Do Canadians really know hockey best? Finnish game developer Risto Remes and UK sports management sim legend Sports Interactive (best known for the Championship Manager series of soccer sims) are putting that platitude to the test with NHL Eastside Hockey Manager, the most comprehensive treatment of the coolest game on Earth ever seen in a game. This fantastically addictive management simulation covers the entire world of hockey, encompassing everything from tier-two Canadian Junior 'A' Hockey League clubs in small-town Saskatchewan to the bright lights, big city atmosphere of National Hockey League franchises like the New York Rangers.

Each player is rated in more than two dozen categories, and the information screens are also attractively designed.

Encyclopedic scope is Eastside's biggest plus. While designers have attempted NHL management simulations before, nobody has included so much hockey in a single game. Remes first released the game as downloadable freeware in 2001, and the amount of time that he's spent working on the project shows. Even though most will be drawn to the lineup of recognizable teams and players in the NHL, you can take over clubs in 18 leagues in every corner of the globe, in both solo and in online multiplayer leagues. You can head to the show right away and step in as general manager of famed teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Chicago Blackhawks, or you can start farther down the line with a minor-league club like the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. You can even leave North America altogether to sign up the likes of Dukla Trencin in Slovakia's ST Extraliga. Do well in the minors and you may just get an offer from one of the big boys.

Team and league listings are exhaustive. Even tier-two and tier-three Canadian Junior 'A' Hockey League and Canadian Junior 'B' Hockey League clubs are featured here, from tiny towns like Brockville, Ontario, to Pictou, Nova Scotia. Most teams feature a full complement of real players and management staff. In fact, there are more than a thousand teams and more than 20,000 players in the game. Even the majority of minor-league franchises boast accurate listings of personnel. For instance, you can even call up Major Junior teams--like those from the Ontario Hockey League in Canada--to see local legends like Brian Kilrea (the winningest coach in Junior hockey) running the Ottawa 67's or to see Jeff Twohey commanding the Peterbough Petes. Eastside is a licensed product of both the NHL and the NHLPA, too, so all of the familiar logos, names, and faces are on display here for that touch of big-league authenticity. If you know your hockey, you'll feel right at home here.

Of course, Eastside Hockey Manager is supposed to be a game, not an encyclopedia. Thankfully, Remes and Sports Interactive have remembered this and have combined the painstaking lineup of leagues, teams, and players with gameplay that serious hockey fans will find almost impossible to put down. A big part of this is because of the extensive player ratings system. Every player in the game comes rated in 27 skills that are divided into mental, physical, and technical categories. Every aspect of a player's personality and hockey abilities are tracked here, including aggression, teamwork, speed, checking, hitting, deking, stickhandling, and so on. The only omission is a plain English scouting report that puts all of these numbers into a concise paragraph detailing player strengths and weaknesses. You can request reports from coaches and physiotherapists, though. So at least you can get an expert opinion on whether or not a player is good enough for the starting lineup, or you can get advice about the condition of a player who's suffering from chronic injuries.

Players also come with reputations and opinions about their teams. So you might have a solid team player like Eric Desjardins, who believes that the Philadelphia Flyers have "a good locker room atmosphere." However, you may have an unhappy camper like Ed Belfour, who feels unfairly treated even when the Toronto Maple Leafs offer him a new $10 million-per-year contract. Some players are flat-out head cases who seem destined to rip up team chemistry. Mike Comrie, for instance, seems to alienate teammates in every dressing room he enters, just like in real life.

Games can be watched in tactical mode, which shows how the play is developing on the ice and includes textual play-by-play.

Players who are proud to be with their clubs are easier to re-sign, and they're easier to lowball with contract numbers. However, they can also react negatively to such maneuvers. Players sometimes have problems being shopped around the league, taking media criticism, enduring time on the bench, and so on, so their play suffers accordingly. Others might make friends on the team, so they may want out if their unofficial team "leaders" are traded or aren't re-signed. We had trouble in Toronto with Matt Stajan when Alexander Mogilny was allowed to leave town at the end of his contract, because Stajan felt that Mogilny was a key member of the club. All of these factors turn players into people, thus making it a challenge to set a coherent, winning lineup.

Money matters make it even harder to build a Stanley Cup contender. Your board of directors can keep a tight hold on the purse strings and can refuse to pony up the cash needed to re-sign pending free agents. Run a small-market franchise like Ottawa and caps on contracts for certain players can be so low that you simply can't sign them. There is no way around this, either. Your focus is solely on building a winning hockey club, so there are no moneymaking options--like raising ticket prices, staging promotion nights, or jacking up the price of beer--as in sports management franchises like Out of the Park Baseball and Baseball Mogul. You simply have to stay within the limits outlined by the board of directors, and you must do well in the amateur and waiver drafts.