United Hockey Alliance
A project by Steelman
Introduction
I’m going to be honest. I love simulated sports. I love fictional leagues and histories. I actually have created dozens of leagues. But even though I’m a media guy by trade, I suck at drawing/creating logos and have also been in a creative rut. So I’ve never really posted anything, minus the very short-lived Brenland Football League. I may have to use an ungodly amount of clipart in the beginning but I believe this will help me out of my funk.
I've always liked Hawkfan's work with the PHL and lately I’ve been inspired by JCR’s World Hockey League even though I’ve never been much of an avid hockey follower. I do like the game but was always too much of a football nerd to ever religiously follow hockey. Since diving into the WHL and having to research endless player stats to stay afloat, I’m officially amped about hockey.
So I’m going to give it a shot. A small, fledgling hockey league starting in 1940. This will be very loosely based on the NHL but not constrained by it. In addition to creating the initial teams and uniforms, tracking owners, coaches and players, and simulating fictional seasons, I’ve been developing a small simulation engine that tracks other factors. I’m calling it the “Franchise Five Score” or “FranScore” and it will track five categories that could impact a team’s success or failure on a yearly basis:
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City Support
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Team Morale
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Fan Loyalty
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Fan Excitement
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Financial State
The last one is the biggest factor as technically every team in the league could fold in the process of progressing through seasons, but it’s weighted toward teams who win and go to championships. I’ll add more details on how it works later on. For now, every team starts on an equal playing field. Everything will be randomly generated though, except for the season standings, which I will create by taking each team's overall score and simulating with Xkoranate.
I won’t be tracking player stats per se, but there will be awards given at the end of the season based a variety of factors which will be added to each player’s career log. Players and coaches do, however, have a 1-10 rating which counts toward each team’s overall score.
Without further adieu, the United Hockey Alliance.
For the league logo, I really wanted something that was unique and could be vintage by the time it was phased out. The hexagon is probably an unusual choice but I thought it paired well with the sticks and center circle. I also added the date of establishment, although I'm so-so on having it.
Thanks for checking this project out, I look forward to seeing this progress. I gladly welcome all C&C and suggestions for what is era-appropriate. I admit I'm not as much of a hockey nerd as I am football, but oddly I've found it easier to design logos and identities for hockey teams than football teams. Maybe because I know less about hockey history? I dunno. Any questions or suggestions about the league, people, and time period are also welcomed. If you have operational suggestions or comments though, please PM me, so as not to confuse the thread.
The league prologue and initial team introductions will be coming up next.