Season 25 not only marked the 25th anniversary of the LGHL, but it also uncovered a handful of new challenges and issues the League now needs to address moving into the future. This season not only saw a promising game from the beta turn into a headache for matchmaking and league structure but also what appears to be a lack of appreciation for all things that LG staff members volunteer their time to organize for the community. One of the common themes for S26 and moving forward will be "getting back to the basics." It appears coming into our ninth season since the merge this wonderful website full of incredible systems has spoiled some of us to the point where we don't realize how good we have it here compared to the competitors out there. As we move through the next few seasons somethings will need to change, and the introduction of new blood to management positions will allow us to instill a change that will last and help move us through this rut we currently are in. It appears the server issues and stress of matchmaking as finally caught up to us here on LG. The talks from the community is S26 will see a bunch of veteran players not return to the League due to game related issues unforeseen by many until the launch of the game. New challenges in regards to forfeit and game night procedures have also complicated what use to be such a simple and basic process we all truly miss. What that being said, the site and league will continue on. There is no doubt that the Xbox side of the league is in a transition stage whereby the torch appears to be passed down to the newer generation of managers and owners. I have a lot of respect for our veteran Owners and Managers whom have contributed to the competitive environment here on LG and have allowed 6s hockey to remain some what meaningful. What I'd truly like to see as we move through this transition is better dedication from players. By now, after completing a whole season everyone should be aware of the matchmaking concerns whether Club Challenge or the PIN system is utilized. The in game "EA moments" some like to complaint about also have not change and perhaps will not change until the title is updated next September. That being said, everyone who signs up for bidding and signs up to play S26 is telling the League "I am in for the nine week season and playoffs if I make it. I am dedicated and understand that some frustrating moments CAN occur while participating in this League and I will not quit due to these game related issues". I think by entering the season with that mindset should set the League up for success. Players whom are on the fence about if they truly want to play, should perhaps sit the season out until they are 100% all in for what can occurring during a nine week season. Without further ado here are some of the updates to expect for S26 and moving forward! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Site Improvement Pick em system getting an update to show case the results better for those users whom are utilizing this tool We are adding a 1v1 comparison plug in. This feature will allow users to pick a member and from there showcase your personal record verse a friend or foe. Xenforo has posted some interesting 2.0 patch notes. We are exploring the possibility of upgrading and what these new upgrades would mean for us as a website. We are still heavily involved in looking into adding a more media/information "home page" for LG. This will be more user friendly for new players as well as show case all the leagues and things we do for LG better. We are reviewing some suggestions that the community is making. There will also be a community "Wish List" posted shortly to get a better handle on what the Xbox community would like to see. I know the managers are interested in seeing a site integrated live chat system, similar to Facebook. LGHL Owner applications are now open fro S26. Unsure how many Owners we have returning so we don't have numbers on how many available spots we have to fill. The original thread has an updating tailing of whom is returning and what teams are currently open. Once I have heard from all 30 Owners, the selection process will begin. Quick reference job description has been added to the Application thread. Be sure to read and review that prior to applying for Ownership. This season I'd like to avoid Owners and managers not being 100% sure what their role is and what the expectations are from me to them. S25 saw the introduction of an old AGM system to try it out and see how it would work for our currently community now. Personally I feel as if it was pretty successful for S25 and the management and owner applications we have. But based on sign up numbers and the turn over we are seeing Ownership and Management roles I personally do not feel that current depth of the community completely supports this system. In VHL the depth was extremely high and this system was implemented wrong. Last season I feel the system was implemented well, but with the game not supporting a League structure very well and many of the experienced and veteran managers walking away, I'd to see us move away from this system. One of the number one complaints was Game Night Setup... S26 will see a new League wide policy that will be issued to EVERY player to read and review. This will give the managers more backbone when setting up games and getting things ready each night. The last thing we need is teams and players abusing the system delaying game start times due to issues that are COMPLETELY unrelated to the game issues we also have to deal with. Media has really declined in the NHL since the @JERZ Network discovered HUT. Look for @SweeT 9 LoU 84 to step up this season to better run Media and add more interest to the NHL. The site and League is also exploring some recruitment ideas to bring new talent and players to LG The Media team will continue to handle awards and All-Stars. Without volunteers these systems are not possible. Big thanks to @Leafy and @Nuge for stepping up yet again to ensure the NHL awards are handled for S25. The League is