Tiger Fan's SI Test Drive - An EHM & WWSM dynasty

[Tiger Fan]

With the Eastside Hockey Manager 2005 digital download now released by SI and purchased by me it is time to change gears a little as I try to get the hockey side of this dynasty caught up to the soccer.

I begin by setting up my league with all available nations running and using the maximum database. I set all the North American Leagues as well as Finland, Russia and Sweden to run in full mode while the remain European countries will be in the background as they have little interest to me.

I decide on starting with an Ontario Hockey League team since I wanted to be outside of the NHL but also wanted to have a draft to look forward to in the offseason. I choose the OHL over the other 2 Canadian Major Junior Leagues because being an Ontario native, it is a league I am quite familiar with.

Before I begin my new league I download a slightly modified database that will assign real team and league names to the two low level minor leagues - the Central and United Hockey Leagues. Like OOTP there are plenty of add-ons available for the EHM series and I also download some photopacks and graphics to give virtually every player in my junior league an image.

To choose my team I list 6 bad teams from the OHL a year ago on a sheet of paper and roll a 6-sided die. The Guelph Storm are the winner so I prepare for my first day at the helm in Guelph.

[jbmagic]

tiger fan yoour dyansty are always a great read.


did you enhanced all the leagues?

where is a great place for add ons?

thanks

[Tiger Fan]

thanks
Enhanced all North American leagues as well as Finland, Sweeden and Russia.

I got my add-ons here: http://ehm.sortitoutsi.net/

[Tiger Fan]

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2004
First the great news. In this EHM universe there will be no NHL lockout. Somehow Bettman and Goodenow ended up on the same page and a deal was struck preserving the 2004-05 season.

While I certainly have an eye on the NHL my main focus will be on my job here in Guelph. I am greeted with a couple of emails telling me that our training camp is about to start and our team owner looks forward to me guiding the team into the playoffs.

Our season opener will be Friday, September 24th so I have 3 weeks to prepare. Looking at our schedule I see we have 4 preseason games already scheduled including one tomorrow night at home to Oshawa...nothing like jumping right in. I decide my first order of business will be to add another 4 preseason contests so I have plenty of opportunity to judge our team.


FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3 AM
I spent a fair bit of time familiarizing myself with my scouting staff and the 24 players on my training camp roster. I also took a look at my protected list and invited a number of prospects to camp as well. Finally I scanned through the list of unsigned junior aged free agents and extended an invitation to several of them to join my training camp. I wont go into huge detail on any of these players yet as most will be lucky to make the roster.

Meanwhile hockey's World Cup is in full swing. Yesterday Filip Kuba of the Minnesota Wild scored a third period goal to allow the Czech Republic to escape with a narrow 2-1 victory over Germany. In other European bracket game Sweden blew a 2-0 lead and had to settle for a 2-2 tie with archrival Finland. After 2 games the Swedes and Finns each have 3 points, the Czechs have 2 and Germany is pointless. The round robin matches end Sunday with Germany at Finland and Sweden visiting the Czechs.

In the North American group Russia leads the way with a 2-0 record. Canada is 1-1 having lost 3-2 to the USA in the opener before pounding Slvakia 8-0 behind a Joe Thornton hat trick. The United States is also 1-1 after losing to Russia. Russia meets Canada while the States play Slovakia in the round robin finale tomorrow.


In NHL news the Ottawa Senators have offered free agent Paul Kariya a contract. Nashville is also rumoured to be interested in Kariya, who had just 36 points in an injury filled season with Colorado a year ago.

Next up will be our preseason opener.

[Tiger Fan]

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 3 PM
PRESEASON OPENER OSHAWA AT GUELPH
While it was a little quick having a preseason game on my first full day of training camp the contest did give me a chance to see how good my incumbant players are. None of my prospects or the free agents I invited yesterday have arrived in camp yet so we went with our default roster.

