We're thrilled for this opportunity, as we think some friendly competition in this space only stands to benefit Commissioners and GMs alike. With options comes the ability to offer more fun and better ratings (though that's subjective of course!).
We've completed our first set of ratings but have not completed the pack just yet. It's unlikely we'll be including Coaches and Referees as you can get those elsewhere and they have negligible impact on the sim anyway. What you will get, though, is a full database of players with what we feel are the most accurate ratings possible (of course, that's what I would say, since others say the same thing about theirs!).
Some of the basics:
-- One-Season, but only once: We're starting completely fresh from the 2022 offseason outward, so our first pack will only be based on 2021-22 NHL and AHL play. Moving forward, though, our 2023 pack will be a 70/30 split from the previous two seasons, and our 2024 pack (and each pack forward) will be a 60/30/10 split based on the previous three seasons. This was done for a myriad of reasons - time, incomplete 20-21 and 19-20 seasons, etc.
-- Strictly the Stats: We only use statistical categories for our ratings. All of the ratings. Some are of the "advanced" nature, but we only source our stats from NHL.com and a couple/few from HockeyReference. We do not include "stats" from the dozen or so various sites offering up their own 'advanced' stats - remember, the STHS Simulator isn't really built for advanced stats. Ratings and attributes are designed for fairly basic function. So yes, we do use a TON of stats (300+ excel columns, which was FUN let me tell ya) for our ratings, but we keep it to the ones that best reflect the end-product - the simulator!
Also, while we won't be publishing precise formulas, our Quick Guide will come with the basics about how we set up each attribute that makes up a player's rating.
-- A lot of players, but not more than you need: Our player pack for 2022 will be right around 1,550 players. That's everyone that played at least 1 NHL game and 5 AHL games in the 2021-22 season. There's really no need to have a database of near or over 2,000 players - even with 50 players between pro and farm, that's 1,600. Having an unassigned list filled with minimally-rated ECHL'ers and guys that'll be bagging groceries and flipping burgers this fall didn't make much sense to us.
-- Add-ons & Options: We will be offering a bunch of add-ons and options, such as Prospect Lists, League Settings Guide, Overall Formula Guide, Ratings File, CSV files, Additional Players (if you want Eric Staal, we'll give you Eric Staal!), Multiple Forward Positions, and more. These will be set up as add-ons and options because not every league is the same. Some will want the whole bundle, while others may just need ratings. We will have pricing and options for all types of leagues - no force-feeding you stuff you don't want or need here.
-- 2.0, buuuuuuuut: The ratings have been built with the 2.0 version of the simulator in mind. However, these should work fine for 1.5 as well. I honestly have no idea how these might work for 2.1, but I don't see why they wouldn't work for that as well. Remember, you can easily adapt any ratings to whichever engine you use, meaning if you need to downscale them, simply adjust the CSV file and off you go.
-- And the rest...: Salaries (as of August 5th) and player's actual positions will be included. Only some will be listed at multiple forward positions, but as you read above, we can dig deeper for you if you want that option.
What's the price, you ask? Well, stay tuned. Once we're live, we'll update this thread with examples of our work and the full price list for all options. What we will say is this: we want to be competitive with what's out there already, but we also have put a metric ton of work into this. So we will be looking for adequate compensation. If that may not interest you, no worries! But we like to think there's an old adage that rings quite true in most things: you get what you pay for!
Hopefully, with this detailed "pre-announcement", you will begin to see that we are extremely thorough in our approach and will certainly be worth your patronage. But we'll cross that road when we get there. For now, keep eyes out. We aim to have an update within the month!
Thomas Gidlow
BEARD Hockey