Don't Diminish The Memory

If that isn't the cover of EA Sports' NHL '17 video game, there's something seriously wrong with the world. John Scott, whose inclusion at the NHL All-Star Game started off as a joke, turned the entire joke around by doing what no one expected - he looked like he belonged.

His second goal - that's two more than Sidney Crosby has at All-Star Games - was a thing of beauty and was a sniper's goal as he went high on Devan Dubnyk on the far side of the net as Dubnyk tried to cut down the angle. Scott had himself a whale of a game as he threw a massive hit on Patrick Kane to steal the puck and go in for a breakaway, and then got into a fun scrap with the NHL's leading scorer as the two men laughed at the antics on the ice.

In short, this All-Star Game was defined by John Scott's play on the ice rather than the joke of voting him in due to his unlikeliness of ever being there through his own skill. And now, because the enforcer's story has become larger than life, John Scott is getting movie offers from those who want to re-tell his unlikely story.

Please don't do this, John Scott.

The reason this story was so moving and tugged at everyone's heart strings was because it was so real. John Scott is every beer league player who has dreamed of playing alongside the likes of Sedin, Burns, and Doughty. He's the guy who made all of our dreams come true by making it to the game, and then dominating alongside the very men who were supposed to outshine him by a long way.

John Scott is you, me, and everyone else not in the rarefied hockey air of the best of the best. That's why this story became so much more. We all have an emotional attachment to John Scott in being too slow or not having enough skill or any other reason for not making our hockey dreams a reality. John Scott just allowed us to enjoy his All-Star moment because he represents us.

By taking this moment and re-telling it, it will lose its importance. It will lose its significance. It will lose any empathy we felt for John Scott in the moment because we've all lived it at one time or another. We all know that feeling. And the euphoria we all felt when Scott celebrated above will be lost. It's not the same as when it happened naturally.

John Scott has every reason to be proud. His kids will be and are proud of their dad, and they may not even know why at their ages. His wife, Danielle, was nearly beside herself with pride as her husband put on a show in Nashville, and the twins that the Scotts are expecting will learn why dad is a pretty special hockey player.

If you make this movie, all of that diminishes. It's no longer a moment in time where John Scott was as good or better than some of the men asked to go to the All-Star Game. It's no longer a moment where John Scott stuck it to every doubter and nay-sayer about his inclusion to the game. It's no longer a moment where we'll tell our kids of the legend of John Scott.

It was special for John Scott. It was special for us. Let's keep it that way.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!