New NHL EHM game first impressions

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Graeme Kelly

I'll be looking into using left and right arrows for back/next in EHM 2007. I'd tend to agree that it should be the same as the Internet Explorer (and presumably other Windows applications?) shortcuts - but I think some form of SI standard would supercede those so I'll likely stick with the FM way. I've already added the function keys to move between different screens like in FM too.

You should get an Intellimouse - the back/next buttons work in EHM 2005 and in FM2006; much easier than the arrow keys. Thinking of making the mousewheel click do a continue game, but if I do that then I'll need to add a setting in the preferences page to turn it off since some might be prone to accidental clicks ;-)

Thanks for the reply Graeme. The MSIE/Windows (yes, the alt-left works the same with Windows Explorer as it does with MSIE) standard works just fine for me and will be a great addition to EHM. I got used to using the straight left/right arrows in FM simply because I learned they were in there at some point The function keys shortcuts will be great too. Now that I think of it, I don't think the team name or the username at the right corner of the screen are currently clickable in EHM while they are in FM. Out of habit, I often find myself trying to click on the team name to get to my roster screen, or to my own name to get to the Manager homepage, although I know it still doesn't exist in EHM, doh.

As for a new mouse, well let's say that budget was really tight in the last year and FM (and now EHM) have been pretty much the only entertainment buys I've allowed myself. I mean, we don't go out much but I got tons of hours out of FM and will likely get almost as many with EHM so they paid for themselves. Now as to getting a new mouse, I'd have a hard time justifying it to my Sinister of Finance (read FrogWoman )...

FM

[Bea-Arthurs Hip]

I am trying to get a career going in one of the Major Junior leagues of the CHL. However, I am having a little bit of a hard time understanding some of the "Rules".

If I am a GM for an OHL team, can I trade with a QMJHL or WHL team?

I have a couple of 16 year olds on my roster who only have 1 year of eligibility left. Then I look at their stats and they have only played one year of juniors. Why would this happen? I thought they could play juniors until they turned 20. Can I get him to stay?

Also, has anyone else played a decent amount of time in the CHL? Is gameplay as challenging / fun?

Thanks

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Bea-Arthurs Hip

I am trying to get a career going in one of the Major Junior leagues of the CHL. However, I am having a little bit of a hard time understanding some of the "Rules".

If I am a GM for an OHL team, can I trade with a QMJHL or WHL team?

I have a couple of 16 year olds on my roster who only have 1 year of eligibility left. Then I look at their stats and they have only played one year of juniors. Why would this happen? I thought they could play juniors until they turned 20. Can I get him to stay?

Also, has anyone else played a decent amount of time in the CHL? Is gameplay as challenging / fun?

Thanks

I just started my career in the QMJHL so I might be able to help you out in some areas, as your first question (re: trades). Not definitive in that, but I don't think you are allowed to trade from league to league in the CHL. I know that I can't even sign some free agents (read players whom no team have the rights in the CHL) if they are in a protected region of another league. Say a guy is player in a lower junior league in Alberta, I am not allowed to approach to sign him.

As for the 16yo with only one year left, is that one year left after this year? anyway, that shouldn't be the case. I think the OHL can play players as young as 15, so he could have used one year there, then another at 16 and a third at 17. I think there's a maximum number of seasons on top of the max age of 20 where a player can play in the CHL.

As for your last question, I have not played a decent amount of time, but I can already see some very interesting challenges for future season. For example, you don't entirely control who may disappear from your roster in a given season so you always have to keep on scouting to "refresh" your roster. Also, the start of the season can be rough. I had my top 5 players at various positions, all out on tryouts to NHL teams. Made for a rough start...

FM

[scooter]

You can't trade between CHL leagues. Strangely enough, every once in a while, you will check a player's information screen and it will say they are wanted by a team from another league (bug). If a team from another league cuts a player that has played for a few years (he's an 18 or 19 year old), I think you can sign them as a free agent - it's just the younger players that you can't do that (what Frogman ran into).

I pretty much ignore what the information screen tells you as far as number of years of eligibility remaining. Figure out what year your overage (20 year old) players are and count backwards. I always mentally group together the 86s, 87s, 88s, etc. I haven't had any problems doing it that way yet.

