World Hockey Union (90 team league)

[hurricanekevin]

Introducing the World Hockey Union!
Welcome to my fictional 90-team league save starting in 2022. I’m using real-life players mixed with a smattering of historical players to spread some talent around. As the name of the league implies, this is a global league with teams the U.S., Canada, Iceland, Japan, Finland, Germany, England, Korea, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Slovakia, Latvia, Switzerland, Austria, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, and the United Arab Emirates. Most of the teams are US, with Canadian and European divisions. I’ve created all the graphics for the teams and league, but let the game give the clubs default sweaters. In the future, I’d like to create custom uniforms and ice rinks.

Why 90 teams?
Mostly because I love massive leagues; I love the idea of sports, fandom, loyalty, and city pride being spread across as many cities as possible. If FHM had promotion and relegation, I’d add more teams (but maybe make the leagues a bit smaller). I enjoy leagues with a lot of diversity and a lack of dominant teams. It's tough to win anything in a largue league, much less a championship. That helps to prevent one team from dominating.

The Set-Up
There are 80 games divided between the 15 teams in each division. I might have some cross-conference and division games in the future, but I wanted to keep things regional to start. I think I’ve messed up the playoffs for 2022 with only the conference winners qualifying (so 2 out of 90 teams, LOL). I’ll adjust that for the next game year.
No farm teams for now. Might add these in the future, but for now, just main clubs.
I’d like to add some additional competitions as time goes on and give teams more chances to win some trophies.

Problems
Well, to start, there aren’t quite enough players. After the initial draft, most teams only have between 15 and 17 players to dress. There are a lot of free agents, so I’m hoping the clubs pick some up to fill out their rosters.
The AI teams took the best current players during the initial draft, leaving many of the imported NHL greats on the board. I’m curious to see how the greats sort out once they develop a bit. I have to admit I took a bit of advantage of this by picking a lot of the young greats. I suspect I will get hammered for a few seasons but be pretty competitive after that.
The thinness of the initial draft means that many teenagers will be playing for some minutes. This should be fun, but I suspect some mature NHL players might have an absolute field day and be feasting on goals. On the flip side, there is some room for the unsung heroes of the modern game to lead a team in the fantasy world. I’ll be really curious to see how that plays out.
In the maybe a problem but also might be fun chaos department, I’ve added a ton of NHL greats as young players. Meaning Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Maurice Richard will all be really good at the same time. Once Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby retire in my save, I’ll add them back as young players (perhaps with a Jr. tag). As I’m typing this I’m thinking I might need to add some more legendary goalies.
I’d like to have some local talent on the non-North American hockey clubs. That might require me to manually add some young free agents or import some domestic greats for these teams.

Still to Work Out
Rivalries. I’ve created a few, but honestly, after setting up 90 teams, 90 team colors and uniform colors, and all the other little things I just wanted to get things going. I’ll add some natural rivalries as they make sense to give the game some more depth but the first season will only have a couple.
Market Sizes and attendances are other things I’m working on. I’ve done many of these, but I’ll continue adjusting as I need to in commissioner mode.
I’ll probably change a few of the teams around; for example, I’ve got a Salt Lake City team called the Danes (after the Great Dane mascot), but it feels a bit weird since I also have a Danish team in the league (Copenhagen Foxes). While I’m not going full role-player with the save, it would be weird to be a team from Denmark playing a team called the Danes from Utah.
Expansion, or the lack thereof: The league is at the maximum size right now so I won’t be able to add expansion teams until the good people at FHM HQ allow larger leagues. I might move some teams around in the future just to mix things up, but I suspect things will stay pretty close to how they are for a decade or so of game years.
I might add some historical players twice with changed names to add enough talent to the pool. I’ll let a few seasons go by before I make a decision on this one.

Conclusion
Over the past few years, I haven’t been able to really connect with an FHM save. I’ve played some “rebuild the Red Wings” saves and some smaller fantasy world games. I’m hoping by sharing this one; I can develop the story lines and my personal affections for players and teams to help build this into a long-term game.
I love pushing and pulling management games to see what they can do. Especially alternate realities that would probably never really work in the real world. I hope to use the sandbox of FHM to create an entertaining experiment.

Next Up
The Entry Draft and an introduction to my club Orlando Indomitable! I’ll have some team spotlights and a full list of the clubs coming up in the future as well.

[hurricanekevin]

I've decided to rebrand the Salt Lake City Danes before the start of the first season. I am thinking of going with either:


A) Rams
B) Rattlers
C) Settlers


Any thoughts?

