EHM for dummies, basic questions

[captain_al]

Introduced myself in the arrivals thread but I need some help with what a lot of you will consider really basic questions.

Firstly let me explain. I'm a long term player of S.I football manager games. Football (soccer to you guys across the pond) is my primary sport. I'm a casual fan of hockey, it's not too popular here in Scotland.

I first got into hockey playing the old video games on the megadrive as a kid then loved watching highlights of guys like Pavel Bure and Gretzky (im 30 y/o)

In more recent years I've supported my team the Edinburgh Capitals, sadly disbanded in 2018. However hockey is a passing interest for me but im still needing to learn a LOT.

EHM Questions:
I've just got EHM. downloaded updates. The official UK elite league 17/18 add on is of particular interest as it means i can continue as the caps

My first save i started as GM of edinburgh caps. now obviously theyre not very good and for a novice like me i figured I was diving in at the deep end.

So I fired up a game as the Canucks. What I'm stuck on is understanding the trades. Edinburgh in Elite league was good because I could just bid cash and sign a few guys to put my own stamp on the club (much like football manager)

However in the NHL as far as I can see theres no signing players for straight up cash? How do the trades work, I couldnt sign any first teamers from other NHL teams that id heard of. Even weighing the trades considerably out of my favour (just wanted to sign a few of my own guys to have my own stamp, it is a game after all)

Now I've had a good look about but unless i missed it i couldnt see any guides. I presume this is because for most regular hockey fans this is simple stuff.

Has anyone got any guides/tips/links for a real beginner like me? (I'm reading the pinned guides sections but this mostly covers lines and tactics)

Also any good links to help me understand DRAFTS better? (I get the general concept but not being from north america its still pretty alien to me)

Thanks, and please go easy on me! (we all need to start somewhere)

[Tasku]

Well, the easy way to get started with trading would be to send an inquiry. Just look for a guy you'd like to trade for and then offer to trade without offering anything yourself, and the team will reply with a trade they would like to make, if they can come up with one. As for picks: 1st round pick is valuable, 5th, 6th, 7th round picks not so much, you can use those as a filler to a trade if the other team is not quite willing to trade as it is.

I'm sure the experts on draft will answer that part of your question. I just scout the drafts and then pick players who look like they could become something. I don't care to bother myself too much with it. I have no plan or anything like that.

[nino33]

Also any good links to help me understand DRAFTS better? (I get the general concept but not being from north america its still pretty alien to me)

I think wiki explains the NHL Draft OK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NHL_Entry_Draft

The basics are "every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements (North American players 18–20 years old and European/international players 18–21 years old; all others enter league as unrestricted free agents). The NHL Entry Draft is held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams take turns selecting amateur players from junior or collegiate leagues and professional players from European leagues."

Firstly let me explain. I'm a long term player of S.I football manager games. Football (soccer to you guys across the pond) is my primary sport. I'm a casual fan of hockey, it's not too popular here in Scotland.

All of the big sports in NA (NA football, basketball, baseball and hockey) basically run the same way...the professional teams have nothing to do with players/development until they're drafted, and players are traded for and signed as free agents (free agents signings are almost always done in the off-season), but there's no buying/selling players like there is in soccer/football

In the NHL for the first few years there's limitations on a new draftees contract length/amount, the next few years NHL teams maintain player rights even if the player has no contract [and there's compensation/draft picks given to the team with rights if another team signs the player (these players are labelled RFAs or restricted free agents)...currently this rarely occurs].

I think the current rule for NHL Free Agency is any player who is at least 27 years old or has at least seven years of service as an NHL player, and whose contract has expired, will become an unrestricted free agent.

There's a Salary Cap in the NHL (so a minimum/maximum total amount that team's can spend on contracts) and a limit of 50 contracted players. There's a Collective Bargaining Agreement that covers everything, and gets pretty complicated; here's some frequently asked questions https://www.capfriendly.com/faq


In the NHL the primary method of team development is drafting/developing players (few players are ready to immediately play in the NHL when drafted and so they spend time developing in juniors and/or the minors after being drafted; the junior leagues age range is basically 16-20

Teams will also trade players/sign free agents but it can be difficult to obtain top NHL players this way (it's pretty hard to "buy a top team" in the NHL like can be done in some other sports)




NHL teams can sign away players under contract from leagues outside of NA (except for Russia/the KHL), but you don't get the player immediately, they'll come over to the NHL at the end of their season (even if there contract has extra years left in Europe, there's a transfer agreement)

With football/soccer there are multiple top leagues that can offer top money, but in hockey that's not the case (the NHL has 31 teams...the KHL league revenue is equivalent to the top 4 NHL teams, the SHL in Sweden is the same as a couple NHL teams, and Liiga in Finland brings in as much as a league as the worst NHL team) - with top players, for hockey there really isn't any competition




P.S. Wiki's explanation of free agency might be helpful/worth reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_agent

[captain_al]

Thanks for taking time to reply. Thanks really helpful. Cheers