From Picking Fights
to Picking Up the Rosary
NHL All-Star John Scott on faith, discipline, and fatherhood.
Hockey was everything. I tried other sports, but hockey was it. I didn’t grow up with any formal religion. We weren’t atheists. Canada is just not a very religious country.
We went to our parents’ wedding in a church – but it wasn’t religious. That was the only time I ever went to church.
Danielle. 100%. Without her I’m not even here.
I knew early on she was the woman I’d marry. We met freshman year at Tech but didn’t date seriously until later. I was always open to the faith – I would attend Mass with her. When we visited her parents, I went with them and followed along with the liturgy and prayers without receiving the Eucharist.
I started RCIA three different times – logistics, travel, lifestyle all got in the way. I didn’t want to come in just to check the box. We were raising the girls in the faith, I was participating, but something just wasn’t clicking. And then it did. I credit Fr. Jarvis for helping me through that phase.
The turning point came in 2012. A pipe ruptured in our house while we were away for hockey – flooded, complete mess, unlivable. We decided to live somewhere fun that summer and rented a house in Costa Rica through insurance. Life got relaxed: the beach, real estate shopping, serious discussions about staying.
Then one moment changed everything. Sitting on the beach, we started discussing Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun. Danielle picked up a book and read the full story. That moment reignited her Marian devotion and helped us realize we might be heading in the wrong direction.
God planted a seed. I believe the devil was trying to lure us there. We came back to the States with clarity.
The Rosary. We pray it every night as a family – the Angelus too, the St. Bridget prayers as a 12-year devotion. Our home is consecrated to the Sacred Heart. The Rosary is the main devotion outside of Mass. And I have a deep devotion to St. Joseph. I also fast – am down to one meal a day in the evening. For Lent, the whole family gave up all meat – not just Fridays. It’s tough, but we try to offer it up.
Becoming parishioners at Holy Rosary has been a 180-degree change, especially since we homeschool now. The parish strongly supports that. Many families are heavily involved. The faith community is dynamic and family-oriented.
I serve the Saturday morning Mass and some of the girls are in the choir. I also serve a few morning Masses – Extraordinary Form – at the Carmelite monastery.
Exciting, but rough. Moving every year or two. Every July 1st waiting for a new contract. Mentally difficult not knowing if you had a spot on the roster.
Danielle is not your typical hockey wife. She has a biomedical engineering degree from Tech. She was always supportive but gave me three years to make the NHL work. We spent many summers in Traverse City with her family while we figured out where to put down roots.
You have a large group of 20-somethings with a lot of money. Canada and the Scandinavian countries are not faith-oriented cultures. I tried to lead by example: go out to dinner after a game, then go back to the hotel. Everything gets thrown at you – the divorce rate for post-career players runs 70 to 80 percent. A career ends early. The money slows down or stops. A lot of guys don’t have a plan B.
I tell it like it is: be realistic, have goals, have fun – but remember, it’s a game. Get a degree. Have a backup plan. Be prepared that you are not going to the NHL. I will tell them, “you aren’t making it,” if need be.
I spent three or four summers getting the degree. Tech let me remote into some advanced classes to finish up when I was playing for the Minnesota Wild.
Technology. Pornography. Probably AI. The culture normalizes the sexualization of women, we are trying to limit our kids’ exposure to that the best we can. The girls don’t have cell phones. The older ones are lobbying for them, we might relent when they start driving. My phone is so old it won’t even load most apps.
Like I have nine wives. It’s always noisy. Everyone talking over each other.
I don’t have a man cave, so I go outside and split wood for a couple hours. It gets me out of the house and I can just offer it up. But I embrace it. This is what I signed up for, I’m also their math teacher and chief disciplinarian.
We encourage all of them to discern. They range from 14 to a year and a half old. I’d be surprised if we didn’t have any vocations – but there’s no pressure. We’ll combine a casual monastery visit with a fun trip to Florida.
It keeps me connected to the guys and the league. I’ve met other Catholic players through it. They sort of surfaced once they realized I was Catholic. There’s a give-back component too.
That hockey wouldn’t be the first thing they mention. That I was a solid father and husband. It will probably be hard not to mention hockey. But hopefully they would see my devotion as a parent and servant.
John Scott’s life story reads like a film — and it may become one. Mitch Albom, the bestselling author of Tuesdays with Morrie, wrote a script based on Scott’s unlikely journey through the NHL and faith conversion. The project has traveled from studio to studio for years. It currently sits with Angel Studios, in partnership with Amazon. Whether it reaches theaters remains to be seen. The story, at least, is already written.
John Scott is a former NHL enforcer who played eleven seasons across seven franchises, including the Chicago Blackhawks, San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, and Montreal Canadiens. Standing 6’8” and weighing 270 pounds, he was one of the most physically imposing players of his era.
He became a household name beyond hockey circles in January 2016, when fans voted him — as a joke at first, then in earnest — captain of the Pacific Division All-Stars. Despite being traded mid-season and demoted to the minors in what many saw as a front-office attempt to sideline him, Scott was allowed to play. He scored two goals, was named MVP, and was carried off the ice on his teammates’ shoulders while his pregnant wife and two daughters watched from the stands. The story was covered nationally and later featured in The Players’ Tribune in a first-person account that went viral.
Scott grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario and played college hockey at Michigan Tech, where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He met his wife Danielle there as well.
Since retiring from professional hockey, Scott has remained connected to the sport through his podcast Dropping the Gloves, where he interviews current and former players. He is a convert to Catholicism and is open about his faith, his family, and his values.
He and Danielle have eight daughters and live in Northern Michigan.
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