NAHL Day 2 - 2 Shootouts, 2 Wins for DC

It was a battle all night, but the Oilers topped the Royals, Photo Credit from Bleedin' Blue

Day 2 sees another shootout for the Oilers, Isca Town getting back on track, and the Steelers and Sharpshooters pitching shutouts, as well another extra-time game for Labrador.

Londinium Royals 1, DC Oilers 1 (0-1 SO): Just another day at the office for the DC Oilers, as two games have resulted in two shootouts and two wins to start the season. After vanquishing the middling Labrador Caribou to open the season, they took down a Londinium Royals team that had upset Isca Town the night before. Again, the Oilers were led by their stalwart goaltender Ted Carpenter, who made 31 saves in regulation, 3 more in overtime, and denied the Royals on all five attempts in the shootout. The two teams traded goals in the first period, with the Oilers' d-man Shane Manning putting home a rebound, and the Royals' Eric Benson scoring on a wraparound play to level the score at 1-all. Julian Stephens scored the only goal in the shootout. Asked his thoughts on his team's first two games, Oilers head man Sherm Willis replied, "Ted's been fantastic for us. It's not luck, it's been good play. But I am worried about these extra minutes early on in the season. We'll be trying to keep guys' legs fresh in our next game against Vinovium."

Pons Aelius Steelers 1, Sept-Iles Whalers 0: One day after scoring five goals in a rip-roaring start to the season for the Whalers, they were completely shut down in Pons Aelius. They scored zero goals and managed an anemic 21 shots, all of which were stopped by Pons Aelius backup netminder Christophe Collier, who stepped in for regular goalie Brett McQueen after McQueen was dealing with flu-like symptoms. Steelers players, forwards and defensemen alike, bullied the Whalers with hard hits and well-timed poke checks, knocking them out of their offensive rhythm. After being content to mostly defend for one and a half periods, a tripping penalty against the Whalers' James McDaniel gave them an opportunity and they took it. Center Joe Strickland found an opening after the Whalers got caught out of position and his shot found the back of the net. The Steelers proved that they're still a defensive force and that this young Sept-Iles team has a ways to go.

Eboracum Sharpshooters 2, Aquae Sulis Bears 0: For two teams as aggressive as Eboracum and Aquae Sulis, only two goals is awfully pedestrian. But maybe this shows that the Sharpshooters are capable of winning when they're not pouring it on offensively and, more importantly, that they can play defense too. Yes, the Bears aren't the most formidable opponents, but they just put up four goals last game, so there's something to be said for Sharpshooters goalie Wes Singleton and his 29 saves. For the Sharpshooters, Glen Gray picked up his second goal to open the scoring, and forward Josh Jensen saw his shot ping the post and then deflect off Bears goaltender Art Morrison and into the net, which gave Eboracum a 2-0 lead at 14:34 of the second period. Eboracum keeps pace with the Steelers and Oilers for the early lead.

Labrador Caribou 3, Portus Abonae Privateers 3 (4-3 OT): For the second straight game, the Caribou were involved in a game that took more than three periods to settle. This time, they came out on top, defeating the Privateers 4-3 in overtime. For the Caribou, it came after blowing a 3-1 third period lead, and took a well-timed shot from second-line winger Wade Hamilton late in overtime for them to prevail. They sit just one point behind the leaders at this juncture. For the Privateers, a third-period rally keyed by goals from Jordon Upshaw and line-mate Jesse Brock came to nothing. They did get a point for taking it to overtime, but with one point from two games, are behind where they thought they'd be. They'll host the Royals in another tough challenge next.

Isca Town Captains 1, Vinovium Lumberjacks 0: The Captains didn't play perfectly, but it was enough to get them past a Lumberjacks team that already looks like it's sleepwalking to start the season. Only one goal isn't great, but they did control the puck for the majority of ice time, and peppered Lumberjacks goalie Mel Pinson with 37 shots. Jason Gross found an opening at 8:44 of the second period for the final margin. On the Lumberjacks' side, there isn't a lot to be proud of beyond Pinson's 36 saves. They were outplayed by a generally poor Rangers team the other night, and failed to generate much against Isca Town tonight. They will have another tough opponent to break their streak against, as they host the Oilers next.

