Gotta' Love Managing the Minors

[Primis]

With the new Manimal DB out I've taken a break from playing nino's great 1974 DB to play current rosters again.

However, it's been a while since I played in the AHL as an independent team, so I gave that a spin again. And man, I forgot how tough that is even when you're generous with your team's player budget. I've played AHL games recently, but with an NHL parent club which, while sometimes being annoying to your roster management, also gives you good (and literally free) talent.

I began the season with 7 goalies (I have two ECHL affiliates to assign them to, I swiped them since a handful have no NHL affiliates in real life at the moment), and by the end of season 1 I have only my 2 AHL goalies left because the other 5 were all signed away by NHL clubs. I lost my top 3 d-men throughout the season, and 2 top forwards as well. By the AHL playoffs I was scrounging through the Central and Federal leagues trying to find stopgaps that didn't eat one of the 5 Vet slots. Needless to say I was bounced in 5 games.

If some of you guys are looking for a different for a challenge, try an AHL team you have set to Independent with an increased budget. Watch every good player you manage to nab get signed away to the NHL just so they can be reassigned to their AHL affiliate, and know no help is coming from a parent club. It's tough going. But fun.

[Primis]

So in camp for the start of Season 2, and the offseason wasn't any easier. I got a couple CanHLer overagers to sign that will help on the blueline including Brendon Kitchon from Spokane, but in the meantime two of my other blueline stalwarts hit the Vet games limit and I had to offload them both and nab Sasha Pokoluk (ugh). Same for one of my goalies.

Goalie signing went fine, I ended up with 6 goalies again (inluding Ben Bishop), only to watch one immediately get signed away. The 5 remaining though seem to be around for awhile. The big offseaosn coup was signing Shawn Matthias, who is at odds with Florida. This gives me Ryan Craig and Matthias down the middle, but the rest of my forwards aren't very good, and I'm sure it won't be long before Florida gives in and signs Matthias again.

This. Is. Hard. I did those with older rosters a few years ago and it honestly wasn't that tough, there seemed to be plenty of available options even when you lost guys to the NHL. Now, with the way the rosters are done now, it seems to be a little more a challenge and you really are going season-by-season with guys regularly tipping over the Vet games limit.

[archibalduk]

And this is why I find coaching the "lower" leagues more fun.

I'm enjoying the revamped rosters in the UK. Coaching in the EPIHL is fun - I have zero transfer budget, a tiny roster and virtually no salary budget left. The only signings I can make are UFA signings - and as there's such little budget to play with, you can't afford for them to be duds. And just as an additional twist, if a player isn't happy with his ice time, he'll just give two weeks' notice and leave!

[Primis]

And this is why I find coaching the "lower" leagues more fun.

I'm enjoying the revamped rosters in the UK. Coaching in the EPIHL is fun - I have zero transfer budget, a tiny roster and virtually no salary budget left. The only signings I can make are UFA signings - and as there's such little budget to play with, you can't afford for them to be duds. And just as an additional twist, if a player isn't happy with his ice time, he'll just give two weeks' notice and leave!

I know you guys in Europe play with the European leagues, but I think most over here in North America don't play outside of the NHL and maybe the OHL/WHL/etc. And that's a shame. I've played countless games in the AHL, ECHL, and UHL many times, and I'd totally play in the NCAA leagues if they were playable. I sometimes play as an affiliate, sometimes independent. Sometimes I twist certain rules, sometimes I go authentic. The "AA" leagues in particular can be brutal with the enforced roster limits (not Dressed, but actually how many are under contract, and the CHL and UHL have Developmental Rules as well). But even then you can at least get a core going for a few years.

I can't play in the CanHL, I've tried in the past (including a 4 or 5 season stint with Plymouth one time). I don't "get" it apparently, and I don't follow them enough to "get" it. You either swing trades for NHL prospects that will be gone in a year to put you over the hump, or you don't compete. That seems to be the way it works. So I can take Plymouth to a Mem. Cup, but then I'm hosed for another year or two with no real way out. I realize that *is* kinda' how Canadian juniors actually work, but... I just don't find that terribly interesting.

I'm thinking of doing something I've never done before: managing both an NHL and its AHL affiliate at the same time. I'm ultra-competitive with my affiliate teams (I always actively try to win the Calder and Kelly Cups when running an NHL team), and this might force me to have some balance between them.

Or maybe I should try managing in Russia, since the last attempt of mine fell flat there.

[Manimal]

I don't really like to play in the AHL as you have so little to say in who is on your roster. Never tried an independent AHL team, might do that sometime.
I usually start the challenges but I spend more time on the affiliates so I never never go far(in time)

When managing in the minors I always get players from the CIS. Some good ones to find there.

