Fantasy Hockey Betting USA
Fantasy hockey betting is a great addition to the wagering action around hockey, not just in the US but globally as well. Also, it has added another dimension to watching National Hockey League (NHL). 
In our guide below, we’ll take a look at how fantasy hockey works, a basic strategy behind it, and the top games in NHL betting. Let’s guide you through drafting your first nine-man fantasy roster for betting.
Best Fantasy Hockey Site
These are the top fantasy hockey sites you’ll find on the net for US bettors. We’ve vetted them so that you don’t have to.
What you find in this fantasy hockey betting site:
How to Play Fantasy Hockey
Below, we’ll take a look at how does fantasy hockey work. We’ll run through a step-by-step process that takes the guess work out of figuring it out.
- Firstly, like with other fantasy sports, you’ll receive a salary cap that you’ll use to draft the nine players you think make the best team.
- The team of nine must be made up of: three wings (left or right), two defensemen, two centres, a goaltender, and one utility player who can be substituted into any of the positions except goaltender.
- The players score points for you based off their real-life performances on the ice.
- Things like goals, assists, shots on target, blocks, shutouts, team wins, and shutouts score you points. Losing a match and fouls lose you points.
- Watch the game or keep an eye on your fantasy hockey bookie as scores and the totals of each roster are updated live as the match is played.
- If your team wins, you can collect your winnings at the cashier.
See our guides on fantasy sports:
Basic Fantasy Hockey Draft Strategy
When it comes to drafting your fantasy team, it’s best to go in with a simple strategy. This will help you stay focused with all the action going on around you.
- While picking a team with a strong defense wins real life hockey championships, fantasy drafts actually rely more on owning high scoring offensive players. Find power play specialists is a great strategy when drafting your team.
- Avoid going for players that are consistently missing game time due to concussions or other injuries.
- When it comes to playing daily fantasy hockey, draft a team that has tons of firepower. Furthermore, goaltenders are the biggest part of a winning daily fantasy strategy because players will need to get goaltenders who will be up against lower scoring, offensively challenged teams. You should be willing to spend a large portion of your salary cap on it.
- Be consistent with your research. Major hockey sites like the NHL regularly release point projection articles, hints, and tips on the daily.
Choose Your Events
Like with other fantasy sports betting, fantasy hockey has its own custom leagues set up by individual players, to large Guaranteed Prize Pool (GPP) tournaments. There’s a lot of money to be won in the GPPs set up by the online gambling sites, betting in the head-to-heads where the winnings may be small but it’s a more practical league to grind in.
Skaters
Picking your skaters is also another important aspect of your fantasy hockey strategy. Ideally, you’ll want to get skaters from teams that have a high over/under game. Also, find a situation where one team has better power play and are playing against a significantly poor penalty kill percentage. Furthermore, look for as many forwards and defensemen that skate on the first line.
The most difficult to master is finding those bargain bin players. Pay very close attention to a team’s line and take note of whether a cheap player is playing in the first or second line. Furthermore, if a player that usually plays the third line is now projected to skate in the top line and first power-play unit, go for them.
Fantasy Hockey NHL Games
NHL fantasy hockey is a hotly contested fantasy sports betting arena. Let’s take a brief look at the two conferences that make up the league.
NHL Eastern Conference Fantasy Sports
The Eastern Conference has a rough play style more than its offensive prowess. Players from this division make up a huge part of the fantasy hockey draft pool. It’s home to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin, Ottawa Senators’ Erik Karlsson, and Montreal Canadian’s Carey Price.
NHL Western Conference Fantasy Sports
A high scoring offense is more the style of the NHL’s Western Conference division. In the 2015-16 NHL season, seven of the top ten scorers were from this conference. In the Western Conference, you’ll find San Jose Shark’s Joe Thornton and Calgary Flames’ Johnny Gaudreau to name a few.
