Fantasy Hockey

Fantasy hockey is relatively new on the fantasy sports front. After football, baseball, and basketball all found staggering success, fantasy hockey was founded. Like many fantasy sports that originated in the 1990s, the evolution of the Internet is the main reason it had a chance to begin. In fantasy hockey, the more popular scoring method is Rotisserie.

In Rotisserie scoring, you accumulate stats for your team according to the stats that a player on your roster earns on the day of your game. You earn points in your league according to how your team ranks against others in the league. Each team will be ranked daily in statistical categories and points are determined based on the rankings. Assuming your league has 10 teams, the best team in a category receives 10 points, second will get 9 points and so on until the worst team in a category receives 1 point.

Each fantasy hockey league usually consists of 8-12 owners although it could be more or less. In the draft format, the draft order is randomly picked and the draft goes in a snake style, meaning the owner with the last pick in the first round gets the first pick of the second round and the owner with the first pick in the first round gets the last pick of the second round.

Scoring is tedious because there are usually 12 different scoring categories. There are 8 categories for forwards and defenders and 4 categories for goalies. The 8 categories for forwards are goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power- play points, game-winning points, face-offs won, and shots on goal. The 4 categories for goalies are wins, goals against average, saves, and save percentage. Some leagues will vary the scoring categories but these scoring categories used most often in fantasy hockey leagues.

Fantasy hockey teams usually carry about 15 players on a roster at one time. The starting lineups most commonly used in fantasy hockey leagues are 2 Centers, 2 Right Wings, 2 Left Wings, 4 Defense-men, and 2 goalies. Although scoring in hockey is so sparse, that doesn't mean fantasy hockey is low scoring too. Thanks to the addition of penalty minutes, plus/minus, and face-offs won, fantasy hockey is more than just goals scored.

There are many things to keep in mind when trying to win a fantasy hockey championship. Take account the new rules of the game. After the strike killed the 2005 NHL season, the good news was that hockey came back more exciting than ever. Scorers now have more freedom to roam the ice and have better opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net more than ever before. This makes Centers and Wings more potent than ever and it also changes the Defense-men position forever. Defense-men are now given more chances to score and they are attacking the net more. Also, the best fantasy hockey players are guys that play long shifts and produce steadily the entire game. In terms of goaltenders, the goalies on the best teams in the league will most often be your best option in fantasy hockey because wins for goalies is a statistical category. The best teams are usually the teams with the best defense and defense-men can make the goalie's job a lot easier.

Fantasy hockey is still growing and is not yet as well-known as the other major fantasy sports and is not as easy to find. The best site for fantasy hockey is Yahoo, it is a great place to learn the intricacies of the game and it allows veterans to hone their skills.