- Last Updated June 26, 2002.

                WELCOME TO THE WLUHL OFFICIAL RULE BOOK. 

We are always changing this to make the rules more clear cut for everyone, 
so if you have a question about something, just let us know.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
===================
   I. TEAM OWNERSHIP AND OBLIGATIONS
  II. NEW TEAMS, GM'S AND EXPANSION FORMAT
 III. SALARIES and CONTRACTS
 III. TRADING
  IV. TEAM REVENUE AND EXPENSES
   V. FREE AGENT POOL
  VI. TRADING
 VII. LINE CHANGES, ROSTER REQUIREMTNS, INJURIES AND SUSPENIONS
VIII. SEASON TO SEASON ACTIVITIES
  IX. GAMES AND LEAGUE STATS
   X. FINAL SAY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                I) TEAM OWNERSHIP AND OBLIGATIONS:
                ===================================
DEFINITIONS:
1. GM - Person who owns the right to the franchise and is responsible for
        voting on all league issues. As well, the GM is responsible for all
        trade confirmations and only his word will be accepted
2. COACH - Person who is responsible for sending in line changes and roster
        moves such as call ups or send down to the farm team. They are also
        responsible for making sure they have the correct roster and keeping
        watch of injuries and suspensions

All team names and gm changes must be approved by the commish. Any gm who 
does not feel that they are able to continue in the league must contact the 
commish and inform us that they no longer want to be part of the league. 
We will then obtain someone else to take over the team. All gm's are 
required to reply to all trade offers, reply to any league surveys and 
questions and required to send in lines at least twice a year. One for 
regular season and once for playoffs.

If league does not feel that you are doing a satisfactory job as a gm, 
the Board of Directors will talk about the future of your team. You
may lose the rights to your team and removed from the league. This
includes lack replying to gm's questions, not replying to league issues
and conduct within the league that is seen as disrespectful towards others
without stopping your actions after being warned.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                 II) NEW GM'S RECEIVING TEAMS AND EXPANSION:
                =============================================

If a GM leaves the league and a new GM is brought into the league, the new
GM will take over what we will an expansion franchise. What will happen
will be the following.

1. The New GM will select 1 player from the team that he has taken. This
   Player that he selects he will keep part of his team.

2. The rest of that teams players will be placed into a dispersal draft
   that the rest of the teams in the league, minus the new team(s). The teams
   in the dispersal draft will select all the players/prospects from this
   team until there is nobody left in the pool.

   All unrestricted players who's contracts have expired will be placed into
   the Free Agent Pool. However, the Restricted players who's contracts have
   expired will be part of the dispersal draft.

   The order of the dispersal draft will be a weighted draft based on the
   reverse finishing order of last season for NON-Playoff teams and
   reverse finishing order for playoff teams.

3. The teams in the league, minus the expansion or new team(s) will then
   protect 12 players from their current team. The remainder of the players
   will be placed into a draft pool where the New Expansion Team(s) will
   then select players from that pool. The New Expansion Team(s) will
   be allowed to select 21 players from that pool.

   All players who are property of your team are eligable to be drafted if
   left unprotected by the Expansion teams. (Two exceptions, see below)
   That includes any Restricted Free Agent's who's contract is expiring.
   They may not be a player on your team, but you still own their rights
   and so you MUST protect them too if you wish to retain their rights when
   they go to the free agent market.

   The first exception to this is, All UNRATED players who are signed to a
   "P" or "XX" (Prospect) contract will automatcially be protected and
   therefore they cannot be selected by the Expansion teams and they will
   not count as any of the 12 protected players for that team.

   The second exception to this is, any team may choose to protect 2 players
   from it's roster who have played in less then or equal to 30 games for
   forwards and defenceman, and 15 games for goalies. 

   There is a limit to the number of players that a team may lose.

   1 to 2 New Teams - Existing Teams can lose a maximum of 2 players
   3 to 4 New Teams - Existing Teams can lose a maximum of 4 players
   5 to 6 New Teams - Existing Teams can lose a maximum of 6 players
   etc.

   During the Expansion or New Team Draft, when a player has been
   selected from your team, you will have opportunity to "Pull Back"
   or protect another player from your roster. All instructions for
   this must be sent to the Commissioner before the start of the draft.
   A deadline will be set once a draft day is set. As well, all
   "Pull Back" list's must be in a very straight forward and easy to
   read format, allowing for the draft to happen in a more efficient and
   effective mannor.


4. The New Expansion Team(s) will then receive the first overall pick
   in the Entry Draft as well as starting off with $5,000,000 in the bank.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                III) PLAYER CONTRACTS AND SALARIES:
                ====================================

PLAYERS INITIAL SALARIES:
==========================
A players initial salary will be based soley upon the ratings that he
was been given. The amount he will be payed is outlined below.

RATINGS     X    $$$$$
========================
125 +       x  $20,000
100 to 124  x   17,500
 80 to  99  x   15,000
 70 to  79  x   12,500
 55 to  69  x   10,000
 40 to  54  x    7,500
  0 to  39  =  300,000

CONTRACT TYPES:
================
There are 4 types of contracts that a player can be signed to. The length
of all the contracts will vary from 1 to 4 years in length depending on
what the GM chooses.

