Arizona Coyotes forward John Scott has appeared in six games this season. In those six games he's collected one assist in what has amounted to about 38 minutes of actual time on the ice. Scott, 33, also has the most, or depending on when you're reading this, somewhere close to the most fan votes for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game.
Scott, whose All-Star bid is driven by media members like Greg Wyshynki of Yahoo Sports, seemingly hell-bent on seeing the already watered down product of the NHL All-Star descend further into the land of the ridiculous and inane, spoke about his sudden spike in popularity and the possibility that he and his 6-foot-8 frame may actually make it to the NHL's All-Star Game, replete with skills competitions and a 3-on-3, three-game tournament.
Scott, known for his colorful personality, cracked a few jokes about kissing babies and shaking hands before admitting that he hopes the whole thing just kind of fades away.
"I don't want to have my name in the headlines for this reason," Scott told Sarah McLellan of azsports.com. "Like, it's a fun little thing and hopefully it'll die down over time. It's not something -- I definitely don't want to be voted into the All-Star Game. It would be cool, but I definitely don't deserve it to this point. You never know. There's still some time left. I could turn it on."
As of the writing of this article, about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Scott remained atop the leader board for fan voting, followed by the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, who recently set the record for most NHL goals by a Russian-born player, Patrick Kane, who is riding a 20-game point streak - one shy of a Blackhawks franchise record, set by Bobby Hull in 1971-72 - and Jaromir Jagr, the ageless, mulleted wonder, who may or may not play in the NHL until he's 50 and who currently has eight goals and 10 assists at the ripe old age of 43.
Scott, the guy who fills a role that is slowly disappearing from the NHL, a guy whose become a part-time player on a mediocre team and whose got more penalty minutes, 18, than he has shots on goals, 3, told McLellan he gets a kick out of the voting - though he doesn't really understand it - and appreciates the support.
"I don't know what's going on," Scott said. "I just kind of stay out of it. Everyone gives me updates. The guys are giving me a hard time about it, but it's kind of neat. The fans, they obviously like me for some reason. I think it's more of a joke than anything, but I'll take it."