The biggest challenge (for me) is the turnover of your team. Drafting new players, players "graduating" as overagers, players leaving for the NHL - that's where the challenge is in the CHL. Which 19 year olds do you hold on to for next season? Do you ship them off for prospects or draft picks? It plays much differently than the NHL, but it can be fun. It's also fun to see where your players go after they graduate.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by scooter

The biggest challenge (for me) is the turnover of your team. Drafting new players, players "graduating" as overagers, players leaving for the NHL - that's where the challenge is in the CHL. Which 19 year olds do you hold on to for next season? Do you ship them off for prospects or draft picks? It plays much differently than the NHL, but it can be fun. It's also fun to see where your players go after they graduate.

very well summarized. The bolded out part is probably what I'm looking forward to the most...

FM

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by scooter

I pretty much ignore what the information screen tells you as far as number of years of eligibility remaining. Figure out what year your overage (20 year old) players are and count backwards. I always mentally group together the 86s, 87s, 88s, etc. I haven't had any problems doing it that way yet.

Yeah, same here. The "eligibility remaining" thing is just informational (the game really determines eligibility by birth year), and it seems to get confused when guys move from bantam/midget leagues to the juniors. I'm half-inclined to tell Graeme just to remove it completely, since it's just as easy to get that information from checking the birth year.

[Graeme Kelly]

You sound like every tester I've ever dealt with. Just because it's on a screen doesn't mean it's a screen bug...

[JeffR]

Originally Posted by Graeme Kelly

You sound like every tester I've ever dealt with. Just because it's on a screen doesn't mean it's a screen bug...

I don't care if it is or not, just get rid of the damn thing and we won't have to worry if it's bugged at all.

(And I sound like every tester you've ever dealt with because I probably generate half the bug reports that are worthwhile for you to fix. Or do you prefer the kind from those guys that tell you 'family name' needs to be changed to 'last name' in order to avoid confusing the Americans? )

[Honolulu_Blue]

Thanks to Frogman's enthusiasm and my general boredom at the moment (waiting to move into my new house), I just started up a new career in EHM. I downloaded the big North American patch and the most recent updates. It says I am playing version 2.1.3.

I am a few months into the season and I just realized that there are no U.S. college players in the game. At all. No Phil Kessel. No Jack Johnson. No real players currently playing in the U.S. college system. Is there a reason for that? Teams that drafted these guys just have nothing in their draft histories. For example, Carolina, who drafted Jack Johnson, has no first round pick listed for 2005. The Wings, who drafted Justin Adbelback (out of Michigan State), have no second round pick.

Am I missing something? Doing something wrong?

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Thanks to Frogman's enthusiasm and my general boredom at the moment (waiting to move into my new house), I just started up a new career in EHM. I downloaded the big North American patch and the most recent updates. It says I am playing version 2.1.3.

I am a few months into the season and I just realized that there are no U.S. college players in the game. At all. No Phil Kessel. No Jack Johnson. No real players currently playing in the U.S. college system. Is there a reason for that? Teams that drafted these guys just have nothing in their draft histories. For example, Carolina, who drafted Jack Johnson, has no first round pick listed for 2005. The Wings, who drafted Justin Adbelback (out of Michigan State), have no second round pick.

Am I missing something? Doing something wrong?

Did you remember to install/re-install the unfake patch? I had to restart with Carolina because my Rangers career went to crap, and the first time I started with Carolina, I did not have the Jack Johnson, Phil Kessel et al, but then I reinstalled the unfake and started again and was fine.

Note: I suck at tactics.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Did you remember to install/re-install the unfake patch? I had to restart with Carolina because my Rangers career went to crap, and the first time I started with Carolina, I did not have the Jack Johnson, Phil Kessel et al, but then I reinstalled the unfake and started again and was fine.

Note: I suck at tactics.

I've never installed the unfake patch. I didn't know it was required to get these players into the game. I never used it before in my pre-North American patch career and they were all there.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I've never installed the unfake patch. I didn't know it was required to get these players into the game. I never used it before in my pre-North American patch career and they were all there.

Interesting.

