Scott on Hockey

1 -  Tell me 3 things about yourself aside from your relationship with hockey.

I have a 20-month-old daughter named Willa and she is my favorite human. I will be turning 30 later this month. I have a mild chest deformity and I am all right with it.

2 - What is your first memory of hockey?

My first memory of hockey would be skating around at the Wildwood Community Center in south Winnipeg, playing with other kids around my age, 4-5 or so I cant fully remember. We weren’t quite steady on our skates so we stuck to the junior rink that had no boards or nets. I remember going to the canteen and buying them out of Swedish berries and hot chocolate.

3 - Did you play hockey recreationally or competitively at any point as a kid?

I never played any competitive hockey as a kid, only recreationally with friends. We threw sticks in the middle to decide teams. I always loved that.

4 - Tell me about the role that the culture of hockey played in your youth.

I never really got into comic books as a kid, so all of the stars of hockey at that time were my superheroes, if you will. The things they did on the ice and their seemingly unlimited skill and energy made me believe that I could do anything. They were beyond inspiring.

5 - Who was your favorite NHL team as a kid? Why?

My favorite team was the Jets. How could it not be? I was lucky and privileged enough to see a lot of games when I was really young.  The Jet players were all over the media and in the community and it made them seem like such a real “home team”. I met the Jets goalie Bob Essensa when I was 12. He came to our school to talk to the patrols. I shook his hand and he gave me an autographed puck. I still have it. It’s right over there. One of the top 5 moments of my life.

6 - Who is your favorite player of all time? How come?

Joe Sakic. I really admired so many things about him as a player. He was an amazing goal scorer, and logged a ton of points, but he also was a guy who lead his team by example, and never really fought or got into the ugly side of the game. He was also very loyal, playing his entire career with the same team, something almost unheard of in todays NHL. I gravitate towards players who were great, but flew under the radar. Teppo Numminen anyone?

7 - How has your relationship with hockey evolved over time?

It has gone from being something purely entertaining as a child to now, I get SO into a game that it affects me physically. This past season for example, my wife and I bought the Jets TSN channel, and I would watch these games that went into overtime or were tied late in the 3^rd period or something and I would literally be in pain from heartburn or id be chewing my fingernails relentlessly. That all sounds so cliché and lame but its true. I get so wrapped up in it. Its an escape from my adult life I guess.

8 - Have you been playing in the last few years?

Yes. I have been playing since 2008 on the No Regretzkys. We play out of the Adult Safe Hockey League. We are co-ed. Its been some of the most fun I have ever had in my life. Our first season we had zero wins and 36 losses. We have won a few since then.

9 - What does playing hockey now mean to you?

It means having an hour a week to look forward to, and to forget about anything negative in my life and just go play a game I love with some amazing people.

10 - Describe a great moment you’ve had with hockey in the last year.

I’m not going to lie, scoring a goal feels pretty amazing. I played as a sub last year and for one game it worked out that I would play as a forward on the wing. I have really only ever played Defense and that’s what I know and feel comfortable with. My first shift came and the play was in their end, my teammate made an amazing pass to me from behind the net, and I buried it. There are few things in life that feel like that. It was great.

11 - What do you love most about the sport?

I love how it embodies so many different things at the same time. There is the obvious, the physicality, the aggression, the speed and skill, but there are also the less obvious elements. It can be a very intellectual game. There can be a flow to a game that is something of beauty. Hockey can be very predictable, but it can also be just downright random and strange.

12 - What’s something you don’t like about the game?

I don’t like where fighting has gotten in todays game. Its no longer some hockey players escalating into a fight, its fighters who happen to be in hockey gear “defending” their superstar players, or issuing some sort of statement on behalf of their team.  Every team seems to have a guy whose only role is to fight. I think that sucks.

13 - Tell me some thoughts on the NHL, in its present state.

This could be a very long answer. Ill keep it short. Right now, the NHL is on the verge of another player lockout. Millionaire owners who sign players to lengthy, and inflated contracts fighting with millionaire players who are busy Tweeting about their excessive night lives over who is more financially hard done by. It is silly. The NHL seems to be floundering under the giant egos of the owners and players, even though more and more people around the world are getting into NHL hockey.

14 - Talk to me a bit about the role of violence in the game. Necessary? Fun to watch? Impact on the young kids who watch?

As I said before, the violence in the game is at a strange place. It feels very pre meditated and excessive. As a kid on the eighties and nineties, the fighting then seemed more of a progression of the mild violence that is already a part of the game. Now it just feels so contrived.  

15 - How relevant is the game of hockey to Canadian culture these days?

I can’t really talk for anyone else. In my experience I came from a family and a group of friends that just loved hockey. It was something that made winter fun, and it was always exciting to watch playoff hockey on TV (even if the Jets were rarely in the playoffs.) As far as being relevant to Canadian culture… I don’t know! Honestly.

16 - What were you doing the moment you heard that the Winnipeg Jets were coming back?

I was supposed to be at work, but I had biked to the closest place I knew would have it on TV, and that turned out to be Jersey City in Polo Park mall. The store was full of strangers all watching TSN for the announcement. It was amazing!

17 - How did you feel when you heard?

I felt excited, but I also felt cynical about it. It felt cheap. Like a crappy car with a fancy paint job. I wasn’t totally sold until I went to a game.

18 - Now that they’re back, have you been to some games?

I have been to just one. It was the best hockey experience I have ever had in my life. It was against Washington, and the energy and volume of the fans was like nothing I have ever been a part of. I got a little emotional at the beginning, to be honest. It just brought back so many memories of my Dad and me at the old Arena. I miss him.

19 - What are your thoughts on the accessibility of Jets games for Winnipegers?

I’m a little torn on it… I understand people are mad that they cant afford to go to games, but what did we expect? If you want the best hockey in the world, then save up for it? I don’t know. On the other hand it really sucks that there are so few kids at the games. It’s a tough one.

20 - At the end of your life, what difference will hockey have made for you?

I have a lot of life to live yet, but I know that hockey has made a difference in my life because I feel like it’s a part of who I am. Its taught me about what it means to be teammate, and how awesome camaraderie is, especially when things get heated and people you hardly know stand up for you. I may or may not have also developed a “hockey temper” in the last few years.