Scott being lifted up by his teammates after the win.
By Dylan Bestler
“I’ve seen my name in the news, on the press release, on the official rosters. But even still: there’s just something about gear, you know? I, John Scott, from Michigan Tech, at 33 years old … have All-Star gloves.” (John Scott in his article A Guy Like Me).
Being voted into the NHL All-Star Game was a dream come true for Arizona Coyote enforcer, John Scott.
Not only did he make the team, he was voted by the fans to be the captain of the Pacific Division. Typically, enforcers do not make all-star teams. Their job is to be the team “goon” and get into fights to energize the team and the fans. Having only one assist the whole season and not to mention only eleven points in his WHOLE career, the announcement that 6’8, 270 pound Scott won the online fan vote to be the captain shocked many people, including himself.
On January 15th, 2016 Scott was traded to the Montreal Canadiens and immediately sent down to their minor league team the St. John’s Icecaps. Because Scott was no longer in the Pacific division, let alone the NHL, he was asked to take himself out of the All-Star Game. The NHL did not want Scott in the All-Star Game. They told him “This is not a game for you, John.” Scott responded by writing this in his article entitled A Guy Like Me in The Players’ Tribune:
“But at the same time: this isn’t Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’m not some random person off the street, and I didn’t win a golden ticket to “play hockey with the stars.” I won an internet fan vote, sure. And at some point, without question, it was a joke. It might even finish as a joke. But it didn’t start as one. It started with a very small pool, out of a very small pool, out of the very, very smallest pool of hockey players in the world: NHLers. That was the vote. A fan vote, an internet vote — but a vote from among the 700 or so best hockey players in North American professional sports. And I’m one of them.”
This article in The Players’ Tribune touched many people and if fans didn’t want him in the All-Star Game to begin with, they certainly wanted him in now. With support from his family, NHLers and the fans, John Scott remained captain for the Pacific Division.
Scott’s all-star game jersey was the first one to sell out, out of all the other NHL all-stars. In the game, he scored two goals to take the Pacific Division to the finals and later after the Pacific Division won, was named the All-Star Game MVP.
What started off as a joke has made John Scott’s story the most exciting, heartwarming and heroic tale that any All-Star Game in the history of professional sports will ever see.
To read the full article, A Guy Like Me, click on the link below:
http://www.theplayerstribune.com/a-guy-like-me/
The Thoma 