VHLE and Experience Points

[CowboyinAmerica 2,889]

 

The VHLE Should Have Experience Points

 

I might be the only person in the league who actually cares deeply about Experience points, and there’s probably some math out there that says they don’t matter. But even if that's true, I still hold onto my belief that they actually help in some tangible way, whether it’s a matter of improving STHS’s morale setting for better overall team play or something else. Anybody who doesn’t update those points in the offseason is leaving potential production on the table, in my view.

 

This past offseason also got me thinking about how Experience would function in the new three-league system. I didn’t find anywhere in the original VHLE announcement or the Questions thread talking about Experience, so I believe the working assumption is that it will function like the VHLM and award no Experience at the end of the season.

 

But I don’t think that would be a good idea. The VHLE is supposed to function as an in-between for the VHLM and VHL, so why not award in-between Experience as well? This would also more closely mirror real life (people getting experience for playing in Europe that is above and beyond minor league hockey or juniors), and would give some award for players in that 200-399 TPE space who haven’t yet moved up to the majors.

 

As a reminder, this is what the VHL hands out for experience:

• Full VHL Season - 5 points
• Partial VHL Season - 2 points (Less than 72 GP in VHL, unless due to a trade)
• Playoffs - 2 points
• Finals - 1 point

 

And this is what I propose for the VHLE:

• Full VHLE Season – 2 points
• Playoffs – 1 point
• Finals – 1 point
• Winner – 1 point

 

So essentially, the VHLE champion would get five experience points, the runner-up gets four, the other two playoff teams get three, and the two teams that miss the playoffs would get two. My thought is that winning the VHLE would provide roughly equivalent experience to being on a rebuilding VHL team, lessening the difference between the two leagues for those in the 35-399 range deciding whether to go up or stay down. Other playoff teams wouldn’t get the same experience, but a significant chunk, while teams that miss even the VHLE playoffs wouldn’t get half of the VHL experience.

 

This would also allow Experience to play more of a role in separating young players from older veterans deeper into players’ careers. As it current stands, it takes 64 points to get from 35 to 99 without a store purchase. In a common eight season career, it’s impossible to max out under the current system before your final/eighth year (7*8 max = 56). Even in a nine season career, you would literally need to make the finals every season in years one through eight to max out before that final year.

 

By adding VHLE experience, though, it adds a little bit of a boost to older veterans who are already suffering the effects of regression. 90 Experience versus 85 Experience may not seem like much, but it’s a bit more of a difference that could separate a 450 TPA final year regressed player from a 450 TPA rookie. Generally, I’m in favor of mechanisms that add the effect of career’s worth of learning even after the physical attributes break down.

 

I have no idea if the BOG is talking about this; they very well could be. But with 500 words to write this week anyway, I thought it’d be fun to get on the radar so people could talk about it.

[DMaximus 1,046]

Completely agree, I've advocated for the VHLM to hand out experience points as well.