John Scott’s career is often remembered for one extraordinary weekend in Nashville. It should also be remembered for everything it took to get him there—and for the life he built after the cheering stopped.
The long route
Built, not predicted.
Growing up in St. Catharines, Ontario, Scott loved hockey but did not look like a future NHL star. He was unusually tall, still learning how to make that size work for him, and realistic about the odds. His plan was sensible: play college hockey, earn an engineering degree and build a life beyond the rink.
Michigan Tech gave him the chance to do both. From 2002 through 2006, Scott played 126 games for the Huskies. He was not drafted by an NHL team, but he kept going—first into the American Hockey League and then, through persistence and a willingness to embrace a difficult role, into the NHL.
Life as an enforcer
He found a way to belong.
At 6-foot-8, Scott became known as one of hockey’s most imposing enforcers. That label was real, but incomplete. His job demanded courage, loyalty and an understanding of what his teammates needed from him. He carved out an NHL career with Minnesota, Chicago, the New York Rangers, Buffalo, San Jose, Arizona and Montreal.
Scott never pretended to be a superstar. His self-awareness was part of his appeal. But modesty should not obscure the achievement: reaching the NHL is extraordinarily difficult, and staying there for parts of eight seasons requires far more than size. Scott earned the trust of teammates and coaches while performing one of the sport’s hardest and least glamorous jobs.
Nashville, 2016
The weekend hockey changed its mind.
The campaign that sent Scott to the 2016 NHL All-Star Game began with humor. Fans voted the Arizona Coyotes enforcer captain of the Pacific Division, choosing an unlikely representative for a showcase normally reserved for the league’s biggest stars.
Then the story became something deeper. Scott was traded to Montreal and assigned to the minors while his wife, Danielle, was pregnant with twins. He later wrote that he had been pressured to step aside from the game. Instead, fans, players and teammates rallied around him. Scott went to Nashville.
He did not merely participate. Scott scored two goals in the Pacific Division’s semifinal victory, helped captain the team to the tournament championship and was voted All-Star Game MVP. His teammates lifted him onto their shoulders. The crowd chanted his name. A story that began as a joke ended as one of the most joyful and human nights the league had seen in years.
What resonated was not that an ordinary person had somehow wandered into an NHL game. Scott was already one of the tiny percentage of players who had reached hockey’s highest level. The moment mattered because a player who had spent his career protecting others was finally surrounded by people standing up for him.
More than hockey
The fuller picture.
Scott’s intelligence and discipline were never limited to the rink. He completed his mechanical engineering degree from Michigan Tech, returning to his studies during offseasons while playing professionally. In 2024, the university inducted him into its Sports Hall of Fame.
After retiring, he stayed connected to hockey by launching Dropping the Gloves from Traverse City. The show combines league discussion, interviews and stories from Scott’s playing days. It has grown to millions of downloads while preserving what listeners like most about him: candor, humor and a player’s view of the sport.
His most important life, however, is at home. John and Danielle are raising eight daughters in Northern Michigan. His Catholic faith has become central to how he understands fatherhood, marriage and service. When asked what he hopes his daughters remember about him, Scott has said he hopes hockey is not the first thing they mention—that they remember a devoted father and husband.
Why the story lasts
People saw something real.
John Scott’s All-Star weekend remains unforgettable because it revealed something sports can easily hide. Careers are not only statistics and highlight reels. They are years of work, uncertainty, sacrifice, relationships and people finding ways to contribute even when they are not the most celebrated person in the room.
Fans initially chose Scott because the choice was funny. They kept supporting him because he was honest. He understood the absurdity without surrendering his dignity. When given his moment, he met it with gratitude, toughness and joy.
That would already be a great hockey story. The engineer, podcaster, man of faith, husband and father who emerged beyond it makes the story better.
One more sweater
And now, the Disciples.
After seven NHL organizations, an All-Star captaincy and one MVP trophy, Scott continues to play the game with the Disciples in Traverse City. The roster includes two priests, which means the team can offer both line combinations and last rites.
His professional résumé is impressive. We assume it helped him survive tryouts.