John Scott was 20 minutes away from missing the biggest game of his NHL career.
Tim Graham of the Buffalo News reports Scott, who famously was named All-Star MVP after an infamous ordeal which is now being turned into a feature film, was not feeling well and decided to take a nap on the day of the All-Star Game. Scott had quite a nap waking up 20 minutes to spare before the game, thanks to a lucky phone call.
Scott tells Graham he quickly scurried to the arena from his hotel. He ended up arriving just in the nick of time, missing out on warmups and the coaches conference. Scott said he basically got to the arena and jumped onto the ice immediately.
“I didn’t realize all the teams warm up at the same time,” said Scott, whose Pacific Division squad played in the second game. “I would have gone there really early and hung out and experienced it and got some autographs.
“I didn’t even tape my stick. I didn’t tie my skates that well. I just jumped right on the ice.”
The rest is history. Scott laced up his barely tied skates, captain the Pacific Division, scored twice and was named the All-Star MVP. He’s become so popular, TSN’s interested in bringing him in as an analyst.
I can’t imagine how differently his story would be if Scott slept through the game. There was so much support for him to attend, and if he slept through it all, it would be a very odd ending to the saga. There wouldn’t be a movie deal or a broadcast offers. Thankfully Scott got the phone call. It’s going to make for a great scene in his movie.
