From “Internet Joke” To All-Star M V P

01 Feb, 2016

John Scott went from being an Internet prank to Most Valuable Player at the National Hockey League All Star game in Nashville on Sunday.

Scott, known more for his fighting ability than scoring goals, helped Team Pacific with two goals to claim the first three-on-three, four-team All Star game format. “It was the coolest thing I’ve done in hockey,” Scott told reporters after scoring twice as Team Pacific defeated Team Central 9-6 in the semi-finals and then edged Team Atlantic 1-0 in the final at Bridgestone Arena.

He also knocked down star Patrick Kane, before the pair feigned a fight. “(Kane) came right after me after he scored,” Scott said. “He was like, ‘let’s go.’ It was fun.”

The 33-year-old Scott was voted Team Pacific captain as part of an Internet campaign aimed at poking fun at the tough guy’s career. He has only five goals in 285 career games and 542 penalty minutes. The forward from Edmonton, Alberta has played in only 11 NHL games this season and was traded earlier this month from the Arizona Coyotes to the Montreal Canadiens.

He was promptly demoted to Montreal’s farm team in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Scott wrote in the Players Tribune magazine last week that the NHL tried to dissuade him from participating in the All Star game.

But NHL commissioner Gary Bettman remarked on Saturday that the league only wanted to make sure Scott was comfortable with playing in the game. “I got sick and tired of reading that I was just a slow-footed goon and that I was here as a joke,”

Scott explained as to why he wrote the article. Scott earned $90,909 as part of an 11-way split with his teammates of the $1 million prize money for the win, as well as a Honda Pilot as MVP.

Even though Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry scored the lone goal in the final, the league named Scott MVP because he became a popular choice with not only his teammates but also with the crowd of 17,139.

Every time Scott stepped onto the ice late in the final, the fans chanted “M-V-P, M-V-P.” Teammates Brent Burns, Mark Giordano and Joe Pavelski lifted Scott on their shoulders after he was named MVP.

The “goon” enjoyed every moment.

Reuters 

Image NBC screenshot

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