SJ Survivor NHL Hockey Pool going on its second year. It’s a fun and challenging format where participants need to pick NHL teams each week that they believe will win. The twist is that each team can only be selected once, and if your chosen team must win a minimum of 2 games for that NHL week or you’re out of the pool.

Basic Rules for a Survivor NHL Hockey Pool

Entry: $50 (one-time fee, not every week). Individual entries will be accepted to grow a bigger pot.

  1. Pool Setup
    Participants: Each participant starts the season with one “life.”
    Goal: The objective is to survive the entire NHL regular season without being eliminated.
    Elimination: If a participant’s selected team does not win twice during the week, they are eliminated.
  2. Pool Duration
    NHL Season Weeks: The NHL season usually runs for around 26 or 27 weeks (including breaks for Olympic games and holidays).
    Survivor Weeks: Each week of the NHL regular season is counted as one “Survivor Week” for the pool.
    Week start and end: A week is defined as starting on Monday and ending on Sunday.
    Week 1 – October 13th – October 19th
    Week 2 – October 20th – October 27th
    Etc
    The NHL is planning Olympic send-off / kickoff event at UBS Arena in February 2026. If the survival pool is still alive, we will adjust dates accordingly.
  3. Team Selection
    One Team Per Week: Each week, participants must pick one NHL team that they believe will win twice during that week.
    Loss elimination: The chosen team does not win 2 games during the week and is eliminated from the pool.
    Single Use Rule: Participants can only select each NHL team once per season. Once a team is chosen, it cannot be selected again for the remainder of the pool.
  4. Timing of Picks
    Deadline: Participants must submit their weekly pick before the first game of that week** (Please check
    schedules as sometimes games start early in the day pending the week)
    Late Picks: Any late submissions automatically result in the participant’s elimination from the pool.
  5. Tiebreaker
    If multiple participants have survived at the end of regular season, here is what determines the winner:
    Most total wins (if both are still tied than total goals by winning teams
  6. End of the Pool
    Last Survivor Standing:** The pool continues until there is only one participant left, who is declared the winner.
    No Survivors: If all remaining participants are eliminated in the same week, the pool ends and the remaining participants resort to the tiebreaker rule.
  7. Standings and Pool management will be found here: https://sportsjunkie.ca/sj-survivor-nhl-hockey-pool-2025-26/

Strategy Considerations
Pace yourself: Participants need to carefully choose when to use top teams, balancing the desire to survive each week with the need to save strong teams for later in the season.
Schedule awareness: It’s crucial to consider teams schedules (e.g., how many games they play in the week) and their matchups to maximize winning chances.