FWHL Guidelines 2004-2005 Official FWHL Rulebook INDEX Section 1 - League Compostion Section 2 - Team Composition Section 3 - FWHL Player Drafts Section 4 - Team Transactions Section 5 - Injured and Suspended Players Section 6 - FWHL Team Finances Section 7 - FWHL League Schedule Section 8 - Game Rosters Section 9 - Game Scores and League Standings Section 10 - All-Star Game and Prospects Game Section 11 - FWHL Playoffs and format Section 1 - League Composition 1-1) The FWHL expanded from an 8 team league in 2003-2004 to a 12 team league for the 2004-2005 season. The following is the divisional alignments for the 2004-2005 season: WEST DIVISION Kamloops Blazers (GM: Stan) Kelowna Rockets (GM: Rocker) New Westminster Bruins (GM: N.W.Bruin) Portland Winterhawks (Expansion Team) (GM: 2fast) CENTRAL DIVISION Medicine Hat Tigers (GM: Stan) Red Deer Rebels (GM: RDRebelsfan) Spokane Chiefs (GM: Jared) Swift Current Broncos (Expansion Team) (GM: Pirate) EAST DIVISION Brandon Wheat Kings (Expansion Team) (GM: Jeff) Moose Jaw Warriors (Expansion Team) (GM: Clone) Prince Albert Raiders (GM: 2fast) Saskatoon Blades (GM: Trav) Section 2 - Team Composition 2-1) The roster of an FWHL club must consist of no more than 24 players during the regular season and no more than 30 for the FWHL exhibition season (not including players on Injured Reserve). The positional breakdown of team rosters for the regular season is as follows: 13 forwards, 7 defencemen, 2 goaltenders and 2 "utility players." 2-2) Utility players are just players of any position (forward, defence or goaltenders) that you can use to add more depth to a particular position. 2-3) All FWHL teams are only permitted a maximum of three 20 year old players (Expansion teams are permitted five 20 year olds) and 2 european/import players total. There is no limit on the number of 16 year olds that a team can have. Section 3 - FWHL Player Drafts 3-1) Each season the FWHL will have a couple of player drafts during the FWHL exhibition season to replenish the team rosters (due to player age or some years because of league expansion). A DRAFT LOTTERY BETWEEN THE FOUR TEAMS WITH THE FEWEST POINTS (NON-ALL STAR/PROSPECT GAME GMs) WILL BE DONE ON THE SAME NIGHT AS THE FWHL ALL-STAR/PROSPECT GAMES. Each GM of those teams will submit three random numbers (no #50) to the league president and the league commissioner...one number for the FWHL Import Draft, one number for the FWHL 16yo draft and one number for the FWHL Free Agent draft. As was previous, the GM/Team with the closest number to the random number will get the first selection in that particular draft. The player drafts are (in the order they will be conducted): FWHL Import Draft (Will be done just after WHL Import Draft) Draft will be 2 rounds and only unclaimed import players can be selected (they don't have to be new import players, they can be returning WHL import players). FWHL 16 Year Old Draft (Will be done during the FWHL exhibition season) Draft will be 3 rounds, only new 16 year old WHL players can be selected FWHL Free Agent Draft (Will be the last draft done before the exhibition season ends and regular season begins) (Draft has no set number of rounds, we will draft until the last person PASSES or everyone has 30 players on their roster..."unclaimed" WHL players of any age are eligible for this draft) 3-2) All FWHL drafts will be timed events. Each GM (when it is his turn to pick) will have 1 minute and 30 seconds to either make his draft selection or announce a trade (ALL TRADES MADE DURING THE DRAFT WILL BE FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS. GMs CAN DECIDE AFTER THE DRAFT WHAT THE TRADE COMPENSATION WILL BE FOR THE PICK...THAT WAY IT DOES NOT HOLD UP THE ENTIRE DRAFT). **If a GM fails to make his selection or announce a trade within the required time frame, his pick will be "skipped" (the GM with the draft pick right after the "tardy" GM pick will then make his selection within the time frame) and then the next pick will go back to the "tardy" GM. 3-3) FWHL Expansion Draft (Only when necessary, teams protect 10 forwards, 4 defencemen and a goaltender...all unprotected players are available for expansion teams to select) Section 4 - Team transactions (trades and free agency) FWHL teams are permitted to make trades and free agent transactions at almost any point throughout the course of the season. 