When ProTrade launched its fantasy-sports stock exchange game more than two years ago, I figured it would ramp up in popularity fast enough so that it would eventually include gameplay for all four major team sports.

So I was surprised to learn that it has yet to add National Hockey League players.

From what I can tell, ProTrade hasn’t added hockey because the guys running it can’t dope out the statistical measures for on-ice performance. Without looking too deeply at the particulars, I’d think that, if fantasy sports can handle hockey — basically by providing a mix of scoring, plus-minus, penalty minutes and other indicators — I can’t see why ProTrade should consider this such a challenge. Stats are stats — those who indulge will know that to look for, just like any other fantasy league.

I do think the NHL itself should be more proactive with ProTrade. Fantasy sports are one more avenue for selling hockey to more general sports fans, as fantasy fanatics often are in search of ever more varieties of distraction. If the league doesn’t see the value, maybe the Players Association should pursue it, since it’s really the player metrics that matter here. There’s precedence for either approach, as Major League Baseball and the NFL Players Association have bother established affiliations with ProTrade.