1. Unrestricted Contracts
---------------------------
Players signed under unrestricted contracts may be signed from 1 to
4 year contracts at anytime once their contracts come due. Those
players who are unrestricted free agents must be paid XXX * .0125
extra per year that they are under contract with XXX being the number
of years that the player is undercontract.

Once that player's contract expires, he will be placed into the
unrestricted free agent pool where all the teams in the league will have
the right to bid on him and aquire his services. If you do not sign
that player, you will no receive any compensation for him.

Any player who has no contract can be signed to an Unrestricted contract.
However, those players who have been signed via the Free Agent Auction
can only be signed to Unrestricted Contracts.

2. Restricted Contracts
-------------------------
Players signed under restricted contracts may be signed from 1 to
4 year contracts. Players can only be signed to a restricted
contract AFTER they are drafted in the Entry draft, or after their
Prospect contract expires. Under a restricted contract, players must
be paid XXX * .025 extra per year that they are under contract with
XXX being the number of years that the players is under contract.

Once the player's contract expires, that player will be placed into
the restricted free agent pool at the end of the year. There, all the
teams in the league will be able to place a bid on that player to
aquire his services. Once a bid is accepted, you, as the GM who currently
owns his rights will have the opportunity to either match the other teams
bid, or you may ask for compensation for that player. (Compensation will
be explained a bit later.)

If you do not match a players demand, and no other bid is made on that player,
and you decide to release him to the Unrestricted Free Agent market, then
you will no longer have the right to bid on that player under the
"Loyalty Clause". (See Unrestricted Contracts) Essentially, once you decide
not to bid on that player who's restricted contract has expired, you are
releasing your rights to him. Thus, no team will be able to apply the "Loyalty
Clause" to that player.

3. Prospect Contracts
-------------------------
Players who are signed under a prospect contract can sign a contract from
1 to 4 years in length. To be eligable to sign a player as a prospect,
for forwards and defencemen, they must have played less then or equal to 120
games in the NHL dating back to the last full season played in the NHL from
the time that we are doing the WLUHL draft. For goaltenders, they must have
played less then or equal to 80 games in the NHL dating back to the last
full season played in the NHL from the time that we are doing the WLUHL
draft. Players under a prospect contract will be XXX * .035 extra
per year with the XXX being the number of years that the player has been
signed to.

4. Unrated Prospect Contracts
------------------------------
As for teams who wish to draft unrated players. When a team drafts an
unrated player, that player will be automatically signed to a 3 year
unrated (3X/?) contract. What that means is that a player has three WLUHL
season to develop and become rated. If, at the end of that players
contract, he is not rated, the team will lose his rights and he will 
re-enter the draft pool. If the player becomes rated while on his
3X/? contract, then he will be rolled into a "P" contract with GM's
being able to sign him from a 1 to 4 year contract. Once signed to that
contract, the number of years which that player was under the "XX" contract
will be subtracted from that contract. 

(ie. A player under a 3X contract for 3 years, and then signed to a 4P contract 
will actually be signed to a  1P contract) 

However, if that player does not qualify for a prospect "P" contract, he can 
be signed to a Restricted contract, with the restricted contract being able to
be signed from 1 to 4 years with none of the 3X/? contract being subtracted
from it. That player will not be paid until he becomes first rated.

EXAMPLE 1: The Winter Hawks draft Bobby Orr in the upcoming entry draft,
WLUHL10. Orr is unrated so he is signed to a 3X/10 contract. WLUHL10
goes by, and he is not rated, so that's cool and the Hawks still own
his rights. WLUHL11 starts up with Orr still unrated and that's cool.
WLUHL12 starts and Orr still hasn't played in the NHL, now there is a problem.
WLUHL12 ends and I begin to input the rosters for WLUHL13. Orr's contract
has now expired, and Bobby Orr did not play in the NHL last season 
either which means there is no ratings for him, therefor Ted now loses the
rights to Bobby Orr.

Summary 1:
WLUHL10 - Draft Bobby Orr who is unrated 3X/10
WLUHL11 - Start of season Orr is still not rated
WLUHL12 - Start of season Orr is still not rated
WLUHL13 - Start of season Orr is still not rated, Ted loses his rights.

Now, here is the exact same example, but with someone who becomes rated:

EXAMPLE: The Winter Hawks draft Darryl Sittler in the upcoming entry draft,
WLUHL10. Sittler is unrated so he is signed to a 3X/10 contract. WLUHL10
goes by, and he is not rated, so that's cool and the Hawks still own
his rights. WLUHL11 starts up with Sittler still unrated and that's cool.
WLUHL11 ends and I begin to input the rosters for WLUHL12. Sittler's contract
still has 1 year left on it, but Darryl Sittler played in the NHL last season. Therefor
Ted looks at how many games Sittler has played in the NHL and sees that he
has only played 10 games, therefore, he is eligable for a prospect contract.
Ted then signs him to a new contract 4P/12 (the max for a prospect contract).
From there, we subtract the number of years under a "XX" contract, which was
2 seasons and so Darryl Sittler is now officially signed to a 2P/12 contract.

