Krafty

Howz abouts: each league, in each gameworld has it's own all-star game, say between game 30 and game 31.  (Or 40 and 41?  45?) 
Team Oddz gets players from teams in the standings: 1st; 3rd; 5th; 7th, 9, 11, 13, 15, and Team Evenz from teams 2, 4, 6, ...etc.
Players could be automatically selected based on performance rating, or an algorythm of stats, with an obligation of one player from each team.
Hopefully injuries would be disabled, like I think they should be for pre-season friendlies. Perhaps a good confidence booster for players selected.

I realize this is an older topic, but I think I have an easy work around while being able to continue the current system.
 
Instead of having the wording saying "signed to 1 year contract", just change to specific season.  If it is halfway through season 5, then when you offer a contract it should say "sign for season 5" or "sign for seasons 5-6". This way you know he is under contract for the remainder of season 5 and the entirety of season 6. 
 
This way will make it more clear about what you are getting, without having to re-haul the whole system. Personally I wouldnt be a fan if I got notices every 3-4 days telling me that i have a contract expiring; I like the fact they all end when the season ends, as it is more realistic.  NHL teams can sign free agents in January, but they dont expire the following January, they expire at the end of the season. 

A couple of releases back new cities from Canada was introduced to the game. Existing managers was then offered a one time opportunity to customize their team in order to get access to these new cities. That's why some managers may still have this option available (if not already used) whilst new managers have not.
 
The feature to customize your team is planned to be an all star account feature allowing managers to once a season (or similar) update parts of their franchise. Not sure when this feature will be introduced though

I would love the option to wipe my lineup clear, and let me start from scratch.

From what I've seen, their roles do increase based off of training but as Tutankhamen was pointing out, the line tactic they play in, the overall tactic, and their performance within effects their growth (at least that's what I've seen from my players). I had a player whom I picked up in Free agency who was 18 and had potential but just like your player, had no desirable profiles at the time. I chose his strongest "ok" player role, which happened to be Powerforward, and began running him on my 4th line checking line. From there other traits have developed a bit more quickly due to my overall tactic and while he is now a "Good" Powerforward (which he developed into the quickest), after adjusting his line play tactics and playing time he is a quite well rounded player.
 
Long story short - a lot of things factor into role development and player growth. Most are hidden and need to be discovered or simply asked about here - is forum is a great place to learn from. I've gleaned a lot of what I know from asking a lot of questions and getting a lot of good feedback from many more experienced GMs - keep it up!