How Does a Hockey Pool Work? Drafts, Points and League Rules

A hockey pool is a season-long contest in which each participant builds a roster of real NHL players and collects points whenever those players score, set up goals or, for goalies, win games. The person whose roster earns the most points by the end of the season, or of the playoffs, wins the pool. Pools are run among friends, families and offices, usually by one volunteer who keeps the standings.

The three common formats

Draft pools

Participants take turns choosing players in a draft, each player can belong to only one roster, and the order usually snakes: whoever picks last in round one picks first in round two. Draft night is often the highlight of the whole pool.

Pick-sheet or tier pools

The organiser splits players into groups, for example ten forwards per tier, and each entrant picks one or two from every group. Several people can choose the same player, so nobody needs to be present at the same time. This suits large offices.

Playoff pools

A shorter version run only for the spring playoffs. Picking players from teams that go deep matters more than individual talent, because an eliminated team stops earning.

How points are usually scored

Simple pools count goals and assists only. More detailed ones add hits, plus-minus or power-play points. Whatever the system, write it down before the season starts, since changing it in January always upsets someone.

Rules worth settling in advance

• Roster size and positions, such as twelve forwards, six defencemen and two goalies.
• Injuries and trades: whether a hurt player can be swapped, how often and by when.
• Ties in the final standings and how they are broken.
• Where standings are posted and how often they are updated.

Most of a pool's fun comes from following games with a reason to care about teams other than your own. A plan for which games to watch live and which to catch later, built around time zones and Saturday doubleheaders, is set out in our hockey season viewing calendar.

Running the pool through the season

The organiser carries most of the load, so a little structure helps. Collect every roster in one shared sheet before opening night, with a column for each player and the points they add each week. Many pool hosts update the standings once a week rather than daily, which keeps the job manageable and gives everyone a fixed moment to check where they stand. A short weekly message with the leaders, the biggest climber and the worst-luck injury keeps the group talking long after the draft buzz fades. Lock the rules document after the first game, and keep a log of any trade or injury swap so nobody argues about it in April.

Prizes and entry fees

Many pools play for bragging rights, a trophy that passes from winner to winner or the right to choose the next team outing. Some collect an entry fee and pay it out to the top finishers. A friendly pool of that kind usually returns every dollar collected, unlike a sportsbook, which builds a margin into its prices, a mechanism described in our explainer on the house edge. Even so, rules on pools that involve money differ between provinces and states, and some workplaces forbid them. Adults only, check what applies where you live, and keep any fee to an amount set aside for fun, the way the leisure share works in the 50/30/20 budget rule.