Ranking every Oilers playoff beard from worst to best

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.