Did you draft Nino Niederreiter as a sleeper in your fantasy pool last year only to be rewarded with a disastrous one point, minus-29 rating in 55 games?

An Internet search shows that Daniel Wagner had a similar idea and ran a pool for Pass it to Bulis readers last season

Wagner grouped similar players in 15 separate categories (e.g. “Art Ross Candidates” or “Gritty Goons”) and asked poolies to select the player in each category they thought would do the worst in 2011-12. Players were awarded 1 point for a goal, 1 point for an assist, 1 point for a win, and 2 points for a shutout. The team with the lowest score was crowned the winner.

That's a pretty good way to select a bad fantasy team, and a fun way to test your prognostication ability, but it doesn't really reflect who the worst fantasy hockey players. There are plenty of good players being selected, they are just bad relative to their peers, which isn't the same as a "bad fantasy player". Obviously, even Alex Ovechkin in a down-year is better than a lot of players.

To rectify this problem, you have to create a system that rewards people for choosing the type of players that statistically contribute the least to their teams. The catch is these players actually have to play regularly in order to accumulate fantasy points. Selecting a bunch of young players likely headed back to junior or some borderline NHL scrappers that might see 10 games a season isn't fun and doesn't take much brain power. Figuring out which players consistently see their name in a lineup card on a nightly basis, yet provide their team with almost nothing tangible is much more difficult.

That means playing games gets points, scoring goals and notching assists loses points. Imagine watching the highlights and incredulously staring as Paul Bissionnette scores an improbable hat-trick. Once what was just a hilariously improbable situation could now turn your first-round anti-fantasy player into a bust.

The better choice is stay-at-home, defensive defencemen. They are going to play a ton of games, aren't going to score many points, and because they usually face the opposition's best players, should be good for a hefty minus. If they play on an awful team, even better. Last season, the three most "valuable" anti-fantasy hockey players—Nick Schultz, Brett Clark, and Robyn Regehr—fit this description.

The best forward is clearly a bottom-6 guy, preferably an enforcer who actually plays consistently, like Shawn Thornton, or a no-offense, pure-defence player, like Manny Malhotra or David Steckel.

Picking a goalie becomes especially tricky because you have to identify a team that is going to be awful, but one with a goalie that will play regardless of consistent shelling. In other words, a really bad team with a good goalie. You might know that Jonas Gustavsson is a terrible goalie, but if he isn't going to play the majority of the games, his ability to stink up your team diminishes.

Last season a good example was Carey Price. The Habs lost a ton last year, and behind a battered defence allowed a lot of goals. But Price is an unquestioned No. 1 goalie and was going to get the majority of the starts irrespective of the quality of the team in front of him. It wasn't like Montreal was going to have a better chance to win with Peter Budaj taking over.

Boston

Defenceman: Adam McQuaid – GP: 72, G: 2, A: 8, +16, = 108 points

Goalie: Tuukka Rask – GA: 44, W: 11, L: 8, OTL: 3, SO: 3, = 13 points

Buffalo

Defenceman: Robyn Regehr , GP: 76, G: 1, A: 4, -12 = 154 points

Montreal

Forward: Brad Staubitz – GP: 62, G: 1, A: 0, -5 = 127 points

Defenceman: Alexei Emelin – GP: 67, G: 3, A: 4, -18 = 138 points

Ottawa

Forward: Kaspars Daugavins – GP: 65, G: 5, A: 6, -2 = 110 points

Toronto

Forward: David Steckel – GP: 76, G: 8, A: 5, -14 = 140 points

Defenceman: Carl Gunnarsson – GP: 76, G: 4, A:15, -9 = 123 points

Philadelphia

Forward: Zac Rinaldo – GP: 66, G: 2, A: 7, -1 = 115 points

Defenceman: Nicklas Grossmann – GP: 74, G: 0, A: 11, +5 = 121 points

Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky – GA: 78, W: 14, L: 10, OTL: 2, SO: 0 = 31 points

