Once bitten, twice shy. That's what fantasy owners who drafted Ilya Kovalchuk last year thought as they passed on the talented sniper before their 2011-12 draft. That's too bad because Kovalchuk had a major bounce-back year and some other owner reaped the reward. Fantasy hockey, like life, isn't always fair.

Fantasy hockey isn't always about drafting the best player in the first round either. You're supposed to hit a home run in the first round. It's more important not to whiff badly in the first round because it's a lot harder to win when the player you expected to hit 80+ points ends up with 30.

Sometimes you can make up for a poor start to the draft by having a few sleepers pan out or dominating the waiver wire. Pulling out a 70-point player or a 30-win goalie from the final few rounds of the draft makes you the Detroit Red Wings of your league of nerds, which means you were likely at the top of the standings.

However you did it, there are players to thank, for good or for bad. It's time to honour the players that helped you win your pool and condemn those that made sure you lost. Here are the best and worst fantasy hockey players from 2011-12.

All draft stats are taken from Yahoo! There could be some differences depending on the league you played, but for the most part they should be comparable.