[DeToxRox]

Yeah since the update made during the NHL season you had to. They're all there just need to edit them. And it's because you can't make money on NCAA Players, like NCAA 2006 and such, so those kids are in under their fake names.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by DeToxRoxDVHStyle

Yeah since the update made during the NHL season you had to. They're all there just need to edit them. And it's because you can't make money on NCAA Players, like NCAA 2006 and such, so those kids are in under their fake names.

It's odd, because if that were the case, why isn't Carolina's 2005 first round pick not just named "Jack Smith" instead of Carolina not having a first round pick in 2005? Or the Wings 2005 2nd round pick named "Justin Ackers" instead of them having no 2nd rounder...

In this game Carolina didn't have a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

It's odd, because if that were the case, why isn't Carolina's 2005 first round pick not just named "Jack Smith" instead of Carolina not having a first round pick in 2005? Or the Wings 2005 2nd round pick named "Justin Ackers" instead of them having no 2nd rounder...

In this game Carolina didn't have a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft.

HB, I don't know why the Jack Johnson renamed guy isn't listed as being Carolina's 1st round pick from 2005 in his info, but I know Carolina has a guy who's ratings translate to Jack Johnson and who is on Michigan as an unsigned prospect.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by General Mike

HB, I don't know why the Jack Johnson renamed guy isn't listed as being Carolina's 1st round pick from 2005 in his info, but I know Carolina has a guy who's ratings translate to Jack Johnson and who is on Michigan as an unsigned prospect.

Thanks for that, GM! I just checked it and you're right. In my game, Carolina has an unsigned prospect named "Brian Ratchuk" who is a star defenseman playing for Michigan. Very odd that he's not listed as a draft pick...

[Honolulu_Blue]

I am about 40 games into the new season. So far, so... ok. I am around 5th-6th place in the West. I just traded Osgood and Franzen for Ryan Miller and everyone was very upset with me. The board. The fans. What do they know?

I've noticed one thing. I am not sure why this is, but I have been in about 5 or 6 shootouts so far this season and my goalies have never made a save in them. Ever. Not one. It's very odd...

[General Mike]

I suck at this game. I thought I set decent tactics after restarting with Carolina, but I just can't get out of the basement. I'm a guy who doesn't really want to do much coaching in game so any suggestions?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by General Mike

I suck at this game. I thought I set decent tactics after restarting with Carolina, but I just can't get out of the basement. I'm a guy who doesn't really want to do much coaching in game so any suggestions?

I hear ya...

I don't do much coaching. I do set the lines and tactics. I switch lines around pretty rarely, usually only subbing guys in for injuries or when a player is particularly playing like crap or tired. I tinker with the lines.

I usually set the tactics up early on and rarely change them at all, unless the composition of a line changes dramatically.

This is taken from an old post I made in this thread back in the day. It gives a basic run down of the strategies I use and have been relatively successful with.

Carolina should be a fun team to play. They have some pretty good guys in their system (eg, Andrew Ladd and those two Swedish guys, Nordgren and Khanberg (if he ever agrees to come across the pond).

I rarely have had success with the game in the first couple seasons. I usually feel the need to mold the team quite a bit.

------------------------------------------------------

In-Game Tactis:

Off System:
I tend to go with mixed here more often than not. But, like everything else, it depends on the players you have. If they have all around talent (good skaters, good passing, etc.), I think mixed seems to work the best.

If they are all great skaters, but may lack a little in the way of passing skills, skating might work.

If they are grinders/forecheckers, I would go with dump & chase.

Off Zone:
I tend to use either "positional" or "crash the net." I use Crash the net if I have a big, strong centerman who can get there. At the moment I have Nathan Horton and Jeff O'Neil. Both big lads who have flourished under this system.

If I have a less physical center, I tend to go with positional. My other center, Stephen Weiss (no I am not the Panthers, I just like to trade with them), isn't as big and strong, so I used this system with him.

Forecheck:
The neutral zone trap, while dull, appears to be the way to go. I recently switched to the neutral zone trap and it has worked wonders. Been very pleased with the results. We have drastically reduced the shots on goal and goals against. I used to go with the "high forecheck" but was letting in way too many goals. Way, way too many...

