Rob Higgins' Hockey Fantasy Index - More than you'd expect...

By Buddy Oakes

Fantasy hockey guru, Rob Higgins' new book, Hockey Fantasy Index, hits the shelves across Canada and becomes available at Amazon in the States today.

Higgins is well known as the XM Home Ice fantasy expert, appearing Fridays on his show with James "Boomer" Gordon. He also has a regular column that appears in the Toronto Sun.
And, in his spare time, Higgins the leader of Canadian band, Dearly Beloved.

The new book has almost 500 pages of every kind of information you would need, as you prepare for the upcoming hockey fantasy season. Higgins has developed his own ratings to analyze and predict what players will do and their value to their team.

The fantasy forecaster explains his system, "I introduce two stats of my own ... HFI and RV. Both are driven by the numbers the players produce and are per-game, rate-based perspectives that reflect a player's value in terms of the stat categories kept by the NHL and used in the majority of fantasy leagues."

But, it's not just a fantasy book as it has something for all hockey fans.

"It's a pretty huge book and I can honestly say that's it's so loaded with fact-driven information that it's an interesting read for a hockey fan, whether they're into gaming or not."

A very interesting part of the book is how Higgins applies his rating system to members of the NHL's 1000 point club to see who would have been top fantasy produces from the years before fantasy was even dreamed about.

The results might surprise you.

Hockey Fantasy Index also has a section with articles from all 30 NHL teams, with local writers providing stories for each team.

In full disclosure, I have to admit... I wrote the chapter on the Predators. I wouldn't let that fact discourage you from checking out the book, as there are also contributions from "Puck Daddy" Greg Wyshynski, ex-Leaf assistant GM Bill Watters, and Hockey Night in Canada personality and Hall Of Fame writer Scott Morrison.

In Canada, the book can be found almost anywhere. In the United States, the best way to get it is at Amazon.com.

Rob will appear on the September 20th edition of PredsOntheGlass Radio and with audience questions. Please e-mail Buddy in advance if you want your question asked during the show.