4-1) TRADES - As in all leagues, the FWHL has a trade deadline...for our league it will be in early January. Trades are done by two "trading" general managers communicating either through posting on the message board, chatting in the chat room, etc. Once the two GM's come to an agreement on a trade, one of the general managers must post the trade on the FWHL board. Each team can trade any combination of players, draft picks or cash to get their deals done. 4-2) FREE AGENCY - Any WHL player that is not on the roster of an FWHL team can be added to a teams roster through "free agency" (any player not on an FWHL roster is considered an FWHL free agent). The cost to add a free agent player to your 24 man FWHL roster is $1000. If you add a player and your roster already has 24 players, you must "release" another player to free agency. 4-3) A PLAYER ADDED BY TRADE OR FREE AGENCY MUST BE ADDED BY MIDNIGHT THE NIGHT BEFORE A GAME IN ORDER TO BE ELIGIBLE TO PLAY. PLAYERS CAN NOT BE TRADED OR ADDED AND THEN USED THE SAME DAY IN A GAME. 4-4) YOU CAN ONLY RELEASE A PLAYER AFTER THE ROSTER FREEZE, NOT ADD PLAYERS. 4-5) ADDING / RELEASING PLAYERS AT THE TRADE DEALINE - After all trades at the trade deadline are complete and players are released, there will be a 15 minute "window" of opportunity for all GMs to to release and then to add players that were just released because of other transactions. Section 5 - Injured Players/Injured Reserve and Suspended Players 5-1) Players can only be placed on the FWHL injured reserve if they are listed on the WHL injury report as out 3 or more weeks (a 2 to 4 week injury is also acceptable). PLAYERS CAN BE PLACED ON THE INJURED RESERVE AT ANY POINT DURING THE PRESEASON OR SEASON AND REPLACED WITH ANOTHER PLAYER, BUT CAN NOT BE REPLACED AFTER THE TRADE DEADLINE/ROSTER FREEZE. 5-2) Any player placed on the FWHL injured reserve is considered removed from his team's 24 man roster count, thus that team can pick up a free agent to replace the player until he returns (you do not have to pay to replace a player on your IR). 5-3) There is no limit to the number of players that can be placed on your team's IR...they must just meet the requirements mentioned above (must be out a minimum of 3 weeks). 5-4) When a player is suspended in the WHL he still counts towards his FWHL team's 24 man roster, therefore he can not be replaced. Section 6 - FWHL Team Finances (Bookeeper: Jared) 6-1) All FWHL teams will begin the FWHL regular season with $10,000 (FWHL bucks...not real money) in their team account. This money will be used in adding players to the roster ($1000 per transaction) or can be used in trades as a tradable equity. 6-2) On any given game night where there are at least 4 teams playing, the FWHL team that scores the fewest goals will get $500. The reason for this is to try and promote more league parity and by giving weaker teams cash it allows them to make more necessary transactions. Section 7 - Game Schedules 7-1) In the FWHL, the regular season schedule will be done on a weekly basis. The reason for this is because when an FWHL game is scheduled (weekend before the weekly games are played) the games are based on the number of players playing on a particular night on the FWHL team rosters. For most games there will be a maximum difference of 2 players playing between the FWHL team's rosters (except for games during the world juniors, etc.) 7-2) For FWHL preseason/exhibition games, each GM is responsible for arranging his own team's games. 7-3) For the FWHL playoff games, they will be scheduled for nights when at least 12 WHL teams will be playing (to ensure that most of the players on everyone's roster is playing). Section 8 - Game Rosters 8-1) For any FWHL game, the Coach/General Managers of the two FWHL teams playing must submit a "game roster." 8-2) For the game roster there is a maximum of 13 forwards, 6 defencemen and a starting goaltender that must be identified. (Thus, each game an FWHL team should have 3 players "scratched" and a backup goaltender who's goals/wins will not count towards the final score). 8-3) Starting goaltenders should be clearly identified on the game roster. If a starting goaltender is not identified on the roster, the first goaltender listed on the roster will be considered the starter. 8-4) Captains and assistant captains on the FWHL teams should be clearly identified with either a "C" or "A" beside their name or by having captains and assistant captains listed below the game roster. 8-5) PLAYOFF GAME ROSTERS - Teams must submit a 10-man shootout list at the bottom of his playoff game roster. In the case of a tie game in playoffs, the scorekeeper will go down the list (starting with player #1 on the list which is the player that the GM feels is the most likely to score that night), the scorekeeper will go down the list until one teams player has scored and the player of coresponding number on the other team did not. 8-6) Players must play the position they play in the WHL...YOU CAN NOT PUT A FORWARD ON DEFENCE OR A DEFENCEMAN ON FORWARD on your game roster. 