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Youngster comes out on top in Raiders’ hockey pool

Apr 17, 2011 | 3:54 PM

With the end of the NHL regular season on Sunday night, also comes the end of NHL betting pools.

The Prince Albert Raiders’ first ever NHL pool raised $10,000, with the top prize of $5,000 going to 12-year-old Bubba Cooper.

Cooper won the pool by seven points with a score of 1,933 over Raiders alumnus Steve Tillmann’s with 1,926.

Cooper’s father paid for the team, but Cooper picked the players.

“(I’m going to) save it for some summer and hockey stuff I’ve been wanting,” said Cooper about the prize.

The Prince Albert Raiders are planning on making the NHL pools an annual event.

Jordan Campese, a spokesman with the Prince Albert Raiders, said they decided to put on the pool because they thought it would be a fun event.

“We just thought it’d be a fun fundraiser for everyone to get involved in, help out the Raiders, and it’d be fun for everyone involved to follow the NHL and compete against each other, and a chance to win some great prize money,” said Campese.

The NHL isn’t over and so neither are the pools.

The Raiders are holding an NHL Playoff Draft – the guaranteed pay-out for the winner is 30% of all money collected.

Participants were given the opportunity to choose nine forwards, six defencemen and two goalies from any of the teams in the NHL playoffs.

The entries closed Friday.

lschick@panow.com