Pittsburgh

Defenceman: Derek Engelland – GP: 73, G: 4, A: 13, +10 = 102 points

New Jersey

Defenceman: Mark Fayne – GP: 82, G: 4, A: 13, -4 = 134 points

NYI

Defenceman: Milan Jurcina – GP: 65, G: 3, A: 8, -34 = 142 points

NYR

Forward: Brandon Prust – GP: 82, G: 5, A: 12, -1 = 131 points

Defenceman: Dan Girardi – GP: 82, G: 5, A: 24, +13 = 93 points

Florida

Forward: Jerred Smithson – GP: 69, G: 1, A: 5, -5 = 131 points

Defenceman: Erik Gudbranson – GP: 72, G: 2, A: 6, -19 = 147 points

Winnipeg

Goalie: Ondrej Pavelec – GA: 191, W: 29, L: 28, OTL: 9, SO: 4 = 102.5 points

Carolina

Tampa Bay

Forward: Tom Pyatt – GP: 74, G: 12, A: 7, -19 = 129 points

Goalie: Dwayne Roloson – GA: 128, W: 13, L: 16, OTL: 3, SO: 1 = 77 points

Washington

Defenceman: Karl Alzner – GP: 82, G: 1, A: 16, +12 = 118 points

Goalie: Michal Neuvirth – GA: 95, W: 13, L: 13, OTL: 5, SO: 3 = 51.5 points

St. Louis

Goalie: Jaroslav Halak – GA: 90, W: 26, L: 12, OTL: 7, SO: 6 = 5 points

Chicago

Forward: Jamal Mayers – GP: 81, G: 6, A: 9, -4 = 136 points

Defenceman: Johnny Oduya – GP: 81, G: 3, A: 15, -6 = 132 points

Columbus

Forward: Colton Gillies – GP: 75, G: 2, A: 6, -9 = 143 points

Detroit

Forward: Justin Abdelkader – GP: 81, G: 8, A: 14, +4 = 114 points

Defenceman: Niklas Kronwall – GP: 82, G: 15, A: 21, -2 = 94 points

Nashville

Forward: Paul Gaustad – GP: 70, G: 7, A: 14, -1 = 99 points

Goalie: Anders Lindback – GA: 32, W: 5, L: 8, OTL: 0, SO: 0 = 25 points

LA

Defenceman: Rob Scuderi – GP: 82, G: 1, A: 8, -7 = 153 points

Dallas

Defenceman: Mark Fistric – GP: 60, G: 0, A: 2, -3 = 119 points

Goalie: Kari Lehtonen – GA: 136, W: 32, L: 22, OTL: 4, SO: 4 = 38 points

Anaheim

Forward: Matt Beleskey – GP: 70, G: 4, A: 11, -2 = 112 points

Defenceman: Francois Beauchemin – GP: 82, G: 8, A: 14, -14 = 134 points

San Jose

Goalie: Antti Niemi – GA: 159, W: 34, L: 22, OTL: 9, SO: 6 = 49.5 points

Phoenix

Forward: Mikkel Boedker – GP: 82, G: 11, A: 13, -2 = 118 points

Goalie: Jason Labarbara – GA: 43, W: 3, L: 9, OTL: 3, SO: 0 = 45.5 points

Vancouver

Forward: Manny Malhotra – GP: 78, G: 7, A: 11, -11 = 131 points

Defenceman: Marc-Andre Gragnani – GP: 58, G: 2, A: 13, +6 = 80 points

Goalie: Roberto Luongo – GA: 127, W: 31, L: 14, OTL: 8, SO: 5 = 18.5 points

Calgary

Goalie: Miikka Kiprusoff – GA: 162, W: 35, L: 22, OTL: 11, SO: 4 = 56 points

Colorado

Forward: Jay McClement – GP: 80, G: 10, A: 7, -8 = 134 points

Defenceman: Jan Hejda – GP: 81, G: 5, A: 14, -17 = 141 points

Goalie: Semyon Varlamov – GA: 136, W: 26, L: 24, OTL: 3, SO: 4 = 60 points

Minnesota

Forward: Darroll Powe – GP: 82, G: 6, A: 7, -20 = 158 points

Defenceman: Marco Scandella – GP: 63, G: 3, A: 9, -22 = 124 points

Goalie: Niklas Backstom – GA: 105, W: 19, L: 18, OTL: 7, SO: 4 = 55.5 points

Edmonton

Forward: Eric Belanger – GP: 78, G: 4, A: 12, -13 = 137 points

Goalie: Nikolai Khabibulin – GA: 100, W: 12, L: 20, OTL: 7, SO: 2 = 84 points

What if instead of being a total bust, that was an MVP-calibre season. No, I don't mean what if Uncle Nino scored 100 points, I mean what if that terrible season was exactly what you envisioned.That's the logic behind Anti-Fantasy Hockey. Purposely trying to create the absolute worst fantasy hockey team imaginable. It's a concept that me and a few friends laughed about a few years ago but never actually created a formal set or rules, let alone a league. But with a lockout looming, this is the time of harebrained ideas to combat boredom.For players, the points system breaks down as follows:Games Played: +2 pointsGoals: -2 pointsAssists: -2 pointsPlus: -1 pointMinus: +1 pointOptional:Shots on Goal: -0.1 pointsPower play point: -1 pointShorthanded point: -4 pointsFor goalies:Win: -3 pointsLoss +3 pointsOvertime Loss: +2 pointsGoals Against: +0.5 pointsShutout: -2 pointsTeams should consist of 10 players (two centres, two right wingers, two left wingers, and four defencemen) and one goalie. There should be no adding/dropping players throughout the season.Selecting the goon from each team might seem like a wise move, but consider that it is becoming increasingly rare for a fighter to play most of his team's games. In many cases teams selectively scratch enforcers depending on which team they are facing. Oh, up against the Detroit Red Wings? Take a seat, Biz. Travelling to Boston? Maybe think about packing some extra foil.For anyone interested in playing Anti-Fantasy Hockey this season, I have outlined the forward, defenceman, and goalie from each team that would net the most points under the scoring system above (not including the optional point deductions). I also have a spreadsheet of players (modified from one available to download from Hockey Abstract ) that you can view as a Google spreadsheet here Yahoo! doesn't allow you to use games played as a stat for points, so a good, simple site to use is Online Pools : Shawn Thornton – GP: 81, G: 5, A: 8, -7 = 143 points: Matt Ellis – GP: 60, G: 3, A: 5, -3 = 107 points: Ryan Miller – GA: 150, W: 31, L: 21, OTL: 7, SO: 6 = 47 points: Carey Price – GA: 160, W:26, L: 28, OTL: 11, SO: 4 = 100 points: Jared Cowen – GP: 82, G: 5, A: 12, -4 = 134 points: Craig Anderson – GA: 165, W: 33, L: 22, OTL: 6, SO: 3 = 55.5 points: James Reimer – GA: 97, W: 14, L: 14, OTL: 4, SO: 3 = 50.5 points: Joe Vitale – GP: 68, G: 4, A: 10, -5 = 113: Brent Johnson – GA: 42, W: 6, L: 7, OTL: 2, SO: 0 = 28 points: Ryan Carter – GP: 72, G: 4, A: 4, -13 = 141 points: Martin Brodeur – GA: 136, W: 31, L: 21, OTL: 4, SO: 3 = 40 points: Matt Martin – GP: 80, G: 7, A: 7, -17 = 149 points: Al Montoya – GA: 89, W: 9, L: 11, OTL: 5, SO: 0 = 60.5 points: Martin Biron – GA: 50, W: 12, L: 6, OTL: 2, SO: 2 = 7 points: Jose Theodore – GA: 125, W: 22, L: 16, OTL: 11, SO: 3 = 60.5 points: Tanner Glass – GP: 78, G: 5, A: 11, -12 = 136 points: Mark Stuart – GP: 80, G: 3, A: 11, -4 = 136 points: Patrick Dwyer – GP: 73, G: 5, A: 7, even = 122 points: Bryan Allen – GP: 82, G: 1, A: 13, -1 = 137 points: Cam Ward – GA: 182, W: 30, L: 23, OTL: 13, SO: 5 = 86 points: Brett Clark – GP: 82, G: 2, A: 13, -26 = 160 points: Matt Hendricks – GP: 78, G: 4, A: 5, -6 = 144 points: Scott Nichol – GP: 80, G: 3, A: 5, -5 = 149 points: Roman Polak – GP: 77, G: 0, A: 11, +6 = 126 points: Corey Crawford – GA: 146, W: 30, L: 17, OTL: 7, SO: 0 = 48 points: John Moore – GP: 67, G: 2, A: 5, -23 = 143 points: Steve Mason – GA: 143, W: 16, L: 26, OTL: 3, SO: 1 = 105.5 points: Ty Conklin – GA: 44, W: 5, L: 6, OTL: 1, SO: 1 = 25 points: Hal Gill – GP: 76, G: 1, A: 12, -3 = 129 points: Kyle Clifford – GP: 81, G: 5, A: 7, -5 = 143 points: Jonathan Quick – GA: 133, W: 35, L: 21, OTL: 13, SO: 10 = 30.5 points: Vernon Fiddler – GP: 82, G: 8, A: 13, -13 = 135 points: Jonas Hiller – GA: 182, W: 29, L: 30, OTL: 12, SO: 4 = 110 points: Brad Winchester – GP: 67, G: 6, A: 4, -5 = 119 points: Justin Braun – GP: 66, G: 2, A: 9, -2 = 112 points: Derek Morris – GP: 59, G: 2, A: 9, -12 = 108 points: Tim Jackman – GP: 75, G: 1, A: 6, -21 = 157 points: Scott Hannan – GP: 78, G: 2, A: 10, -10 = 142 points: Nick Schultz – GP: 82, G: 1, A: 6, -12 = 162 points