John Scott shakes with nerves, but celebrated by All-Star fans
NASHVILLE – John Scott officially knows what his daughters think about him being an NHL All-Star.
“Oh yeah, definitely proud of me. They’re always proud of me,” he said. “They were all jacked up. They get excited to see hockey games, and see me play.”
Scott was fairly certain how his family felt about him, but was less sure about the fans inside Bridgestone Arena for the NHL All-Star Skills Compeition – despite winning the fan vote, thanks to a “joke” campaign that made the career enforcer an All-Star over the objections from his former team and the NHL.
“I had no idea how I was going to be accepted. How they were going to react,” he said.
Scott skated out in a generic NHL All-Star jersey, while the other players were wearing jerseys representing their teams. He petitioned the league to wear a St. John’s IceCaps jersey, which is the AHL team Scott plays for following his trade from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens. He said it was something the NHL “vetoed hard.”
“I get it. But I would have loved to wear something on my chest. Makes me stick out even more,” said Scott.
So he stood on the blue line with the rest of the Western Conference All-Stars, next to former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Patrick Kane. As the Eastern Conference All-Stars were announced, Kane turned to Scott.
“He said, ‘Watch this, I’m going to get booed and you’re going to the biggest cheers,’” said Scott.
Kane was passionately booed by the Nashville Predators fans in attendance. Scott was given a loud ovation. Later in the evening, Scott was given a standing ovation by the fans, as his peers banged their sticks on the ice in tribute.
And he was even more nervous.
Scott didn’t get his turn in the Skills Competition until the Hardest Shot competition, where he was paired against Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“I could barely hold my stick, I was shaking so much. My heart was just pounding,” said Scott.
His first shot came in at 92.6 miles per hour. “I was shaking the whole time. Probably wasn’t my best effort,” he said.
His second shot came in at 95.9 miles per hour, putting him middle of the pack for all attempts on the night.
“In Minnesota, I had over 99 mph,” said Scott. “I could have done better. I’m just happy I didn’t fall down.”
His other Skills Competition event was the Shootout Relay to end the night, in which every skater gets a chance to score one-on-one with the All-Star goalies. Scott’s first attempt was easily saved by New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider.
So he decided to take a chance on the second attempt: a spin-o-rama.
He asked Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets what he should try in his second attempt. “He said, ‘Throw it to your skate and kick it to your stick.’ I said, ‘I might miss it.’”
Instead, it was a spin move, attempting it for the second time in his life. The first time was after practice several years ago.
“Yeah, never in a game,” said Scott. “You think I’d go in a shootout in a game? Are you crazy?”
It surprised the fans and the players. It nearly beat Schneider, but he was able to get it with his left pad.
Is there anything else in his bag of tricks?
“Nope, that’s it. Bag’s empty,” said Scott.
With the nerve-wracking skills competition behind him, Scott said he was looking forward to Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game, leading the Pacific Division in the new 3-on-3 mini-tournament format.
“I think it’ll be a little more calm. The Skills Competition is always an exciting thing. But know we’ll have a little down time. Hopefully do better than we did today,” he said.
“I want to win.”
Many would say John Scott’s already a winner at this All-Star Game.
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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