Players who are currently under contract but have retired or are removed from
the game will simply be lost. If they are under contract and have no
ratings, you still must pay their salary unless you wish to buy out their
contract. (See contracts to see how you can buy out a contract)


The idea of having to pay bonus for the players contracts is a must
otherwise everyone would sign there players to restricted contracts.
This way, one will have to decided if it would be worth signing a
player to that contract.

All players who are rated on your team will be payed. Only those players
who are signed to a prospect contract and who are not rated will not
be paid.


                    RELEASING PLAYERS/CONTRACT BUY OUTS
                    ===================================
There will be two ways in which you can release a player. At the begining of
each season, before regular season play starts, you will be allowed to release
any UNRATED players from your roster who are on XX or P contracts at no charge.
However, once the season starts, if you wish to release any player, whether
RATED or UNRATED, you must buy out part of their contract.

To buy out a player's contract, a RATED player anytime, and an UNRATED player
once the regular season has started, you must pay 25% of the remaining part
of that player's ENTIRE contract.

   Example: If Eric Lindros is signed to a $20 million dollar contract for
   -------  for 4 years, say 4U/10. We are in WLUHL10 and at the half way
            point you decided that you can't afford his $20 million dollar
            contract, you will have to pay 25% of remaining part of WLUHL10,
            so 25% of $10 million dollars, PLUS, you must 25% of $60 million,
            which is the remainder of the rest of this contract.

The 25% buy out rule has been put in place to force to make GM's more aware
of the financial responsibilty of their team and hence, be careful when handing
out large contracts.


                           RESIGNING PLAYERS:
                           ==================
When a player's contract comes due, if he is a "P" contract, and he is rated
for the upcoming season, he will automatically be rolled into an "R" contract.
If he is a "P" contract and not rated, that players rights will be lost and he
will re-enter the draft. However, when a player is a "R" contract or a "U" contract
and their contract expires, they will placed into the Free Agent Market (See
Free Agency Section to know more about how this works) Whether a player is a
Restricted or Unrestricted Free Agent, teams will have the ability to bid on
them. To save a player from being bidded on by another team, whether is a
Restricted or Unrestricted Free Agent, each team will be allowed to RESIGN 2
players that are currently their property. However, if they wish to resign
that player, they will have to meet that players demand for his salary.

                Unrated Players on "U" and "R" Contracts
                ========================================
If a player's contract is expiring and they are on a "U" or "R" contract, AND
they are not going to be rated for the upcoming season, the team owning their
rights MUST resign that player as one of their two possible resignees. If
they do not select that player to be one of their two possible resignees, then
they will lose the rights to that player as he is a free agent, who is unrated
and thus will not enter the free agent draft and simply disappear.


   SALARIES FOR PLAYERS UNDER CONTRACT FOR NEXT SEASON AND WHO ARE RATED
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
The salaries for those players who are rated and under contract by a team, 
(this will include Restricted Free Agents, Players going from "P" contract
to an "R" contract... but NOT Unrestricted Free Agents) will
have their new salaries created based on the previous year and a half WLUHL
stats, as well as their current APBA ratings. If the player does not have a year 
and a half worth of WLUHL stats, then we will use the stats which we do have for 
him. The players will be broken up into groups first based on Forwards, Defenceman 
and Goalies. From there, all players within those groups will have all WLUHL stats 
and all APBA ratings compiled together and placed within a stats program, which
Richard Lomax will oversee, which will read all the stats, compare all the players 
based on everything, and then group these players into 7 different categories based 
on these stats and ratings.

The result of this will mean that goalies who are rated and play like backup goalies
will be put into a group with goalies who play and are rated like backup goalies.
It will place checking defensemen into a category with other checking defenesemen.
It will place hard hitting, high scoring power forwards into a category with other
hard hitting power forwards. It will put high scoring snipers into a category with
other high scoring snipers. In short, what this is saying, is that players will be
placed into categories which those players who perform and are rated like each other.
The reason for this is so that we may proceed to Step #2, which will be outlined 
below. But also, it will keep in mind players APBA ratings, which is a major factor
determining our interest in those players, but also how those players perform on a
team, keeping in mind that some players may play more or less then others. The
stats program is able to take this all and sort it out.

Once we have these groups, 7 "Clusters" of Forwards, 7 "Clusters" of Defenceman and
"7" clusters of Goalies, we then sort each of these "Clusters" within each group
based upon their current WLUHL salary. After we have each of these clusters rated
and organized in order of WLUHL salary, we break each group up into thirds. From here
we then use a formula which is applied to each cluster to create the players new 
salary.