[reverist]

Originally Posted by hurricanekevin

I've decided to rebrand the Salt Lake City Danes before the start of the first season. I am thinking of going with either:


A) Rams
B) Rattlers
C) Settlers


Any thoughts?

I like Settlers! Good luck on this project; looks fun!

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by reverist

I like Settlers! Good luck on this project; looks fun!

Thanks! I like settlers too and it isn't a moniker I've used in my logos previously so I think I've "settled" on that one!

[hurricanekevin]

World Hockey Union Initial Fantasy Draft
With the first pick in the WHU Fantasy Draft (Goalie Round), the Seattle Moonbeams select Russian goalie Ilya Sorokin! To round out the top three, the Albuquerque Fennec Foxes selected another Russian in Andri Vasilevskiy, while the Helsinki Reindeer selected Swed Jacob Markstrom.

First Ten Skater Draft Rounds
As noted before, the AI went for instant talent before considering potential. With some of the greatest players to ever play the game available, the Kansas City Blackjacks selected Canadian right defender Cale Makar as the first pick in the skater draft.
The second pick went to the Fresno Bees, who selected another defender in Victor Hedman. The third pick, yet another defender, went to Boise Bactrian, with the camels selecting young American Adam Fox.
The first attacking player of the draft was selected with the fourth pick as the Buffalo Bicentennials added Auston Matthews to their first line. The Nashville Ironclad picked up center Nathan Mackinnon with the fifth skater selection to round out the first five picks.
Leon Draisaitl went sixth to the Saskatoon Mustangs, while David Pasrnak became the first winger in the draft selected. He will be working the boards for the Riga Wagtails.
A young (19 years old) Wayne Gretzky was selected by the Omaha Whitetails with the eighth pick. Despite his age, the Whitetails will expect instant production from the teenager.
The ninth pick saw the Wichita Knights with a very safe choice, choosing defense and experience over a more enticing selection. The Knights picked up 32-year-old defender Erik Karlsson out of Sweeden.
With the tenth selection, London Fortress selected aging superstar Sidney Crosby in an effort to win now and sell ice hockey to an indifferent English audience.

Thoughts
With an AI-generated draft order, the first ten clubs to select goalies and skaters have a real advantage. The talent pool is impossibly shallow with 90 teams filling up rosters with the initial draft. That being said, there are still a lot of great players on the board. The 80 teams that need to draft will still have some chances at historic, game-changing players who need to develop and present-day NHLers who can step into top-line role dominant roles.

Rounds Eleven through Twenty
11. New Orleans Delta- C Jack Hughes, 21
12. Salt Lake City Danes- C Connor McDavid, 25
13. Cleveland Quest- C Steven Stamkos, 32
14. Hamilton Reds- LW Brad Marchand, 34
15. Berlin United- RW Nikita Kucherov, 29
16. Tacoma Raiders- C Nico Hischier, 23
17. Tokyo Gulls- LD Roman Josi, 32
18. Detroit Stalwart- C Anze Kopitar, 35
19. Burlington Leopards- C Aleksander Barkov, 27
20. San Jose Atomic- RD Bobby Orr, 18
Analysis of Picks Eleven through Twenty
Hughes and McDavid are excellent pickups for New Orleans and Salt Lake City, respectively. Marchand and Stamkos are a bit older than I’d want to pick in the first round, as are Kopitar and Josi. I’m really curious how these older picks will work out for teams in the long run. Because the AI is avoiding prospects in this initial draft, these teams might pick up some intriguing young players later on, but using your first-round pick to grab someone who is 35 seems shortsighted. I’m loving the 20th pick for San Jose with Bobby Orr. He can contribute now, but at 18, he will have a lot of ice time ahead of him. Flashback specials and blogs will discuss this draft years from now and wonder why ten teams ahead of San Jose didn’t pick Orr.

First Round Continued: Picks Twenty-One through Thirty
21. Des Moines Spirits- RW Mikko Rantanen, 25
22. Boston Unity- RD Rasmus Dahlin, 22
23. Montreal Wizards- LW Kirill Kapizov, 25
24. Fairbanks Kodiaks- RD Charlie McAvoy, 24
25. Quebec City Explorers- LW Artemi Panarin, 30
26. Los Angeles Atlas- LW Gabriel Landeskog, 29
27. Ottawa Bull Moose- RW Mitch Marner, 25
28. Portland Magpies- RD Aaron Ekbald, 26
29. Orlando Indomitable- C Sebastian Aho, 25
30. Prague Golden Lions- C Evgeni Malkin, 36

Analysis of Picks Twenty-One through Thirty
Some excellent selections here, even if two-and-a-half-star, 36-year-old Malkin is an odd pick at number 30 for Prague. I really like Dahlin, Rantanen, and McAvoy, and all of those guys will do a lot for their clubs this season and in the future. The draft is starting to thin out here, with nearly all of the four-star prospects already selected. It will be interesting to see what NHL top-line role players find themselves in a franchise player position during the rest of this draft. There are still nearly all of the historic greats still floating around as teenagers.

