The secret to winning a national hockey pool is a bit of cold-hearted calculation.
That’s according to Sooke resident Kelly Dahmer, who was handed the keys to the grand prize — a 2014 Kia Optima SX Turbo — this week after winning the CBC Hockey Night in Canada Playoff Pool.
“You’ve really got to try not to pick with your heart — and try to pick who you really think is going to win instead,” he said.
“That’s hard to do. I really wanted to side with Montreal, but I wasn’t confident enough that they would make it far.”
Instead, Dahmer’s final fantasy team consisted almost entirely of players from the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Rangers, the two teams that faced off in the Stanley Cup final.
The rules of the fantasy pool are fairly straightforward. The pool was divided into three segments, which correspond with each playoff round — except the final two rounds, which are combined as one segment.
The challenge, at the beginning of each segment, was to put together a 12-player team that would score the most fantasy points during that segment. Points were tallied according to a scoring system determined in the contest.
Each fantasy team was supposed to have three forwards, two defencemen and a goalie from each conference. Participants could also select three “stars” — one forward, one defenceman and one goalie — who earn double points.
The stars in Dahmer’s final segment were Kings forward Anze Kopitar, defenceman Drew Doughty and goalie Jonathan Quick.
The software developer, 45, said there weren’t any elaborate Moneyball-style algorithms or calculations in his strategy.
“I don’t think I got too technical or statistical. It’s really just kind of feeling which teams or players seem to have momentum.”
One factor in his decision to draft Rangers players was watching the team rally around forward Martin St. Louis, whose mother died in the middle of the playoffs.
“I think something like that can have a dramatic impact on changing events, so it was interesting to see how that played out,” he said.
As a Vancouver Canucks fan, it was tough selecting players from the Rangers — the team that defeated the Canucks in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup final.
But it was obviously worth it. Dahmer said he knew had a good chance as he watched the Rangers and Kings advance to the final.
“So many people in the pool are no longer competition at that point and you know you’re in the running,” he said.
Although he technically came second, Dahmer was told by organizers that the person who placed first was ineligible for the grand prize.
Dahmer, who grew up in Prince George, said he has participated in hockey pools for as long as he’s been a fan. While he joins pools with friends throughout the regular season, he has been entering his picks for the Hockey Night in Canada Playoff Pool for the past several years.
The Kia, valued at $34,795, is a nice ride for his family, including his wife, Brenda, and three children. They didn’t have a sedan.
“We had one truck and SUV that drink a lot more [gas], so we’re definitely looking forward to this,” Dahmer said.
Dahmer’s final segment team consisted of: Kings forwards Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik, defencemen Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin, and goalie Jonathan Quick; Rangers forwards Martin St. Louis, Rick Nash and Brad Richards, defenceman Ryan McDonagh and goalie Henrik Lundqvist; as well as “wild-card” defenceman P.K. Subban, who plays for the Montreal Canadiens.
