C.O.A.C.H. BACKGROUND

C.O.A.C.H. INFORMATION

What is C.O.A.C.H.?
This is a computerized, fantasy hockey league that uses a game simulator to determine the outcome of the games based on factors like player ratings (which range from passing and puck-handling to aggression and quickness) and the line-ups that are submitted by each team for their games.
The league marked its beginning back in 1990. It was formed for hockey enthusiasts wanting to manage their own fantasy "professional" hockey organization, as well as reaching out to those interested in hockey who wanted to learn more, by simulating an entire league.
By joining the league, hockey fans step into the role of General Manager of a team; they will be responsible for the Pro team (and Farm team if they desire) of their organization and will make decisions as to their line-ups for each game, making trades, signing new players, signing players to contract and upgrading their arenas to name just a few of the tasks they may encounter.
Team rosters are carried over from season to season so this is a "keeper" league which brings up different management strategies such as making a run for the Championship now or being patient and building for the future and perhaps a potential Dynasty team.
The league is a way to experience the glory and agony of defeat without having to invest the millions of dollars one would have to out in the real world.
History
When the league was first formed we used "Wayne Gretzky Hockey" and the "Hockey League Simulator" software packages to simulate the games and run the league but as years went on they became limiting as far as what we were able to do. So I took it upon myself to write some new software which we now use to run all the games and manage the leagues day-to-day operations. I also wrote the software that the GM's use to make their line changes and roster assignments. The league has been using these programs since the 2001-02 season with great success and results. Changes and improvements continue to be made year-to-year to reflect the leagues desire to keep things up-to-date and the game exciting for its members.
The 2008/09 season will be the 19th for the league.

Founders Background
I have been running fantasy hockey leagues since the mid-1980's when I formed the FHL (Fantasy Hockey League) and then UHL (Users Hockey League), all of which were all based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Back then I used software that a good friend of mine (Troy McBain) wrote which included the Sim and a BBS system that ran on a Commodore 64 computer (whoa, those were the days!)
My experience has also ranged into fantasy leagues which are based on the more popular "hockey pool" format which follows the actual performances of players in the NHL.

A Little Hockey History
Ice hockey, more commonly known as Hockey, by birth and upbringing a Canadian game, is an offshoot of field Hockey. Some historians say that the first ice Hockey game was played in Montreal in December 1879 between two teams composed almost exclusively of McGill University students, but others assert that earlier hockey games took place in Kingston, Ontario or Halifax, Nova Scotia. In the Montreal game of 1879, there were fifteen players on each side, who used an assortment of crude sticks to keep the puck in motion. Early rules allowed nine men on a side, but the number was reduced to seven in 1886 and later to six.
The first governing body of the sport was the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada, organized in 1887. In the winter of 1894, a group of college students from the United States visited Canada and saw Hockey being played. They became enthused over the game and introduced it as a winter sport when they returned home. The first professional league was the International Hockey League, which operated in Northern Michigan in 1904-1906.
Until 1910, professionals and amateurs were allowed to play together on "mixed" teams, but this arrangement ended with the formation of the first "big league," the National Hockey Association, in Eastern Canada. The Pacific Coast League was organized in 1911 for Western Canadian Hockey. This league included Seattle and later other American cities. The National Hockey League replaced the National Hockey Association in 1917, with a team from Ottawa, Toronto and two from Montreal. Quebec city joined the league for the 1919-1920 season, and moved to Hamilton for the 1920-1921 season. Boston, in 1924, was the first American city to join the league. The league expanded to include Western cities in 1967. The Stanley Cup was competed for by "mixed" teams from 1894 to 1910, and thereafter by professionals. It was awarded to the winner of the N.H.L. playoffs from 1926-67 and now to the league champion. The World Hockey Association was organized in October 1972, and was dissolved after the 1978-79 season when the N.H.L. absorbed four of the teams. In the early 1990's, the league experienced another phase of expansion with teams from Anaheim, Miami, Ottawa, San Jose, and Tampa Bay entering the league. The league then saw three of its teams pick up and move locations over a three year period beginning in 1995/96 when the Quebec franchise was moved to Denver; the Winnipeg franchise transferred to a new home in the desert in Phoenix for the 96/97 season; followed by the Hartford franchise re-locating to Raleigh in 1997/98. In 1998/99 the league started another expansion phase by adding franchises in Nashville, then Atlanta (1999/20) and Columbus (2000/01) to bring the total number of teams to an even 30 in the NHL and thats where it stands to this day.

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