Last updated Jan. 18th, 2011 @ 8:15pm
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Strato Hockey League Constitution
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On a given night a line including Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Gaborik might square off with a line featuring Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf and Jarome Iginla. Defensive pairings range from Drew Doughty and Chris Pronger, to Mike Green and Shea Weber.
Anything is possible when you deal with Strat-O-Matic Hockey and the results have kept Truro's Strato Hockey League(SHL) operating since 1979-80. The loop will enter its 31st year in September of 2010 with 7 teams taking to the ice.
Strat-O-Matic uses a series of board games that require a combination of skill
and luck of the dice to be successful.
In the case of hockey, Strat-O-Matic issues cards each season for all NHL teams, with
potential dice rolls heavily weighted to reflect real life statistics. For example,
Jarome Iginla has more rolls that might result in a goal than Bobby Holik.
When four team owners decided to create the SHL in the fall of 1979 they held a draft of players from cards reflecting the 1978-79 NHL season. Drafts continue to be one of the highlights prior to each season of the SHL, with team owners able to protect all, or none of their previous year's players, except in the case of league expansion when the number of players an owner can protect may be limited.
At this time, the league has an active 7 teams. The league plays the full current 84 game schedule which is consistent with the actual NHL schedule. At the beginning of each season, the league figures out a schedule that every team is available to play on. Tuesday nights are game night. All games are played at the original founders home (Dave Melanson) of the SHL.
If you're a top sports fan and especially a hockey fan, this game has a lot of appeal
because of the realism of the players results. Owners are convinced they have the best
team and keep trying to show that. If they have a bad night, they want to come back the
next week and show that it shouldn't have happened. Mastering this game may seem like
a major undertaking at first glance, but new owners generally pick up the basics quite
quickly.
In a nutshell, players other than goalies have five columns on their card, each divided
into results for the 11 possible numbers on a roll of two dice. Columns represent shots
from the outside, shots from the inside, rebound and breakaways, passing and defensive
results. Goalie cards have 20 possible results, ranging from goals to rebounds and saves.
Owners can decide on one of six offence/defense combinations that are used in conjunction
with 30 different action cards to determine the flow of the play. Another set of cards give
results of goalie ratings, passing plays, intimidation, injuries, icing attempts and
scoring statistics.
Teams are required to use at least three lines and two sets of defensemen each period.
The SHL season runs parallel to the NHL season. The draft is held in mid August and regular season play usually begins in mid September. The loop takes about a month off over Christmas and the playoffs usually wrap up in early May. Teams pay annual dues, generally in the $50 range, to cover the cost of new cards each year, snacks and beverages (coffee, water, pop), photocopying, laminating and paper. Additional money has been spent in the past to hold special nights (All Star game and skills competition).
You build your own team and try to improve on it year after year unlike most hockey pools. Most people really enjoy building their own team over the long run and actually playing for a real cup.
