NCAA Tournament of NHL Players: Vote now in the Elite 8!

Graphic by Amber Matsumoto, Yahoo Sports

Puck Daddy’s NCAA Tournament of NHL Players had reached the ELITE 8!

Here’s how it works: We’ve taken 64 current NHL players who also played NCAA men’s ice hockey and through the pain-staking work of our Selection Committee (i.e. at least four emails) ranked them from 1-through-64, placing them in four regions. 

The Sweet 16 had more chalk than an old blackboard, with all three No. 1 seeds and three No 2 seeds coming through to the Elite 8. The only No. 2 seed that didn’t advance was Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers, who lost to Jonathan Quick.

One of the best battles: Johnny Gaudreau (57.9 percent) vs. Jack Eichel (42.1 percent). And Kevin Shattenkirk (46.2 percent) came close to upsetting Jonathan Toews (53.8) as a No. 5 seed.

Now we’re on to the Elite 8!

Here’s the full bracket [Click Here]

We need your votes! Cast yours in each matchup below through midnight on Sunday (ET). We’re also taking your votes on Twitter via the Yahoo Sports NHL feed. We’ll announce the winners on the Puck Daddy Facebook page throughout the tournament.

The criteria? In theory, it should be who the better player is. But we know your votes will undoubtedly be influenced by popularity, ties to your favorite team and/or alma mater and other arbitrary things like “guys on the Blackhawks.”

Whatever your criteria: Vote early. Vote often. And vote … now!

Here are the Sweet 16 matchups! 

Duncan Keith is still eligible for this tournament even if he probably won’t play again in the regular season. 

Will it be Captain Serious or Admiral Chill?

GOALIE FIGHT! We say the winner gets the Team USA helm for the World Cup. 

Will it be the Flames’ sparkplug or the stoic Minnesota defenseman?

Vote away!

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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