Reflection on Orlando Indomitable Selection
Since I am managing and coaching Orlando in this fantasy universe, I figured I’d add some thoughts on why I selected Sebastian Aho with the 29th pick. First off, I had a lousy goalie round with not much talent available once it was my turn to pick (somewhere in the 60s). I went for the best available player here, and that was a toss-up between Aho and Brayden Point. At the same time, Point is rated a half-star higher than Aho; their ratings are very equal across the board. It came down to a personal decision since I’m a fan of Aho. He’s probably my favorite player that isn’t a Red Wing. Having played a lot of management games, I find having a little bit of a connection to a player really helps to connect to a new game, so Sebastian Aho it is! I think he’s the kind of player who can dominate for years while simultaneously helping to bring along the younger players I want to draft. I’ll keep an eye on Point to grade my first-round pick against.

First Round Continued: Thirty-One through Fourty
31. Chicago Dominion- C Brayden Point, 26
32. Las Vegas Tigers- LD Miro Heiskanen, 23
33. Halifax Humpbacks- RD Jared Spurgeon, 32
34. Washington Strike Eagles- LW Mathew Tkachuck, 24
35. Sacramento Saints- LD Jonas Brodin, 29
36. Anchorage Polar- LW Jonathan Huberdeau, 29
37. Philadelphia Lamplighters- C Mika Zibanejad, 29
38. Bratislava Oaks- RD John Carlson
39. Stockholm Arctic Lions- RW Claude Giroux, 34
40. Copenhagen Foxes- RD Alex Pietrangelo, 32

Analysis of Picks Thirty-One through Fourty
The aforementioned Brayden Point was the last four-star talent on the board, so Chicago lucked out to get him when they did. From this point forward, there are all three and two-star selections in the first round. I’m curious how this will turn out with the league's talent so spread out across teams. Since the initial draft is serpentine, some of the teams unable to pick up a legitimate star will need to create a cohesive team. There is some talent here; Tkachuk to Washington is a nice pick-up, as is Canadian defenseman Alex Pietrangelo to Copenhagen.

Draft Continued: Forty-One through Sixty
41. Memphis Rockers- LD Travis Sanheim, 26
42. Pittsburgh Steel Cats- C Jack Eichel, 25
43. Bridgeport Mystics- RD Drew Doughty, 32
44. Saint Louis Black Arrow- RW Jesper Bratt, 24
45. Grand Rapids Frequency- LD Devon Toews, 28
46. Richmond Renegades- C Filip Forsberg, 28
47. Paris Gallic Roosters- C Ryan Hartman, 28
48. Duluth Lakers- RD Chris Tanev, 32
49. Regina Reign- RD Mortiz Seider, 21
50. Milwaukee Dauntless- C Nolan Patrick, 24
51. Mississauga Blizzard- LD Jacob Slavin, 28
52. Winnipeg Bears- C Joel Eriksson Ek, 25
53. Austin Cockspurs- LW Rudolfs Balcers, 25
54. Vienna Black Eagles- RD Mattias Ekholm, 32
55. Wilmington Fortis- RW Mark Stone, 30
56. Seoul Black Bears- C Radek Faksa, 28
57. Zurich Chamois- C Phillip Danault, 29
58. San Diego Oceania- LD Ben Chiarot, 31
59. Honolulu Island Alliance- C Elias Pettersson, 23
60. Abu Dhabi Oryx- RD Connor Clifton, 27

Analysis of Picks Forty-One through Sixty
Some nice youthful selections here with more than a few guys who might be able to step into team leadership roles as they are given a chance. I really like Forsberg for Richmond and Seider going to Regina. Grand Rapids was fortunate to find Toews this far down in the draft. I’ve already said this, but I’m not sure how well players like Ekholm, Chiarot, and Doughty will do when trying to carry a team. Then again, this is their chance to shine, right? Picks 61 through 90 are going to be very interesting.