Backchecking/Pressing:
I tend to keep both at "normal." I have had limited success by moving these to "hard."

Mentality:
Again, I tend to keep this at "normal." Like above, I have had limited success in moving this to attacking or defensive.

Pass/Shoot Bias
Have your best shooters set on "shoot" and the rest on pass. I like to have at least one forward on shoot (though never more than two) and at least one d-man per pairing, or at least one d-man per pairing on the powerplay.

Board Battles:
I tend to leave this as "unit" which is mixed. Though if I have any hulking bruts with high strength (e.g., Hal Gill, Nathan Horton, etc.) then I make it "power." Likewise if I have a wee, speedy lad, I use "finese."

Hitting:
I always have hitting set on "hard." I tend to get a lot of penalties, but I like to hit. It's in my idiom. If there is one player getting waaaay too many penalties, I turn him down to "normal".

Carrying the puck:
I tend to let my offensive defensemen do this. If they can skate well and pass well, I don't see the harm.

Join the rush:
Again, the offensive d-men join the rush, the others do not. I like to have my pairings, the top two at least, a mix between an offensive guy and a stay-at-home guy. The third pairing is usually two stay-at-homers who see time on the PK.

PP/PK Units:
I really haven't messed with this in EHM 2005. One thing I try to do, is balance who plays where. If at all possible, I try not to have any of my forwards on the powerplay killing penalties and vice versa. They get way too tired during the game. For the defensemen, the two d-men who don't see PP time are my top PK pair.

Line Combos:
I tend to try to have my top two lines be strong all around. The focus tends to be offense, but I like to have all six forwards have some decent defensive ratings as well. For example, at the moment my top two lines are as follows:

Ovechkin - Jeff O'Neil - Phil Kessel
Hartnell - Weiss - Justin Williams

While they are all good offensive players, most are pretty sound defensively.

I usually like to have my third line be a "crash" line/"grind" line/"checking" line or whatever you want to call it. These tend to be players who can hit, play solid defense, and chip in the occasional goal. I usually have these guys on "dump and chase" and "crash the net." Sometimes, if my roster gets too talent heavy (a nice problem to have), the third line becomes more interchangable with the top two and loses its "grind line" identity. As is the case with my current squad. The third line is:

Zetterberg - Nathan Horton - Magnus Khanberg

The fourth line varies. Sometimes the fourth line becomes the "grind line." This works because these forwards can bu used as your penalty killers. This makes sure your PK unit is always fresh and you're not wearing down your forward on your top two lines who will already be on the powerplay unit.

Other times, my fourth line is less a "grind" line and more of a "goon" line. This tends to happen with my teams every so often. When the talent is a bit thin and I grab players like this off waivers. I don't mind the physical stuff, so it's not all bad.

Most frequently, I try to put out a "kid" line with the fourth line. These are usually rookie players or younger players (20-22) who I want to give some ice time in the NHL. At the moment, this is what I am doing. The kid line currently is:

Tomas Pospisil - Anze Kopitar - Michael Blunden

Over all, don't hesitate to mix and match lines. I have found that tweaking lines or tactics just a little bit, is a good way to get out of a slump. I also like to try to have lines that fit together. Have a great playmaking center? Put him with a sniper or two?

I used to play A LOT of Strat-o-Matic hockey back in the day. I think it heavily influences how I put my lines together. I don't think the two games work the same at all, but it is what it is. These influences mainly include:

1. For each defensive pairing at least one of the blueliners should be able to move the puck: good skating/passing. I love me some big, tough hard-hitting defensemen, but if both guys are hulking pilons with no puck skills, you are in for a long shift: turnovers, penalties, etc.

2. If I have a checking line, there should be no defensive weak spot. All three forwards should be good checkers, hitters, etc.

3. Never trust your goalie. No matter how good he appears to be on paper, he will screw you over.

4. Hitting is fun.

5. You need at least one guy who can fight if things get out of control.

[Dutch]

Can you play using the Central Hockey League? Or can you customize it to play with them?

[sovereignstar]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Can you play using the Central Hockey League? Or can you customize it to play with them?

Yes. It's called All-American League One or something though. There is an unfake patch that will fix that though (and I think the unfaking patches are safe to use now).

