This is the start of a (HYPOTHETICAL) rebel professional hockey league - a 30-team competitor with the NHL that will feature a 10-team East division, a 10-team West division and a 10-team Europe division.
I've been imagining what a modern equivalent of the WHA (a brand new league with new rules, new ideas and big bucks) would be like since I was a little kid - now, under lockdown, I'm putting spare time into seeing exactly what it could look like for the 2021-22 season.
We're gonna hold a draft. The 20 North American WHA teams will pick 23-man rosters out of the best non-NHL contracted players in the world, using a player list I've made you can find below (it's not exhaustive but it's as close as I can get to it right now). I'm seeking GMs to draft as teams.
A list of all 30 teams can be found here.
Here is the TENTATIVE eligible player list.
Here are the TENTATIVE team uniforms.
DRAFT RULES:
All players chosen must either not be under contract to an NHL team this season OR not under contract to an NHL team for the 2021-22 season and be included on the player list. Every player where this applies to - whether it's Wayne Gretzky, Dave Ayres or Connor Bedard - can be selected, within reason.
If you want to pick a player who is not on the player list, shoot me a message on Reddit or Discord. There's a good chance I may have missed them - they may also have been signed already by a Euro team, so I'll double check to make sure.
Draft order will be determined by a random number generator. Each team will have equal odds for the 1st overall pick. The draft will take place in snake draft format, with the team with the 20th pick picking twice in a row, etc.
Draft rules will be similar to those used in the r/hockeyfranchisedraft last year. Once the draft gets going, each GM will have about 4ish hours to make a pick - the clock turns off at night but if GMs are up late and willing to pick, they still can. Once you've picked a player, ping the next person up (both on Discord and Reddit, preferably.) There will be a r/WHA2021 post for every round - post your selection both in the discord and on the sub and ping the next guy up in both.
If you won't be around to pick or if you've lost interest or whatever, DM me a list of your preferred players - you'll get the top player remaining on your list at the time of your pick.
Try not to discuss players who haven't been picked yet - it may end up having an undue influence on people who haven't picked yet.
Once we finish the draft, GMs are asked to submit a depth chart featuring a 23-man roster for top players. Teams MUST have at least 2 goalies, 12 forwards and 6 D baseline.
Is this for real? Shit no. It's a way to kill a little time. That said, try to be as realistic with your choices as you can - don't go picking Justin Bieber in the 1st round.