Draft Continued: Sixty-One through Ninty
61. Atlanta Jumbos- RD Colton Parayko, 29
62. Dallas Grand- C Patrice Bergeron, 37
63. Baltimore Bucks- LW Andrei Svechnikov, 22
64. Miami Riptide- RW Patrick Kane, 33
65. San Francisco Bohemia- C Alexander Kerfoot, 28
66. Denver Alpine- C Elias Lindhom, 27
67. Jacksonville Leviathan- C Nazem Kadri, 31
68. Louisville Rapid- LD Brett Kulak, 28
69. Oslo Elk- LW Alex Ovechkin, 37
70. Calgary Wolves- LW Jordan Greenway, 25
71. Minneapolis Futures- LW Brady Tkachuk, 23
72. New York Metros- LD Zach Werenski, 25
73. Newark Gladiators- RW Ondre Kase, 26
74. Green Bay Lynx- LW Johnny Gaudreau, 29
75. Toronto Blue Stars- RW Luke Kunin, 24
76. Spokane Sasquatches- LD Jake Muzzin, 33
77. Indianapolis Argonauts- LD Samuel Girard, 24
78. Oklahoma City Zenith- RW Kasperi Kapanen, 26
79. Charlotte Cosmos- LD Jakob Chychrun, 24
80. Colorado Springs Citadel- RD Kris Letang, 35
81. Providence Bandits- LD Morgan Rielly, 28
82. Reykjavik Puffins- C Nicolas Roy, 25
83. Edmonton Aries- C Erik Haula, 31
84. Phoenix Pharaohs- C Puis Suter, 26
85. Houston Starlights- LD Brayden McNabb, 31
86. Vancouver Vision- LD Carson Soucy, 28
87. Amsterdam Admirals- LW Ross Colton, 26
88. Helsinki Reindeer- RW Colin White, 25
89. Albuquerque Fennec Foxes- RD Josh Manson, 30
90. Seattle Moonbeams- LD Oliver Kylington, 25

Analysis of Picks Sixty-One through Ninty
As we wrap up the first round a few big names have fallen into this final third of the draft. Oslo will hope they can squeeze a few more goals out of the 37 year old Ovechkin while the Miami Riptide have taken a chance on 33 year old Patrick Kane. Dallas have also taken a 37 year old with Patrice Bergeron. I’ll be curious to see how long these players in their 30s end up playing. If you are picking the best available player at the bottom of the first round these two picks can pair nicely with a younger prospect when these teams pick at the top of the second round. Theres a lot of young talent here as well, and I’ll be intersted to see how well Lindom, Suter, and Svechnikov can do in an increased role with their new clubs.
The big news is the players who weren’t selected by the AI. It could simply be that the historic players I added weren’t properly scouted by the AI or the clubs were just interested in players with a proven record but a lot of young future hall of farmers fell deep into the draft. Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr did go early in the skater draft, but players with a similar pedigree were taken a lot later. (Note: I couldn’t help but exploit this as I did my draft picks. When you see Gordie Howe available in Round 5, Eric Lindros in Round 10, and Nicklas Lindstrom in Round 16 its really hard to not pick them. They are all teenagers but will get a lot of playing time. As you will see from the below picks I might have actually picked them too early)

Here are a few highlights from deeper in the draft:

Colorado Springs Citadel: Mario Lemieux, 17 (Round 17)
Paris Gallic Roosters: Mark Messier, 17 (Round 15)
Edmonton Aries: Maurice Richard, 17 (Round 19)
Edmonton Aries: Jean Beliveau, 17 (Round 15)
Wilmington Fortis: Jaromir Jager, 18 (Round 15)
Philadelphia Lamplighters: Steve Yzerman, 17 (Round 15)
Riga Wagtails: Joe Sakic, 17 (Round 18)
Sacramento Saints: Guy LaFleur, 17 (Round 18)
Anchorage Polar: Guy (Fellow) LaFleur, 17 (Round 18)
Atlanta Jumbos: Stan Mikita, 17 (Round 19)

It will be really interesting to see how these players develop and how quickly they can make an impact. There are a lot more historic players floating around in this fictional world so they may pop up from time to time in these posts. You’ll notice I did accidentally add more than one Guy LaFleur so I’ve renamed the second one “Fellow LaFleur.” Not really a big deal as I might add and rename a few more historic players just to see how they compare with one another. Look out WHU, Gayne Wretzky, Lario Memieux might just be ready to declare for the 2023 draft!

