The parity event is a way for teams to display their ability on the ice before the schedule is created. Many times, the team's ability is decided off the ice, where the league wants to give teams a chance to prove themselves on the ice.

This allows each team to play multiple opponents in the time that it would take to play 1-2 full length games.

Power Plays / Penalty kills do not show how good a team is from a competitive standpoint. The league looks at competitiveness among the teams 5 on 5. Other options like penalty shots would take up too much game time.

No, the league is using advanced analytics such as scoring chances and puck possession to evaluate the games and competitive level of each team.

The league is in communication with the teams coach and director to learn about the team and factors that influence the outcome of the games.

The AHF is focused on the competitive balance of all teams' schedules. The AHF will use an unbalanced schedule, simply you will not play all of the teams in your division.