Original Six fantasy circuit gives its members a hockey fix for 35 drafts, but most of all it’s kept a group of friends close for decades
BY ANDREW SCHOPP
New members of The Original Six fantasy hockey league are told off the bat, if you’re going to get married, tell your wife upfront that the pool is priority. “You’re allowed to miss the pool for a death in the family, but other than that you gotta show up,” says 65-year-old Cam Fischer of Earl Grey, Sask., a member of the league since its inception 34 years ago.
According to the league’s constitution, “Written evidence of the pool begins in 1979 with the original six accepted as being: Bob McPherson, Cam Fischer, Conrad Kathol (far left in above photo from 1989), Gordon Metcalf (fourth from left), Lawrence Wilkie, Tom Brown.”
To date, four members of the original six remain; one dropped out and the other died. After Wilkie (fourth from right in photo) passed away from a heart attack at 49, the league decided to award two trophies: the Lawrence Wilkie Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the league’s playoff champion, and the ‘Next Dead Guy’s Name Goes Here’ Trophy, which goes to the regular season champ. Fischer (second from right), said the latter trophy is one “everyone wants to win, but doesn’t want to have it named after them.”
“Whichever of us keels over next I guess will have their name on it permanently,” said 63-year-old Tom Brown (third from right) of Kelowna, B.C., and current holder of the ‘Next Dead Guy.’
Nowadays, fantasy hockey pools are all run on computers, but in the early years of the league, before the Internet and even fax machines, all draft picks, stats, and changes were entered manually with a pen and paper – with math being done by fingers, counting out loud or in later rounds using a calculator. The Hockey News and later The Hockey News Pool Guide served as the league’s bible.
Every Tuesday, Fischer would receive in the mail his issue of THN and, by hand, would enter all the stats for each team, a process that took up to two hours.
In most modern pools, GMs can add and drop players with the click of a mouse. The Original Six League instead held a “mini-draft” every quarter so poolies could make moves and acquire available players.
After drafting New York Islanders defenseman Denis Potvin third overall in the first year, Fischer created a dynasty by selecting an 18-year-old center making his NHL debut following a 104-point season in the World Hockey Association. Rival members of the pool made every effort to strip Fischer of Wayne Gretzky and separate The Great One’s goals and assists, a common practice in hockey pools during Gretzky’s career. “I thought, well, you fools had a chance at him and you didn’t take him, so too bad,” Fischer said. “I was treasurer and I said, ‘If you try and screw me out of Gretzky, then I’ll just keep your money.'”
Brown’s take: “Cam did very well for all those years with Gretzky, but he probably didn’t tell you that when it came to the playoffs, where it took more than just one lucky pick, his track record was not anywhere near as good.”
The genesis of Original Six was a group of guys – all hardcore hockey fans – looking for an excuse to get together for a weekend and match hockey wits. The notion to select NHLers for their own team and act as GMs grew organically. Most guys were in their late 20s during the first draft in Edmonton in 1979. Today, many of them are retired.
Members of the pool pay annual dues. However, only a small percentage of the money is put toward the prize pool. Most of the money collected covers the cost of the draft weekend, held in various locales in Western Canada each year. It includes accommodations, meals, a round of golf and, of course, libations. Participants live in various locations across Western Canada, but look forward to getting together each September for the proceedings.
While many hockey pools struggle to stay together and facilitate a decent draft year after year, The Original Six fantasy league has withstood the test of time, an annual tradition which, for the four original members and the new recruits, transcends hockey. “The pool developed from six guys who didn’t really know each other into a fraternity,” Fischer said. “These are my blood brothers I’ve had for more than 30 years. We have a lot of fun together.
“It’s not so much about hockey anymore. It’s about camaraderie.”