How exactly does the tier system of leagues work in EHM 2005?

[Izulde]

I'm not quite sure what the ordering of levels are and who connects to where.

Also, what leagues hold drafts besides the NHL? I'd like to start in a bottom feeder league and work my way up, hopefully one that has a draft in it.

[Hawglaw]

I'm not quite sure what the ordering of levels are and who connects to where.

Also, what leagues hold drafts besides the NHL? I'd like to start in a bottom feeder league and work my way up, hopefully one that has a draft in it.


If that's the case, then I would start in one of the Canadian Major Junior Leagues, either the WHL, OHL, or the QMJHL. Keep in mind, however, that most of the draftees with be 14 and you will not be able to sign them for a couple of years. Once you sign them, if you can, they generally only have four years with you.

I actually find the CHL leagues more fun than the NHL.

[Izulde]

Okay, thanks. :)

[JeffR]

As far as pro hockey in North America goes, it works roughly like this:

NHL
AHL (rough equivalent of the AAA level in baseball)
ECHL ('AA')
CHL, UHL (AAA-3 and -4) in the game ('A')
SPHL (somewhere below 'A')
LNAH, CEHL, OHA/Eastern Ontario Senior (semi-pro, but probably equivalent in quality to the SPHL)

There's some debate over who exactly should get the AA/A designations, but the ECHL is a cut above the other two.

Below pro, there's the junior and college levels...the three Canadian Major Junior leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) and NCAA Division I produce the vast majority of North American players, but there's no direct connection between them and the pros - all players have to go through the draft or get signed as free agents if they're not drafted. Below Major Junior are the Junior A, B, C, and D levels; only the first two generally send players directly on to higher levels. Since the NCAA doesn't accept players who've played Major Junior (the $50 or so in meal money the kids get per week apparently turns them into professionals), Canadians who want to go to a US college will play Junior A until they get a scholarship offer. (Americans will play high school hockey and/or in one of the US junior leagues, or go north to play Junior A in Canada.) There's also college hockey in Canada, with the CIS (universities) and CCAA (community and technical colleges), but a guy going that route generally has an iffy future in pro hockey.

Europe's completely independent from the North American leagues, and every country has its quirks, but the Russian, Swedish, Finnish, and Czech leagues are at the top of the pile, with the Swiss, Slovakian and German ones a bit back from them. The remaining playable leagues in the game (UK, Austria, Slovenia, Norway, Denmark) are at various levels down the ladder; Slovenia's probably the lowest level you can play at in the game.

[BishopMVP]

Can you play as an NCAA team, with recruiting and defections?

[Pumpy Tudors]

Can you play as an NCAA team, with recruiting and defections?
No.

[JeffR]

Yeah, no NCAA. Maybe someday (not officially licensed, of course), but it'd require a pretty big coding effort to get it working right. Something could probably be slapped together that'd operate like a pro league with college names and a 4/5 year career limit for players, but I doubt anybody would be happy with that.