Five Reasons to Play Fantasy Hockey

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

As I sit here eating my blueberry waffle with boysenberry jelly (I like experimentation. This one, a success) I'm checking my fantasy hockey scores on my iPhone. MyFanTeams free, by the way, is a solid app for keeping track of your teams across multiple sports. No add/drop though, gotta pay for that.

I'm flicking through Wu Wu Wu Kenny Wu's week one stats. Outstanding assist numbers from Nicklas Backstrom, a predictably strong week in net from Henrik Lundqvist and three goals from my waiver-wire pick up, Danny Briere. Yet, it all equals a 7-4 loss. Brutal. Especially considering I'm league commissioner. There's not much worse than losing week one when you created the whole thing.

So it's time to hit the proverbial drawing board. Look into trades for a top-flight scorer, get defense help off waivers, change my team name to Jesse Hall. (Brandon Quintin Adams, Jesse Hall in the "Mighty Ducks" movies, also did voice work for the video game "Kingdom Hearts II," and was in "Sister, Sister" and "Moesha." IMDB is a wonderful thing.) Now listen, if most of that sounded like gibberish, I'm here to provide five reasons why you and your friends need to start up a fantasy hockey league. 

It's educational

The NHL was losing steam in the beginning of the 2000s. The nineties had been a revelation for the league, coming off the heat of some legendary players (much like the NBA). The addition of a successful Colorado Avalanche team provided some flair and modernity to the league. Even Fox picked up coverage for a few years.

But all that success started to fade as the legends retired and it all led to the 2004 lockout. This crushed the NHL. Teams lost money, players went to play abroad, fans stopped caring. Even with its return the following year, the NHL seemed doomed. And then two spectacular things happened.

First, Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby were drafted. These two super-talents resuscitated a dying league. They were young, charismatic, and made immediate impacts on the ice. Ovechkin is the first rock-star celebrity the NHL has seen in, well, maybe ever. Players returned from overseas, and the league was back on its feet. Secondly, the original six are all competitive. For the hockey-challenged, that's the Rangers, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Bruins and Red Wings. Five of those teams made the playoffs in 2009, three advanced to their conference's semi-finals and one, the Red Wings, to the Stanley Cup Finals.

So now that the NHL is becoming relevant again, it's time for true sports fans to get their learn on. And what better way to start than by learning who's who? 

If you haven't heard of the three players I mentioned in my intro, you need to. Nicklas Backstrom is the center on Alex Ovechkin's line. You can think of that as being a receiver on the Colts. Peyton's going to make you look good. Same with Ovi.

Henrik Lundqvist is the best goalie to grace New York since Mike Richter won them a Cup, and Danny Briere is a superbly-talented, oft-injured center playing in Philly. There, you just got lesson one for free.

Fantasy hockey will give you a solid base of info when your friend who's obsessed with the NHL (I think everyone has one of these) starts talking about plus/minus and short-handed points. And believe me, you and your boys (or girls) will start by watching your home-town team once a week, and next thing you know someone's ordering NHL Center Ice on DirecTV and you're all having a weekly last-one-here-brings-the-beer hockey night. I'm copyrighting that last-one-here-brings-the-beer. LOHBTB. Beautiful. 

Alexander Ovechkin is the most dominant fantasy player in any sport

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