I fire up a Facebook video chat populated by a mishmash of family and friends. It’s time for our playoff hockey pool, as we’ve done for many years. Everyone is chattering from their respective homes. It’s impossible to decipher much of anything, but it’ll calm down when we get down to business.
Playoff Hockey Pool
The scoring is as simple as can be. There are no mandatory defencemen, no goalie categories. There are only the total points a skater gets in however many games he plays. Let’s call it Old School Pool.
Our names are drawn from a hat, and I land the fifth pick out of 12 participants. We’re taking 10 players each.
Ideally, you have a nice list prepared. You start with regular season scoring, look out for those down the charts because they missed games, then adjust based on who is and isn’t a “playoff performer.” Finally, you’d comb the news to make sure you know who’s injured. Picking an injured player is very embarrassing, and you have to cover it up with “Yes, but he’ll be back soon” (as if you know).
I didn’t have time for any of that, and now here we go…
Round 1
The first overall pick is Nick Suzuki of the Montreal Canadiens. While this probably stands out as an overreach, this comes from a Habs fan who simply must have their favourite player. It’s an emotional pick you won’t see from me. With my Calgary Flames out of the playoffs this year, I am free from this temptation and can proceed with robotic objectivity.
Next are the more conventional Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar picks.
It is now my turn, and I take Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning. I feel great to get a points monster on an elite team.
Round 2
My next pick is 20th overall. Off the board favourites are three Oilers, three Avalanche, three Stars, two Wild, and two Knights. My eyes drift back to Tampa Bay. If I collect their two best scorers, I can claim this team as my turf. I go for it and take Jake Guentzel.
Round 3
Now it’s time to diversify. Just ahead of me, Sebastian Aho is the first taken from the Carolina Hurricanes-Ottawa Senators series. I feel okay about Ottawa’s potential to upset and take Brady Tkachuk.
Round 4
I gotta go West. With the big three in the Central Division all feasted upon, I find the Vegas Golden Knights attractive to come out of the Pacific. There are a few unavailable, but I grab a good one in Pavel Dorofeyev. At least, I thought it was a good one; nobody else seems to know who this is.
Round 5
I return to Ottawa and pick Tim Stutzle. This is a repeat of my Tampa Bay strategy: claim a team’s top two, and hopefully everyone will be discouraged from taking any others. I now have Tampa coming out of the Atlantic, Ottawa coming out of the Metro, and one stake in Vegas out of the Pacific.
Smoke Break
We are on a smoke break. Remember, this is Old School Pool. We shoot the breeze. My brother is talking about his monster pool idea, which combines regular season and playoffs. I think the idea sounds fun.
I take stock of things at this halfway mark. Who’s falling under the radar? There is only one taken from each of the Utah Mammoth, Los Angeles Kings, and Philadelphia Flyers. And still zero Anaheim Ducks.
Round 6
One guy presents his pick as “the former captain of the Calgary Flames…” I have no idea who he’s going to say. Mikael Backlund has been the captain for three seasons now. Before him was eight years of Mark Giordano’s captaincy, but he’s retired. Eventually, it comes out as Nazem Kadri, who was taken three rounds ago, and was certainly not the captain in Calgary. What can I say, Flames games are on quite late out East.
I double-dip into the Vegas Golden Knights roster with Ivan Barbashev.
Someone takes a player called “Podkolzin.” Nobody knows who this is, so there are laughs all around.
Round 7
I think I find some value in the Minnesota Wild with Mats Zuccarello. Finally, I’m in all four divisions.
Someone takes “Dustin Toews”.
“You gonna take the Pittsburgh goalie or what?” That chirp is directed at my brother, who, as a dutiful superfan, is picking nothing but Penguins. In a world where they go on a Cinderella run, he’d have a slam-dunk win. This is not that world; that is a fairy tale.
Round 8
Shea Theodore is taken, which exhausts my list of Vegas players. I might’ve wanted to load up more, but I wouldn’t know who to pick. Let this be a lesson to make your list long enough.
I return to Minnesota and take Marcus Johansson.
Round 9
My picks are now spread across four teams with two players from each. My better judgement says not to spread myself thinner, but I ignore this, and I go with Josh Norris of the Buffalo Sabres. I was distracted by the need to pee. Thank goodness the last round is coming up.
Round 10
For the final pick of the entire pool, a guy tries for Brady Tkachuk. My third-rounder. Sometimes you miss crossing a guy off your list.
I pick Leo Carlsson, the one and only Anaheim Duck taken in the entire pool. By all accounts, it’ll take a miracle for them to beat the nefarious Edmonton Oilers. I’ll cheer for a miracle. Okay, maybe I have a little emotion.
Wrap-up
A playoff hockey pool can be as simple or complex as you and your buddies want. Whether you enjoy a long run of contention or go bust in round one, the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs are made more fun when in a hockey pool.