8-7) ROSTER CHANGES CAN ONLY BE MADE WITHIN 10 MINUTES AFTER YOUR GAME ROSTER IS SUBMITTED/POSTED. Section 9 - Game Scores and League Standings 9-1) In the FWHL, goals are awarded to an FWHL team playing when a player on their "game roster" scores a goal in the WHL that night or when the starting goaltender on their "game roster" earns a win that night. Starting goaltenders who earn a shutout for their WHL team will recieve 2 goals for their FWHL team. 9-2) Game scores will be done nightly once all the WHL games are complete and the scores are determined by the FWHL scorekeeper. 9-3) Updated FWHL standings will also be posted each game night below all game scores. Section 10 - FWHL All-Star Game and Prospects Game The FWHL has an annual All-Star Game and for the next season we will be introducing an FWHL Prospects Game. For the all-star game, players selected will be between the ages of 18 to 20, while for the Prospects Game the players will be 16 to 18 years old (18 year olds not selected for the All-Star Game can play in the Prospects Game). The format will be an East vs West format with the Central Division being broken in half (two furthest west teams will have their players play for the west teams, and two furthest east will have their players play on the east teams). West All-Stars (Teams): Kamloops,Kelowna,New Westminster,Portland,Red Deer(Central),Spokane (Central) East All-Stars (Teams): Brandon,Medicine Hat(Central),Moose Jaw,Prince Albert,Saskatoon,Swift Current(Central) Coaches/GMs (that will select the players they want) will be determined as follows: 1st place team in West (including two central teams) will be the head coach / GM of the Western All-Stars 1st place team in East (including two central teams) will be the head coach / GM of the Eastern All-Stars 2nd place team in West (including two central teams) will be the head coach / GM of the Western Prospects 2nd place team in East (including two central teams) will be the head coach / GM of the Eastern Prospects 3rd place team in West (including two central teams) will be the assistant coach / GM of the Western All-Stars 3rd place team in East (including two central teams) will be the assistant coach / GM of the Eastern All-Stars 4th place team in West (including two central teams) will be the assistant coach / GM of the Western Prospects 4th place team in East (including two central teams) will be the assistant coach / GM of the Eastern Prospects GMs and Asst. GMs will work together to select their rosters for the games following these guidelines: 22 player / 2 goalie rosters: 6 players from 1st, 5 players from 2nd, 4 players from 3rd, 3 players from 4th, 2 players from 5th and 2 players from 6th. The two goaltenders can be chosen from any of the 6 teams they represent. Section 11 - FWHL Playoffs and Format 11-1) For the FWHL playoffs in the 2004-2005 season, all 12 teams in the league will make the playoffs. The 2005 playoff format will be as follows: Western Division Central Division Eastern Division ROUND 1 1st Place vs 4th Place 1st Place vs 4th Place 1st Place vs 4th Place (Best of 7) 2nd Place vs 3rd Place 2nd Place vs 3rd Place 2nd Place vs 3rd Place ROUND 2 1v4 winner vs 2v3 winner 1v4 winner vs 2v3 winner 1v4 winner vs 2v3 winner (Best of 7) (To determine Division Champ) (To determine Division Champ) (To determine Division Champ) 2005 FWHL MEMORIAL CUP CHAMPIONSHIPS Day 1 West Division vs East Division Central Division vs Host Day 2 Central Division vs West Division Host vs East Division Day 3 East Division vs Central Division West Division vs Host Day 4 2005 FWHL MEMORIAL CUP CHAMPIONSHIP 1st Place after Round Robin vs 2nd Place after Round Robin 11-2) FWHL MEMORIAL CUP HOST - The host team for the FWHL Memorial Cup will be determined as follows: The team with the best winning percentage on New Years Day (January 1st) will be named the host of the FWHL Memorial Cup. Should that team also win his division championship in playoffs...the division runner-up would represent the division in the FWHL Memorial Cup. 11-3) Playoff game tiebreaker - If two teams are tied after all final scores have been determined, the FWHL scorekeeper will use the 10-man shootout list that the GM submitted with his roster. Starting with player #1 on the list (the player that the GM feels is the most likely to score that night), the scorekeeper will go down the list until one teams player has scored and the player of coresponding number on the other team did not. 11-4) Memorial Cup Standings tiebreaker - If two teams are tied for points in the standings of the round robin portion of the FWHL Memorial Cup the team that won the head to head game will get the higher spot. If still the teams tied their game then the team with the most total goals for in all round robin games will get the higher seeding.