Read the stats
Previous-season NIHL National regular-season statistics are matched to each RinkDraft player.
PLAYER PRICING
How RinkDraft player values are calculated
RinkDraft values are not picked at random. Opening prices are based on previous-season NIHL National regular-season performance, then players are ranked against others in the same position to create a balanced fantasy market.
Fantasy values are game prices only. They are not salaries, transfer fees or a judgement of a player's real-world worth.
Squad budget£250k
Player range£10k–£50k
Price steps£5k
Squad size12 players
THE BASIC IDEA
Performance first. Position second. Price last.
For the current opening valuations, RinkDraft uses the 2025/26 NIHL National regular season. Each player's published statistics are converted into a historical fantasy-performance score. Players are then ranked within their own position before a price band is applied.
Build a score
The same core statistics used by the fantasy game are converted into a historical performance score.
Rank by position
Forwards face forwards, defence face defence and goalies face goalies. Positions are not mixed together.
Assign a value
The player's percentile within that position determines the starting fantasy price from £10k to £50k.
FORWARDS & DEFENCE
Skater performance score
Historical skater output uses the statistics that are reliably published for NIHL games.
Game played+1
Goal+5
Assist+3
Power-play goal+1
Short-handed goal+2
Penalty minute−0.25
What about hat tricks?
Live RinkDraft scoring can award a hat-trick bonus, but historical season totals do not tell us how many individual hat tricks a player scored. That bonus is therefore deliberately left out of the opening valuation calculation.
GOALIES
Goalie performance score
Goalies use their own position-specific calculation because their published statistics are fundamentally different from skaters.
Game played+1
Win+4
Each save+0.20
Goal against−1
Shutout+5
Penalty minute−0.25
Save % 90.0–92.49+1 per GP
Save % 92.5–94.99+2 per GP
Save % 95.0++3 per GP
SMALL-SAMPLE PROTECTION
A handful of big games cannot automatically create a £50k player.
RinkDraft deliberately protects the valuation system from tiny samples. A player's actual historical output carries most of the weight, while a smaller full-season projection is phased in as the player builds a meaningful number of appearances.
80% — actual output
The player's real historical fantasy total is the main part of the calculation.
20% — projected output
A full 54-game projection is blended in gradually and only reaches its full weighting at around 20 games played.
Example: a player who scores heavily across only three appearances does not receive the same valuation confidence as a player who produced at that level across a substantial part of the season.
POSITIONAL PRICE BANDS
Where a player ranks determines the base price
After the performance score is calculated, players are ordered separately as Forwards, Defence and Goalies. Their percentile within that position produces the following base value.
| Position ranking | Base fantasy value |
|---|---|
| Top 0.5% | £50k |
| Top 2% | £45k |
| Top 6% | £40k |
| Top 13% | £35k |
| Top 22% | £30k |
| Top 35% | £25k |
| Top 55% | £20k |
| Top 80% | £15k |
| Remaining players | £10k |
Why so many value players?
The price ladder is intentionally designed so a £250k squad can contain star players while still forcing managers to make trade-offs. If every proven player sat near the maximum price, squad building would become too restrictive; if everyone was cheap, there would be no meaningful budget decision.
IMPORT PLAYERS
How the import premium works
Players marked as imports receive a controlled premium after their normal position-based price is calculated.
Import premium+£5k
Minimum import value£25k
Maximum value£50k
For example, a player whose domestic-equivalent base value is £15k would become £25k because the import minimum applies. A £30k base player would become £35k.
NEW TO THE LEAGUE
What if there are no previous NIHL stats?
Sometimes a player has no usable previous-season NIHL National record. Rather than pretending we have data we do not have, RinkDraft starts them at a standard entry value.
New domestic player£15k
New import player£30k
These starter values give the fantasy game a sensible opening price while the player establishes an NIHL performance history.
PRICE CHANGES
Prices are not designed to jump after every match
The valuation engine provides a suggested price, but RinkDraft player values are ultimately administered for game balance. Prices may be reviewed when appropriate, and an administrator can manually set and lock a value so that an automatic recalculation does not overwrite it.
That means a player's current RinkDraft price may occasionally differ from a fresh automatic suggestion. This is intentional and gives the game administrator the ability to handle exceptional cases, incomplete data or unusual roster circumstances.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Why is my player valued at that price?
Why isn't the league's top scorer automatically the most expensive player?
Values are based on the full valuation score and positional ranking, not goals alone. Assists, appearances, special-teams production, penalties and — for goalies — goalie-specific statistics all contribute.
Why are players in different positions priced differently?
They are not directly compared. A goalie is ranked only against goalies, a defenceman only against defence, and a forward only against forwards.
Why does an import cost more?
RinkDraft applies a controlled £5k import premium, with a minimum import value of £25k, as part of the fantasy game's squad-building balance.
Why has a player's real-life form changed but their RinkDraft value has not?
RinkDraft is not a live stock market. Values are intended to remain understandable and stable rather than changing wildly after every fixture.
Can a value be corrected?
Yes. If source data is incomplete, a player has been incorrectly matched or there is another exceptional circumstance, the administrator can review and manually lock a corrected fantasy value.
One final point
A RinkDraft value exists solely to make the fantasy game competitive and balanced. It does not represent a player's salary, contract, transfer value, reputation or real-world worth. It is simply the number used to build a fantasy squad within the RinkDraft budget.