We managed to pull out a 3-2 victory over Oshawa. Not the greatest result since the Generals will likely be in the thick of the race for the 1st overall draft pick in next year's OHL draft but a win is a win.

None of my defensemen had a real strong game but my forwards played well particularily the trio of Tyler Doig, Andy Hyvarinen and Ryan Callahan. They combined for 4 points and all received a rating of 8 (out of 10) for their efforts.


SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 4
A lot of new faces showed up in training camp today boosting our total of players in camp to 42. Here are the players who have a realistic shot at a job:

GOALIES
Ryan MACDONALD - 19 year old had a 28-5-2 record with a 2.06 GAA for London last season. Will contend for starting job.

Danny TAYLOR - 18 year old was Guelph backup last season and had a 2.71 GAA in helping the Storm to the Memorial Cup.

Doug GROENSTEGE - will turn 20 next month so if we keep him he will count as an overager. Our assistant coaches rave about his skills and if he has a big camp he could replace either MacDonald or Taylor.

Jeremie DUPONT - not yet 16, he was a late round draft pick. Will likely need a year or two of junior B play before he will be ready to join the Storm.


DEFENSE

Ryan CARD - overager enteres his 5th and final OHL season. A key member of our defense.

Ryan PARENT - 17 year old was Guelph's first round pick in 2003. Played 58 games as a rookie last year.

Ryan POTTRUFF - 18 year old Carolina draft pick should have no trouble making the team.

Josh GODFREY - 16 year old was 4th rd pick of Guelph in June. Has a chance to make the team but might need a year to fine tune his skills.

Lubomir STACH - 18 year old Czech defenseman makes his North American debut. My assistants like his potential and he will be given every chance to make the team.

Mike CARUSO - 16 year old was our first round pick in June. Has a good chance to make the team.

Shawn HAVILAND - 17 year old aggressive defenseman played 3 games for the Storm last season. Outside chance to make the team.

Mick OKRZESIK - My assistants are divided on this guy. One feels he has great potential still but the other figures he will not live up to it. He has not stood out in 2 years with the team.

Davide NICOLETTI - A 2002 draftee who has never suited up for the Storm. He spent last season with Wexford of the Tier Two Jr A league. Our staff really likes the 18 year old stay at home defenseman and he may finally make the squad.

Ryan BERNARDI - 17 year old was our 9th rd pick a year ago and played Tier Two last season. He may add depth to our roster but wont be a top 4 defenseman.

Kyle JONES - Overager from Sault Ste Marie who was never drafted in the OHL. He has the talent to play at this level according to my assistants but I am not sure if he is good enough to warrant one of the 3 overage designations. If goalie Groenstege makes the team Jones will definately not.


I do not feel to bad about our defense but I would love to add a power play quarterback.

Next up a look at the forwards with a shot to make the club.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

So it's good luck in Scotland & Canada now!

[Bobbuttons]

Hey, TF.. not being familiar with the OHL I was wondering if you could fill me in on what the league is all about. You mention underagers, so I would figure it's sort of a low minors equivalent. The teams draft their own players? What happens with the players after they finish their final year in the OHL? Are they eligible for the NHL draft, as well? If so, how does this affect the OHL if players from there are taken? Do higher clubs retain rights to players on your squad to call them up or do they just sit tight until the OHL club decides to move them via trade or release or whatnot?

Those are all the questions now... but I wouldn't be surprised if I have more in the future. Thanks for any light you can shed on these things.

[rangers85]

Originally Posted by Bobbuttons

Hey, TF.. not being familiar with the OHL I was wondering if you could fill me in on what the league is all about. You mention underagers, so I would figure it's sort of a low minors equivalent. The teams draft their own players? What happens with the players after they finish their final year in the OHL? Are they eligible for the NHL draft, as well? If so, how does this affect the OHL if players from there are taken? Do higher clubs retain rights to players on your squad to call them up or do they just sit tight until the OHL club decides to move them via trade or release or whatnot?

