The Internet made it happen.
Arizona Coyotes tough guy John Scott ended up as one of the leading vote getters for the 2016 NHL All-Star game will be the captain of the Pacific Division team for the three-on-three tournament that will be played in Nashville later this month, the league announced on Saturday.
The league did not reveal the final vote tally in its release (which is odd), but as of Friday night Scott, one of the last of the NHL's enforcers, was the leading vote getter and was leading for almost the entire duration of the fan vote. It was all part of an Internet campaign to get Scott elected into the game, even though his style of play is the exact opposite of what the All-Star game is typically about.
Scott was a good sport about the voting but on more than one occasion asked fans to vote for his more deserving teammates.
Along with Scott, Florida Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr (Atlantic Division), Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan Division) and Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (Central Division) were also voted in as captains by the fans.
The NHL is attempting a new format for the game this year and is ditching the fantasy draft concept that took place in each of the past three All-Star games.
This year the league is attempting to capitalize on the excitement of the new 3-on-3 overtime format and will be playing a division vs. division tournament that is made up of three 20-minute mini-games. The Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions will face off in one game, while the Central and Pacific Divisions meet in another.
The winners of those two games will play in a "championship" game that will see the winning team split $1 million.
Fans voted for the captain of each team, while the NHL will fill the remainder of the rosters.
Each team will be made up of 11 players (six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies).
Like Scott, Jagr was also campaigning to not be voted into the game, but for a very different reason. While Scott wanted more deserving players to take his spot, Jagr thinks the 3-on-3 format is going to kill him at his age.
At 43, he is the oldest player in the NHL by four years.
