Scott is soaking in experience

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — John Scott sat back in his chair and took a cellphone photo of all the reporters crowded around him once the questions finally ended.

It was a big moment for a big man, and it almost didn’t happen. So the journeyman enforcer who admits he’s an odd fit for an NHL AllStar game is soaking up every precious moment before heading back to Newfoundland, where he is toiling in the minors.

“It’s definitely strange,” Scott said Friday at one of the more unusual media days for the NHL’s showcase event. “You go in the locker room everyone’s got the NHL logo on their helmet. They threw the NHL logo on mine. It’s definitely always like, ‘You’re not in the NHL anymore.’ So it’s neat, though like I’m not used to this and all this scrum and stuff. I’m going to enjoy it while I’m here.”

He is going to enjoy it with a blessing from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, too. The two had a talk Thursday night.

“And he’s more than welcome to be here,” Bettman told the AP. “We’re happy he’s here.”

Scott said he was glad to hear that from Bettman because there was a time he really wasn’t sure the league felt that way. He wrote in the Players’ Tribune this week that someone from the league called him to suggest he back out of the game, an idea he rejected.

Jagr wants to go home

Jaromir Jagr wishes he weren’t at the AllStar game.

The NHL’s oldest player, who will turn 44 next month, would rather be working out and skating in South Florida.

The fivetime scoring champion, twotime Stanley Cup winner and 1999 NHL MVP asked fans, via his Twitter account, not to vote for him last month. They didn’t listen, giving him enough votes to be named Atlantic Division captain in the 3on3 format that he isn’t used to playing.

Skills competition

The AllStar skills competition on Saturday will feature six events: fastest skater, breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting, skills challenge relay, hardest shot and the shootout.