing:
Round 1, 1st overall: Canadian Michael Kuznik (Portland)
Round 1, 2nd overall: American Jack Leadbeater (Hamilton
Round 1, 7th overall: American Lawrence Meinertzhagen (Quebec City)
Round 2, 18th overall: American Robert Muto (Worcester)
Round 3, 25th overall: American Michael Murphy (Cleveland)

Center:
Round 1, 3rd overall: American Will Willard (Indianapolis)
Round 1, 6th overall: Canadian Ron Rizzuto (Cincinnati)
Round 2, 11th overall: Finn Markus Borgstom (Portland)
Round 2, 15th overall: American Ken Cropley (Cleveland)
Round 3, 27th overall: American Rob Osborne (Quebec City)

Right Wing:
Round 1, 8th overall: American Alonso Garcia (Albany)
Round 2, 12th overall: American Earl Greenawalt (Hamilton)
Round 2, 19th overall: American Tommy Austin (Albany)
Round 3, 21st overall: American Tom Nagle (Portland)
Round 3, 23rd overall: Slovakian Blahoslav Mankovecky (Indianapolis)

CHANGES FOR THE 2020-21 SEASON

There are now 2 divisions with 5 teams in each division. There's an eastern division, and a western division

As seen at the top of the page, there will be a 10th team in the league.

STANDINGS AS OF TRADE DEADLINE (2/1/21)
https://i.gyazo.com/16da33a81efa88e3...99f58b7d57.png
For some reason, the game won't hold an expansion draft. I simmed to the day of the expansion draft (7/2), and nobody was in the draft pool, so the new team had to sign a bunch of free agents. Not sure why this happens, but it's very infuriating, because I don't want expansion teams to be THIS bad.

FINAL 2020-21 REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS:

https://i.gyazo.com/49541fba6dc7bc65...5c1bf612ee.png
The top 4 teams in each division are in the playoffs. Worcester and Cleveland get a first round bye. For some reason the game did an 8 team playoff with a first round bye instead of top 3 teams in each division. I'll have to fix that when I sim to July 1st.

5/17/21

THE WORCESTER BOBCATS HAVE WON THE NATIONAL CUP FOR THE 2ND STRAIGHT YEAR!
https://i.gyazo.com/47d85c5b24a96790...776057e191.png
I don't know about you, but I smell a dynasty in the distance...

AWARDS:
https://i.gyazo.com/7c587e39c93c6ecf...eb69b39ab6.png
https://i.gyazo.com/ac53f7a7602e2540...42464730c6.png
https://i.gyazo.com/3b0861a41d904861...38a47178a6.png

DRAFT ORDER:
https://i.gyazo.com/e6f8de35d7e6f011...a55032ce56.png
It's the same order for all rounds.

ALL ROUND 1 PICKS:
https://i.gyazo.com/ce5d6aa37b554a75...1e17417836.png

CHANGES FOR THE 2021-22 SEASON:

I finally figured out what the playoff problem was. The game says it's a 6 team playoff with the top teams getting a first round bye. That's basically a fancy way of saying 8 team playoffs. While I didn't want this to happen at first, I think it's an opportunity to differentiate from the NHL. Rather than having the top teams in each division go to the playoffs, the top teams in the league go to the playoffs. However because this league is still very small, only 2 teams miss the playoffs.

The Bay Area Sea Lions will change their name to the San Francisco Sea Lions to connect more to the local community.
https://i.gyazo.com/6888d4849152a6d8...863053203b.png

After fans begged and pleaded, the Hamilton Panthers will re-brand and bring the Tigers name back to Hamilton. The original Hamilton Tigers of the NHL folded way back in 1925.
https://i.gyazo.com/7a7d2c72cc4f5469...3efd0ee1f9.png

STANDINGS AS OF TRADING DEADLINE (2/1/22)
https://i.gyazo.com/f5f2ce856132aa96...27d5ccaa5b.png

Baltimore looking for a new home? 2/1/22, 6 PM EST

After having trouble securing an arena deal in Baltimore, the Blades might be on the move. Struggling ticket sales and poor on-ice performance don't really mix well, and that is the case here. The owner, Alex Hooley, stated that the Blades aren't working too well in Baltimore, and he is losing money each year due to the teams struggles. If a new arena deal isn't done by April, he said he will move the team.