Newfield Rangers 1, Mancunium Raiders 3: When Newfield blanked Vinovium 2-0 the other day, we said their play was encouraging and they could be a competitive team this year if they kept it up against better competition. Well, maybe their win had more to with Vinovium's lethargy than Newfield's skill, because the Raiders, hardly murderer's row, continued their goalscoring and took down the Rangers easily, 3-1. New acquisition Quinn Baird opened the scoring as part of a two-goal first period, and even when the Rangers closed to 2-1 in the second, it didn't feel like the outcome was in doubt. When Brandon Scanlon scored on a wrister at 3:22 of the third, it felt like the game was over despite nearly 17 minutes remaining. Mancunium hosts the leaky defense of Aquae Sulis next, while Newfield will have to contend with an Isca Town team looking to really hit their stride.

NAHL Day 1 - Oilers Prevail in Shootout

Oilers celebrate their shootout win, Credit to Movember

We saw some fun results from around the league on Opening Night, from a literal shootout between DC and Labrador to two figurative shootouts featuring a total of 16 goals. Also, one high-flying team from last year lost their opening game, but who?

DC Oilers 2, Labrador Caribou 2 (3-2 SO): In a tougher than expected game for the Oilers, it took three periods, a five-minute overtime, and a five-round shootout for them to prevail. The Oilers took a 1-0 lead six minutes in on an Owen Jones (LW) wrister, and held it until the second period was winding down, when the Caribou's Victor Hall found the net, beating Ted Carpenter, who'd made 18 saves to that point. Perhaps buoyed by the momentum, Hall found teammate and D-man Philippe Laurent early in the third for a 2-1 lead. But DC struck back when Julian Stephens scored on a rebound from Labrador netminder Dave Francis. The game headed to overtime, where both netminders swallowed up any chances. In the shootout, while both goalies conceded on the first two shots, Carpenter stiffened his resolve, not allowing any of the other three shots in, and the Oilers' Sammy Jensen (RW) beat Francis stick side on the fifth shot for the final margin. The Caribou can take solace that they notched at least a point for taking it to overtime.

Isca Town Captains 1, Londinium Royals 2: The Captains, who lost just ten games last year, dropped their season opener at home to the Royals. Royals head man Paul Bowman remarked, "We really wanted to make a splash this year and challenge for the title. What better way than beating last year's regular season champs on their home ice?" And they certainly did. The Captains rely on stifling defense and competent offense, but they looked a little sluggish out on the ice tonight. They fell behind 2-0 going into the third period, and while they picked it up, scoring at 15:44, it wasn't enough. The Royals' young duo of Eric Benson and Sheldon Cook had a goal and an assist each.

Sept-Iles Whalers 5, Aquae Sulis Bears 4: Whenever the Bears play, you're likely to see a lot of goals. And whenever the Bears play a game like that, they're likely to end up on the wrong side of the scorecard. It was that kind of game in Sept-Iles, as the back-and-forth affair saw the teams tie or take the lead nine times, with the Whalers finally prevailing. Nick May had a goal and two assists to lead the Bears, but his shot dinged off the post late in the third period with his team trailing 5-4. For the Whalers, it was 25 year-old Gaston Fortin leading the way. He scored twice, once to tie the game at three, and once to give the Whalers the 5-4 lead, and he also assisted on Rene Kelly's opening goal. Whalers fans hope this will be a sign of lots of goals and further success to come. We shall see.

Eboracum Sharpshooters 4, Mancunium Raiders 3: In the other shootout of Opening Night, the Sharpshooters prevailed over a tricky Raiders team. Quinn Baird, the Raiders' new center, helped them to jump out to leads of 2-0 and 3-1, contributing a goal and an assist. But their other new acquisition, former Steelers backup goalie Heath Lindsey, proved unable to stop a Sharpshooters onslaught. Over the final 24:32, the Sharpshooters racked up 18 shots and three goals, led by the dynamic duo of Glen Gray and Tim Smith, who had a goal and an assist each, but it was third-line center Jan Becker, from Germany, who had the winning goal at 17:33 of the third period. 

