t's Not Too Late: How to Start Your NHL Hockey Pool for 2026-27
The puck has dropped on the 2026-27 NHL season, and the group chats are already loud. Somebody is calling their team a lock. Somebody else is already blaming the goalie. If that sounds like your crew, you’re missing one thing: an NHL hockey pool.
Here’s the good news. The season is 82 games long, and a few weeks in is the perfect time to start. Your friends still have opinions, nobody is out of it yet, and there’s plenty of hockey left to fight over.
Why a Hockey Pool Makes the Season Better
Watching hockey is great. Watching hockey when your picks are on the line is a different sport.
A pool turns a random Tuesday game between two teams you don’t care about into must-watch TV, because your third-line winger is on the ice. It gives your office a reason to talk about something other than meetings. It keeps the friend who moved to Calgary in the group chat every single week. And it settles the oldest argument in Canadian hockey: who actually knows the game best.
Best of all, the bragging rights last until next October.
Pick Your Hockey Pool Format
Every group is different, so OfficePools gives you options:
- Pick’em pool: pick the winners of NHL games and climb the standings all season.
- Survivor pool: pick one team to win each game. Get it wrong and you’re out. Last one standing takes it.
- Open pool: build your roster from any NHL players you want. Everyone can pick the same stars, so every choice counts.
- Box pool: pick one player from each box. Quick to set up and easy for first-timers.
- Draft pool: the classic. Your group drafts real NHL rosters, and once a player is taken, he’s yours.
Whatever you choose, you get live NHL stats, custom scoring, trades, reserve rosters, a nightly email recap and a trash talk board. Everything works on the OfficePools app for iPhone and Android, too.
How to Start a Hockey Pool in a Few Minutes
You don’t need a spreadsheet, a calculator or a commissioner with free time. Here’s all it takes:
- Create your pool on officepools.com and choose your format.
- Set your rules, like scoring and roster size, or keep the defaults.
- Invite your crew by sharing your pool link with friends, family or coworkers.
- Let OfficePools run it. Stats update automatically, and the standings take care of themselves.
You focus on the trash talk. We’ll handle the math.
What Does a Hockey Pool Cost?
Less than you’d think. Players never pay OfficePools a thing to join. The pool organizer pays one flat fee to run the whole pool, no matter how many people sign up.
If your group decides to add a buy-in, that’s between you and your crew. OfficePools isn’t part of that conversation.
Start Your NHL Hockey Pool Today
Canadians have been running hockey pools on OfficePools since 1995. This season, it’s your turn to run the show.
The season is young, your crew is fired up, and the standings are wide open. Don’t let your group spend another week arguing without a scoreboard.
