a piece of me

Cormier Cup Hockey Pool – Tips for Your Hockey Pool

Well, it’s time to lace them up and start the next NHL season and here at Homestead Appleby/Cormier. We are in full swing of preparations for this year’s Cormier Cup Hockey Pool and looking forward to the big day.  Without further silliness here are some links that might help you prepare for picking your team this year.

TSN 30 Teams in 30 Days – 2011 NHL Preview
If knowledge is power then this is a “must read” for anyone in a hockey pool.  The definitive source for everything you need to know about the upcoming NHL season by the best source for hockey information in the world, TSN.  If you read nothing else to prepare for your hockey pool, try to read some of the enormous amount of information on these 30 pages and I promise your place in the pool standings will improve because of it.  TSN.ca is reviewing each NHL team in the month of September.  Their 30 Teams in 30 Days highlights off-season moves, some of the biggest issues the teams have to deal with and suggests a few players to watch in the upcoming season for each and every team in the NHL.  Check it out.

Yahoo! Sports Draft Kit – Depth Charts and Player News and Notes
A popular Draft Day strategy is to pick players from the same team, who are likely to play with each other (on the same line) all season long.  The theory works like this:  If you have BOTH Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin on your team you will usually get two points each time one of them scores because one will get the goal and the other will the assist.  Double the points for every goal.  If you like this strategy, you really need to see the team’s depth charts and start making predictions about which players will play together on which teams.  Yahoo! Has put together this handy chart that should help get you started.  This file also has some News and Notes about some of the key players on each team.  Not sure where to start in your Pool Planning.  This is a good place to start. (Thanks to Uncle Mike for tuning me into this great info from Yahoo!). Check it out: Download Yahoo2011_depthcharts.

TSN Fantasy Draft Kit – NHL Team Previews
TSN’s Scott Cullen’s blog posts about each team and what to expect in the upcoming NHL season. A TON of information here and a good supplement to the TSN 30 Teams in 30 Days preview. (In fact some of the teams haven’t been showcased yet at the time of writing this blog post, so this is a good place to fill in the blanks on those last few teams). Check it out.

TSN Fantasy Draft Kit – Points Predictions
TSN’s Scott Cullen predicts the top 300 scorers and makes predictions about how many points each player will get. Check it out.

TSN Fantasy Draft Kit – Position-By-Position Rankings
Scott Cullen offer his predictions about the top 70 players in each position (Center, Left Wing, Right Wing, Defense, Goalie) and tells us how many points he thinks they will get. Check it out.

Yahoo! Sports Draft Kit – Top 200 Rankings
Yahoo! has put together this excellent list of their top 200 player predictions.  What makes this list so great is they also offer a quick blurb about the player and why they are ranked where they are. Great list and a quick and easy read with some interesting differences from the TSN predictions.  Print this one off and bring it with you on Draft Day if you really want to look like the keener!  Great job Yahoo! Check it out:  Download Yahoo2011_top200

Yahoo! Sports Draft Kit – Breakout Rookies, Sleepers and Under-Valued Players, and Busts and Over-Valued Players
Great series of list of players to watch out for and players to avoid by Yahoo! Check it out:  Download Yahoo2011_rookiesovervalueandbustplayers

Yahoo! Sports Draft Kit – Off Season Moves
Making predictions about the playoffs can be hard so reading about all the different off season move is a must if you’re gonna make a serious push for that playoff pool victory.  Yahoo has graded each team’s off season moves.  Check it out:  Download Yahoo2011_offseasonmoves

 

Last Season's Stats and Current Player Salaries
And finally, I've got some updated stats/salary information on our lists.  This first file is the latest version of the stats and salary information that we will be using on Draft Day.  Last Season's Regular Season Points Leaders:  Download CormierCup-Stats-RegularSeason-ver3-1

This file is the latest info we have for last year's Playoff points leaders.  This list also has salary info.  Last Year's Playoff Points Leaders:  Download CormierCup-Stats-Playoffs-ver3-1

(KEEP IN MIND: Both these files have changed since the last version and will change again - probably a few times between now and Draft Day so you'll want to make your notes on a separate sheet of paper.  You'll get the final version of these files on Draft Day.)

Hope that helps! Remember: the more prepared we all are for our picks the faster the day will go for everyone... and it's gonna be a LOONG (but super fun!) day.  Good luck on Pool Day – so say we all!

"I know my players don't like my practices, but that's OK because I don't like their games."
     - Harry Neale.

Cormier Cup Hockey Pool – Tips and Analysis 2011

It’s been a while.  I’ve been neglecting you my little blog.  Sorry about that.  I guess, I’ve traded you in for younger, faster social media.  Hope we can still be friends.

But now it’s Hockey Pool Season and this is the best way to spread some hockey pool info to friends, family and fellow poolies.

In the Cormier Cup Hockey Pool we each choose 20 players (forwards or defensemen, no goalies – yet!) and you get 1 point for every point your players get.  So you have “spend wisely” as you “shop” for your team on Pool Day. It is an elimination pool so once a player is picked no one else can pick that same player. Selection order is taken from names in a hat and we a “snake draft” for order - so the person who picks last in the first round gets to pick first in the second round, etc.

The other thing that makes our pool a little different, I guess, is that we choose 20 players for the entire regular season (and award 1 winner for the regular season) and then we KEEP all the same players for the playoffs as well. 