Portus Abonae Privateers 1, Pons Aelius Steelers 3: It wasn't full of goals, but it was a matchup between two playoff teams from last year. Even so, the Steelers' output of three goals is a veritable explosion by their standards. They prefer to play 1-0 games, methodically crushing their opponents, but the Privateers sped them up a bit, scoring a goal at 4:21 of the first period from Jordon Upshaw and putting the Steelers in an early hole. After that, the Privateers would notch just 13 shots actually on goal, as the Steelers' blue line blocked an additional 11, stifling the Privateers' up-tempo attack. While they trailed 1-0 going into the first period break, Dirk Ziegler tied the game with a massive slap shot when Portus' Mike Henry was whistled for hooking at 3:15. Another hefty d-man, Eric Ferguson, crowding Privateers netminder "Rusty" Barbour, deflected a shot from one of his teammates past Barbour and into the net for a 2-1 lead midway through the third period. Forward Hank Gross added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds to provide the final margin after the Privateers yanked Barbour with two minutes to go.

Vinovium Lumberjacks 0, Newfield Rangers 2: In a game that won't attract much attention, between two teams not expected to make a lot of noise, the Rangers claimed an impressive 2-0 victory on Opening Night. Both of these teams have been overshadowed by other sports in their city, and they want to prove to fans they're worth supporting. Before a less-than-capacity crowd, the Rangers controlled the possession effectively, found the open man on a power play, and even managed to notch a short-handed goal to draw first blood. When Graham Drummond deflected a Lumberjacks pass, speedy winger Brady Dowell pounced on the puck, blew by the defenders, deked goalie Mel Pinson, and buried the puck in the top left corner of the net. If the Rangers can keep this up against better competition, they'll be a dark horse for the playoffs.

NAHL Season Preview

NAHL Season Preview and Rooting Interests

Welcome to our season preview post! The NAHL plays games six days a week, Monday-Saturday, for eleven weeks, for a total of sixty-six regular season games. To figure out your rooting interest, and to learn a little more about each team, we’ve listed information about each of the teams below.

Teams

Aquae Sulis Bears

Colors: red and black

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: C Cal Malone, RW Nick May

Description: Aquae Sulis is a club that is defined by their aggressive style of play. They like their d-men to play high and their forwards to forecheck aggressively. They’re not likely to stand around and pass the puck one to another, waiting for an opportunity. They like to generate odd-man rushes. They’re a fun team to watch, but their style means they concede a lot. Last season, they conceded 196 goals, the most in recent history. Two seasons ago, they finished one spot out of the playoffs, but usually, they find themselves in the bottom half. If you like underdogs and goals, the Bears are your team. Their chief rival is the neighboring city of Portus Abonae.

Durovernum Cantiacorum (DC) Oilers 

Colors: black and orange

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: C Julian Stephens, G Ted Carpenter

Description: DC is home to the largest oil refinery in the country, hence the Oilers nickname. DC is a team that lives and dies with their goalkeeper. Netminder Ted Carpenter is one of their key players because of his leadership capabilities. An NHL washout who was serving as an Oilers employee and emergency goaltender when he was needed for a period and a half because of a fluke accident and turned in an amazing performance. He was signed the next day and gradually moved up to first string. He’s not the best, but he’s a true leader and teammate. The Oilers are always in the hunt, even making it to the championship series three seasons ago before succumbing to Isca Town. If you like inspirational stories and want a team that will compete, choose the Oilers. Their chief rivals are the teams from Vinovium and Noviomagus.

Eboracum Sharpshooters

Colors: green and gold 

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: LW Glen Gray, RW Tim Smith

Description: Eboracum is the Latin for the place of the yew trees, so the Sharpshooters nickname harkens back to the yew longbows of England. And the Sharpshooters deserve their nickname, finishing 1st in goals four of the past seven years, and always in the top three. Their top line wings, Glen Gray and Tim Smith, combined for the most goals by two wing players in the league. They are even more aggressive than Aquae Sulis, but they’re better at it and are typically a playoff contender. As the second city in the country, they are typically rivals with the Londinium Royals, from the capital.

Isca Town Captains 

Colors: teal and white

Recent Championships: 1

Key players: D Louis Tremblay, D Jason Gross

Description: The Captains are last year’s champions, with a best-ever record of 56-6-4. They were practically untouchable in the regular season last year. They found the perfect combination of competent offense and stifling defense that they love. Their top pairing of Tremblay and Gross is a study in contrasts: Tremblay is the captain, the consummate defenseman, while Gross is the two-way player, almost more comfortable on offense than on defense. They are always contenders, finishing first or second six of the past seven years. That regular season success hasn’t usually translated into championships, though. Last season, when they were dominant in the regular season, they were swept by their chief rivals, the Pons Aelius Steelers in the championship series. In fact, in three of four finals series they’ve made, they’ve faced the Steelers and lost every single one. Kind of like the LA Dodgers of the NAHL in the sense that they haven’t turned regular season success into postseason glory. They have made their small city very proud, and a force to be reckoned with every year.

