Trying out the British leagues

[krownroyal83]

So i'm the type that usually sticks with only the NHL in simulation hockey games but i decided to try something different and play one of the British leagues and boy am i confused. There are multiple leagues and they seem to all be tied in together. Sometimes a win or a loss doesn't seem to count towards the standings and sometimes it does. I'm using Dundee in the Elite hockey league but i see a team called Sheffield who is in my league and another league as well (English Premier Ice Hockey League). Anyone have any knowledge you could share about how these leagues work, or can you point me in the direction of something to read that will help be understand it better.

[hluraven]

The two Sheffields are different teams. Sheffield Steelers are in the Elite League, Sheffield Steeldogs are entirely separate and in the (Lower) English Premier League.

If you are in the Elite League, then the league season is arranged that all of your league games count towards the league regular season. So every game you play will count. However, half your games (those against your conference rivals) count towards both the regular season table, and the conference table. This seems very confusing but you can largely ignore the conference table (it's annoying it defaults to it when you click the league menu, hopefully that can be changed).

You are also in the British Challenge Cup, which is a cup that only the 10 Elite teams are in, split into two groups until the knockouts, which are two legged games, until the final which is one leg.

The lower levels have the English Premier League and English Premier League Cup (which includes some lower league teams) as well, but they never play against Elite teams at all.

Your best bet may be Wikipedia to understand the league formats.

[krownroyal83]

Thanks for the info. I'll do some more research.

[archibalduk]

The EIHL website has a nice overview of how the league works: http://www.eliteleague.co.uk/the-elite-league-s15957

[lafontaine83]

Yeah I'm going to try this league out... I know NOTHING of it... so it might be cool this way.

[lafontaine83]

Ok I'm trying to start one up, but the NHL is selected by default? What the Dickens?

[archibalduk]

The NHL is always selected and cannot be unselected. It relates back to when EHM had an NHL licence which required this IIRC.

[lafontaine83]

Oh ok, cool. I picked Nottingham basically cause their logo is cool...

and Jake Bugg, who I like quite a bit is from Nottingham also.

Pretty confused, don't have any scouts and stuff. So I'm trying the best I know how to keep this all together. it's refreshing to learn a new league

Do I need to worry about anything other than the EICHL or whatever its called? And I wasn't aware that "loaning" was such a big thing.

[hluraven]

You have the EIHL (Elite League) and the British Challenge Cup. That's all you play in as Nottingham. They are explained above.

[KGW]

The Challenge Cup isn't in it and I'm playing as Sheffield Steelers in the Elite League.

[archibalduk]

The Challenge Cup isn't in it and I'm playing as Sheffield Steelers in the Elite League.

What do you mean? Are no Challenge Cup games being schedule for you? If so, please could you post a screenshot of your team schedule (use the annual view rather than the monthly schedule view)?

[KGW]

The Challenge Cup isn't in it and I'm playing as Sheffield Steelers in the Elite League.

What do you mean? Are no Challenge Cup games being schedule for you? If so, please could you post a screenshot of your team schedule (use the annual view rather than the monthly schedule view)?

Hi,

Yeah, that's right.

I'm in my fifth or sixth season as Sheffield Steelers and I've never once played a Challenge Cup game. Nor have I seen the results of any other Challenge Cup games ocurring in the league.



I could only fit the start of the season on the screen shot, but the CC games would normally be scheduled around then anyway. There are none listed for the rest of the year either.

[archibalduk]

With your saved game loaded, click on the Settings/gear icon and then click on Selected Leagues. Is the Challenge Cup listed as a selected league?

[KGW]

No, it isn't. I didn't even see that when I was starting the game, so it's my fault. I just assumed the CC would be included in the EIHL. Well, the thought didn't cross my mind at the time.

[KGW]

Thanks for your help anyway.

[nino33]

No, it isn't. I didn't even see that when I was starting the game, so it's my fault. I just assumed the CC would be included in the EIHL.

Should it be? I noticed selecting just one of the Major Junior Leagues does NOT select the Memorial Cup! The Memorial Cup is part of every Major Junior Leagues/season and should always included IMO (maybe the CC should always be included too?)

[hluraven]

It's not like the Memorial Cup, which should be on by default if any MJL is on. Even if you're playing in Britain, you might not want the Challenge Cup running, and if you're playing in another country (or NHL) and just want to keep track of the Elite League, it is very plausible to want the Challenge Cup off as an option.

[archibalduk]

IMO the Challenge Cup is a pretty big part of the EIHL schedule (as is the EPL Cup for the EPL). But it's great that users have the flexibility to set things up as they want in that respect.

Maybe it would be useful if there was a check box next to each nation on the League Select screen which allows you to select all leagues from that nation - perhaps that would reduce the chances of missing a competition by mistake.