The formula is as follows:

GROUP:		DEMAND:		
Top 1/3	100% to 125%		
Middle 1/3	125% to 150%		
Bottom 1/3	150% to 200%		

What this means is that a players salary will be based upon those players within
his cluster. Those players who are at the bottom third of that group of salaries
will see his salary increase more then those of the players who are making the
most salary within that group. The exact amount of the demand (100-125 for example)
will be randomly chosen. However, this random number will fall within between the
parameters which are outlined above. This is designed to bring everyone within one
group to an average salary. (ie. The LeClair's and Tkachuks will be paid similar
as will the Domi's and Sandy McCarthy's)


   RESIGNING DEMANDS FOR RESTRICTED AND UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS
   -------------------------------------------------------------
The final part of this new system is that of the demands of those players wishing
to resign with their current team. This system is based totally upon that of
the one which we use above for determining the salaries of the players. However,
because resigning a player and keeping him out of the free agent market is a
bonus for the team, there is a much greater chance that one will have to pay
a great amount of money to resign him. 

The formula for that is as follows.

GROUP:		RESIGNING DEMAND:
Top 1/3	100% to 150%
Middle 1/3	125% to 175%
Bottom 1/3	150% to 225%

The principle applies the same here as above. Those players with the lower 
salaries within the groups will see their demands increase greater then those 
who have salaries which fall into the top third. Again, the percentage which
will be the exact amount which is the resigning demand will again be a random
number between the parameters which are outlined above.


In addition to this though, there is one little extra. There will be a 10%
chance that a player will ask for only 85-100% of the new demand which he is 
asking for. What this means is that there is a chance for a player may
ask for a decrease, or a lesser increase then those around him. This chance 
though is very unlikey seeing that the those who are asking for 85-100% will 
have that applied to their new demand, thus, this will result in not really a 
decrease in a players salary, but a much lower demand (instead of 150% increase, 
maybe only a 25% increase).
	
EXAMPE:
Player        Current Salary   Demand  New Salary   85-100%    New    Final Salary
  				                        Change?   Demand    
Pavel Bure 	$3,500,000        135%   $4,725,000    Yes      95%     $4,488,750 

What the above example show's how the 85-100% multiplier will work. It will be
applied to the "New Salary" to determine the final salary and NOT applied to
the original salary. This is just something that can be seen as more of loyalty
thing between players and teams. But again, the player won't be getting paid
less, just getting a smaller increase in pay in comparison for those who are
in his group or "Cluster".

Please note that this offer, the 10% chance of asking for a smaller increase
will be applicable to only the salary demands which will be used for Resiging
players and keeping them out of the free agent market. It will not be used to
decide the salaries of the Restricted Free Agents and "P" contracted players
who's contracts are rolling over into Restricted contracts.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                IV) TEAM REVENUES AND EXPENSES:
                ================================

To earn money, there will be a two step process. 40% of money
earned will be based on an attendance formula which I will
explain later. The other 60% of the revenue we will use a points
stepping stone type format with the amount of money you earn
depending on how many points you have made.

A team will earn 
$225,000 for all the points they accumulate from  0-39,
$175,000 for all the points they accumulate from 40-59,
$125,000 for all the points they accumulate from 60-79,
$ 75,000 for all the points they accumulate from 80-99,
$ 50,000 for all the points they accumulate from 100 points and up

The attendance formula takes last years winning percentage for
your team, adds that to the winning percentage for your team
now and takes an average of the two. If you are a new team, then
we will simply use your average now for the average of last year
and now. From there, we take a random number from 1 to 1.5, multiply
the random number by the average of the two winning percentages,
add one to that, and then multiply that by $12,000,000. Finally, we
will then divide that by 2 to represent the first/second half of
attendance. From that, you will receive your attendance revenue.
This allows a team to make from $14,000,000 up to $20,000,000.
We added in the random number here simply to add a bit more fun
to the league. The attendance is still mainly based on how your
team is doing, but there is the chance that your team could in
essence pull in more fans, more money then a team that is doing
better then you!

The setup of making money is based on a .400 winning percentage
and making around $20,000,000. But it still totally depends on
the team salary. This is designed to keep the amount of
revenue that is earned in tact so the poor teams have a chance at making
money and yet the good teams will not run away with the cash forever.

There will also be ways during the season to earn your team money.
Every 15 Days, a league paper will be published. The paper will ask
for teams to nominate players from your own team who you feel deserve
to be players of the week. The categories for this will be Forward,
Defenseman, Goalie and Goon of the week. Each week, the winners of
this will receive $25,000. The 2nd place guys will receive $15,000
and the 3rd place guys will receive $7,500.

On top of this, those players who are named to the Starting Lineup for
the All-Star game will earn $25,000.

