Garland was one of the names that came up in our survey of media and assorted hockey types, along with Stars duo of Joe Pavelski and Wyatt Johnston

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It’s fun to wonder who John Druce might select in the last round of an NHL playoff pool.

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Druce scored 14 goals in 15 post-season games with the Washington Capitals in the 1990 playoffs. He was 23 years old, in second season in the NHL and had finished with eight goals in 48 regular season games with the Capitals after spending part of the campaign in the minors.

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Druce, now 58, went on to play 10 years in the NHL, suiting up for more than 500 regular season games. He had a 22-goal season with Washington, he had more than 100 regular season games in his career.  He will forever be synonymous, mind you, with being that unheralded guy who comes to the forefront in the playoffs. Those are the sleeper picks for playoff pool junkies. 

We polled 27 media and hockey types on who they would take if they had the No. 1 pick in an NHL playoff pool this year and who they would take as their late-round, under-the-radar selection. 

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Some went deeper with their sleepers than others. We will admit that.

When the smoked clear, Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks, Carter Verhaeghe of the Florida Panthers, Seth Jarvis of the Carolina Hurricanes, Jake Guentzel of the Hurricanes and Joe Pavelski of the Stars all got two mentions each. 

As you’d expect, the Oilers’ Connor McDavid (14 votes) and the Avalanche’s Nathan McKinnon (eight votes) dominated the first pick category. And it’s interesting that there were no players picked from prominent teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning or Vegas Golden Knights.

Here’s a look at how things shook out overall. 

Rick Dhaliwal, CHEK TV’s Donnie and Dhali 

Top pick: Nathan McKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

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Sleeper pick: Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers

Don Taylor, CHEK TV’s Donnie and Dhali 

Top pick: Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes

Sleeper pick: Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings

Ron Toigo, Vancouver Giants owner

Top pick: McKinnon or Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Sleeper pick: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

connor mcdavid
Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers skates with the puck ahead of Logan Cooley of the Arizona Coyotes during the first period of the NHL game at Mullett Arena on April 17, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona. Photo by Christian Petersen /Getty Images

Dale Saip, Vancouver Giants senior vice-president 

Top pick: McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, Oilers 

Sleeper pick: Gustav Forsling, Panthers

Matthew Sekeres, Sekeres and Price podcast

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars

Blake Price, Sekeres and Price podcast

Top pick: McDavid and Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers

Sleeper pick: Artturi Lehkonen, Avalanche

Jeff Paterson, Rink Wide Vancouver podcast and CanucksArmy website

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Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Mason Marchment, Stars

Chris Gear, former Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager and founder of Blackfin Sports

Top pick: McKinnon

Sleeper pick: Joe Pavelski, Stars

hockey pool
Dallas Stars centre Joe Pavelski skates with the puck past Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch during game in Dallas, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Photo by Lm Otero /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jay Janower, Global TV reporter

Top pick: Draisaitl

Sleeper pick: Conor Garland, Vancouver Canucks

Farhan Lalji, TSN reporter

Top pick: Panarin

Sleeper pick: Pavelski 

Karin Larsen, CBC reporter

Top pick: Panarin

Sleeper pick: Garland

Dan Riccio, Sportsnet 650 afternoon host

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Jonathan Drouin, Avalanche

hockey pool
Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn watches as the goal from teammate Wyatt Johnston bounces back out of the net against Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Seattle. Photo by Lindsey Wasson /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Joey Kenward, Sportsnet 650 contributor and stats guru

Top pick: Mika Zibanejad, Rangers

Sleeper pick: Jordan Martinook, Hurricanes

Ian Gallagher, Delta Hockey Academy president

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Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oilers 

Andy Oakes, Okanagan Hockey Academy president 

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

Maco Balkovec, RINK Hockey Academy executive director 

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Vladimir Tarasenko, Panthers

Brian Maloney, Chilliwack Chiefs GM/coach

Top pick: Marchand

Sleeper pick: Jordan Staal, Hurricanes

canucks pool
Nils Hoglander of the Vancouver Canucks scores a goal against Jacob Markstrom of the Calgary Flames April 16, 2024 in Vancouver. Photo by Derek Cain /Getty Images

Trevor Alto, commissioner Pacific Junior Hockey League

Top pick: McKinnon

Sleeper pick: Jake Guentzel, Hurricanes

Georgia Twiss, Broadscast podcast

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Nils Hoglander, Canucks

Sam Chang, Broadcast podcast

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Hoglander 

Caden Fanshaw, CKPG-TV Today Show

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Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Logan Stankoven, Stars

Adam Kierszenblat, Hockey News reporter

Top pick: Panarin

Sleeper pick: Verhaeghe 

Nathan Kanter, Vancouver Giants play-by-play

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Jarvis

Ben Kuzma, Postmedia sports reporter

Top pick: McKinnon

Sleeper pick: Guentzel

Patrick Johnston, Postmedia sports reporter

Top pick: McKinnon

Sleeper pick: Wyatt Johnston

J.J. Adams, Postmedia sports columnist

Top pick: McDavid

Sleeper pick: Charlie Coyle

And finally, myself: Postmedia sports reporter, Steve Ewen.

Top pick: McKinnon

Sleeper pick: Dakota Joshua, Canucks

@SteveEwen

SEwen@postmedia.com

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