I am also intrigued by the idea of trying to play in Russia, but I know too little about how it's done there. Maybe we could get Alessandro to make a little guide for us

[CeeBee]

Love this thread I mostly play NHL but almost always manage my AHL and ECHL teams. Sometimes I find they are more fun, interesting and challenging then the NHL. CHL(major JR) is a whole different ballgame. It's real tough but a whole different set of challenges. I'd play the Chase Heat in the KIJHL if it was playable... now that really would be interesting..... Maybe FHM will one day get to that point I hope

[Primis]

When managing in the minors I always get players from the CIS. Some good ones to find there.

CIS kills me. New Brunswick alone in the new DB has Dan LaCosta in net, Chad Denny and Ben Shutron on D, and Luke Lynes at F. All are guys I've heard of from past NHL drafts. It sometimes feels like I'm cheating when I plunder from leagues like the FHL, CIS, etc... it's also been weird to see the LNAH and SPHL basically absorbed into the CHL and UHL in-game. I'll still occasionally pluck someone from the LNAH (Thomas Bellemare usually).

But I love finding those guys over 25 years old that still haven't hit the 260-game vet limit. That's what makes managing in the minors fun.

[CeeBee]

One other trick I use, especially in the ECHL with the 20 man roster limit and the injured list bug is to shortlist 20 year old top prospects who are still unsigned and in Junior and when I get an injury I'll sign a replacement to a longterm(match the length of injury if I can) tryout. Most of these guys will never sign with an ECHL team but will often gladly accept a tryout.

[Manimal]

One other trick I use, especially in the ECHL with the 20 man roster limit and the injured list bug is to shortlist 20 year old top prospects who are still unsigned and in Junior and when I get an injury I'll sign a replacement to a longterm(match the length of injury if I can) tryout. Most of these guys will never sign with an ECHL team but will often gladly accept a tryout.

The same thing goes for older players. Guys that ask for too much money for your budget do accept tryout deals

[Alessandro]

I don't really like to play in the AHL as you have so little to say in who is on your roster. Never tried an independent AHL team, might do that sometime.
I usually start the challenges but I spend more time on the affiliates so I never never go far(in time)

When managing in the minors I always get players from the CIS. Some good ones to find there.

I am also intrigued by the idea of trying to play in Russia, but I know too little about how it's done there. Maybe we could get Alessandro to make a little guide for us

Unfortunately the Russian league isn't as fun as real in EHM because it's still molded on the old Superleague. In particular, other than being limited to 19 teams on the first season and 18 on the second season, EHM suffers the tiny transfer windows there used to be back then, instead of a full transfer window like in other leagues, the foreign limitations and - of course - EHM's top problem which is the lack of way to attract good players and to save yourself from the NHL scavenging. In EHM, unfortunately, even players like Evgeny Kuznetsov (will he ever cross the pound?), at 18 escape to north america and even play 10 years in the AHL rather than going back home. And this sucks in particular for Russia.
That said, playing with the new rosters (or even waiting for the next installment of the TBL rosters, because we're actively working on them adding new players and improving the ratings of the existing ones, other than improving the leagues and teams databases) with the help of our superpatch (http://www.ehmtheblueline.com/forums/vi ... 31#p145031) can be a very interesting career. Maybe you can promote with the pregame editor foreign teams and try your luck in the game. If you want a true challenge, promote Donbass Donetsk to the KHL with the pre-game editor and try not to relegate. You will be forced to a max of 6 non-ukrainian players in the lineup and non-import players (Ukrainians) are mostly capable of playing 3rd-4th line duties (in the European meaning, not in the North American meaning, that is, they aren't that good). And unlike IRL, you can't count on Fedotenko, Ponikarovsky and Babchuk because in EHM there is no lockout . To make things harder, the db doesn't feature (yet) many of the good Ukraine players in the pipeline, whose signing could help you in the long run.
If you survive to the first season, during the summer transfers campaign you can try and sign some Ukrainian offspring like Nikolai Zherdev, Vitaly Vishnevsky, Alexei Mikhnov, etc.
Some advice? Shortlist Pavlo Padakin and Pavel Lysenko, make sure to develop well goalie Dmytro Berezin (you'll have him in the roster). But remember that in EHM, young players have a random PA...

[RomaGoth]

I'm thinking of doing something I've never done before: managing both an NHL and its AHL affiliate at the same time. I'm ultra-competitive with my affiliate teams (I always actively try to win the Calder and Kelly Cups when running an NHL team), and this might force me to have some balance between them.

I do this with the Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins and it is a blast. The first season or two is quite challenging with the Griffins because you have a lot of over-age scrubs under contract to the Wings so signing some guys from the ECHL and other lower-tier leagues is a must.

[dave1927p]

I'm thinking of doing something I've never done before: managing both an NHL and its AHL affiliate at the same time. I'm ultra-competitive with my affiliate teams (I always actively try to win the Calder and Kelly Cups when running an NHL team), and this might force me to have some balance between them.

I do this with the Red Wings and Grand Rapids Griffins and it is a blast. The first season or two is quite challenging with the Griffins because you have a lot of over-age scrubs under contract to the Wings so signing some guys from the ECHL and other lower-tier leagues is a must.

Funny, i've never thought to try this. I think i will do this in my new game. Thanks for the idea