Other End of Season Pay Bonus:
===============================

All Award Winners will receive $100,000

FOWARDS:
--------
Top Point Getting       - $250,000
2nd  "     "            - $150,000
3rd  "     "            - $ 75,000
Most Goals              - $100,000
Most Assists            - $100,000
Best +/-                - $100,000
Most Hits               - $100,000
Most PIM                - $100,000
Most Fights Won         - $100,000

DEFENCEMEN:
-----------
Top Point Getting       - $250,000
2nd  "     "            - $150,000
3rd  "     "            - $ 75,000
Most Goals              - $100,000
Most Assists            - $100,000
Best +/-                - $100,000
Most Hits               - $100,000
Most PIM                - $100,000
Most Fights Won         - $100,000

GOALTENDERS: (Min 50 Games)
------------
Best Goals Against Avg. - $250,000
Highest Save Percentage - $100,000
Most Wins               - $100,000
Most Shut Outs          - $100,000

As well, teams who make the playoffs will also be receiving money.
For every round that is won, a team will receive $500,000. The losing
team will receive $250,000. However, in the final round, the team that
wins the WLUHL Cup, they will receive $1,000,000. The losing team there
will receive a total of $500,000.

To help the poorer teams out, there will be a revenue sharing program
put in place. Any team that makes more then $5,000,000 in profit will
have to put 10% of it's profit into a pool. That pool will be used to
help out the poor teams recover from there debt. However, the league 
will decided if a team deserves the money or not. If a team is seen
as trying to cut costs and trying to make money and build for the future
it will hand this money out. If a team is seen not to be trying to reduce
it's payroll, and does not participate in the league and fails to try to
win games, hence throwing a season which means loss of revenue, then the
league will not award any money to that team. The decision of whether or
not a team will recieve money will be based on a panel of GM's which 
have designated as the WLUHL Rules Committee.

If anyone does not agree with a descision that has been made by the board,
they may submit a response to commissioner outlining their reasons against
the descision and why the descision should be changed. From there, a decision
will be made.

If a team does not make enough money, even after the revenue sharing 
then they will be able to carry a debt for one full season. At the
end of that season if they still are not able to make money, they will
be forced to disperse their team and re-enter the league as an
expansion franchise wiping out all previous financial problems.

Any GM who continues to increase their team budget, letting the team
payroll to get out of hand with total disregard for the team and the
league may be asked to leave the league.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        V) FREE AGENT POOL:
                        ====================
Any player who has had a contract expire, whether he is a restricted
or unrestricted free agent, will be placed in the free agent pool at
the end of season. Each team in the league will have a chance to bid
upon these players that are in the pool. The bidding will be done
via a web page which will keep track of the bids. In the case that
someone does not have web access, they will submitt the bid to us
and we will enter it.

Whatever a chosen gm's bids on a player, will be how much his contract
will be. (For Exampe. Say Mario Lemieux is currently making 2.5 mil.
on the Meatheads but he is a free agent. The Slash who have nobody
good on there team and want to be a contender next season want Mario
and offer him $9 mil. The Slash will now have pay Mario Lemieux
$9,000,000 a year to play for them.) The minimum bid that can be made
on any player is $300,000.

If a player who is a restricted free agent is signed by another team,
compensation will be awarded. It is beleived that both sides would be
able to come to an agreement, but if the two sides cannot come to an
agreement within 5 days. Both sides will submitt a proposal to the
commish and he will decided which side will win. In the case that the
commish is involved in a deal, an alternate will be chosen to handle
the case.

As well, those players who are not signed during the free agent market,
will remain in the free agent market throughout the season. At that time,
any team who then wishes to sign a player will be able to do so.
After placing a bid on a player, the rest of the league will be notified and
the league will then have 48 hours to also bid on this player. If nobody bids
on him then he becomes property of the first team.

Teams will have the ability to exercise a "Loyalty Clause" within the
unrestricted free agent market. What this Loyalty Clause will do is, if a
player has a bid on him, and he is in the unrestricted free agent auction,
the team which owned his rights the previous season will have the opportunity
to place a bid in the WLUHL Unrestricted Free Agent Auction which can match
the offer made to that player. What this does, is, it allows a GM to
match the bid put on his player, and possibly resign that player, if the
bid which he has placed stays on the player for 3 straight free agent periods.


Also, EVERY PLAYER that is signed through the Free Agent can only be signed
to an UNRESTRICTED contract from a length of 1 to 4 years.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        VI) TRADING:
                        =============

For a trade to be considered valid, it can only include money, draft picks
for only the upcoming draft, players, prospects and future considerations.

When confirming a trade that involves future considerations, at the time
of the trade, both teams must inform the commissioner at that what the
Future Considerations will be and any rules or situations which may effect
these Future Considerations. If the teams do not fully lay out how the
Future Considerations will be involved in the deal, the deal will be voided
by the league. As well, all Future Considerations must be claimed by the
next seasons Entry Draft. 

When confirming a trade, both parties must send a trade confirmation to the 
commish with the names of the players and teams that are involved in the 
trade. When both confimations are received the trade will be confirmed to 
the league by the commish.

Any trades that are totally ridiculous and are seen as somone trying to 
deliberatly destroy their team will not be allowed by league and some type 
of penalties will be issued to both parties in the deal.