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Yes. It's called All-American League One or something though. There is an unfake patch that will fix that though (and I think the unfaking patches are safe to use now).

Oh great, that's not what I wanted to hear. I actually downloaded the demo and couldn't quite put my finger on the CHL. But what you mention did tend to look familiar.

I'll have to add this to my list of things I must buy down the line.

[General Mike]

Thanks for posting that stuff HB. I will post what I have in a little while.

[Swaggs]

Bump... I got a copy of the European CD version.

Can someone give me the rundown on what patches I need and where to find them?

[riz]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Bump... I got a copy of the European CD version.

Can someone give me the rundown on what patches I need and where to find them?

Patch 2.1.1 gives you the latest official data and the basic "season update" that brings the euro version up to 2005/06 season rules. After that, patch to2.1.3 to get the latest code.

Or you can patch to 2.1.3 straight away if you don't want the official data and are planning on installing a third party roster set right after patching.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by riz

Patch 2.1.1 gives you the latest official data and the basic "season update" that brings the euro version up to 2005/06 season rules. After that, patch to2.1.3 to get the latest code.

Or you can patch to 2.1.3 straight away if you don't want the official data and are planning on installing a third party roster set right after patching.

Thank you. I should be ready to roll tomorrow.

I took a quick look at the game and wanted to mess around with and start with a national team, but I don't seem to be able to hire any staff (head coach, asst. GM, etc.). Is there a certain time or way to do this?

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by riz

Patch 2.1.1 gives you the latest official data and the basic "season update" that brings the euro version up to 2005/06 season rules. After that, patch to2.1.3 to get the latest code.

Or you can patch to 2.1.3 straight away if you don't want the official data and are planning on installing a third party roster set right after patching.

Oops.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I finished the first season with the Wings (lost in the Western Conference finals to Nashville).

Yzerman's contract was up and he had "non-player" attributes. I took a look at them and they were astoundingly good. I can't recall stat lower than an 18. While I wouldn't give him anything lower than, say, a 20, still it's not too bad.

So, I signed Yzerman as an assistant coach. He'll be the head coach soon enough. Don't worry.

Anyway, the off-season progressed and sometime in August or early September I got an news message that the Wings were going to retire Yzerman's #19. There was some more information than that, but I'd never recieved one of those messages before. It made me very happy. While I would certainly have enforced that rule myself, it's good to see the game recognize greatness like that.

[Blade6119]

Final game of the season, against the team im tied with for the league title, and i win in shootout(first season i have ever played)...i think im happy with my purchase. Off to the playoffs to prove the critics wrong about how they ranked my team going into the OHL season!

[riz]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

Final game of the season, against the team im tied with for the league title, and i win in shootout(first season i have ever played)...i think im happy with my purchase. Off to the playoffs to prove the critics wrong about how they ranked my team going into the OHL season!

I love those moments. Had an identical situation (not a shootout win though, just a regular win) against the Islanders when playing with Atlanta in the first edition of the game at E3 two years ago. And that was after I had dumped all my veterans at the trade deadline assuming I had no longer a chance to make it to the post season

Just don't ask if I got swept in the first round by the top seeded Devils

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by riz

I love those moments. Had an identical situation (not a shootout win though, just a regular win) against the Islanders when playing with Atlanta in the first edition of the game at E3 two years ago. And that was after I had dumped all my veterans at the trade deadline assuming I had no longer a chance to make it to the post season

Just don't ask if I got swept in the first round by the top seeded Devils

Did you get swept in the first round by the top seeded devils?

[riz]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Did you get swept in the first round by the top seeded devils?

I told you guys not to ask. Now I won't spill the beans on the upcoming NHL EHM 2007 announcement in advance....

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by riz

I told you guys not to ask. Now I won't spill the beans on the upcoming NHL EHM 2007 announcement in advance....

DAMN YOU FOZZIE!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[SirFozzie]

MWahahahahahaha!

[Blade6119]

Won the OLH playoffs after all 4 of my series went to 7, and i never led a series until the finals. Swept the round robin in the memorial and am in the finals against quebec in a game im fearing. Are all seasons this much fun?