NHL Franchise Boys

Surely you remember these fellas from Alberta and Saskatchewan who make up the Original Six fantasy hockey league… the oldest of its kind dating back to 1979. Their story was in the 2013-14 THN Ultimate Fantasy Guide and now they published more details in the online version of THN Post-to- Post, where they invited Matt Larkin (editor/writer) for some golf, storytelling and, of course, their annual draft. Below is an excerpt from the article as told by Matt… hopefully he will do our story this summer.

Joe L is the guy on the far right down on one knee… ha ha ha!

“The group gives me a royal welcome when I arrive at the golf course. They’re eager to get down to brass tax and discuss their league, which includes keepable players, trades and free agency. They ask me who to retain and drop on their teams and for draft sleepers, but they truly don’t need to, as they really know their hockey and are fine without my expertise. I’m impressed.

The draft weekend is expertly planned – and awesome.

Night 1 is the “THN versus the World” draft for bragging rights. On one team: members of the pool’s original incarnation. On another team: the “rookies.” And on the third team: just me, representing the magazine.

But Night 2 is what matters, what these guys have spent the summer preparing for, and it’s the most elaborate draft I’ve ever seen. It opens with “official business,” as Gord reads meeting minutes about rule changes – seriously, they have meeting minutes – and the gang holds votes on rules. This is how hardcore a 35-year-old fantasy league is.

Then there is a ceremony with official trophy presentations for the regular season and playoffs. As reigning king Conrad (regular season champ, and that’s who is acknowledged as the true big Kahuna) explains upon accepting, the league creates a pretty-looking trophy so it can go on their mantles and not piss off their wives. Cam passes a bottle of Sambuca around the room and everyone takes a swig to honor Lawrence. The guys take turns showing me their names on the trophy over the years. Some are in decade-long droughts, while others, like Conrad, are enjoying dominant stretches. Then the draft commences. Between selections, the only sounds are shuffling papers and pins dropping. Each guy announces his pick like he’s an NHL GM: “From the Pittsburgh Penguins…right wing…James Neal.” The early rounds belong to Jim (Ryan Getzlaf, Anze Kopitar) and Craig (Logan Couture, Evander Kane) and the late ones to Helmut (Alex Galchenyuk, Slava Voynov), which is not a surprise after he and I discussed the night before that drafts are won in the trenches. Conrad is in a tough spot, having no picks for several rounds after mortgaging his future by trading picks last season to win the title. And when he does pick, they are head scratchers, or so I think. Marcus Johansson? Alex Killorn?

And so the season commences. At various junctures throughout, the league will hold “mini drafts” allowing the GMs to add and drop players in free agency. The experience is more analog than digital, done without a wifi connection. The picks are spoken in person instead of blips appearing in an online draft window. When I explain the modern way to the guys, they furrow their brows. An online draft seems so foreign to them – as it would defeat the purpose of the whole weekend. It’s about keeping a group of friends together for decades, not winning. Well, maybe a little about winning. It’s the perfect way to run a fantasy hockey league – and it’s no surprise that the world’s oldest sets such a good example.”

UPDATE: As you know, I have sent a letter to THN commending them on this enlightening story and also to let them know about our franchise pool. They have acknowledged receipt of the letter and I received an email from Edward Fraser, Managing Editor of THN, advising he has forwarded our letter to the editors of the hockey pool guide. How cool is that, huh????