Ever since fantasy football first emerged in the early 1960s there has been steady growth in both sports involved in fantasy leagues and the number of fantasy sports betting users. The number of sports covered has also grown and today encompasses hockey, football, soccer, baseball, basketball and even Nascar racing. The principle is simple, you simply choose a team or individuals who you think are outstanding in their chosen sport and win points when they perform particularly well.
The popularity of fantasy sports in the US and Canada is undeniable with official figures showing that from 500,000 people playing in 1988 in 2016 the figure is now 57.4 million.
Hockey is one of the most recent sports to emerge as a favourite for people to play and, while nowhere near as popular as football or soccer, it is quickly gaining ground. The way it is played and run is in a league format with on average between 8 and 12 teams per league but it can be as many as 20. Generally, players of fantasy hockey feel that it’s better to have fewer teams in a league because when there are too many it dilutes the talent available.
The selection process itself generally takes the form of a draft which replicates the real life one and which takes places either online or in person with the aim to build a team that typically consists of a pair of centers, two left wings, two right wings, four defensemen, two goaltenders and five bench players who can be brought in to play in any position.
The scoring system in most matches involves the two team competing in a number of categories which include goals, assists, points, power play points, shots, penalty minutes, the time spent on ice by forwards and defensemen, wins, goals against average, save percentage, shots against and shutouts by goalies. The team that wins the most of these categories in a week’s encounter is the team that wins the match
There are two types of league, either a head-to-head or a rotisserie. The former is potentially very involved and much too complex to go into here. Fortunately there is a great deal of online information that will help to explain its many variations. A rotisserie league is much more straightforward as it simply involves adding up points scored over the season to decide on the eventual winner.
Naturally, your fantasy hockey team is only as good as the players it includes so any novice will benefit from a few tips about how to put together a winning draft. One of the best pieces of advice that almost all commentators give is that you should pick a proven goaltender and that means a player who has performed consistently well over a large number of matches.
Another tip is to avoid relying too heavily on just one NHL team for too many of your selections. A number of injuries hitting that team simultaneously, or a bad run of form, can have catastrophic consequences for your own team’s performance.
And finally, if you want three top players from last season who could help your team to the top then try Boston Bruins’ Tuukka Rask in goal, Pittsburg Penguins’ Sidney Crosby as centre and LA Kings’ Drew Doughty in defense.
Good luck with the team!
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