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by hurricanekevin

I've decided to rebrand the Salt Lake City Danes before the start of the first season. I am thinking of going with either:


A) Rams
B) Rattlers
C) Settlers


Any thoughts?

I didn't really like how the "Settler" moniker was working out so I ended up on Continentals. It will work!



Orlando Indomitable season preview upcoming!

[hurricanekevin]

Well, as the Orlando Indomitable club I’ve constructed with the initial fantasy draft and some free agent dealings get ready to take the ice, we’ve been given the kiss of death. That’s to say, the WHU Season Preview has predicted us as the favorites. I say kiss of death because I’ve never won it all after being predicted to win.
I like the club I’ve built and think we will certainly win a few games, but youth will be our undoing. Due to the shallowness of the talent pool in this first season, a lot of teenagers will play a lot of minutes.
Specifically, we start the season with two teenage goalies, Grant Fuhr and Bil Durnan. While Fuhr is higher rated than my next best goalie Victor Brattstrom, he had a rough pre-season. I’m hoping I can allow Durnan to just develop for this year.
Our top line is strong, with Sebastian Aho between Tyler Bertuzzi on the left and a young Gordie Howe on the right. The talent drops a bit after that, but a young Eric Lindros will help the cause on the second line.
The club gave up 21 goals in 7 preseason games, including two 5-goal games and only one shutout. Since this is the first season, I’m not totally sure what to make of the wins and losses in the preseason. The overall record was 3-3-1, not a record that predicts the “team to beat” title given the club in the season preview.

[reverist]

Originally Posted by hurricanekevin

Well, as the Orlando Indomitable club I’ve constructed with the initial fantasy draft and some free agent dealings get ready to take the ice, we’ve been given the kiss of death. That’s to say, the WHU Season Preview has predicted us as the favorites. I say kiss of death because I’ve never won it all after being predicted to win.
I like the club I’ve built and think we will certainly win a few games, but youth will be our undoing. Due to the shallowness of the talent pool in this first season, a lot of teenagers will play a lot of minutes.
Specifically, we start the season with two teenage goalies, Grant Fuhr and Bil Durnan. While Fuhr is higher rated than my next best goalie Victor Brattstrom, he had a rough pre-season. I’m hoping I can allow Durnan to just develop for this year.
Our top line is strong, with Sebastian Aho between Tyler Bertuzzi on the left and a young Gordie Howe on the right. The talent drops a bit after that, but a young Eric Lindros will help the cause on the second line.
The club gave up 21 goals in 7 preseason games, including two 5-goal games and only one shutout. Since this is the first season, I’m not totally sure what to make of the wins and losses in the preseason. The overall record was 3-3-1, not a record that predicts the “team to beat” title given the club in the season preview.

If it helps, I wouldn't pay too much attention to preseason results!

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by reverist

If it helps, I wouldn't pay too much attention to preseason results!

The season is going pretty good actually, we are 5-0-0 so far. I'm a little surprised.

[hurricanekevin]

One Month In: October, 2022
At the end of the first month of the World Hockey Union season, the Jacksonville Leviathan lead the Atlantic Conference with a record of 11-4-1, while Alaska’s own Anchorage Polar led the Pacific Conference with a record of 13-3-1.


A teen phenom Wayne Gretzky leads all players in points with 30 and assists with 23, while his partner in Omaha, Alex DeBrincat, leads all scorers with 12 goals. The Omaha Whitetails are in contention in the Pacific with a record of 11-4-1, trailing both the Polar and the Fresno Bees.


In the Atlantic, the Grand Rapids Frequency and Amsterdam Admirals round out the top three.


On the other end, the cellar dwellers are the Bratislava Oaks (2-11-0) and Halifax Humpbacks (2-8-4).


Goaltending leaders for the month of October are Connor Hellebuyck from the Edmonton Aries with 12 wins and Grand Rapids goalie Alexandar Georgiyev has the best goals-against average at .69 with 10 games total. Gerorgiyev also leads the league in save percentage with .969 and shutouts with 5.


After a hot 8-0-0 start, the Orlando Indomitable have cooled down and currently are 10-2-0. They are 6th in the Atlantic Conference and 2nd behind rivals Jacksonville in the division. Sebastian Aho is the team points leader with 16 points and 10 goals. Tyler Bertuzzi is leading the team in assists with 11.

[hurricanekevin]

And the Pacific...

[darkcloud4579]

Whoa that's a massive league. Good luck!

[hurricanekevin]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Whoa that's a massive league. Good luck!

Thanks Darkcloud, I've enjoyed the league and posting about it so far!