Teams will be allowed to trade up until midnight of the WLUHL Trading Deadline
which will fall at the 80% mark of the season. That works out to be approximately
DAY 110 or Game 59 of a 74 Game Schedule.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                     VII) LINE CHANGES and ROSTER REQUIRMENTS:
                    ===========================================

Each team within the WLUHL must have at all times a minimum of 25 rated
players on their team's roster. Unrated prospects or unrated players under
contract will not count as part of this 25 rated players. If a team does
not have 25 rated players on their roster, they will be fined $10,000 a
day until they meet the league's minimum requirement of 25 men. The only
exception to this is Offseason and Preseason while the entry, expansion
draft and free agency take place.

All line changes must be sent in to the commish prior the game being played. 
A schedule will be sent out with the games on it and explaining when the 
games will be played. All line changes are due 30 minutes before the game 
the day that you are playing and wishing to get your line changes in.

The maximum number of players to a roster is 20 players. The make of that
would be 2 goalies plus 18 skaters consisting of Centers, Left Wingers,
Right Wingers and Defencemen. The number of players you choose to fill your
lines it totally option. Please read the line template/explanation below
for further information on lines. All teams must at all times have 2 goalies
on their roster. It does not matter if they are hurt or not, there must be
two goalies on their roster. If there is not, that team will be fined
$10,000 a day that they do not have two goalies on their team.

To ensure that every team plays their backup goalies their is a maximum
amount of games a goalie can play. For a goalie to be eligable to play in
the playoffs, no goalie can have a win-loss-tie record totally more then 90%
of the games for that season. This means that each team should play their
backup goalie at least 10% of the games for that season. However, it is
urged to try to play your backup goalie 10 games to be safe. At the begining
of each season, the number of exact games will be issued to the league as the
number of games per season may vary between seasons.

Unlike in the past, when most GM'S sent in different styles of line
formats and what not for HLS2, you will HAVE TO SEND IN THIS STYLE OF FORMAT
FOR APBA otherwise your lines WILL NOT WORK!

When you are doing your lines, you must also make sure names are capitalized
and spelled correctly or players won't play for you. So in otherwords, unlike
HLS2 where I HAD to fix all your mistakes, I don't for APBA and it will
just not play guys. If you notice N/A on your line template, that means either
the player you want to play in that spot is either hurt, or more then likely
you have spelled that players name incorrect.
	
What I am going to do is use my team as an example for this and show you what
my lines are going to look like here.

TEAM NAME:
===========
You will need to make sure you have your team abbreviation at the start
of the the lines. If not, the game will not register your lines.

SCRATCHES:
==========
After you team abbreviation, below the line called scratches you will
have a list of all the players who are on your team but not dressed. Just like last
season you can have a maximum of 20 players dressed for your team. However, there
is no minimum but I don't advise you of trying to play with only like 10 guys dressed

FORWARD LINES:  
==============
 When setting up your forward lines, you will have the option of using 1
to 5 sets of lines. To do this, simply type in the players name at the spot where
you want him to play (LW C RW). Keep in mind where the players are rated to play
as you do not want a player playing out of position. Also, when setting up the
lines, do not or try not to double shift a whole line, try to spread out the players
amongst the extra lines. Reason for this is that if someone get's a penalty or is
hurt, that one line may not get to play and so it is better to have guys spread
out on other lines to double shift. (See my 5 on 5 lines for a better view of this)
   
Also, if you do not wish to use all 5 lines, simply place a N/A in all
the three positions for that lines.
 
As well, these lines are not set in stone as the simulator will
substitute playerss in for you as guys begin to be fatigued.

DEFENSIVE:
===========
Just like the forward lines, you will have opportunity to use from 1
to 5 sets of defensive line. Here again check as to where your players are rated to
see where they should be slotted into your lineup. The set up is LD and then RD.

If you do not want to use a set of defensive lines, simply place two
N/A where the players names would go.

GOALIE:
=======
This is who you desginate to be your starting goalie. 

POWERPLAY:
===========
For your powerplay lines you will have the opportunity to use 1 or 2
sets of lines. I would advise all to use 2 sets of power play lines and not
to double shift anyone on your player play lines as this would mean they would
never leave the ice during a power play.

Once again, check out your rosters to make sure the players you place
are rated in those positions for you. The set up of the power play lines is as
follows LW C RW LD RD and that is for both sets of lines.

PENALTY KILLING(4 on 5)
========================
For your penalty killing unit, you will once again be able to choose
1 or 2 lines. Here again I advise you to USE TWO LINES and not to double
shift anyone. For this, you will get to choose 4 players, 2 forwards and 2
defencemen that you wish to play. The set up for the lines is the same as above,
LW C RW LD RD. Now, for the spot that you are going to have a play
slotted in, place a N/A in that spot. Once again, see my lines at the bottom for
a better easier understanding of this.

Now, for the rest of the lines, 4 on 4, 3 on 5 etc.  the computer takes
what you have sent as your lines and best selects for that who will play on those other
lines.

SHIFTS:
=======
Each forward shift lasts about 1.5 minutes and so you are given a
total of 40 shifts. From that you will have to divide up 40 shifts amongst
the number of forward 5 on 5 lines that you have. Like in real life, the more
shifts you give to a line, the more ice time they will, or should receive.
If you are not using a set of lines, simply place a 0 for that column. When
writing in your number of shifts the lay out is LINE 1  LINE 2 LINE 3 LINE 4
LINE 5.