Labrador Caribou

Colors: green and white

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: C Victor Hall, G Dave Francis

Description: The Caribou are the smaller team from Labrador, and usually operating on a shoe-string budget. Maybe that’s why their biggest finish in recent history is sixth. More often they find themselves in the seventh to ninth range. The Caribou want to play a style like Isca Town, with strong defense and good enough offense, but like Aquae Sulis and Eboracum, the talent gap is too big for them to do that. Their defense is fine, what they lack is offense. Victor Hall, their first-line center, is an excellent offensive player and their points leader, but the talent around him just isn’t there. The default rooting option for First Nations peoples in Nova Anglicana.

Londinium Royals 

Colors: gold and royal blue

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: LW Eric Benson, C Sheldon Cook

Description: For a club that comes from the capital, the Royals are awfully mediocre. They have finished sixth in five of the last seven seasons. They just can never seem to get over the hump. But they are a younger team hoping to break through after finishing just two points out last season. Eric Benson and Sheldon Cook are just twenty-four and twenty-three, respectively, and have made a big show this offseason of talking up the Royals’ chances. If you’re used to rooting for a team that will tantalize you with their potential, but usually disappoint you, consider the Royals.

Mancunium Raiders

Colors: burgundy and white

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: C Quinn Baird, G Heath Lindsay

Description: Despite being the bigger-budget and bigger-city club from Labrador, the Raiders are typically worse than the Caribou. They often lack the goal-scoring punch and the stoppers needed to really succeed. But this season, ownership opened the check book to sign Steelers backup goaltender Heath Lindsay for probably more than he’s worth, and lured center Quinn Baird away from Portus Abonae with a fat payday. They are looking to these two players to provide leadership and success, coming from two excellent teams. If the gamble pays off, Mancunium could be a dark horse this year. But if these two can’t elevate the rest of the team, then it will have been a waste of money. 

Newfield Rangers

Colors: blue and green

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: G Augustin Gauthier, D Graham Drummond

Description: Unlike Noviomagus’ other sports teams, including their excellent football/soccer team, the Rangers have not experienced success in recent years. Their highest finish has been seventh, twelve points out of the playoffs. Their defense isn’t too shabby, but their offense is often poor. And when they do get some offense, their defense usually suffers. Some of this is poor drafting, with multiple first-round busts in recent history. Some of it’s the lack of continuity, with four head coaches in the last seven years. But ownership is backing Teddy Clegg, the current head man, so maybe he’ll have a chance to put his stamp on the team and lead them to mediocrity, if not the playoffs.

Pons Aelius Steelers 

Colors: black and silver

Recent Championships: 5

Key players: D Dirk Ziegler, G Brett McQueen

Description: The Steelers are almost always in the bottom half of goals scored, but they like it that way. After five championships in recent history, they’re the villains of the NAHL, but they like it that way. The Steelers prefer to grind their opponents into the dust, destroying their will with a never-ending series of 1-0 victories. They’re veterans, comfortable in OT or in shootouts. They sacrifice the body, always rotate on defense, and are seemingly wizards at deflections and tip-ins, “accidental goals”. If you like goals or hate power teams, don’t root for them. But they probably don’t care. This is a machine built to win championships and crush hopes. Special rivals with Isca Town.

Portus Abonae Privateers

Colors: red and gold

Recent Championships: 1

Key players: C Jordon Upshaw, D Scottie Richards

Description: As their piratical nickname might imply, the Privateers are fun to watch. They manage to score goals without completely sacrificing their defense like Eboracum, while being good enough to manage an attacking strategy, unlike Aquae Sulis. They are a bit more measured than either of those clubs, but still rank highly in goals scored. They returned to the playoffs last year after a two-year hiatus (one year they couldn’t defend enough, the other their attack was lacking), but were promptly swept by Isca Town. If you’re looking for a fun, competitive team, you could do worse than the Privateers.

