Draft and Rosters
3.1. The Draft
The 2023 GFHL Live Draft will take place on Thursday, September 28, at 8:00PM EDT, and will be hosted online by Fantrax. A Draft Party will take place simultaneously online in the GFHL Discord server. Any owner who wishes to join the Draft Party can log in by clicking the "Draft Night Lounge" voice channel in the server. While not required, participation in the Draft Party is encouraged.
If you live in/near northern New Jersey or the Hudson Valley (or would like to visit the area), you're invited to a live, in-person Draft Party hosted by the Commissioner and Co-Commissioners. The venue will be announced in the GFHL Discord server.
All owners are expected to participate in the online Draft, either remotely or at the Draft Party. You can participate in
the draft by logging onto the Fantrax league homepage and clicking "Draft Room," or through the Fantrax app on
your smartphone.
3.2. Draft Format
The 2021 GFHL Draft will be a snake draft, and the Draft order will be based on a lottery system, with the last-place team from the previous season receiving the highest number of chances to win the first overall pick in the lottery. Lottery chances are normally allocated as follows:
- 12th place: 24 chances
- 11th place: 22 chances
- 10th place: 20 chances
- 9th place: 18 chances
- 8th place: 16 chances
- 7th place: 14 chances
- 6th place: 6 chances
- 5th place: 5 chances
- 4th place: 4 chances
- 3rd place: 3 chances
- 2nd place: 2 chances
- 1st place: 1 chance
3.3. Keepers
3.3.1 Keeper Rules
Each owner may keep up to 4 players from their previous season’s roster. Owners may keep players drafted in the 3rd–21st rounds of last season's draft. Players drafted in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the previous draft may not be selected as a keeper. If you elect to keep any players, they will replace your draft pick for the round 2 above the value at which they were drafted.
For example, if you choose to keep a player drafted in the 3rd round of last season's draft, that player will count as your 1st round pick in this season's draft. If you choose to keep a player drafted in the 12th round of last season's draft, that player will take up your 10th round pick in this season's draft.
If you are electing to keep a player who was undrafted in the previous draft, he will count against your 10th round draft pick in the upcoming draft, unless you’re already keeping a player drafted in the 12th round in October 2022, in which case he’ll count against your 11th round pick. If you're choosing to keep a player who would count against a draft pick that you traded away during the previous season, that player will drop in value by one round.
For example, if you traded away your 3rd round pick and you would like to keep a player drafted in the 5th round in last season's draft, that keeper will count against your 4th round pick in this season's draft, and his value will adjust accordingly in next season's draft.
3.3.2. How to Set Keepers
You can set your keepers in Fantrax by going to the sidebar on the left of the screen and hovering your mouse over "Team" and clicking "Keeper Admin." On the Fantrax app, you'll set your keepers by tapping your team icon in the lower left corner of the screen, tapping "Team" in the menu that pops up, and then tapping "Keeper Admin" in the next menu. Once you're in the Keeper Admin screen, place a checkmark next to any player you'd like to keep. After you've set your keepers, send a message to the Commissioner and/or Co-Commissioners notifying them that you've set your keepers. They will review your keepers to ensure that they adhere to the rules.
3.4. Roster Composition
Each team will have the following roster composition: 21 players consisting of 3 centers, 3 right-wingers, 3 left-wingers, 4 defenders, 1 goaltender, 1 utility position, and 6 bench spots.
Additionally, each team has a total of 4 IR spots available. The IR spots are available for any players who are listed as injured, irrespective of their IR status in the NHL. Players who are not available due to COVID-19 may also be placed on IR.
If there is a player who is legitimately considered injured or unavailable due to COVID-19, but Fantrax is not allowing you to move the player to IR, the Commissioner and Co-Commissioners will be able to assist.
3.5. Starting Lineups
3.5.1. Competitive Starting Lineups
Owners are expected to set their starting lineups for each day of NHL competition. A competitive starting lineup is defined as a lineup that has all on-ice roster positions occupied by active players. Players listed as “IR,” “Out,” or “Day-to-Day” are not considered part of a competitive starting lineup.
While the Commissioner and Co-Commissioners will not actively check every team’s starting lineup throughout the season, owners that have multiple complaints filed against them about not setting a competitive starting lineup may be in danger of losing their membership in the GFHL during the following offseason. First-year owners who have multiple severe complaints filed against them may be forced to transfer ownership and management of their team to a new owner during the current season.
We understand that there are valid reasons an owner may be unable to set a competitive starting lineup for each day of a matchup, so these starting lineup rules are in place for the rare situation in which an owner has become inactive for many matchups.
If at any point during the season you think you might not be able to maintain a competitive starting lineup for several weeks on end, please reach out to the Commissioner and Co-Commissioners to let them know of your circumstance. They may advise inviting a co-owner to help manage your team or assist you in finding someone to help.
3.5.2. Starting Lineup Requirements
Each team will start 15 players in the following positions and amounts: 3 C, 3 RW, 3 LW, 4 D, 1 UTIL, 1 G.