Those are all the questions now... but I wouldn't be surprised if I have more in the future. Thanks for any light you can shed on these things.

I don't live anywhere close to the OHL, but from what I remember, think of the OHL, QMJHL, etc as kind of the NCAA of hockey. Most of your top young hockey players go there before the NHL. I think 16 is when you can enter those league, then you can get drafted by the NHL once you're 18.

Once drafted, the NHL team holds their rights and can sign them and bring them up to their minor league teams, or they can opt not to sign them yet and leave them at their junior league team. The NHL teams have two years (Or is it only 1, can't remember for sure, it's been so long since there's been a draft) to sign a player they have rights to, or they lose their rights and they can re-enter the draft.

As for the OHL teams drafting players, teams draft in reverse order of standings and basically this is how the league distributes the players that are entering the OHL. I think some of the other junior leagues just use a system of free agency to distribute the players.

[jbmagic]

tiger fan

you playing all your games out? or lettign head coach handle everything?


if you have time, it will be cool to go over your tactics and practice screen info if you controlling everything.

thanks

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by Bobbuttons

Hey, TF.. not being familiar with the OHL I was wondering if you could fill me in on what the league is all about. You mention underagers, so I would figure it's sort of a low minors equivalent. The teams draft their own players? What happens with the players after they finish their final year in the OHL? Are they eligible for the NHL draft, as well? If so, how does this affect the OHL if players from there are taken? Do higher clubs retain rights to players on your squad to call them up or do they just sit tight until the OHL club decides to move them via trade or release or whatnot?

Those are all the questions now... but I wouldn't be surprised if I have more in the future. Thanks for any light you can shed on these things.

Rangers85 got it pretty much correct. Major Junior hockey in Canada would be very similiar in it's role to what NCAA football and basketball are to the NFL and NBA.

There are several levels of junior hockey in Canada (hence the name Major Junior) but the top level consists of 3 leagues: The Quebec League which also includes some teams in the Maritime Provinces. The Ontario League which has over the past decade or so expanded to Pennsylvania (Erie) and Michigan (Plymouth and Saginaw) and the Western League which covers provinces from Manitoba to British Columbia. It too has several teams based in American cities, mainly in Washington State.

Just like the NHL major junior teams hold a draft every year with the worst team selecting first. Each league has it's own draft so only the OHL can draft players from Ontario, and only Western teams can draft players from the western provinces.

The major jnuior teams then hold the rights to the players they draft. They can just like in the NHL be traded and the major junior teams have a farm system of sorts where they can assign prospects to a lower level of junior to gain experience.

Once a junior player turns 18 he becomes eligible for the NHL draft. If he is drafted by an NHL club his junior team still retains his junior rights. If he is good enough to play in the NHL he can at age 18, if not the NHL team must return him to his junior squad. If he is under 20 and a major junior hockey player he is not allowed to play in the minors.

At 20 his regular junior eligibility is over but each team can have up to three 20-year old players on it's roster. They are called "overagers" and are allowed to play 1 junior season as an overager. After their final junior year if they are undrafted by an NHL team they can try and catch on with a European League club or a low level minor league. Many also go on to play Canadian University hockey but it is no where near as prestigous as junior or NCAA hockey.

Hope that helps. There are some more details to the rules I mentioned but that is the basic guideline.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

tiger fan

you playing all your games out? or lettign head coach handle everything?


if you have time, it will be cool to go over your tactics and practice screen info if you controlling everything.

thanks

I will definately be coaching every game myself and setting my own strategy (just cant bring myself to use the word 'tactics' with hockey...sounds too European for me). I will post screenshots when I get to the regular season and have found what works best for my club.

I am still deciding if I will do the practice stuff myself or designate it to an assistant.