Each defensive shift lasts about 2 minutes and so you are given a total of 
30 shifts. From that you will divide up the 30 shifts amongst the
number of defensive lines that you have. Just like above, if you are not using
a set of lines, simply place a 0 for that column.
 
Again, see my lines for an understanding of this.

FORCHECKING STYLE:
===================
This section here is the most complicated to understand. Once you do,
everything else is peanuts.

For your forchecking style, you MUST let the computer know what
style of play you wish all your lines, all 5 on 5 lines, and both powerplay and
penalty killing lines to play like. From this, you will have to set your team for 3
different scenarios. The first being Normal style of play, the 2nd being
offensive style (when you are pressing for goals, usually when you are behind and
you want to open up the play) and the 3rd being a defensive style (when you are
ahead).

Now, there are 5 STYLE of forechecking that you can use.

	0 - The Ultimate Defensive Mode. Sending in no forcheckers into the attack
	zone. Helps prevent breakaway's and 2 on 1's. However, opponents will
       have little trouble moving the puck out of their own zone. This mode
       does not give your team much offensive firepower either.

	1 - Conservative Offensive Mode. Sending one forechecker into the attack
       zone. Exerts a small amount of offensive pressure while maintaining
       strong defensive posture.

	2 - Normal Mode. Should be used most often in order to achieve realistic
	results. Two forecheckers are sent into the attack zone.

	3 - Aggressive Offensive Mode. Sending three forecheckers into the attack
	zone. Applies strong offensive posture., but weakens a team defensively.
	More breakaways and 2 on 1's will occur in this mode both for and against
        you.

	4 - Offensive "Blitz" Mode. Sending three forecheckers in the attack 
	zone and the defensemen pinch to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
	Exerts maximum offensive pressue but can be disastrous defensively.
	Should be used as a last resort late in the game.

Along with the above 5 modes, there is a PHYSICAL MODE which you can also
make your team play. With allows a team to bang bodies and get rough. One would
use this style of play to slow down fast skating teams. To select this mode,
simply add 5 to the forchecking style above. Playing psyical however causes
your team to fatigue approximately two thirds faster then normal and the 
opposing team to fatigues one third the time faster then normal.

STRATEGY:
=========
For this, there are 4 columns in which you are to enter numbers in.
This indicates how your team will play (normal, offensive or defensive)
by how many goals your are ahead or behind. To do this, you are to enter
how many goals difference you want for the first period, second period
third period and late in the 3rd for when you want your team to change
it's style of play.

You must enter this first for your offensive lines and then the second
line will be for your defensive style of play. (So you will have 2 rows
of numbers with 4 in each)

Then, for each set of lines, you must decided when you think it is late
in the 3rd period. You can put anything you want here, 1 minute, 10
minutes, whatever you decided. For this, you put in two numbers below
the lines above. As you will see on mine, I have indicated 6 mintues for
when I am behind (want my team to play offensive) and 4 mintues for when
I am ahead (want my team to start to concentrate more of defense)

Then, the final two numbers indicate when you want the goalie to be pulled.
There are two options for this. First is when you are down by 1 goal and the
seconds is when you are down by 2 goals. For this, you place in the number of
seconds left in the game when you want to pull your goalie.
	
Just so you know, if you are down more then 2 goals, your goalie will not be
pulled. Also, if you DON'T want to pull your goalie, simply place a 0 for you
option.

Next there is line matching. This is very complicated and in my opinion
useless. I do not use it and I won't ever use it. However, for those who do wish
you use it or want to know more about it, contact Brad and he will be able to help
you out with it.

Now, this is pretty much all you need to know about the lines. What is best
is to look at what I have written up and then look at my lines below.
If you have any questions, you can send mail to Ted Wollnik, Brad Schott,
Jason Kolsrud, Craig or myself. We are all have used and are familar with
APBA and so we would most likely be able to answer your questions. 


============================= 
*** Also, what I have written in brackets is only to help you understand
    what I am doing, PLEASE DON'T INCLUDE THAT WHEN YOU SEND ME LINES :)

