09-08-2024, 03:34 PMFrenchie Wrote: Wherever we individually draw the line as far as what should and shouldn't stand in terms of a valid choice of a nation, I myself draw mine based off of official IRL IIHF membership. The proposed shortlist in this hiring post are all IIHF member nations, and to me that makes them valid as a choice, however we feel about it. I struggle with the argument i've seen that Quebec is a more realistic choice when all the listed nations are literally listed as being contributing members of the IIHF, same for all the existing ones (outside of Independent Russia). To add to this, the FIFA comparisons literally holds no weight. Both Scotland and Wales have official FIFA recognition, make this essentially an apples vs. bananas argument, not really holding.

I think you are entirely missing the point of why I brought those countries up... There is already precedent in a major sports federation for including non-states in their system. Valid choice of a nation should be based on precedent and demand. IIHF does not include Scotland and Wales because there simply isn't a demand for it. If you are really hung up on hockey precedent, note that Hong Kong is a long-standing IIHF member. It is important to realize that the SHL IIHF is not the IRL IIHF and has different demands and therefore should weigh its needs independently. I have no idea how active a Quebec team would be versus an Italian team etc. but I don't think it is in any way outside the scope of realism for a simulation hockey league.