also exploring a few new enforcement ideas. Things that hold no value like late lines, or late stats would result in a three warning system prior to any discipline being issued to the team's managers. Those are EXTREMELY minor issues that can be better handled by the League's BOG sending warning and reminder PMs rather than just ruling with an iron fist from the get go. The game tends to be frustrating already and I think the League can do a better job of not contributing to that frustrating for minor things like I've listed above. Forfeit numbers for high again this season. Out of 1230 seasonal games, 89 resulted in forfeits. That is 7.2%, which is the highest numbers we have ever seen in the NHL! LGAHL Management applications are currently open! They too have a short job description that outlines what the role of an AHL GM truly is. The 3 million dollar AAGM in the AHL will be gone this season as well. I feel S24 offered a way more competitive season than S25. There will be a strong focus on education and site "How To" threads. I am currently restricting all management officers to offer more "in your face" information to better support our new managers whom are a bit inexperienced with our League systems.' The AHL Training Camps will be reverting back to our older system to better support our AHL and NHL teams. We will see some new rules to better support the training camp system as well as crib abuse of other systems in place. Media continues to be strong in the AHL for the exception of one incredible waste of two hours this season. Keep in mind the All-Star and Awards are handled by Media, so if no one steps up, the AHL awards will be put on the back burner for yet another season. AHL forfiet numbers this season were reasonable considering the TC size. Out of 1230 AHL games, 58 resulted in forfeits. That is ~4.7% of games were forfeits. Ideally I'd like to see this number below 2% and which the Training Camps being fixed next season I am hoping to see this number drastically drop. LGECHL The first season of the ECHL saw some growing pains and hiccups. Next season will see League Staff and I head back to the drawing board and review and re-evaluate a better way to introduce the ECHL back into the mix for future season. Next season the league will be going away from the four tier system and returning to our traditional three tier system we utilized in S24 that was very successful. That structure will see the return of some call up restrictions from past seasons. I'd like to continue on with the ECHL in future season but with us being in transition and with sign up numbers current low and expected to be lower than normal, I feel it is best to head :back to the drawing board" for ECHL and reintroduce it when we have more sign up numbers and a better structure to support it. LGCHL Yet another successful season where @xX Z3NO Xx and staff were able to bring in 60 CHL Owners! 60 will be the norm and standard we will continue to push for each and every season. The CHL is the easiest league to recruit for, since the brand new sign ups whom are considered Prospects are ONLY CHL eligible for their first 90 games or until they are drafted. More focus will be spent on ensuring the CHL Owners are given all the tools and information to make them successful moving into the season. There is ALOT to know to ensure you can be successful and I feel we can do a better job of educating and pushing out info! Players education will ALSO be a major focus of some discussions and such during the course of the LG season. That can be addressed by a few videos from me as well as support from our Development Team. More focus will be put on Training Camp Games and such to BETTER support the CHL. I feel S25 was too lax which also resulted in forfeit numbers being too high. Special CHL events will continue by the strong support of @Dunks and his Development guys. We will see WJR continue as well as the CHL Top Prospects tournament to BETTER showcase the top 90 players whom will be entering the draft each season. Media will continue to set the CHL apart. @SirMikeKnight and all the DogHouse guys continue to set the bar for what media should be here on LG. Also keep in mind special events like Awards and All-Stars are supported by the media guys, so if we do not get anyone to step up and select our winnings the awards wont be completed. The CHL Structure will change a bit new season. The system will still ensure that Prospects are ONLY CHL eligible but we will see Prospects become ECU eligible for the AHL and NHL again. We will also see the return of call up restrictions on RA Veterans as well. Forfeits were a bit high this season. I contribute that to a bit of inexperience this season. The CHL BOG will grow by one this season to also better support the needs of players and managers in the CHL Out of a total of 2160 games this season, 204 resulted in forfeits(~9.4% of games). That number is a bit too high which is why we will be focusing on forfeit prevention next season. The Development committee can be major asset to ensure that CHL TC players remain active during the season which will also translate into less forfeits. Some could argue having the CHL TC players on the AHL TCs will double the opportunity those player have to actually get games in during the season. Pro Series Goes without question that a strong majority do not feeling this game supports a competitive environment due to many issues. That definitely can deteriorate the depth of talent we see for pro series. No doubt the forfeit ordeal drastically reduces my desire to continue with the current format or Pro Series in general here on LG. I think it should be a major eye opener to many that top tier teams who hold out and forfeit games can basically determine who is in and who is out.... Not the most ideal competitive atmosphere we were hoping for when Pro Series was introduced... I've often considered Pro Series to be a gateway to introduce more talent into the LGHL as well. There is definitely an opportunity to open the open division up it would just take some planning and