Fantasy hockey

Fantasy Hockey is a form of Fantasy sport where fantasy owners build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by professional hockey players or teams. The majority of all fantasy hockey pools are based on the teams and players of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Typically, a fantasy hockey league (also called hockey pool) is established with 8 - 12 teams. With too many teams, there is a dilution of talent which makes success more dependant upon the luck of getting one special player, rather than the skill to assemble a roster of players that is better than competitors' rosters.

The NHL players or teams that comprise a fantasy team are usually distributed via a draft, either online or in person. The most common format of a fantasy team is:

• 2 Centers
• 2 Left Wing
• 2 Right Wing
• 4 Defencemen
• 2 goaltender (or goalie)

Common categories in which the fantasy owners collect points include:

• Goals
• Assists
• Plus/Minus (+/-)
• Penalty Minutes
• Power Play Points
• Game Winning Goals
• Faceoffs Won
• Shots On Goal
• Wins (Goalie)
• Goals Against Average (Goalie)
• Save Percentage (Goalie)
• Shutouts (Goalie)

There are two common types of fantasy hockey leagues. A 'Head-to-Head' league is one where the fantasy owners are pitted in one on one duels each week. The owners attempt to win as many categories as possible per week, with their weekly scores to be added to their cumulative score. The other type of league is 'Rotisserie', in which all owners are constantly trying to win as many points as possible, without the weekly competition.

An example of a successful online fantasy hockey league include:

• Yahoo.com's fantasy hockey service

Fantasy hockey pools are common in the workplace (also called office pools), or among groups of friends.