[tward13]

TF, this is helping a lot. I downloaded the try before you buy NHL EHM game. Just started it up today and I still find it very confusing (and I know hockey, not sure how I could deal with soccer)

I'm having some of the same problems I had with a previous test run of this game. To me at least it's not intuitive. I poke around trying to find players, figure out how to get more players, etc. I definitely doesn't lead you from place to place.

Any info you can include in your write-ups that mentions various steps taken will be appreciated as it will at least alert me that certain things can be done, so I can try to figure out how.

I really like hockey and want to like this game, but I don't get the same out of the box WOW that I got from OOTP. Yes I know it's very detailed and deep, but still kind of non-intuitive.

[Bobbuttons]

Thanks for the info rangers and TF.

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

I will definately be coaching every game myself and setting my own strategy (just cant bring myself to use the word 'tactics' with hockey...sounds too European for me). I will post screenshots when I get to the regular season and have found what works best for my club.

I am still deciding if I will do the practice stuff myself or designate it to an assistant.

be very carefull if you let head coach handle practice. it best you handle it all yourself.

because they dont handle everything in the practice screen.
they dont handle the % for general, powerplay and powerkill in there.

and they dont assign the coaches in there for you. they usually have two coaches and have all 7 categories mark by derfault which is very bad.

best to assign your own and mark only 3 categories for each to get the best out of your players

[jbmagic]

tward13

here a great walkthru guides

http://www.sortitoutsi.net/forums/in...howtopic=18847

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by tward13

TF, this is helping a lot. I downloaded the try before you buy NHL EHM game. Just started it up today and I still find it very confusing (and I know hockey, not sure how I could deal with soccer)

I'm having some of the same problems I had with a previous test run of this game. To me at least it's not intuitive.

Your post is virtually identical to one I made just a day or two after downloading the demo for EHM05

Originally Posted by Tiger Fan

Is anyone playing the new Eastside Hockey Manager demo and if so is the interface giving you as much trouble as it is for me? As much as I love baseball, hockey is far and away my favourite sport and I so badly want to become addicted to EHM but the interface drives me nuts. I tried to get into the first version of it from SI but just couldn't because the layout just seemed so confusing.

I fired up the gold demo this evening and started playing around with things. I have to admit I love the detail (although I wish league sizes could be customized) and so much of this game looks great. I picked an ECHL team, studied my roster, played a couple of games and once I figured out where I could juggle line combinations and adjust my strategy (what's with the word tactics anyway, this is hockey) I was really getting into the game.

Then yet another interface problem. I made the mistake of checking from my team roster screen the order of players for a shoot-out and now I cannot find a way to get back to the regular roster screen so I can change who is scratched for my next game. The back button doesn't take me there, the stupid arrows dont help a bit, going to a different screen then back to the roster screen doesnt solve the problem. It is driving me nuts. Like I said, I love hockey and I so badly want to get into this game but it just doesnt seem possible for me with the present interface.

I do not have a clue how to sign a free agent or make an offer for a player from a lower level league. It just seems to be the least intuitive interface I have ever seen. Is it just me or are others having the same troubles? I sure hope OOTP7 doesn't adapt this style of interface.

After a few weeks of struggling and posting a number of questions on the EHM board I finally felt comfortable with the interface. There are still some things that I have trouble with - like the player search with your scouts - but overall I am extremely happy I stuck with it as , just like you, I desperately wanted to like this game because I love hockey.

My only advice is ask questions, read the manual and stay with it. Eventually the navigation will be much more comfortable. At least thats how it ended up for me.

[Tiger Fan]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

be very carefull if you let head coach handle practice. it best you handle it all yourself.

because they dont handle everything in the practice screen.
they dont handle the % for general, powerplay and powerkill in there.

and they dont assign the coaches in there for you. they usually have two coaches and have all 7 categories mark by derfault which is very bad.

best to assign your own and mark only 3 categories for each to get the best out of your players

thanks. Good to know.

[Tiger Fan]

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 4- continued
We continue the look at the players who will contend for a roster spot in camp.