physically inviting Top Sixs teams to LG whom currently aren't already playing here. Lots of debate about the format, and length of the season. Some feel it is too long, some feel it needs to go back to challenge system... All of those topics will be up for debate during the off-season once the Open Division ends. Love him or Hate him, we do all owe @Nuge a big thanks for his dedication for nine seasons. LG has offered a reason to play NHL for MANY years now and Pro Series I feel was a major contributor to that as well! I've got a few ideas of my own that I will present at a later for review and criticism. I am planning to run at least one more Pro Series Event on Xbox to give all those members whom want to contribute to something more competitive an opportunity to do so. Forfeit numbers... out of a total of 638 regular season games ~191 games ended in forfeit... clearly that number is higher since NOT all games were entered. That means 29.9% of all Pro Series Seasonal games ended in forfeit... which is a higher percentage than all of our simulation FREE TO PLAY leagues COMBINE!!! Makes me wonder why bother to continue to offer a league that people don't play in anyways. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Overall review of Season 25 is a bit disappointing in my eyes. There has been some unforeseen issues with matchmaking and server stuff that has drastically affected how we operate here on LG. It has been an extra frustrating process for me, since I have some interaction with EA. I remain positive that some of these unfortunate issues can be and will be addressed as we move into NHL 18 and NHL 19. Game play and stuff tends to be extremely subjective and each year and game does tend to see an adjustment period for us all. The meat and potatoes of LG's competitive gaming hinges completely off being able to play the game on OUR time based on OUR schedule. Regardless of it being the CHL, Pro Series or FNP we are completely dependent on the product released and how we can best utilize it. Lobbies from Gen 3 NHL 09-15 are deeply missed. Moving forward my focus will be on game play improvements but also play-ability for us here on LG. For now we have to play the hand we have been dealt, so we will see more time go into reviewing our nightly game procedure to tighten that up a bit. We have gotten a bit too relaxed and this system has been a bit abused over the last few games. The number one LG complaint has been nightly game procedures, and how long it takes for some games to get played. Luckily I have yet to experience these issues. I had one game this season VS Ontario that took a long long time, but both teams mutually agreed due to an Ontario player being sick and needed the extra time to gather himself to play. As much as I want to see our forfeit numbers drop, I do think we need to get back on track and really focus on respecting the extra five minute rule and simply getting games played on time. Overall the website continues to grow and change. Tris once again continues to re-innovate and introduce new systems and advancements based off of your opinions and suggestions. Therefore I do strongly encourage you all to give suggestions for change as often as you are asked for it! As stated above, there is opportunities for us to add more site improvements and we continue to explore those options. In closing I'd like to truly thank this community, especially those members of this community who get it. Who understand what we are trying to accomplish here on LG. We have a lot of really good people here whom I believe make all of this worth it. I've personally been afforded a chance of a life time being involved with EA completely based off of thee strength of this community and for that I am forever in debt. I do realize that sometimes decisions I make may appear to be harsh, or extreme and perhaps even unfair or inconsistent. With all that being taken into consideration I can truly say I come here to have fun and escape the stresses of life similar to many of you. My role here is to continue to move us down a path and continue to maintain a level of competitiveness and positive playing environment for all of you dedicated to LG. So what sometimes appears to be an extreme decision is just me trying to keep this train on the tracks of success. I really don't know what I'd spend my free time doing if I didn't have LG. I'd probably be in way better physical shape and my grammar, spelling and reading comprehension would also be drastically worse since I would be able to practice as often as I do now. As much negative information that needed to be addressed in this post, there is equal parts positive in my eyes as well. Transition isn't always a bad thing. There are days where I miss dealing with @act1veD, @Dos Peso, and @DarthForsberg in Ownership roles, but I also look forward seeing new faces progress through the ranks and continue to be obsessed and passionate about what we do here. I respect that overall the structure has remained the same forever which to some feels stale. But for every veteran who feels stale, I believe we have two or three new prospects just uncovering LG for the first time and completely being amazed with what we do here. To some the past maybe be better, but to me the past is just different. There was a lot of things I'd do over back then and there are a lot of things I do again no change required. As we enjoy our holiday vacation from LG, have a few drinks and spend time with family and friends lets try our best as move forward into S26 and beyond to remain positive, stay the course, get back to the basics and respect that not everyone will want to continue on their virtual careers at this time.Be mindful that some aren't into this anymore but that doesn't mean others aren't still extremely dedicated. At the end of the day what we do here is unique to the point that many others have tried to copy it, and emulate this with limited success. That alone is something we all should be proud of and it also should continue to motivate us to be the best. Cheers, Happy Holidays -Brodie
