Furthermore, private fantasy hockey leagues have prices ranging from free to thousands of dollars. To track private fantasy hockey leagues, there are league managers online who will track the scoring for a small fee. The most common way for choosing NHL players or teams to comprise a fantasy team is via a draft, either online or in person. However, the method ranges from basic (picking from comparable players who are grouped in boxes) to complicated (i.e. 'auction' style). Most office hockey pools (or fantasy leagues) keep the teams simple - merely choose 12 or 15 or 20 skaters from any position, most points win. However, as the fantasy hockey league becomes more realistic, it takes on the appearance of actual NHL teams.
Simulation Hockey leagues use a video game (such as the EA Sports NHL series) or a hockey simulator program (such as FHLSim.com Fantasy Hockey League Simulator) as a match simulator. Each team manager selects an NHL team and is able to submit, control and edit many of the aspects of their team. Either players are drafted and teams are built from scratch or each manager starts with the official NHL roster loaded on the software. In either case, managers can acquire players during the season through waivers and trades. Transactions are submitted to the Commissioner of the league, who in turn loads the lines and runs the program, simulating a game based on the set attributes.