FORWARDS

LOCKS TO MAKE THE TEAM

Ryan CALLAHAN - The 19 year old from Rochester, NY scored 36 goals for the Storm last season and will play a key role on the squad this year.

Andy HYVARINEN - Still 16 years old, the Thunder Bay native has outstanding potential. C/LW played 10 games for the Storm last season after being drafted in the third round.

Ryan KITCHEN - Not a lot of players will outwork the 19 year old C/RW. Has two years of OHL play under his belt primarily as a checking line player.

Mark O'LEARY - 19 year old winger played for Mississauga last year. Can play either right or left wing.



LIKELY TO MAKE TEAM

Matt D'AGOSTINI - 17 year old right winger has some pretty good potential.

Tyler DOIG - 18 year old LW/C played one game in OHL with Barrie last season.

Jaromir FLORIAN - 17 year old Czech RW was taken in the Import Draft. Has a lot to learn but looks like a player with some talent.

Mike GURTLER - 17 year old played tier-two junior A last season. Can play LW or Center and is a nifty playmaker.

Cory KONECNY - 18 year old RW will make the team for one reason - to keep opponents honest. Not much speed but a tough player who's icetime will be limited to when things get rough.

Matt LYALL - 16 year old was our second round draft pick in June. The small center is a good all round player.

Mike MCLEAN - 18 year old LW/C split last season between Oshawa and Guelph.

Kyle SPURR - 0verager had 172 penalty minutes last season for Guelph. He can do more than fight and should have a spot on the third line.


LONGSHOTS

Ryan BEHNKE - Our assistants do not give the free agent invitee much of a chance but I had great success with him while playing Erie in the demo version of the game.

Kyle CLANCY - Our 10th round pick wont turn 16 until Novemeber and likely needs another year of junior B before he is ready for the OHL.

Andrew DISSANAYAKE - Originally drafted by the Storm 2 years ago the 18 year old center may finally be ready for OHL action.

Darryl SMITH - played half dozen games for Guelph last year but the 17 year old center did little to impress our assistants.

Rick STEADMAN - Overager came over from the London Knights. The left wingers job may hinge on whether or not we keep the overage goaltender.

Kelsey WILSON - 18 year old LW/RW played for Sarnia Sting last season. Another of the many players we have capable of third line duties.

Scott ZIMMERMAN - 17 year old RW/LW from Rochester played for Mississauga last season but was not overly impressive.


We clearly are lacking talent in the forward ranks. I have a glut of decent players who are capable of third or fourth line duties but we really need a sniper and a front line center.

We had a scrimmage today and an overage center by the name of Warren Cooper stole the show scoring a pair of goals in a 3-2 game. Cooper has virtually no shot of making the team due to our glut of overagers. Our assistants were also very happy with the efforts put forth by winger Scott Zimmerman and defenseman Kyle Jones in the scrimmage.

I have finalized our preseason schedule. We have 7 more games which should give me plenty of time to make some roster decisions.

Tue Sep 7 at Sarnia
Fri Sep 10 ERIE
Sun Sep 12 WINDSOR
Mon Sep 13 at Windsor
Tue Sep 14 at Kingston
Thu Sep 16 OWEN SOUND
Sat Sep 18 KITCHENER




WORLD CUP
Russia stunned Canada 5-3 in the final preliminary round game for each country. Pavel Datsyuk had a natural hat trick in the third period after Canada had built a 3-1 first period lead. In the other game Brett Hull had a goal and an assist to help the United States past Slovakia 4-1.

Russia finishes first in the group with a 3-0 record. The USA is 2-1, Canada 1-2 and Slovakia last at 0-3. The European Group concludes play tomorrow.

[Tiger Fan]

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 5
The World Cup of Hockey quarterfinals are all set after the European Group finished it's schedule. The Czech's doubled Sweden 4-2 while Germany upset Finland 5-3 in the final round robin game. Despite the win Germany still finishes fourth in the group while Sweden and Finland tie for second, a point back of the Czechs.

