| Picking a winning hockey pool involves | | | | going to see a ton of ice time each |
| more than simply going online and | | | | night and is also going to be a major |
| downloading last year's scoring | | | | factor on the power play. |
| statistics and starting from the top | | | | In some hockey pools, it's also |
| down. Anybody can do that! To be a | | | | customary to pick at least one |
| successful hockey prognosticator, you | | | | goaltender for the year. Depending on |
| must be able to find players who will | | | | how points are allocated, goaltenders |
| exceed their point totals from last year | | | | can be big point producers in any hockey |
| and not simply go with last year's Art | | | | pool. The best advice is to pick a |
| Ross Trophy winner with your first pick. | | | | goaltender that is an established number |
| This theory holds true if you picked | | | | 1 that will play 65 to 75 games and has |
| Tampa Bay's Martin St. Louis to repeat | | | | a good defence in front of him that can |
| his 2003-2004 season when he tallied 94 | | | | earn him a few shutouts. Be careful in |
| points. Last season, I'm willing to | | | | picking a good goaltender that plays for |
| wager that St. Louis was a hot commodity | | | | a bad team - i.e. Nikolai Khabibulin on |
| and probably picked in everybody's | | | | Chicago or Olaf Kolzig in Washington. |
| hockey pool in the first or second round | | | | Remember, no goalie is capable of |
| because he had one good season. Can't | | | | winning a game alone, so make sure he |
| find St. Louis on last year's scoring | | | | has a solid a solid team in front of |
| list? Well, that's because he didn't | | | | him. |
| make it into last year's Top 50 scorers | | | | It also pays do some homework and find |
| - in fact St. Louis finished tied for | | | | out if any players are injured before |
| 76th overall in scoring with Maple Leafs | | | | the season starts or if they are |
| "super sniper" Darcy Tucker with a grand | | | | involved in contract disputes. Having |
| total of 61 points. | | | | players missing from your line in the |
| Another strategy to remember in picking | | | | early months will set you back early in |
| a winning hockey pool is selecting | | | | the season and you may never get a |
| players who have a history of | | | | chance to catch up. Similarly, if want |
| consistency. When I think of | | | | to pick injury prone players, make sure |
| consistency, I think of players like Joe | | | | your hockey pool rules include a |
| Sakic, Brad Richards, Mats Sundin, and | | | | re-draft halfway through the season |
| Daniel Alfredsson. These players are | | | | where you can drop players who are |
| also consistent "point-per-game" players | | | | injured or underperforming. You may also |
| which is crucial in picking a successful | | | | want to check in to find out what |
| hockey pool. Even though some of these | | | | players are in the final years of their |
| players won't compete for this year's | | | | contract and may be looking for that big |
| Art Ross trophy, they have a history of | | | | raise the following year. Players who |
| finishing in the top 25 players in | | | | are due to become unrestricted free |
| scoring. These types of players are guys | | | | agents at the end of the season are |
| you know who are going to show up every | | | | usually the best examples of this |
| night to play and you will thank | | | | philosophy. |
| yourself every night when you look at | | | | Keep in mind too; a player may have |
| the box scores. | | | | missed some games the previous season, |
| In most hockey pools, it is usually | | | | thus his stats might not be at the very |
| required to take at least a couple of | | | | top of the list. An excellent example of |
| defensemen but knowing what round to | | | | this strategy is Bruins centre Marc |
| start picking defensemen is another | | | | Savard. Two seasons ago, Savard tallied |
| strategy. Last season, the top scoring | | | | 52 points in only 45 games and therefore |
| defenseman in the NHL was Detroit's | | | | didn't register in the top 25 in |
| Nicklas Lidstrom who finished with 80 | | | | scoring. Last season, Savard played in |
| points - good enough for 25th in overall | | | | all 82 games and rung up 97 points with |
| points. The next highest defenseman was | | | | the Atlanta Thrashers. |
| Dallas' Sergei Zubov who had 71 points | | | | So on draft day, print out a copy of the |
| and finished 48th overall in scoring. | | | | top 250-300 players from the previous |
| The bottom line here is only 2 D-Men | | | | season and go through every player |
| finished in the top 50 so don't waste | | | | thoroughly and ask yourself, can this |
| your time worrying about selecting a | | | | player improve on his stats from last |
| defenseman in the first few rounds of | | | | year? Could this player do better now |
| your hockey pool. If you think a forward | | | | that he's playing on a different team |
| is still out there that could | | | | with different linemates? |
| conceivably score more points then the | | | | Follow this advice closely and with a |
| defenseman you want to pick, take the | | | | little luck, you may find yourself |
| forward - it will probably pay off in | | | | taking home the big prize when April |
| the long run. However, when it does come | | | | rolls around next year! |
| time to start picking defensemen, the | | | | HockeyDraft. |
| number one rule is pick a player who is | | | | |