Sept-Iles Whalers

Colors: blue and gunmetal gray 

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: RW Gaston Fortin, D Marc Levesque

Description: It has been a tough slog for the Whalers the last few years. The past two years, they’ve been dead last, and haven’t finished higher than 10th recently. The Quebecois community supports them fiercely, but they just haven’t been able to break through at all. Their attack is fair, if not spectacular, but they’ve struggled to develop defensive talent and keep their netminders healthy. They’re hopeful that their latest young core, including Fortin, and Levesque, can help them make a big jump this year.

Vinovium Lumberjacks

Colors: green and black 

Recent Championships: 0

Key players: G Mel Pinson, C Parker Martindale

Description: The Lumberjacks are an up-and-down second-tier club. Some years, they’ve managed to be fairly competitive, finishing only eight points out of the playoffs a couple years ago. But they can’t follow it up, usually. They did improve by 15 points last year, and their exciting C prospect Martindale will be fully healthy this year after missing 82 games over the past two seasons. Why root for the Lumberjacks? Well, they’re overshadowed in their own city by the NABL (baseball)’s Vinovium Gunners. The football/soccer team and the basketball team stink too. The Lumberjacks are playing with a chip on their shoulder and a desire to be something other than mediocre, to rise up and challenge the status quo. Their roster reflects that too, a lot of hard-luck veterans hoping for one more chance at glory and guys too young to have been beaten down by losing. The city’s loyalty is up for grabs, and they intend to win it.

NAHL Draft First Round Mock Draft

NAHL 1st Round Mock Draft

The NAHL draft usually takes place during the All-Star Break and has 10 rounds. It is inversely proportional to last year's standings, so that means this year that the Sept-Iles Whalers will have the #1 overall pick. We're going to preview the 1st round of the draft and predict which player each team will select, along with a short bio and possible plan for that player.

#1: Kris Howell (C), Sept-Iles Whalers

Physical stats: 6'3/212/21 years

Bio: Howell is the senior 1st line center for St. Stephen's University in Londinium, leading them to a collegiate national championship last year. He's big, strong, and fast and is the consensus #1 pick among draft experts. More than the physical attributes, Howell is well-regarded as a leader and has a good makeup.

Plan: He will likely join the Whalers immediately after he's drafted. They will be looking to him to come in and make a big impact for the second half of the season.

#2: Cam Ferguson (D), Mancunium Raiders

Physical stats: 6'4/231/20 years

Bio: A junior out of Dalhousie University, Ferguson is a high-motor player who will protect his teammates and especially his goalkeeper, but also has blocking and passing skills as well. He was part of the #1 defensive pairing on Nova Anglicana's World Junior Hockey Championships team, who made it to the quarterfinals.

Plan: He will likely join the Raiders immediately after he's drafted. He'll provide muscle and defense that the Raiders will need after allowing the 5th most goals in the league last year.

#3: Will Flowers (C), Newfield Rangers

Physical stats: 5'9/170/21 years

Bio: Flowers is small, but extremely quick. He's well-known for avoiding hits, weaving through defenders, and finding the right man with the pass. Don't get us wrong, he can put the puck on net and will score his fair share of goals, but he's an assist man more than anything else. Lightly regarded as a high school prospect because of his size, he proved himself at the Universite de Sept-Iles and became a true prospect.

Plan: He will likely join the Rangers immediately after he's drafted. Their offense averaged about 1.5 goals per game last year and they want to pump that up.

#4: Jermaine Roy (G), Aquae Sulis Bears

Physical stats: 6'0/215/20 years

Bio: Roy is the best netminder in this draft and, after a season in which the Bears conceded nearly 200 goals, he's an easy choice for them. Out of the Universite de Sept-Iles, he led them to a second-place finish last year. He can be a brick wall as long as he's got an eye on the puck, but needs to be paired with forceful d-men who will stop him from being screened. Netminder on the WJHC team.

Plan: It will be trial by fire for Roy. He'll have about half a season after the All-Star break to really show his new team what he can do. It will likely be a light schedule at first, but he'll be expected to be first-string sooner rather than later.

#5: Gabe Chambers (C), Vinovium Lumberjacks

Physical stats: 6'0/196/21 years

Bio: Chambers, out of University of King's College, isn't the most physically imposing player you'll meet, nor is he the highest ceiling guy. But he is a solid contributor on both offense and defense, a plug-and-play kind of a guy that scouts love for his versatility and work ethic. Vinovium needs help on offense, but their defense could be shored up as well. Chambers will help them in both areas.

