Final Pool Analysis
For the third straight season Canada's entry in the finals fell to a non-traditional hockey market. First Calgary, then Edmonton, and now Ottawa have lost in their quests to be the first Canadian Cup winner since Montreal in 1993.

Smart picking by most poolies let to quite a close pool the whole way through. While one person led most of the way, his lead was generally within five points and ultimately he could not hang on. The top two both had to trek their way up the standings and of the final top 20, only four were there since round one.

Final results: First, Patrick Gill, $792; second, David Loop, $396; third (tied), Gerald Wexler and Keith Chappell, $66 each. Honourable mention goes to Stuart Klein who finished fifth.

Scott Niedermayer didn't quite make it on the Dream Team, but he did win the Conn Smythe trophy.

New blood
Unlike last year when two of the pool's money winners had won before, all of this year's winners are there for the first time. In fact the closest any previous money winner came this time is 13th.

Key to the pool
The key to winning this year's pool, despite their loss in the finals, was to pick three of the top Ottawa Senators and to sprinkle in good players from any of Anaheim, Detroit, and Buffalo. Ottawa had the top three forwards (points-wise) by a wide margin and also the top goalie in Ray Emery by a wider margin, although neither of the top two entries had him. A good number of people put these teams in their plan, but the difference for the top two (in addition to the Anaheim bonus points for David Loop) was that they both had all three top Ottawa forwards.

This year's pool records
Only two pool records were broken this year: the high score for defence (33 - picked by six people), and the number of entries. The low score for defence (2) was tied. Some others came close... Gerald Wexler missed on the record score for rounds two and three by two points each.

Dream Team - by popular demand
Since there were no big upsets in the playoffs this year and all the big players performed well, most of the dream team is comprised of the popular players. Only Niedermayer, Crosby, Vanek and Thornton were very widely picked but did not make it. The Dream Team is comprised of the picks that would yield the highest score under the rules of the pool. Due to the three-per-team maximum, one of the Sens' top trio would not be picked, making room for one of two Ducks.

2007 Dream Team
Goalie
Ray Emery, OTT, 30 pts. (4 picks)

Defense
Nicklas Lidstrom, Det, 18 pts. (76 picks)
Chris Pronger, Ana, 15 pts. (51 picks)

Forwards
Two of:
    Jason Spezza, Ott, 22 pts. (26 picks)
    Dany Heatley, Ott, 22 pts. (46 picks)
    Daniel Alfredsson, Ott, 22 pts. (13 picks)
Ryan Getzlaf, Ana, 17 pts. (1 pick)
Pavel Datsyuk, Det, 16 pts. (37 picks)
Daniel Briere, Buf, 15 pts. (96 picks)
Teemu Selanne (61 picks) or Corey Perry, Ana, 15 pts. (no picks)

Team: Anaheim, 10
Dream Team Score: 180 points
Winning Score: 146 points

Join again next year for Lord Stanley's Pool 2007!
Thanks to everyone for playing the pool this year, I hope you enjoyed it. Please give me feedback so I can improve it next year, and in the meantime, enjoy the Disneyland parade.

Who was hot and not in the final round:

Hot	Pos. Gain (R3, R4 - not including Bonus)		Hot	Rd4 Pts.
Joel Pollock	24 (63, 39)		Patrick Gill	20
Davie Lantz	21 (45, 24)		Davie Lantz	19
Pierre Gainforth Beech	16 (111, 95)		Joel Pollock	19
Alison Stewart	14 (43, 29)		David Loop	14
Peter Sadlier-Brown	14 (71, 57)		Alison Stewart	14
Michel Melanson	14 (99, 85)
Not	Pos. Loss (R3, R4)		Not	Rd4 Pts.
Tracy Fellingham	14 (45, 59)		27 People with:	0
Ron Wener	14 (30, 44)		5 people with:	1
Richard Rikkonen	10 (55, 65)		6 people with:	2
Judah Gould	10 (53, 63)
Mike van Steendelaar	10 (50, 60)

Final Player Stats:

Top Players
Forwards	Team	Pts	Picks		Defense	Team	Pts	Picks
Daniel Alfredsson	OTT	22	13		Nicklas Lidstrom	DET	18	51
Jason Spezza	OTT	22	26		Chris Pronger	ANA	15	51
Dany Heatley	OTT	22	46		Scott Niedermayer	ANA	11	76
Ryan Getzlaf	ANA	17	1		Wade Redden	OTT	10	4
Pavel Datsyuk	DET	16	37		Joe Corvo	OTT	9	0
Corey Perry	ANA	15	0
Teemu Selanne	ANA	15	61		Goalies	Team	Pts	Picks
Daniel Briere	BUF	15	96		Ray Emery	OTT	30	4
Scott Gomez	NJD	14	5		Dominik Hasek	DET	20	17
Andy McDonald	ANA	14	12		Marty Turco	DAL	18	0
Henrik Zetterberg	DET	14	13		Jean-Sebastien Giguere	ANA	18	7