Best Daily Fantasy Hockey Sites & Apps

Daily fantasy hockey is a great online gambling option for fans of ice hockey that are looking to put their knowledge of the sport to the test. There are several top fantasy hockey sites that provide high-quality experiences to players in the US, with countless contests and varying buy-ins available to suit all budgets.

In our guide to the best fantasy hockey sites, we’ve only covered operators that are legal and licensed to accept local players. This ensures safe, fair, and secure gameplay at all times. By reading this, you’ll learn about what each site offers in addition to some helpful strategies and advice.

Just a quick heads up: we at FantasyFest provide advice that’s completely independent and unbiased. Sometimes, we feature affiliate links on our pages, these may generate income for us at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!

How to Play Daily Fantasy Hockey

Daily fantasy sports are a unique gambling activity that requires participants to draft fantasy lineups from their favorite sports leagues. On most sites with daily fantasy, the hockey league contests will predominantly revolve around the NHL. To win, you will accrue points based on the real-life performances of your chosen players.

The participants with the most points will earn a share in the total prize pool. This is generated by buy-ins, which can vary from contest to contest. In most cases, you’ll be able to create your own fantasy leagues with your friends, or you have the option to play against strangers in larger tournaments.

It’s important to note that each site will differ in terms of how points are scored, how teams are drafted, and the number of players required on a team. This ensures a diverse experience. Throughout this guide, we’ve covered all of the contest options offered by the top fantasy sites so you can find the ideal contest for you.

Overview of Fantasy Hockey with DraftKings

As its name suggests, DraftKings was initially founded as a daily fantasy sports website before becoming the major online bookmaker that it is today. With over a decade of experience in the industry, the fantasy hockey platform at DraftKings is unrivaled in terms of versatility and quality.

The DraftKings platform itself is accessible to newcomers while still retaining a detailed and professional atmosphere. You’ll be able to choose from plenty of contest modes, with potential prizes often exceeding $100,000. The site also utilizes official NHL data to make player pricing as accurate and fair as possible.

Types of DraftKings Hockey DFS Contests

There are six different contest modes available for fantasy hockey at DraftKings, with all available for the NHL only. It’s important to understand how each works, as the drafting process and team sizes vary dramatically from contest-to-contest. This will allow you to customize your experience to suit your tastes, budget, and time limitations.

DraftKings “NHL Classic Contests”

The NHL Classic contest is the site’s take on traditional fantasy sports. Contestants must draft teams of nine players that will be competing in at least three different games with a salary cap of $50,000. Players are priced according to their stats, with the top-scoring contestants earning a cut of the prize pool.

Scoring

Players		Goalies
Goal	+8.5 Pts	Win	+6 Pts
Assist	+5 Pts	Save	+0.7 Pts
Shot on Goal	+1.5 Pts	Goal Against	-3.5 Pts
Blocked Shot	+1.3 Pts	Shutout Bonus	+4 Pts
Short Handed Point Bonus (Goal/Assist)	+2 Pts	Overtime Loss	+2 Pts
Shootout Goal	+1.5 Pts	35+ Saves	+3 Pts
+3 Pts	+3 Pts
5+ Shots	+3 Pts
3+ Blocked Shots	+3 Pts
3+ Points	+3 Pts

DraftKings “NHL Hockey Tiers”

While Tier contests have the same score sheet as the classic mode, how you build your teams varies greatly from salary cap contests. All players in the player pool will be assigned a tier, and you must include at least one person from each tier in your team. How many tiers are available will depend on the contest.

DraftKings “Showdown Captain Mode”

The NHL Showdown Captain Mode is a salary cap contest that requires you to draft six players, with five considered Flex positions and one earmarked as the Captain. Your chosen Captain will earn 1.5X the points on the scoresheet, but he will cost more to recruit than the flex positions. The same Classic score sheet applies.

DraftKings “NHL Series”

In NHL Series, you will need to draft six player teams to compete in a series of rounds, such as an entire regular season. Your points will accumulate over the course of the round, and you can edit your lineups in between rounds. You will also need to assign a Captain in this contest who earns 1.5X multipliers on his points.

DraftKings “NHL Snake”

The NHL Snake contest utilizes the live snake system to draft players as opposed to salary caps and tiers. Essentially, players are to take turns drafting players one at a time until their seven-player lineup is complete. Your teams will need to include three forwards, one defense, two Flex positions and a bench.

