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Originally Posted by One Post Wonder
Thanks. Even I've heard of Dino Ciccarelli so that doesn't match up with what I'd read about agitators at all.
Although I'm still not sure what effect if any an enforcer has in FHM2. Does your team get a large short-term bonus if the enforcer wins a fight? Does having a good enforcer limit the checking effectiveness of the other team?
Now that I've played a few hours, I see that most of my questions were stupid. The biggest change to me, that I'm still learning to deal with, is how minor leagues are handled in hockey - that you don't own your minor league and U20 teams and players. I see guys with NHL contracts playing all over the place. There are young guys contracted with rival teams playing with guys on my team. It's not like any other sport I'm familiar with.
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Does that mean you feel good about your other questions then? If you would like more answers, please let me know.
An enforcers role though (especially when dealing with historical mode) is to make sure really that he's the one fighting and sitting in the penalty box and not someone else. Taking the 1980s Oilers as a prime example, you have Dave Semenko who was a decent hockey player, but his job was to make sure no one messed with Gretzky. He wasn't getting injured or having to fight on his own because Semenko was there to protect him. Without Semenko, Gretzky eithers going to be dropping the mitts himself (which risk injury and limits is effectiveness if he's in the box) or you have someone else with a higher fighting skill who may take guys on who you don't want (like, I don't know, say Messier). Hopefully that answers that.
Minor leagues are a whole different ball game all together. I know you said you're playing in the EIHL, so it's a little different too, but here's a brief (and simple, keep simple in mind) history that maybe explains how Minor Leagues came to exist and North America and function.
Prior to the 1967 expansion (well even further than that), NHL teams essentially had scout groups in different locals that gathered the best hockey players around and put them on teams to help essentially start training them for NHL Clubs. Typically players signed A, B, or C contracts - meaning (in short) if they wanted to play pro, they'd play for _________ club. This worked okay. But you started seeing super-groups. There was a time for instance that Montreal had the rights basically to everyone Eastern Canada.
Post expansion (and well, 1963 rally), things changed. The first amateur draft was held when players approximately 20 years old were drafted by clubs, rather than free to sign contracts with whoever signed them. Amateur clubs began to pop up, and you get eventually what turns in to a the WHL, OHL and QMJHL as the first "major minor" league for players who were not yet draft eligible. These organizations exist for that same purpose essentially today. To help players get to a higher level of hockey while finishing their schooling.
The introduction of the WHA into the world changed things again, as they started selecting players at age 18 - messing with the NHL by preemptively taking players the NHL would have wanted. This eventually led to rules be changed again, but we'll get back to that.
At the same time, NHL clubs recognized that you couldn't keep an indefinite number of players with the 6 teams, and some players needed to grow a little bit, so an agreement was made to make minor league clubs that would play against each other. This is a gross oversimplification of the complex history of minor league hockey, but what it comes down to is this (I say this because there was multiple leagues, some dealing with Free Agents, some with contracted players to NHL clubs, etc): The AHL now exists essentially as a training ground for players in hopes of going to the NHL who likely weren't a Top 10 NHL pick.
So here's how things (typically) break down:
NHL - Top Players in the World playing
AHL - Top Prospects (and a few veterans) continue to play games at a high level in hopes of making it to the NHL.
CHL (WHL/OHL/QMJHL) - Top Canadian prospects (as well as Americans and a few from other various foreign countries) play together in a top league. Players are aged 16-20.
NCAA - See Below.
So after the introduction and folding of the WHA, players were able to be drafted at Age 18. Some players are ready to play at that age. Others are not. If a Canadian (or someone with CHL rights) is drafted and signed to a contract and they don't make the NHL, they cannot be sent to the AHL. They MUST be sent to the CHL as part of a fairly old agreement to make sure top players stay in Canada for some time. If no rights are held by a CHL team, they are allowed to go to the AHL.
If a player is drafted however and is in the NCAA (American College Hockey), they can't be signed until they decide they are done with their education and at that time the club may send them to the NHL or AHL - the odd time CHL if the player wishes to continue their growth their if they are under 20 and a team wants them.
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This should hopefully help explain a little more why you may see players who are owned by different clubs playing together. Prior to about 8 years ago, the AHL actually had several teams that were split clubs as there wasn't enough teams. Having watched the Manitoba Moose be an affiliate of both the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks, I don't think it was a bad thing.
The EIHL I'm a little less familiar with but I'm guessing they have some sort of minor league system they can draw players from. European leagues are tending to draw from a more Soccer style way of business which works as well.
I hope this helps and makes things a little clearer for you! If you have more questions, please ask.