Plan: He'll form an integral part of the Lumberjacks from day one. Probably a second or third-line center, but those players are valuable.

#6: Jacques LaFlamme (RW), Labrador Caribou

Physical stats: 6'3/190/19 years

Bio: LaFlamme is a bit of a gamble, having just finished his sophomore season at Memorial University. He's very fast, and an excellent goalscorer. But he isn't sound defensively, and has a tendency to drift out of position. In other years, teams would probably pass on him and wait for him to develop. But two things are driving this pick: LaFlamme was the leading goalscorer for the Nova Anglican team at the WJHC, and Labrador needs to jump-start their second-worst in the league offense. 

Plan: He'll play right away. This first year, he'll be expected to be more of a instant-offense "microwave"-type player. But for this to work out, he'll have to develop into a truly excellent goalscorer or a more well-rounded player. He's going to need to adjust to the physicality of the NAHL.

#7: Phillippe Marchand (D), Eboracum Sharpshooters

Physical stats: 6'4/224/19 years

Bio: Another sophomore, this time from the Universite de Moncton, Marchand is a quick d-man with excellent reflexes and awareness. Even though he's not the burliest guy out there, he can and will lay a lick or sacrifice the body.

Plan: Marchand will shore up the Sharpshooter defense that has been leaky of late. Sharpshooter management has decided that developing players is more important than a single-minded focus on contention, so they're willing to bring Marchand along slowly. They think he has top-10 d-man potential, though.

#8: Marc Curtis (LW), Londinium Governors

Physical stats: 6'2/215/21 years

Bio: Curtis is a winger who lives on the boards. Whether it's checking opponents, winning the puck, playing the puck around them, or sniping close to them, he's there. His senior season at Cape Breton University saw him contribute on offense (15th in the nation in points) and defense, where his head coach called him "the hardest-working son of a gun" he's coached. 

Plan: The Governors missed out on a playoff spot by just two points last year. They will be looking for Curtis to put them over the top. They don't need him to be a star, but they need him to contribute and make a second-half push.

#9: Alexandre Boulanger (RW), Portus Abonae Privateers

Physical stats: 6'2/226/21 years

Bio: Boulanger is a hard-hitting, physical, give it all you got kind of player. He won't win any awards for pretty play, but he is always effective. He has a dangerous slap shot, but is more likely to be found around the net on offense, where he finds the tip-ins and cleans up the rebounds. On defense, he is a tough guy to get past and has a lot of stamina.

Plan: The Privateers love his physicality and will want him to be an instant contributor on the third or fourth line, with an eye towards an eventual second or first-line future.

#10: Brendan Bryan (D), Pons Aelius Steelers

Physical stats: 6'3/216/20 years

Bio: Bryan is a junior from St. Stephen's who is a converted forward. He's a two-way player, but is still known as more of an offensive player than a defensive one. He's an example of a player that might go higher if he waited a year, but a top-10 pick is hard to turn down.

Plan: The Steelers only scored 71 goals last year, partially by design and partially due to a lack of scoring punch. They will look for Bryan to add some offense and develop on defense, and what better place than the ultra-defensive Steelers to really learn how to be a defenseman?

#11: Jesse Erickson (C), DC Oilers

Physical stats: 6'5/240/20 years

Bio: Erickson is a junior from the University of Reginorum and, more than anything else, he is a big boy. Primarily known for his bodychecking, blocking, and enforcing abilities, he's also surprisingly good at poke checks and is a disciplined player. He's a bit one-dimensional, but the Oilers love his size.

Plan: The Oilers need help on D, so he's going to slot in right away to bring down that 142 goals allowed total from last year.

#12: Zach Gill (C), Isca Town Captains

Physical stats: 6'0/185/18 years

Bio: Gill is a commit to St. Stephen's, but the lure of joining a top team like the Captains as a first-round pick will likely sway him. He still has room to grow physically, but he's already an excellent skater and shooter with good puckhandling skills. He was named to the Nova Anglican Junior Hockey All-Star team, and plenty of people think he's a future NAHL All-Star.

Plan: The Captains will probably loan him to another hockey league for the time being. He's unlikely to break into their second-half rotation, and needs time to grow. If he really shows off, he could join the Captains as early as next year.

