Hockey gurus help poolies find the Druce of 2023-24 playoffs
It's fun to wonder who John Druce might select in the last round of an NHL playoff pool.
Druce scored 14 goals in 15 post-season games with the Washington Capitals in the 1990 playoffs. He was 23 years old, in his second season in the NHL and had finished with eight goals in 48 regular-season games with the Capitals after spending part of the campaign in the minors.
Druce, now 58, went on to play 10 years in the NHL, suiting up for more than 500 regular-season games. He had a 22-goal season with Washington, and more than 100 regular-season games. He will forever be synonymous, mind you, with being that unheralded guy who comes to the forefront in the playoffs. Those are the sleeper picks for playoff pool junkies.
We polled 27 media and hockey types on who they would take if they had the No. 1 pick in an NHL playoff pool this year and who they would take as their late-round, under-the-radar selection. Some went deeper with their sleepers than others. We will admit that.
When the smoke cleared, Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks, Carter Verhaeghe of the Florida Panthers, Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes, Jake Guentzel of the Hurricanes and Joe Pavelski of the Stars all got two mentions each.
As you'd expect, the Oilers' Connor Mcdavid (14 votes) and the Avalanche's Nathan Mackinnon (eight votes) dominated the first-pick category. And it's interesting that there were no players picked from prominent teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning or Vegas Golden Knights. Here's a look at how things shook out overall.
Rick Dhaliwal, CHEK TV'S Donnie and Dhali
Top pick: Nathan Mackinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Sleeper pick: Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers
Don Taylor, Donnie and Dhali Top pick: Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes
Sleeper pick: Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings
Ron Toigo, Vancouver Giants owner
Top pick: Mackinnon or Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Dale Saip, Giants senior VP Top pick: Mcdavid or Leon Draisaitl, Oilers
Sleeper pick: Gustav Forsling, Panthers
Matthew Sekeres, Sekeres and Price podcast
Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars
Blake Price, Sekeres and Price podcast
Top picks: Mcdavid and Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
Sleeper pick: Artturi Lehkonen, Avalanche
Jeff Paterson, Rink Wide Vancouver podcast/canucksarmy website
Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Mason Marchment, Stars
Chris Gear, former Canucks assistant Gm/founder of Blackfin Sports
Top pick: Mackinnon
Sleeper pick: Joe Pavelski, Stars
Jay Janower, Global TV reporter Top pick: Draisaitl
Sleeper pick: Conor Garland, Vancouver Canucks
Farhan Lalji, TSN reporter
Top pick: Panarin
Sleeper pick: Pavelski
Karin Larsen, CBC reporter Top pick: Panarin
Sleeper pick: Garland
Dan Riccio, Sportsnet 650 host Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Jonathan Drouin, Avalanche
Joey Kenward, Sportsnet 650 contributor/stats guru
Top pick: Mika Zibanejad, Rangers
Sleeper pick: Jordan Martinook, Hurricanes
Ian Gallagher, Delta Hockey Academy president
Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes or Ryan Nugent-hopkins, Oilers
Andy Oakes, Okanagan Hockey Academy president
Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
Maco Balkovec, RINK Hockey Academy executive director Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Vladimir Tarasenko, Panthers
Brian Maloney, Chilliwack Chiefs Gm/coach
Top pick: Marchand
Sleeper pick: Jordan Staal, Hurricanes
Trevor Alto, Pacific Junior Hockey League commissioner
Top pick: Mackinnon
Sleeper pick: Jake Guentzel, Hurricanes
Georgia Twiss, Broadcast podcast Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Nils Hoglander, Canucks
Sam Chang, Broadcast podcast Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Hoglander
Caden Fanshaw, CKPG-TV Today Show
Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Logan Stankoven, Stars
Adam Kierszenblat, Hockey News reporter
Top pick: Panarin
Sleeper pick: Verhaeghe
Nathan Kanter, Giants play-by-play Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Jarvis
Ben Kuzma, Postmedia sports reporter
Top pick: Mackinnon
Sleeper pick: Guentzel
Patrick Johnston, Postmedia sports reporter
Top pick: Mackinnon
Sleeper pick: Wyatt Johnston
J.J. Adams, Postmedia sports columnist
Top pick: Mcdavid
Sleeper pick: Charlie Coyle, Bruins
And finally, myself: Postmedia sports reporter, Steve Ewen.
Top pick: Mackinnon
Sleeper pick: Dakota Joshua, Canucks