As you can see below, only performances from non-goalies will be rewarded in Snake competitions. Your top-scoring players will be assigned as your starting lineup, so this is where your bench can come in handy.

DraftKings “NHL Snake Showdown”

The Snake Showdown contest requires a draft with the live snake system, with only four players to recruit to your lineup. These will include three Flex players and one Bench. The other major difference to this and the regular Snake contest is that both Players and Goalies can score points according to the Classic mode score sheet.

DraftKings “NHL Snake Showdown”

The DraftKings fantasy hockey platform is, in our opinion, the top fantasy betting option for newcomers and seasoned players. This is due to the fact there are many contest modes to choose from. You can also customize the drafting process with quick draft settings to speed up the tournaments.

There’s a good reason why so many DFS players choose to play at DraftKings, with its reliable platform, customer support, promotions, and huge rewards a major factor. It also offers a high-performance mobile betting app so you can build your teams and cash out while on the move.

Overview of Fantasy Hockey with ParlayPlay

If you’re looking for an unconventional blend of DFS and sports betting, ParlayPlay provides two unique contest modes that are similar to player props. Rather than draft fantasy lineups, participants are to respond to or create projections about how a number of players will perform that week.

Although it’s not as well known as some of our other recommended sites, it is legal to play at in most US states. If you’re new to daily fantasy sports, you can also take advantage of the free DFS drafting mode. This is similar to traditional DFS contests and utilizes the following score sheet.

Scoring

Players		Goalies
Goal	+3 points	Goals Against	-1 point
Assist	+2 points	Saves	0.25 points
Shot on Goal	+0.5 points
Hit	+1 point
Blocked Shot	+1 point

Types of ParlayPlay Fantasy Hockey Contests

You have the choice of two paid fantasy hockey contests at ParlayPlay. These include More/Less and Hit It. Each provides a distinct experience for hockey fans, and you’ll benefit from doing your research into players recent stats. While one requires you to respond to statistical projections, another requires that you form your own.

ParlayPlay “More/Less”

The More/Less contest requires participants to select between two and four hockey players that will be competing in an upcoming NHL event. Each player will have projected stats, such as how many goals they may score. Your job is to guess whether they will perform better or worse than projected. You’ll earn payouts if a combination of your estimates are correct.

ParlayPlay “Hit It”

In Hit It, the roles are essentially reversed. Rather than respond to projected stats, you’ll need to estimate a point range that two players will accumulate. If one of your player projections is correct, you’ll earn a 2X multiplier on your buy-in, while two correct estimates will award you a 6X multiplier.

ParlayPlay Fantasy Hockey Summary

ParlayPlay is a great option for newcomers to daily hockey fantasy or to anyone looking for an alternative to traditional drafting processes. Its fun blend of sports betting and DFS makes this a fast-paced and simplistic gambling activity where you’ll only need to select a small selection of players.

Of course, you can also play the free traditional DFS mode, which is a great opportunity to practice before you invest real money at another site. The ParlayPlay DFS site has one of the best fantasy hockey apps too, so you’ll have no trouble responding to or setting your projections on your smartphone or tablet.

Overview of OwnersBox DFS

OwnersBox provides two distinct fantasy hockey modes. One provides the excitement of tradtional daily fantasy sports with an added Wild Card-type position, while the other utilizes the exciting randomness of slot machine gameplay. This ensures that a versatile gaming experience is avaible to suit your mood or tastes.

It’s possible to either play against your friends for a smaller prize pool or the wider contestant pool for a chance to take home huge payouts. As the following table shows, the scoring system is streamlined and simplistic, with a trove of useful data provided to help you with your selections.

Scoring

Players		Goalies
Goal	+6 points	Win	+6 points
Assist	+4 points	Shutout	+4 points
Shot on Goal	+1 point	Saves	+0.5 points
Blocked Shot	+0.8 points	Goals Against	-3 points

Types of OwnersBox Fantasy Hockey Contests

The two contest types at OwnersBox fantasy are the Super Flex and Lightning Lineups modes. These couldn’t be any more different from one another in terms of drafting lineups, though each are rewarding in their own ways. We highly recommend you try both out, which shouldn’t break the bank due to its accessible buy-in rates.

