2016 Hockey Pool Draft Date Announced

And what's one draft announcement without another?  Of course, when I'm booking dates, I am going to do it all at once, it would be kind of silly to do it any other way.

As you may have noticed, the location for the World Cup draft wasn't the same as previous years, as the Voodoo Lounge appears to have changed owners and format, so it didn't look like it was going to be the right place to get the draft done, so on the recommendation of Tony, one of the pool regulars, I had checked out Nicastro's Public House up on Centre Street North and they have a great venue for this sort of thing, so we're going to take the party up to them.

I am certainly hopeful that the kinks about going to a new venue are all sorted out for the World Cup draft, that would be ideal, since this is the big event on the Opiated Sherpa calendar.

This year, with the World Cup taking place, the NHL season will get a little bit of a later start, which means we'll get a bit of a later start on the NHL draft, giving everyone a little extra time to do their homework.  Let's not forget about some of that advanced scouting, since players like Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine will be participating in the World Cup and their performances will greatly affect where they are taken in this year's draft.

The date has been chosen, we will draft our hockey pool teams on...

October 8th, 2016 at 1pm

I have confirmed with Nicastro's that this is a very social event and that we'll be eating and drinking, so they were kind enough to waive the room rental fee, but it would be very good for everyone to confirm whether or not they will be attending and if you'll be bringing anyone new, just so we have a head count and that they can make sure we get the best service possible.  If you can possibly RSVP by the 1st, that would be greatly appreciated.

Last season, we hit new highs with 27 participants and we did it in record time, which was awesome!  There were a few concerns about the draft format itself and the pool, which will be looked at going forward, I do want to make sure that this pool is enjoyable and fun for everyone, especially given the cost and the time invested by everyone to join us and play.

Scoring won't change at all for the coming year, the formula has worked year over year and there's no reason to change that part of the pool.

• goal - 1 point
• assist - 1 point
• win - 2 points
• shutout - 2 points

The roster size will also remain the same, we'll keep it at 14 players, regardless of how many people are going to show up, but the restrictions may change, due to the amount of participation.  For the coming season, if we have 25 teams or less, the breakdown will remain the same, eight forwards, four defensemen and a pair of goalies.  There is an element to the drafting strategy that keeps everything exciting and I would like to keep that, but if we exceed 25 teams this year, we'll move to only one goalie and add a forward and get a little deeper into that pool of players.

I'm sure, once Las Vegas joins the fold for the 2018 season, we'll readjust those numbers again, due to having two more goalies to choose from, in theory, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

We will have mini-games again this year, keeping the pool entertaining for those who may have fallen out of contention for the big money, but we won't know what they are until the day of the draft and there will be another announcement in regards to that in the coming days.

For those wondering, there will be a remote option for those out of town, please get yourself onto Google Hangouts, add me as a contact, if you haven't already, opiatedsherpa@gmail.com, and we'll get you all signed in for the draft and you can do it from your location.  I know we should be having at least one or two remotely, which will keep things interesting, I'm sure.

If you have any more questions, please drop me a line... but please do RSVP!