CCLXXXVII wrote:

So this is a project that I have had in my mind for quite some time now, in various planning stages and concepts over time, along with upgrades to my graphic design skills.

There's a lot I have to say, so let's not beat around the bush and get right into it.

INTRODUCTION

Many centuries ago, the seeds for the foundations of many modern sports were beginning to be formed. Sports such as soccer, baseball, and rugby began to get their rulesets standardized. However, in this alternate universe, one of the most popular sports was instead field hockey. Like its fellow team sport soccer, all it needed was a rectangular field and some additional equipment, namely a ball. Although soccer and rugby began to become popular among all people due to this, field hockey was preferred by the wealthy due to its additional requirement of a stick and goaltender equipment. Despite this, over time, field hockey became a cheaper sport to become involved with and more people began to play it. In addition, a few bright minds got the idea to play the game on ice during the winter, thus turning it into ice hockey.

At first, many people worldwide still preferred field hockey to ice hockey, but as the Earth entered a brief cooling period, winters became longer and soon enough, ice hockey became the most popular time during this period and it kept its popularity even after this period. This popularity grew even more with the invention of ice rinks and the professionalization of the sport at the turn of the twentieth century. However, there was still one problem: there was no real system. Each nation with a pro hockey league had its own local rules and there was little consistency.

Until one fateful day in 1928 when a few representatives from many hockey-playing nations got together and formed the Federation Mondiale de Hockey sur Glace, or FMHG. With its creation, players now essentially belonged to an entire international market, where they could be traded to or sign anywhere in the world. Its creation was the final domino, and as such, ice hockey skyrocketed in worldwide recognition and became the most popular sport in the world.

DESIGNS AND FORMAT

So before we get to anything else, here is the FMHG logo:

There's a bunch of Nike-esque symbolism with this, but it is kind of fluff, so I'll spoil it.

Sky blue color: Hope for the sport, the ice the game is played on
Faceoff circle in left edge to represent moving forward from a worse beginning
Text skewed at 6 degrees to represent the six players on the ice

And here is the league schedule by year (spoilered for size)

With the proposed full-international market, there are a bit more notes about the schedule:
-Each team will play 46 domestic games in their league, with 1 home/1 away against each team. There will also be 8 international games (4 home/4 away vs teams of their choosing; total of 54 games)
-The league year begins on July 1 every year, as does free agency.
-Each postseason tournament has the top 8 teams in the league, seeded 1-8. One game per round.
-On non-Olympic years, the break is just a standard two-week break.
-World Championship is contested every four years (much like the FIFA World Cup), and has 48 teams, 16 groups of 3. Top team in each group moves to the knockout stage.

Each team I will do will be built on this template. The federation has a partnership with a number of manufacturers, although Nike is pictured on the example.


I've got a general idea of what leagues and teams I will design for now, but I won't be doing every single team in every league.

I'm excited for this and I hope you are too!

Did you get the template from icethetics? Cause it really looks like one I saw in their website.

QCS wrote:

Very interesting concept! Will the teams be market-based or country-based? Either way, looking forward to the teams and how this league progresses!

 
Thanks for the comment! I’m planning on them being market based with national teams as well. Also, like I said, I’m not doing every single team for every single league in every single country; I simply don’t have the time to do so. (24 teams in 200 or so leagues? And that’s not even including potential pyramids in more developed countries!) it would be cool if I did have that time, though.

About the teams themselves, I’m looking for a balance of both existing and new teams. Existing teams will be more common in North America, but I will doing more original ones when I get to Europe and Asia.

FC Macbeth wrote:

Did you get the template from icethetics? Cause it really looks like one I saw in their website.

Yes, it is based on this image, with some modifications.

Section30 wrote:

So this is essentially what if hockey was the world's soccer? Sounds very interesting, can't wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks! As you know hockey quite well, I’ll enjoy seeing your critiques.

I’m still working on the first league, and I hope to have it done as soon as I can. Thanks for your patience!

Fantastic concept for a worldwide governing body for hockey. Looking forward to it!

Excellent start! Very excited to see all 24 Canadian teams! Will the NHL be the premier American league or will there be something else?