OwnersBox “Super Flex”

The OwnersBox Super Flex contest mode uses a a salary cap system, whereby contestants must draft a lineup of NHL players within a $50,000 salary. Both your regular players and goalkeeper can score with this mode. While you’ll need to fill a team of nine players, two of these positions will be Flex and one will be Super Flex.

This will give you the option to add more forwards to your team, which can be great to boost your total points. This opportunity isn’t offered at most DFS sites, and with its simple scoring system, you’ll be able to track your team’s performance with ease.

OwnersBox “Lightning Lineups”

In Lightning Lineups, a three row reel-like machine will spin and reveal three different three-player lineups. You will need to select a lineup of players that you believe will score the most points. If you don’t like any of the options, you can wait until the reels spin again.

If you wish, you can add multiple lineups of three-player teams to your bet. This will increase the total payout multiplier. Unlike parlay bets, you won’t need all of your selections to come through to earn a payout. This is great as it won’t penalize you for taking more risks.

Summary of OwnersBox Fantasy Hockey

The OwnersBox fantasy hockey site is great as it offers the best of both worlds. You can either play a modern variation on classic DFS or try a more streamlined drafting game via Lightning Lineups. The website is especially user-friendly, and there are plenty of useful guides to help new players get familiarized with the platform.

Hockey DFS Tips & Strategy

Whether you’re new to daily fantasy sports or a seasoned pro, there are some useful tips and strategies you can abide by to get the most out of your picks. No matter how confident you are at drafting, the cornerstone to any successful selection is research.

You’ll want to have a thorough understanding of all of your players recent performances and statistics, and keep an eye out for weekly injury reports. You’ll be able to change your lineups right up until the round begins, so don’t hesitate to react to the latest news with swaps and trades.

Also, keep an eye out for players with high and low ownership rates. The best contestants know when to follow the crowd and when to opt for underpriced players who are due for a strong performance. It can be helpful to consider player prop odds at sportsbooks to get an idea of how bookmakers are expecting players to perform too.

Guide to Hockey DFS Roster Construction

One of your top priorities for NHL fantasy roster construction should be your forward, and most specifically, your center. This is the player that will be able to accrue you the most points, so you’ll want someone that is a high-volume shooter with a reputation for accuracy.

Similarly, you can concede a lot of points if your goalkeeper is prone to letting goals through, so it’s worth putting a good chunk of your budget aside to select a reliable goalkeeper. Stacking players from one team isn’t a necessity for hockey, but if there’s a strong pairing between forwards that generate assists, opt for them.

You may need to opt for a couple of cheap defensemen to boost your budget for these other players, but this is a worthy risk as long as they have a decent record for blocked shots. Check the morning skates data for defenseman that will step in due to injuries as they’ll have more opportunities than they’ve had before.

Helpful Hockey DFS Resources

Before you finalize your weekly picks, you’ll want to be sure that you’ve reviewed all the resources that are available to you. The best place to start is the official NHL website. Here, you’ll find injury reports and the morning skates data, which should be considered before the markets close.

We suggest you find a fantasy hockey or hockey betting podcast too, as you’ll be able to get expert picks and insights about the top players that week. As is the same for those competing fantasy basketball contests, successful players should rely on forums to find discussions about reliable picks, and these are worth considering to find views that you might have missed.

Some sites will even offer tools that will automatically draft your teams for you. While it’s always best to rely on your own judgment and instinct, these can be useful to create a foundation for your team to build from there.

Our Pick of the Top Daily Fantasy Hockey Mobile App

As we near the conclusion of this guide to the best DFS sites, we can reveal that the best fantasy hockey app is that provided by DraftKings. No longer is Monkey Knife Fight our top choice. The main reason is the DraftKings platform is fast and stable, and you’ll be able to easily build lineups and join contests on your handheld devices. It is also intuitive to navigate and to adjust account controls.

Speed and reliability are extremely important when doing any form of online gambling, as you may need to quickly adjust your lineups before a game begins. The DraftKings app also allow for easy transactions and you’ll often be able to participate in exciting promotional contests.

Final Thoughts on Choosing a Hockey Fantasy Site

With several great fantasy hockey sites to choose from, you’ll have no trouble finding a contest that suits your exact needs. While some offer classic-style competitions, other provide innovative products that add unique twists to the experience. It’s best to choose a site that will appeal to your individual needs and wants and will be suitable for your particular experience level.

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