Official IHL Rulebook 1. Rosters 2. Drafting 3. Transactions and Trading 4. Gameplay - Regular Season 5. Playoffs 6. Rules in Word Format These rules are to be looked upon more as guidelines. The goal of IHL is to have fun and enjoy this great hobby. If you feel you have a suggestion that would make the league better, and then by all means table it during the off season. As rules cannot be changed during a season. Rosters a. Roster Size: Each Franchise will be allowed a maximum of 53 active players; this is any player that appears on the current APBA NHL season disk or has appeared on a previous disk. Players that have not played 30 or more NHL games in a single season or 1200 minutes for goalies cannot play in the IHL. Each franchise will be able to carry 20 prospects in their system. These are players which do not and have never appeared on the APBA NHL season disk. Once they do appear on the disk they become a regular player and are counted as part of the 53 active players. In the event an active player retires or misses a season, the organization that owns the players rights will need to decide if that player will be cut or retained. If to retain has been chosen then the player is counted as 1 of the 53 active players. b. Goalies: Each franchise will be required to carry a minimum of three IHL eligible goalies at all times. If due to injuries a team has less than two IHL eligible goalies available they may employ a goalie with 800 minutes or more as backup or in the event of zero IHL eligible goalies, as a starter. i. IHL teams must have two goalies in their lineups at all times. ii. Should a team find itself A) without a backup B) a backup with greater than 800 minutes or C) two or less available goalies on the roster, then their highest available pick in the next seasons entry draft will be forfeited. Should a team not have an IHL or emergency backup available then the injury for the goalie with the LOWEST save % will be delayed until another goalie is returned to health. For each game that this is required, the team will continue to lose draft picks. iii. If a team has an injury to a goalie and does not supply the league with a new profile, the most eligible goalie with the LOWEST save % will be activated. Note: In the case of a shortened season, a full IHL schedule will be played. Player eligibility will be determined on a pro rata basis. For the 2013-14: Skaters must have 17 or more NHL Games Played while goalies must have 700 NHL Minutes Played. Drafting a) Entry Draft Within a day or two after the NHL has held their Entry Draft the IHL will hold its five round Entry Draft. Teams will need to make room within their prospect system if they're going to go over their 20 prospect limit (as in the FAD). Any player that has played 10 or less NHL games can be drafted (unless they've appeared on the APBA disk). b) Free Agent Draft (FAD) Before the start of each, when the new ABPA disk is released, a FAD will be held. Only players that appear in the free agent pool on the IHL disk can be drafted. Teams must keep their roster at or below the limit at all times, except during the offseason. If you make a trade during the draft and you're over the limit, you'll need to release a player at that time. Transactions and Trading a) All types of trades are acceptable. No future considerations are allowed. Draft picks can be traded freely, but not beyond one year. In season trading requires teams to remain at, or below, their player limit, at all times. Once the playoffs end and the draft order is established, picks may be traded. b) The commissioner has the right to void trades he deems one-sided. The commissioner may ask for an explanation from the trading parties to help understand. Teams not involved in trades are welcome to question a trade they feel is one-sided. Gameplay - Regular Season a) IHL game play is straight forward, injuries are turned on, fatigue is turned on. b) There are no ties, sudden-death playoff OT format is used. c) All injured players must be set to inactive on the IHL profile that is sent in. This will help to keep profiles fresh. The person who is playing the games will not fix line ups, if you don’t send in a new profile to cover injuries, your team plays short. d) In the spirit of sportsmanship and fair play, tanking will not be tolerated and could result in expulsion. Teams are required to use their best lineups most of the time. If you have a player in a slump and you want to sit him, fine. If you've got an imminent trade and want the player to stay healthy, sure, sit him. What cannot happen, is sitting good players for long stretches, or even when in the lineup, using them for extremely low minutes. If you want to rebuild and choose to trade quality players, this will not be considered tanking. Playoffs a) The top four teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs. In the event of a tie, NHL tiebreaker rules apply. The first two rounds of the playoffs will determine conference champions, with the two conference champions meeting for the final.