HockeyThon 2023 Has Begun on the Pozz Games YouTube Channel

Back in early 2020 when the global COVID-19 pandemic first hit, the ongoing seasons of many professional ice hockey leagues were cut short. The NHL would of course go on to launch their “bubble hockey” playoffs later that summer, but AA leagues like the ECHL – which includes my hometown team, the Reading Royals – were forced to completely scrap the end of their seasons. This meant no playoffs and no champion crowned. As a massive hockey fan, I was massively disappointed by this news – but I was also inspired to create HockeyThon. HockeyThon 2020 was a virtual version of the ECHL playoffs entirely simulated in the latest NHL video game. It of course wasn’t the same as the real thing, but it at least offered some kind of closure to the otherwise abruptly concluded IRL season.

HockeyThon 2020 was of course hosted on the Pozz Games YouTube channel – and so I made it a fundraiser for cystic fibrosis research to align with the brand. It was a lot of work with very little viewership unfortunately since the Pozz Games channel was so new at the time. Over the following years, the concept of HockeyThon gave way to the current Pozz Games show – PredictSim. For anyone unfamiliar with PredictSim, it’s a show on the Pozz Games YouTube channel where I simulate IRL sporting events (wrestling PPV’s, the Super Bowl, the World Series, etc.) in their respective video game forms. For every game, match, etc. that the video games correctly predict the outcomes to – Pozz Games donates $5 to cystic fibrosis research.

So onto this year…

Ice hockey playoff season is upon us and I’ve decided to bring back the HockeyThon event in a way that fits the current Pozz Games brand. I’m sticking with the now-established PredictSim show format, but bringing back the HockeyThon name to envelope the entire series of videos on the channel (since most PredictSim episodes are one-offs and HockeyThon will be a series of about 13 videos).

HockeyThon 2023 will follow the ECHL, the AHL, and the NHL through their respective playoffs. For each round of each of the respective playoffs, a new episode of PredictSim will post on the channel – simulating and predicting the outcome for each matchup. With a potential donation of $5 per correctly predicted matchup, this means by the end of HockeyThon – a donation will be made to cystic fibrosis research in an amount of up to $260! That makes HockeyThon the biggest single fundraiser currently running on the channel!

At the time of writing this blog post, the first video of HockeyThon 2023 – simulating and predicting the outcome for the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs – is now live! The AHL Calder Cup playoffs round 1 video will post tonight (4/18) and the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs round 1 video will post tomorrow night (4/19) – aligning with the IRL start of each of the respective playoffs.

HockeyThon 2023 is on! If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to Pozz Games on YouTube so you don’t miss a moment of the action!