Purchase the Draft Kit to Get Access to Dobberhockey's Projections!

Frequently Asked Questions

We understand that some users of this site are geekier than others. So weve broken the FAQ down into a few major categories of questions:

• Subscriber Tools
• Fantasy Hockey Geek Methodology
• Why the Fantasy Hockey Geek?

Subscriber Tools

Q: If I subscribe, what do I get?

A: Our advanced tools give you a major edge over your competition:

• League Breakdown - gives you the lowdown on how many of each stat you need at each position in order to be competitive.  These "average" players are the minimum you should be targeting in your league.
• Draft/team Advisor - evaluate your team as a whole or get instant analysis on what categories you need to fill as your draft unfolds.  Using the draft advisor will give you a well balanced team and identify which areas of your team need improvement as your team comes together so you can draft accordingly.
• Trade Analyzer - get a side-by-side comparison of the pieces you're considering moving or acquiring, including their true value in your specific league setup.  Know the real value involved and stop coming out on the wrong side of trades.
• Player Equivalency - 70 point centre or 60 point winger?  You enter the player's name and we tell you what scoring stats an equivalent player at a different position would put up.  Thinking about trading Mike Green but you're not sure what's a good enough return?  The Player Equivalency tool tells you exactly what fair value coming back would be.
• Custom Stat Sets - don't like the stats we're presenting or want to project your own?  Get the full power of the FHG tools by using your own projections, or the projections of other experts.

Q: What stat categories do subscribers get access to?

A: The table below shows the stats that the guests, users, and subscribers get access to:

Fantasy Hockey Geek Methodology

Q: So what exactly does the Pool Geek score mean?

A: The Pool Geek score shows a player's value relative to the average player at their position. In the simplest example, if an average centre puts up 75 points, then a 75 point centre gets a score of zero. A negative score isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just means that the player in question is more below-average than they are above-average.

Q: What exactly does the ranking tool do?

A: Without getting into too much technical detail, the rankings come about like this:

• Based on the pool of owned players in your league, an average replacement player is established at each position your league plays (C, LW, RW, D, etc). This theoretical player has an average stat-line across the board for each statistical category your league uses an average number of goals, average number of points, average number of penalty minutes, etc.
• Each player is statistically compared to the average replacement player in every statistical category your league uses.
• The results are normalized. If youre not a geek, youre probably wondering WTF is normalizing? The short answer is that not all stat categories are created equal. Its easier for an NHL player to put a shot on goal than it is to score a goal, right? But how much easier? Standardizing puts all stats on equal footing.
• We make you a pretty list with each players ranking.
   

Q: Ok, I guess that makes sense. What kind of a team will using the Fantasy Hockey Geek rankings give me?

A: A well-balanced team, a team that is better prepared to weather injuries better balance means less vulnerability for your team!

Q: Your lists look WAY different from other player ranking lists out there. What gives?

A: The numbers dont lie. Lots of the ranking lists out there include a ton of parameters, which may or may not apply to your league. By letting you tell us what statistics are important, we make sure you get rankings based on what you actually need to consider.

Q: Why are skaters and goalies on different lists?

A:  We keep them separate because skaters and goalies use separate sets of statistics to determine FHG value. Since FHG value stems from the statistical averages for each position, it can be tricky to compare a player based on (for example) goals, assists, penalty minutes, and shots on goal to a player based on GAA, shutouts, and wins. FHG value is a relative value in that way: it relies on a player's relationship to the average statistical output for their position/player type (skater or goalie). So, if we lump the two types of players into one list, the FHG values won't tell the real story of who is the most valuable.  Besides all the technical reasons, the biggest one to keep them separate is that goalies usually have a big value in a league compared with relatively few roster spots -- as a result, they should be treated as a separate position.  If you're REALLY intent in putting skaters and goalies onto a combine list, go right ahead... but don't say that we didn't warn you!

Why the Fantasy Hockey Geek?

Q: Why the Fantasy Hockey Geek?

A: Credit where due: the forums at the best damn fantasy hockey resource on the net, Dobberhockey, gave us the inspiration. There are a ton of questions there about ranking players, and two things become hugely obvious if you read enough posts. One, there are so many variations on fantasy hockey pools out there; and two, that its really tough to understand which players are valuable in each league setup without crunching the numbers.

Q: OK, but why the Fantasy Hockey Geek?

A: Because the geek really exists -- we're not talking about some fictional character here. The Fantasy Hockey Geek is both a poolie and a geek (shocking, we know). The Geek did a whole bunch of analysis work leading up to the NHL season this past year, and the resulting tools really can give you an edge in your pool. At the very least we can help you understand which players are valuable, and why.