FINAL 2021-22 SEASON STANDINGS:
https://i.gyazo.com/9d7cf7803fb0f046...9547b4fc58.png
Remember when I said playoffs were screwed up? They're not. The top 3 teams in each division make it to the playoffs, and first in both divisions gets a first round bye. Also, Worcester didn't make the playoffs somehow...

A farewell to Baltimore

Despite making the playoffs this season, the Blades were still last in league attendance, and owner Alex Hooley couldn't secure a deal with Royal Farms Arena to keep the Blades in Baltimore. Hooley is excited for a fresh start, as he will be moving the Blades to Minnesota, where they will play in the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis starting in the upcoming 2022-23 season.

Say hello to the Minnesota Thunder!
https://i.gyazo.com/4fafa6d7099b4693...7e6526af11.png

THE HAMILTON TIGERS ARE THE 2022 NATIONAL CUP CHAMPIONS!
https://i.gyazo.com/0e173bb41b49cf1d...917738a652.png

AWARDS:
https://i.gyazo.com/96458173d93f3e65...2cef0b8987.png
https://i.gyazo.com/e2360fc1a16eb1e1...30a37702ce.png
https://i.gyazo.com/b3e3559decc75ef1...d3cccb63ef.png

FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS:
https://i.gyazo.com/33eaeb88fd38603d...fdb89af405.png

CHANGES FOR THE 2022-23 SEASON:

As mentioned in above post, the Baltimore Blades are relocating to Minneapolis and rebranding as the Minnesota Thunder.

EDIT: They will also swap divisions with Cleveland, who will move to the east division.

STANDINGS AS OF THE 2022-23 TRADING DEADLINE:
https://i.gyazo.com/2189bdebf43cc73c...4a2065fc3d.png

FINAL 2022-23 REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS:
https://i.gyazo.com/e8264fc27abee24a...40ff00d6fd.png

This next part is going to be completely unrealistic, but nothing in this thread is real, so why not?

Merger Mania?

4/1/23, 6 PM EST

The WHA is in talks of a merger with the struggling ECHL. The ECHL has been struggling financially for the past couple years, with many teams folding, or moving to other leagues, with no signs of stopping. There is not much information about details of the merger, but what we do know is that if all goes to plan, the leagues will merge starting in the 2029-30 season.

THE HAMILTON PANTHERS WIN THE NATIONAL CUP AGAIN!
https://i.gyazo.com/742783d9d5a1bad8...b6bf7244d5.png

AWARDS:
https://i.gyazo.com/2f092d1f2b87b012...e96dddb47c.png
https://i.gyazo.com/0be254e81297e196...0b4ee4d7bc.png
https://i.gyazo.com/027b9baecf3ff0c3...dbd05fd931.png

FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICKS:
https://i.gyazo.com/1af94f70369617e7...3e09eef1e1.png
Indianapolis can't draft confirmed. This is the 2nd time in a row they've taken the best goalie in the draft despite the fact they have the best goaltending in the league...

CHANGES FOR 2023-24 SEASON:

Worcester is changing their logo and colors.

https://i.gyazo.com/e903286a9c626b92...8395b3c35f.png

WHA to possibly expand by 2 teams, plus more merger talks.

9/21/23, 11 AM EST

The WHA has announced the possibility of a 2-team expansion in time for the 2024-25 season. The current expansion bids being taken into consideration are Charlotte, Salt Lake City and Oakland. Also, the WHA has confirmed that they will merge with the ECHL, keeping the World Hockey Association name, while also acquiring 6 of the 10 remaining ECHL teams in the 2029-30 season. Those 6 teams are Norfolk, South Carolina, Idaho, Kansas City, Tulsa, and Orlando.