The fantasy hockey rankings on ESPN don’t come with a lot of room for discussion. They are usually a quick sentence or two, a reminder of the format we play as standard, and a list of the top 250 players for fantasy hockey. This week, we will take a look at some of the biggest risers and fallers since the preseason, and explore what goes into the rankings.
A reminder of the boilerplate that appears at the top of the rankings: “These rankings are based on expectations of fantasy points produced from Friday, Nov. 1, until the end of the season. Fantasy points are based on the ESPN Fantasy standard game (for skaters: goals = 2 points, assists = 1 point, shots and hits = 0.1 points, blocked shots and special-teams points = 0.5 points; for goaltenders: wins = 4 points, OT losses = 1 point, shutouts = 3 points, saves = 0.2 points, goals against = -2 points).”
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So the standard ESPN rankings for fantasy hockey are very much projection-driven. Since the most popular way to play is points leagues, and points are quantitative, it comes down to math. How many fantasy points will a player get between date-of-rankings and the end of the season? Stack them up from most to fewest, boom, rankings done.
Sounds simple, sure, but there is a lot that goes into giving each player their projection. But instead of focusing on how that sausage is made (believe me, we will at a later date), I want to point out when the rule is broken for the rankings. See, it’s almost a list of the top 250 projected earners in fantasy points from now until the end of the season.