The Contrarian has you covered with a pre-draft checklist

Maybe you remember or maybe you don't but there was a time when collecting hockey cards was as were several ways to win cards from another that is if you were not interested in trading. The names of the games were not very creative, Knock-zies, Far-zies, Top-zies, Legdge-zies, and I am sure there were others. There were players that you wanted, players that you needed (if you wanted to complete the set) and then there were the checklists. The checklists were special because you needed them to know which players were printed and what card numbers they were. Without them you were kind of lost.

Well it really is no different for running or participating in fantasy hockey pools. Sure, nowadays there are so many websites, apps and guides out there to prep your individual draft lists but if you're running you own league you have to be prepared.

Here is a checklist that you might want to follow:

Draft a set of rules. You may want to hash out the details with a small group first but you want to be upfront about how the league will be run. You want to minimize last minute changes and alterations.

Set a draft date, time and location. I can't count how many times one of these things had not been determined in advance only to have people waste a lot of energy rescheduling things. Sometimes it caused the league to fall apart.

Ensure that the location can accommodate the number of people and their respective tech. Hey, if you're doing this on-line it is not as big of an issue but if you want 25 people in your league you better make sure that there are at least 25 chairs and enough power outlets to share. Identify if there will be issues parking in the area. Having more than one washroom would be a good idea too.

Invite the participants well in advance. If you want your league to succeed, let them know with more than three days to go before the draft day. They'll want to understand the rules before they prepare for it.