A Map of Nova Anglicana and its major cities

Nova Anglicana is located on the former Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and part of the Cote-Nord region of Quebec. Its capital and largest city is Londinium. 

Some notes

•  "Isca Town", as labeled on the map, is short for Isca Dumnoniorum and is the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island.
• "DC", as labeled on the map, is short for Durovernum Cantiacorum and is located on the Bay of Fundy, not far from the border with the US state of Maine.
• The city of Noviomagus' sports teams are often referred to as "Newfield."

NAHL at a glance

NAHL at a glance

Nova Anglican Hockey League

The Nova Anglican Hockey League is the governing body of Nova Anglican Professional Hockey. It is composed of 12 teams from around the country and plays a 66-game schedule consisting of 3 games at home and away against each team in the league. The top 4 teams from the regular season advance to the playoffs. The first round is a best-of-3 series, and the championship is a best-of-5. There is no 3rd-place series. The championship trophy is known as the Monarch's Cup. Awards given out include MVP, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, and the Frank Garland (first commissioner of NAHL) Memorial Award, given to the player who exhibits a commitment to sportsmanship on the ice and beneficence off the ice. Players are also recognized, but not given an award, for the points, scoring, and assist titles.

Hockey is the second most popular sport in Nova Anglicana. 26% of people surveyed named it as their favorite sport, and 57% of people said they pay at least some attention to it daily.

Teams may carry up to 23 players on their roster and there is a soft salary cap of AP 60 million (USD 58.2 million). Teams may spend more than AP 60 million should they choose, but they pay a 40% penalty on money spent over the salary cap, which increases by 10% each year if a team goes over the salary cap in consecutive years. If a team spends over the salary cap in non-consecutive years, the penalty increases by 5%. For example, if Team A spends over the cap in 3 consecutive years, they would pay 40, 50, and 60% penalties on the money spent over the cap, respectively. If Team B spends over the cap in years 1, 3, and 5 of a five-year period, they would pay 40, 45, and 50%, respectively. This is designed to cap spending at reasonable levels to encourage competitiveness.

There is a draft consisting of 10 rounds, and the draft order is inversely proportional to W-L total, that is, the worse a team's record is, the better draft pick they get. "Tanking" exists, but is diametrically opposed to Nova Anglican ideals of hard work and effort. Drafts are often fairly deep, so teams have less incentive to tank. Any player age 16-22 is eligible to be drafted, but teams trend towards older players because there is no minor league and junior hockey in Nova Anglicana is capped at age 18, so players older than 18 must be assigned to the big club. Sometimes, teams will draft a player and, once a contract has been signed, loan him to a club in another country to get experience until they consider him ready for the big leagues. Teams will sign international free agents, but money is capped at AP 15 million (USD 14.55 million) per year, so international free agents that are expected to make a big impact are limited. The average salary in the NAHL is AP 2.17 million (USD 2.11 million), with the top 12 earners averaging AP 7.5 million (USD 7.275 million).

Teams

Aquae Sulis Bears (red and black)

Durovernum Cantiacorum (DC) Oilers (black and orange)

Eboracum Sharpshooters (green and gold)

Isca Town Captains (teal and white)

Labrador Caribou (green and white)

Londinium Royals (gold and royal blue)

Mancunium Raiders (burgundy and white)

Newfield Rangers (blue and green)

Pons Aelius Steelers (black and silver)

Portus Abonae Privateers (red and gold)

Sept-Iles Whalers (blue and gunmetal gray)

Vinovium Lumberjacks (green and black)

NAHL Standings

NAHL Standings

NAHL                     Pld    W   L OT/SOL  GF   GA   GD   Pts
Pons Aelius           41    30    6      5        51     19   +32   65
Isca Town              41    30    9      2        56     36   +20   62
DC                         41    28     9      4       96     73   +23   60
Londinium              41    25    14      2      69     62   +7     52
Sept-Iles                41    22    15     4        82     72  +10    48
Eboracum              41    19    16      6      99     103  -4      44
Labrador                41    18     16    7        64    69   -5      43
Portus Abonae       41   18    18      5       90     94   −4     41
Newfield                 41    16   18      7        63     81  -18    39

Aquae Sulis           41    14    23      4       78    94   −16    32
Mancunium            41    14    23      4       68     85  -17    32
Vinovium                41    12    25      4       61     87  −26   28