The quarterfinal matchups are as follows

Czech Republic vs Germany
Sweden vs Finland
Slovakia vs Russia
United States vs Canada


Meanwhile in Guelph I invite one more free agent to camp. Shane Baxter is a 17 year old right winger with good wheels. He may just have the talent to make the team.

I also give my scouts their first assignments. The two best at recognizing current ability in players are both assigned to scout our league, the OHL. I assign the others to start looking at young prospects for next year's OHL draft.


In NHL news both Montreal and Toronto have made offers to free agent winger Ziggy Palffy. Palffy is presently playing for his native Slovakia in the World Cup and has a goal and 2 assists in 3 games. Injuries limited him to 35 games with the LA Kings last season.


MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6
Following the morning scrimmage I make my first cut. Goaltender Dave Woods, who had a 6.00 gaa and a save percentage of .875 was returned to the Niagara Falls Canucks of the Golden Horseshoe Junior B loop. The 16 year old clearly is not ready for this level of play.

Cutting him gets me down to 4 goalies which is a little easier to manage.

In World Cup quarterfinal action Pavel Kubina scored twice as the Czech's blanked Germany 4-0. Tomorrow night Sweden-Finland and Russia-Slovakia games will be contested with the USA-Canada quarterfinal set for Wednesday.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 7 am

In NHL news Paul Kariya signed a 3 year deal with the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile Eric Lindros is rumoured to be close to landing in San Jose with the Sharks.

Closer to home the London Knights may lose defenseman Bryan Rodney. The 20 year old signed a deal with the Buffalo Sabres and may end up in Rochester this season. Meanwhile we lost 3 players to NHL camps, at least for the time being. Ryan Pottruff was a 7th round pick of Carolina in June and will attend the Hurricanes camp. Goalie Danny Taylor also went in the 7th round to the Los Angeles Kings while Ryan Callahan was a 4th round selection of the Rangers. I expect all 3 to be returned to us in the next couple of weeks as none are ready for NHL duty.

[Tiger Fan]

Since I do not want to completely forget about my St Mirren side of this dynasty I am going to speed things up on the hockey side. The soccer dynasty is in late Novemeber so until I get to that point the hockey updates will be rather brief.

However, if anyone wants more detail on anything just let me know. Once I get the two dynasties to the same date I will post my hockey tactics and practice schedule info.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 2004
Training camp is over and we are ready for our regular season opener. We were 6-2-0 in our 8 preseason games and I had a few nice surprises among the free agent signings. Complete preseason scoring stats for our team are listed below - at least for the 32 players that remain in my organization as of the opener. Not all 32 are on the Storm though, as I have assigned 7 to our junior B affiliate the Guelph Dominators.


We also got a huge boost when overage winger Daniel Paille was returned to us from Buffalo. It will be Paille's 5th season with the Storm. He had 37 goals and 80 points a year ago. The three players from our team who were invited to NHL camps have all been returned so overall I am fairly happy with the team.

I would like to have a better goaltender but between MacDonald, Taylor and overager Groenstege I am hoping someone can get hot.

The defense is good since I added free agent pickup Paolo Bottiglia to be my powerplay quarterback. The three Ryan's, Card, Parent and Pottruff will also play a key role.

I have not really settled on forward combinations but the addition of Paille and free agent signee Shane Baxter has me feeling pretty good about our offense.


We open the season with a pair of home games - against Saginaw tonight and Barrie on Sunday.


In news from around the Hockey World.

The Czech's won the World Cup with a 4-2 win over the United States in the final. The USA had a dramatic semi-final win over Russia, scoring the tying goal in the final minute of regulation and winning the game on a Mike Modano overtime marker.

Meanwhile, the San Jose Sharks signed Eric Lindros and Pavel Demitra went to Toronto.