Fantasy Hockey Beginner's Guide

If you are a fan of the National Hockey League (NHL), the only way to heighten the experience is to join the fantasy hockey community. There are hundreds of people playing fantasy hockey and if you want to be one of them, here are some tips we can share with you to introduce you to fantasy hockey.



First, fantasy hockey is another form of the hugely popular world of fantasy sports, a world in which a player can build his fantasy team and compete with other fantasy teams. The scoring will be based on the statistics and real time data ofthat particular sport; in this case, hockey.



The National Hockey League (NHL) is the basis of the data used by fantasy hockey leagues and the players drafted in theteam are National Hockey League players.



An average fantasy hockey league (which can also be called hockey pool) is composed of eight to twelve teams. Otherfantasy hockey leagues can have as much as twenty. When a league has a huge number of teams, it may dilute the average of the



combined talents of the players, which can be less fun or more depending on the league you are joining.However,this represents the NHL – the closest to the National Hockey League which now has around 30 teams.



There is a type of fantasy hockey league which allows an unlimited number of teams and which uses the same NHL players, so you will find the owners of this type of hockey fantasy team drafting the same players. These types of NHL fantasyhockey



leagues restrict the times of trading, in which a player will be exchanged for another NHL player, usually ofthesame position.



The typical way of picking an NHL player in a fantasy hockey team is through the process of drafting which can take place



over the various Internet sites for fantasy sports or fantasy hockey. One can also draft players to their fantasy hockey team in person.



The methods used in drafting range from the easy "pick your comparable players" which are conveniently grouped in boxes to the harder, more complicated auction style in which owners are given cash and the chance to auction their NFL picks.



Fantasy Hockey Team Structure



The structure of most hockey pools which usually takes place on the Internet or in offices is easy. Choose 12, 15 or 20 hockey players and the most points win. Fantasy Hockey leagues are more



complicated and follows the real process of NFL drafting. A fantasy hockey league is really more like the actual NHLteam, Which makes it appealing to the joining the game.



The typical fantasy team is picked rotisserie style. These are the following positions filled: NHL teams



2 left wings (forward), 2 right wings (forward), 2 centers (forward), 2 goalies, 4 defensemen, 4 bench players and 2 reserves.



The common point scoring in fantasy hockey is typically based on the following:



Plus/Minus (+/-), penalty minute, assists, power play points, goals, game winning goals, points, penalty minute, shots on goals, faceoffs, wins of the goalie, hat tricks, goalie shutouts, the goalie’s goals against average.



The most common gauge of a fantasy hockey team’s performance are the points, which are basically goals plus assists.