Running a Fantasy Hockey League the Right Way
4 minutes
Last Updated: December 1, 2023
Fantasy hockey allows you to organize your favorite hockey players in any way you wish. This means you get to implement gameplays and strategies that you believe will increase your winning chances.
Moreover, in fantasy hockey leagues, some play for the socializing aspect of the game, while others play for monetary prizes. Also, some even play by placing wagers online.
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But all in all, the major influence remains the same – it is all for fun.
Thus, in this article, we shall look into the best ways you can run your fantasy league to optimize your experience. Read on and find out as we get into it.
Try Different Fantasy League Formats
If you wish to make your fantasy hockey pool more fun, then you can go into different fantasy formats. In order words, don’t just stick to the typical box pool; spice things up a little bit. For this to happen, you can opt for head-to-head pools, which serve as more satisfying options for your pool choice.
In addition, your strategy for picking a roster determines the kind of hockey experience you would have. Thus, some of the best options you can go for include:
- Snake Draft – This draft type is a little similar to the regular kind, but it involves flipping back and forth in pick order with each round. For example, if there are 10 teams, the order would be 1-10, then 10-1, then 1-10 again, and on and on.
- Standard Draft Pool – Here, determining the pick order is usually done by lots in the first year. Then consecutive years are determined by finish order. It is very easy and fun.
Use a Suitable and Reliable App to Track Your Progress
A fantasy hockey league is not complete without an app appropriate for tracking your pool. With the right app, you can host your pool on a server and get your participants to be more engaged. This is why it’s important to get the right app that is user-optimized and encourages gameplay.
Get a Committed Commissioner
Not everyone knows this, but when playing fantasy hockey, it’s a must to have a great commissioner committed to the cause. In fact, it does no harm to have multiple commissioners in your pool. This is because a commissioner sets the tone of the pool.
In simple terms, the work of commissioners is to gather the right number of participants and set the pool format. Also, they oversee transactions and help the players to understand the rules of the game. Additionally, they help in making modifications to your pool each year to increase your chances of success.
Thus, as a result of the serious legwork a commissioner has to do, it’s important you choose wisely. A good NHL commissioner can help detect ways to police those who are looking to manipulate certain rules in their favor.
Modify Your Rules
To prevent the hockey pool from becoming monotonous and boring, it is necessary that all team managers participate regularly. Yes, sticking to standard points usually seems like a great idea at first, but it’s easy for boredom to set in in the long run.
When the season begins, everything is fast-paced because pool leadership changes hands quickly. As such, things are very much more exciting at the beginning. But as time passes by in the season, everyone’s standings become more secure – positions are less likely to change now.
Thus, to prevent things from becoming too boring as a result, it’s necessary to switch things up a little and add a tweak to the rules. You can choose to modify the categories for head-to-head play, roster size, bench players, and other gameplay factors. But this is only possible if all the team managers involved are in agreement.
Ensure Your Pool Is Just the Right Size
It goes without saying that a small league equivalent to or less than 6 teams is insufficient. The smaller the league, the less interesting it gets. In the same way, the league must not be too large, or else the game lags. All in all, the pool has to be the right size – like 10 to 12 in number – for the fantasy hockey experience to be enjoyable.
Try a Keeper League
Introducing keepers to your league is one method of improving your pool experience. This way, you can make the engagement of participants more inclusive year in and year out. In addition to this, incorporating goalies optimizes your team’s efficiency.
The only issue with keeping keepers is the timeframe that managers are allowed to keep them. This is because keepers are at their premium in most leagues so having them indefinitely is kind of a cheat code. As a result, it’s important to limit the number of years to about three or fewer to balance things out.
But even at that, having a keeper adds layers of complexity to the gameplay making it more interesting.
Final Words
In the fantasy hockey league, there are several ways you can improve your gameplay and make it more entertaining.
Here, we have brought out the basics, but it’s now left to you to analyze your league and go wild with ideas. However, in everything, make sure to stick with what works for you, and don’t forget to have fun.
