Player reputation

Reputation is how well known a player is around the hockey world. He earns it with what he does on the ice, and the higher the league he does it in, the more it counts. You can’t set it, but it counts in contract talks, in the dressing room, on the ice and in trades.

Reading a player’s reputation

A player’s reputation is one word, next to Rep at the top of his page and under Reputation in his player panel. On a wider screen the roster has a Reputation column you can sort by, and the world page’s Players list ranks the most reputable players in the world.

From lowest to highest the words are Unknown, Unproven, Accepted, Recognised, Famous, Star, Superstar and Legendary. A few words take the place of these depending on his age and his career:

Word	Instead of	When
Decent Prospect	Accepted	A junior-aged player
Promising	Recognised	A junior-aged player
Rising Star	Famous	A junior-aged player
Declining	Recognised	An aging veteran whose recent seasons fall short of his career
Finished	Accepted	An aging veteran whose recent seasons fall well short of his career
Super Diva	Superstar	A player whose Personality reads Cocky or Arrogant, together with Lazy or Half Hearted

The word measures him across the whole world. It moves every few days, not after each game.

How reputation grows

A player builds his reputation by playing and standing out. In all but the lowest leagues every game he plays adds a little; there he builds it only with the bigger moments, which add more everywhere:

• The three stars. Being named a star of the game adds, the first star most.
• Stars of the Week. Being one of the league’s Stars of the Week adds more than a star of a single game.
• The stat leaders. A place near the top of the league’s leaders lifts him while the season runs and adds again when it ends. The higher the place, the more. The lists include points, goals, assists, defensemen, plus-minus, penalty minutes and rookies, and for goalies save percentage, goals-against average and shutouts. Scoring counts most.
• The prospect rankings and the draft. A young player’s first reputation comes from here: a high ranking and an early pick add the most, and the final ranking counts for more than the earlier ones. See youth draft.

The higher the league, the more each game, star, stat ranking and draft pick is worth. Games and stars at the World Hockey Championship count for more still; see national teams.

Recent seasons count for more than his career as a whole. Through the season the game projects the current one from his games so far, so a strong start shows early.

If you want a young player to make a name for himself, he needs a regular place in the lineup. A player who dresses for too few of his team’s games has his season counted at a modest standard figure for his league while that season runs, whatever he does in his games.

How reputation falls

Reputation is not kept for good. When his recent seasons weaken, it falls with them, even below his career record.

• A great season lifts him for a few years, then fades into his career record.
• A season without a club adds nothing to his recent seasons.

For the first few days of a season, his new season counts as a copy of his last one.

Standing in his league

Behind the word, the game also measures where a player stands in a particular league. The same player stands taller in a lower league than at the top: a Recognised name around the world can be a big name a few levels down.

Room at the top of a league is limited, and the higher the word, the fewer the places: Legendary, Superstar and Star each have their own limit. When more have earned a level, the ones with the smallest reputation count a step lower in that league. A star’s standing there can rise when a bigger name leaves the league and fall when one arrives.

This standing is what counts in contract talks, in the room, in his experience and in his trade value. The word on screen does not show it, so a player who moves down a league weighs more there than his word suggests.

What reputation affects

Contracts

A bigger name asks for a higher salary, and a player with little reputation is more open to a Two-way contract. If you need depth on a tight budget, look at Unknown and Unproven players: of two players with the same ability, the one with less reputation asks for less. See player contracts.

The dressing room

A player’s reputation decides how far his voice carries in the room:

• Culture. A bigger name’s attitude weighs more in your club’s culture.
• Arrivals. When a player with a name joins through a trade or a signing, winner instinct gets a lift that fades over the following days. Two arriving together lift it no more than the bigger one alone.
• Departures. When a player with a name leaves, the room loses some of the teamwork it has built. The bigger his name, the more it loses.
• Teammates. Only a player who is Famous or better in his league speaks up about a teammate. On his page that shows as Clashes with a teammate or Enjoys a teammate.

If you are weighing a trade of a player who reads Star or higher, count what leaving costs the room as well as what comes back. See team spirit and focus.

On the ice

A player’s experience comes from his age and his reputation. Experience helps him carry the pressure of a big game, take a lift from his team’s momentum and shrug off a dip, and keep his confidence when a checking line tries to rattle him. Wearing a letter, it adds to his leadership. For goalies it counts in handling pressure.

Trades

Reputation is part of a player’s trade value: a bigger name raises it, and an Unknown player’s is lower.

A player’s reputation is his own. Your club has a reputation of its own that draws players to it; see team reputation.

Worth knowing

• A great season lifts a player for a few years, then fades into his career record.
• The same player counts for more in a lower league, because his standing there is measured against that league.
• Only a player who is Famous or better in his league speaks up about a teammate.
• A big name’s arrival lifts winner instinct for a while; two arriving together lift it no more than the bigger one.
• A player who dresses for too few games has his season counted at a modest standard figure for his league while that season runs, whatever he does in his games.