The Edmonton Oilers kept their season alive last night, and with that, they also preserved the playoff beards that multiple players have been growing throughout the postseason.
Playoff beards are a long-held tradition in hockey that involves players abstaining from shaving off their facial hair until they are eliminated. For the Oilers, the growing process has been going on for nearly two months, which means multiple players are rocking some pretty long fuzz.
No two playoff beards are ever the same, and some Oilers have grown better beards than others. With Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final set for Friday night in Edmonton, let’s take a complete look at every Oilers playoff beard and rank them from worst to best.
23: Ryan McLeod
Won’t rank high with close to no facial hair.
22: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
While the moustache is respectable, it doesn’t qualify as a beard
21: Mattias Janmark
The beard is semi-present here but not full enough to justify a higher position.
20: Philip Broberg
The potential is bubbling for a nice beard here, but it’s far too short.
19: Vincent Desharnais
You could call this the first full-ish beard on the list so far; it’s just still a bit patchy.
18: Corey Perry
It isn’t a long one, but it actually doesn’t look too bad.
17: Cody Ceci
Is a goatee a beard? Debatable, but this style fits Ceci.
16: Dylan Holloway
The vision is there, even if it’s a bit heavy on the peach fuzz.
15: Sam Carrick
This misses the mark on a true playoff beard, but it’s still a nice one in general.
14: Derek Ryan
See above.
13: Calvin Pickard
Now we’re getting somewhere, just not quite on the same level as the ones above him.
12: Evander Kane
Points for being perhaps the most stylish beard on the team. Leaves a little bit to be deserved in the playoff beard department.
11: Zach Hyman
The first true playoff beard on the list. The scruffiness sells this one.
10: Darnell Nurse
A true neutral. Checks off all the boxes for a good playoff beard but doesn’t do anything to ‘wow’ anybody.
9: Connor McDavid
It’s the longest beard the captain has grown in his NHL career, and I don’t think anybody is complaining.
8: Warren Foegele
Add this beard to his Kobe Bryant shirt and you got a legendary duo.
7: Brett Kulak
The Stony Plain native can grow quite an exquisite beard.
6: Leon Draisaitl
Ol’ reliable. Draisaitl can always be expected to grow a good playoff beard, and he has once again.
5: Evan Bouchard
A surprise contender who brings a beard worthy of cracking the top five.
4: Stuart Skinner
A good moustache can make a beard, and nobody has a better stache than Skinner.
3: Adam Henrique
Immaculate execution on all accounts. The length and the unkemptness are top-notch playoff beard material.
2: Connor Brown
Brown embraced the chaos with this one. A true wild man who strikes fear into opposing power plays.
1: Mattias Ekholm
Was there any doubt? Ekholm is the GOAT of playoff beards.