Here are a few things I’ve gathered that might help when you start thinking about your picks on Pool Day and what you want to do with your team.

Playoff Tree of Last Year’s Playoffs

 

Blank Playoff Tree to Make Predictions

But now you may find yourself asking: “Self, how the hell do I know which teams will make the playoffs?”

Well, of course, that’s half the fun of any hockey pool.  But fret not!  You’ve come to the right place.  While no one can accurately predict exactly which teams will make the playoffs in today’s NHL we can at least look at some of the history and what teams have done well in recent years.  

Below is a list of every NHL team and the total Points they received at the end of the season for the last 5 NHL seasons.  I’ve also totaled those points up (on the right) and given them a ranking (on the left) so that you can easily see how well teams have done in recent years.  (Points marked in grey indicate that the team won The Stanley Cup that year).

NHL Team POINTS Leaders from the Past 5 Years

And because our hockey pool (and most hockey pools) are about Points (i.e. how many goals and assists you get) I’ve done the same thing with Team Goals so you can see which teams have scored the most goals in recent years.  (Goals marked in grey indicate that the team won The Stanley Cup that year).

NHL Team GOALS Leaders from the Past 5 Years

 

But wait!  That’s not all!  As Steve Irwin would say, “Take a look at this!”  I’ve also been examining the top NHL scorers in the past few years in hopes that it might provide us with some insight into which players are likely to be chosen in the first couple of rounds of picks.

What I did with this chart is I took the top 10 scoring leaders (most points during the regular season) for each of the past 5 NHL seasons and compiled all their stats during the past 5 seasons.  I’ve provided totals for the past 5 seasons and an average Points/Season (on the right) and ranked them (on the left) based on their points totals for past 5 years.  (Points marked in grey indicate that the player won The Stanley Cup that year). 

NHL Player Top Scoring Leaders from the Past 5 Years

 

And finally... for everyone looking to get a start on their hockey pool planning, I'm including a ROUGH DRAFT of the top scoring leaders for everyone.  Remember many of these WILL change between now and Pool Day - and we'll be using only the latest version of these stats (given to you on Pool Day) - but this should let you at least start thinking about your team.  You can download the latest version of the Regular Season stats sheet here (PDF file): Download Regular Season - Stats ver 2-2.

Remember there are no trades allowed in our hockey pool (yet!) so choose wisely!  Hope this helps with your hockey pool predictions and selections. 

Good luck in your pools. So say we all!

Please note: The Piece of Me Empire has endeavored to the best of our efforts to ensure the accuracy of this information but can take no responsibility for any incorrect information.  All stats should be independently verified by yourself before choosing players for your hockey pool. If you see any errors or omissions in any of this information please leave a comment and let me know.

"All hockey players are bilingual. They know English and profanity."
     - Gordie Howe

Cormier Cup Hockey Pool - Best Pool Evah!

Well, our Cormier Cup Hockey Pool was a huge success.  By all accounts everyone had a fantastic time and went home with rosters full of players they liked and/or were happy with.  We had 12 people over, drafting 11 teams with 220 players each for a total salary of just under $653 million.

I thought I would share one more bit of hockey pool related info here for you to take a look at how your team stacks up.  

The Hockey News has posted an article listing some players to take in your hockey and a few players to avoid.  Ooooh, noooooo! It’s too late now folks. Some surprising predictions here (including having Toronto’s Dion Phaneuf and Kris Versteeg on your “Must Have List” and Boston’s Nathan Horton and Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler on the “Players To Avoid List”).  This one is worth the read whether you’ve already picked your teams or if you are going to be drafting this week.

A look at who to go for and who to stay away from on your fantasy hockey team
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/35445-A-look-at-who-to-go-for-and-who-to-stay-away-from-on-your-fantasy-hockey-team.html

Thanks to everyone for playing along and good luck in the upcoming season.  So say we all!

 

"At the end of each year I make a list of my mistakes and it’s pretty friggin’ long."
   - Dean Lombardi

 

Cormier Cup Hockey Pool – Hockey Pool Cheat Sheets from RotoRob.com

 

Time for more hockey pool information for those of us who just can't get enough hockey talk or those who really, really need to be prepared for this year's Cormier Cup Hockey Pool. The website RotoRob.com (http://www.rotorob.com) has posted a few articles that might help with your fantasy hockey pool picks. The website refers to the following articles as “cheat sheets” and offer the author’s view of ranking the top 25 (or 30) players at their position in the up-coming NHL season and little commentary to help put their rankings in perspective.

2010-11 RotoRob NHL Draft Kit: Centre Rankings (Top 30) by Mike Chen

RotoRob NHL Draft Kit: Left Wing Rankings (Top 25) by Chris Wassel 

RotoRob NHL Draft Kit: Right Wing Rankings (Top 25) by Chris Wassel 

And although we don't choose any goalies in our hockey pool (yet! - stay tuned that's coming next year!) I've included the link to their Ranking of the Top 25 Goalies because there is no denying that the goaltender position is integral to a team's success and can significantly impact your decision to choose (or not choose) other players.

2010-11 RotoRob NHL Draft Kit: Goalie Rankings (Top 30) by Mike Chen

Good luck on Pool Day.  So say we all!

"It's not necessarily the amount of time you spend at practice that counts; it's what you put into the practice."
      - Eric Lindros