START HIT
SCRATCHES
SAVARD DEVEREAUX BOHONOS KORDIC RICE STRUDWICK RAY (NON DRESSED GUYS)
FORWARDS (USING 4 FORWARD LINES)
LeCLAIR KOIVU NASLUND
W.CLARK TURGEON T.STEVENSON
S.THORNTON M.ANDERSSON OLIWA
LeCLAIR TURGEON T.STEVENSON
N/A N/A N/A
DEFENCE (Using all 5 defense pairings)
S.STEVENS MACINNIS
MARKOV BOURQUE
ODELEIN RACINE
CICCONE MARKOV
S.STEVENS BOURQUE
GOALIE (Starting Goalie)
P.ROY
POWER_PLAY
LeCLAIR KOIVU NASLUND S.STEVENS MACINNIS
W.CLARK TURGEON STEVENSON RACINE BOURQUE
PENALTY_KILL
LeCLAIR KOIVU N/A S.STEVENS MACINNIS
S.THORNTON M.ANDERSSON N/A ODELEIN BOURQUE
SHIFTS
13 10 9 8 0 (40 shifts divided by 4 forward lines)
8 8 4 5 5  (30 shifts divided by 5 defense lines)
FORECHECKING
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 (Normal play  lines - Forchecking style 2 but PHYSCIAL)
2 2 2 2 2 3 3 1 1 (Offensive play lines - Forchecking style 2 but normal)
6 6 6 6 6 3 3 6 6  (Defensive lines)
STRATEGY
3 2 2 2 (Goals behind before team goes on the offensive by period)
2 2 1 1 (Goals ahead before team goes on the defensive by period)
6 4     (Minutes left in the game before team decided to panic)
60 90   (Seconds left in the game before team pulls goalie)
ICE    FAT
NO_MATCHING
END


It is your job, as GM of your team to continually check your lines and make
adjustments to your lines as players get hurt or suspended. A GM's lack of
doing so will result in poor results for your team as players will not be
put back into your lineup and it may eventually result in the removal of
your franchise because of what we may see as a lack of interest in your
team.


VIII) SEASON TO SEASON:
      =================
We will be using ratings that are supplied to us by a group of commissioners
who updated APBA ratings each season. If a new set of ratings are available
for us to use at the begining of the upcoming WLUHL season, then we will
use the new ratings. However, based on how the league is set up, we are looking
at using, for the most part 2 WLUHL seasons to 1 APBA or NHL rated season.
This may not be case for every season, but this can be used as a guideline
for those GM's wishing to look ahead for ratings.

As well, all player's ratings are based on the NHL.

Every season there will be draft. The draft will take place after the
playoffs and will be for 3 rounds. The draft will be to introduce new 
players coming into the NHL and future NHL prospects.

Team's can draft any player, either rated or unrated whose rights are not 
owned by any WLUHL team. All players who are drafted must be signed to
a contract by the team who now ownes their rights based on whatever category
that GM wants, as long as he qualifies for that contracts status.

The draft will be created a weighted draft for all non-playoff teams based on
the reverse finishing order of the previous year. For all playoff teams it will
be soley based on the reverse finishing order of the previous year. That this
means is:

We take all of the non-playoff teams and assign them a number of balls
depending upon their position.  With 26 teams, we have 10 teams that don't
make the playoffs.  So Team #1 gets 10 balls, Team #2 gets 9 balls, etc.

Add them all up to get percentages --> Team #1 gets 10/110 chance of
getting first pick, Team #2 gets 9/110 chance of getting first pick, etc.

We have a further stipulation that no team can drop more than 4 spots.

For the Playoff teams, they will be seeded 11-26 in the draft order based
on the reverse finishing order of their winning percentages. 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                IX) GAME PLAYING AND LEAGUE STATS:
                ===================================

PLAYING OF GAMES:
=================
Games will be played according to the schedule that is sent out. The full
league schedule will be posted on the league web page. Each day, a message
containing what games were played that day, and what games will be played
the next day, plus what day and at what time the games will be played will
be sent out. 

STATISTICS:
============
League statistics will be sent out on a regualar basis. Rosters will be 
sent out once a week and league scoring will be sent out every 5 Days
with more frequent stats being sent out closer to the playoffs. The stats
that are sent out are computer genarated and are the correct stats that 
the league will be using. Any disputes between presonal records and league
records will not be accepted as the program keeps track of it's own stats.

PLAYOFFS:
===========
The playoff format will be as follow:
        1. All series will be a best of 7 series
        2. The top team in each conference will be seeded 1-3. The final
           5 spots will be made up consisting of the next best 5 teams
           within the conference. This will be done for both conferences.
        3. The matchup will be 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7 etc.
        4. Second round play will again be seeded based on the regular
           season records within the conference with the 1 vs. 4
        5. The third Round will be the Conference Series which will play
           the two remaining teams from that conference against each other.
        6. The fourth and final series will be the remaining two teams,
           one from each of the conferences playing for the ......
           WLUHL CHAMPIONSHIP.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        X) THE FINAL SAY:
                      ======================

In the case of a problem or situation within the league, the commissioner
will make a decision based on what is best fo the league. However, if the
commission feels that another opinion is needed, he will address the situation
with the Board of Directors and get their opinions on this issue. Finally,
If a survey is needed then the commisioner will send one out to the league to
help solve the problem. However, the commissioner will have the say on
whether or not any of this will happen.

Any decisions by the commish are final and any protest will be looked at but
may not be considered.
===========================================================================

We reserve the right to update the above rules freely as we choose. If you
have any questions about the above rules or if you would like to suggest 
any changes or ideas feel free to send a message to the league office.

We are willing to answer any questions.

Jason Stumpf - The WLUHL Commissioner
stumpy@golden.net

Craig Stumpf - WLUHL Web Administrator
cstumpf@snickers.org

http://www.wluhl.net
===========================================================================