Asunto: U18 Canada National Team

Actually yes. I think it is what most bids do. They go with the same images for both.

I am unsure what it implies in terms of actual work to host the tournament since the guide doesn't say anything about it, but it seems like an interesting experience.

I looked at your DeviantArt profile.

I think it could make for a cool style. Make it a beaver with a hockey stick and a ppm/world cup jersey and we have an interesting concept IMO.

I added some solid 17 yo players for next year. It looks like next year's team will be the strongest we have had in a while. Quite a few outstanding players with a rather solid supporting cast.

As nothing is perfect though, Goaltending seems a little bit weak for this next edition.

The games are almost upon us.

We are ready. We face a tough schedule early on, but we believe in our team. We will take it a game at a time and hope to break through this very tough preliminary stage where home ice does not favor us often.

Players are excited, management is excited. Let's get it on!

Welcome home Jamal Morrison.

After a quick stay in Germany to hone his craft, he has been brought back to Canada to play with fellow NT linemate Billy Simard for the Microbrasseurs as well as the U18 NT.

A quick thought regarding training camps and player development:

If you are a team with a few NT youngsters, especially those who are playing, holding your training camps at the end of the season may not be wise. End of season is the time of the year when the NT plays almost everyday for a while. These give training bonuses to the players, but the bonus is lost if the player is in his own team's training camp.

Also, the NT would be better if the players had benefitted from training camps before the start of the tournament.

Food for thought, because I see the general trend of keeping training camps for the end of the season. I understand why it makes sense, but above is why it may not be optimal.

Good advice. Personally, I like to have my training camps during the season. Usually, there is a time or two during the season where you can win 3 games in a row using those who would not be in camp, OR there is a 3 game stretch where you have little/no hope of winning no matter who you use. These are ideal times to hold a training camp instead of trying to cram two in at the end of the season. Earlier training camps will benefit your team all season without missing the bonuses awarded to NT players.

I didn't do this in the past, but with a small roster (<40) and a large camp (27), a large part of my roster goes to camp. I can't afford to have a large chunk of my roster miss games mid-season unless I have a week of bottom feeders coming through. And, to be honest, my attention isn't that close these days.

I understand. I wanted to get these arguments out in the open and everyone is free to make future choices as they please.

Personally, as Bobby Jay stated, I look for the stretches of sure-wins or sure-losses. I then fill my roster with cheap rookies that I don't keep after the camps are over.

I understand that in I.1, it may not be the same depending on everyone's situation. Perhaps having the camps at the end of the season is the best decision for some. However, I feel like a lot of managers so it this way only because it fits nicely in that time frame.

Feel free to remind me next season if I have a string against new I.1 teams. But even then, ChL/CWC and NC games get in the way so I'm normally stuck until late in the season anyway at which point playoffs are starting. FWP, right?

Sucks to be rich and famous!!

I'm guilty of waiting for the end, END of season (almost into the next) to start my training camps. So the players still get both training bonuses, but yeah, I guess it would make sense to have the camp BEFORE the cup. I never actually thought of it that way, haha. You'd think so many years playing and analyzing things this woulda come up, lol

This just came up!
Did the senior lines late last night, just before midnight to avoid this very problem. This morning, doing a last minute check, and found that our 3rd line (universal) left defenseman is out for 11 days.
Worse yet, the world cup lines have been set, and I cannot swap him out!!

Similar thing happened here... The U18 2nd line center got injured for 12 days. Thankfully, Trader Phil, my amazing AGM, was on the lookout and told me in time for me to change my lines. Still sucks because it forces me to use a player with no Chem...

Game 1 was a win over a strong Russian squad on their home ice. Great start to the tournament. France tomorrow. One of the top teams in the game. Will be a challenge.

Stay tuned!