Catching up with former top prospect Scott Wedgewood
HARTFORD, CONN. >> Remember the Titans? Scott Wedgewood does.
Inarguably the best prospect in the last installment of Trenton’s professional hockey team, the starting goaltender on the 2012-13 team has forged an impressive professional career for himself that includes a 20game stint with the Arizona Coyotes last year.
However, once considered the Devils goaltender of the future, he’s endured a whirlwind since they traded him prior to the start of the 2017-18 season, and now finds himself in his fourth organization in two years as a member of the American Hockey League’s Rochester Americans, the top minor league affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.
The Trentonian caught up with Wedgewood this past weekend in the bowels of the XL Center in Hartford for a lengthy, one-onone interview.
MIKE ASHMORE, THE TRENTONIAN >> What has it been like for you over these past two seasons?
SCOTT WEDGEWOOD >> “Obviously different, and a little overwhelming at times. I’d never been traded, never been in a different organization. Just the way it unfolded was very opportunistic for me, getting an NHL job in Arizona for a bit.
“I thought I played well. The circumstances obviously were different nightto-night with the way it worked out, but for me it was a lot of fun. My girl and my family were able to travel with me and my family was able to come out and visit. I got to play a lot; (Antti) Raanta was hit by the injury bug there on a few different occasions. Playing-wise, there were a lot of good games, and some where you walked away feeling OK even though the score might not have related to that. Getting traded again was a little tough, because I’d just gotten settled. Maybe there was a little being naïve with some things in hoping you could stay a long time and get a chance to solidify yourself.
“Moving again was tough, but moving again and not playing when I got to Ontario was even more of a challenge. But, I saw some warm weather, missed the winter and saw the West Coast, which I really hadn’t had an opportunity to do in my life. So, there were a lot of positives out of it. Last year, if you told me I’d play 20 NHL games and spend three-quarters of the season in the National Hockey League, I wouldn’t be complaining. I’m still not. But it was definitely a ride.”
THE TRENTONIAN >> Did you see the trade from the Devils coming at all? WEDGEWOOD >> “No, not really. I know going into camp when they signed Keith (Kinkaid) to the two-year deal, it was great for him and he had earned it, but that was a little bit of a stopgap for me where it ended my opportunity in a sense unless there was an injury or something like that. It was more going into that season where I was like, ‘Let’s have a good year and either force their hand to do something with how well I’m playing or do well enough where free agency could bring an opportunity.’
“Arizona had struggled, and before I’d gotten a bit of a tip that if (Cory) Schneider was healthy, things might change and that they were looking. I was kind of that guy that was on the wire and available, and things kind of played out that way the next morning. I was grateful for Jersey, that was something that I really appreciated from (GM) Ray (Shero) and ‘Fitzy’ (Assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald) was they could have said no and put me back down there and had pretty much a second-string, third-guy in the American Hockey League do well for them. They had the opportunity to play Ken (Appleby) and (Mackenzie) Blackwood a little more. They could have buried me, and I think that was a tribute to what I did for them, at least I think. I didn’t ask them. But it’s something nice where they saw an opportunity and a team had called, and they were willing to give me that chance. They didn’t get too much return back, we’ll see what that pick turns into. But I was really appreciative.”
THE TRENTONIAN >> Like you mentioned, you did play pretty well with the Coyotes given the circumstances there. Were you surprised you were viewed more as a 3 (AHL starter/NHL depth guy) than a 2 (NHL backup) in free agency? WEDGEWOOD >> “I think at the end of year, not playing really didn’t help me at all. It was one of those things where I got to L.A., and they needed a piece back in that trade for (Darcy) Kuemper. Arizona, for their side of it, thought he was going to be a little bit more of a longterm solution. That’s their decision to make, there isn’t anything I can do outside of what I can control on the ice. Not playing and going into free agency, the way it felt was I (viewed more as a) 2/3 than a solidified 2. That was just peoples’ mindsets, no matter what you did or how you approached somebody, it was a situation where I hadn’t played much hockey at the end, and when I did play, if you look at the number game, you’re not going to be too happy. Buffalo came on with a lot of talk saying we appreciate and saw what you did. That went a long for them in the negotiations, not just saying ‘We need a guy,’ or ‘Come do this,’ they approached me and said they wanted to work with me, wanted to help me and get you eventually back to where you belong. That goes a long way with a feeling and comfortability with them being on the same goal path that I am. I’m fortunate and lucky again to have that chance again to keep battling.” THE TRENTONIAN >> Just in general, what was going through the free agency process for the first time like? What was it like getting to pick where you were headed after that crazy year?
WEDGEWOOD >> “It was cool. The teams that I did talk to, when you picture GM’s and things like that in that scenario, it’s a little bit different than your day-today interactions. I’ve had a lot of great guys come around and talk. You get a call from one guy one day and he pitches you his summary of what he wants, and it sounds glorious. The next guy calls and does the same thing. I had a good amount of phone calls and a good amount of interest, which was nice. I remember one of them saying, ‘No matter what we offer you, read into it. Read it all, think about it all. In ten years, no one’s going to be calling.’
“So, it was a different process, but at least it was nice. Most of them are exhockey guys, they’ve been through it, they know what it was like and I think they took to the thought that it was my first time and everything I was going through with getting pulled in different directions. The conversations with Buffalo stood out. It worked. It’s something that my agency and my family had decided on, and it’s been great. Right after I signed, I don’t know if there was a person in the organization that didn’t call me afterwards. That goes a long way from my time in Jersey, I knew everybody up and down… Zamboni drivers ice crew, everyone. It was a pride of mine to do that, and then I got to Arizona and tried again, LA I tried again. It’s nice when you get to meet people, and everybody in Buffalo was great. They’re doing well, the team down here is doing well, the guys are great. You’re still playing the game and you have a chance to move up, and that’s still the main focus.” THE TRENTONIAN >> I can’t let you go without a Trenton question…does it feel like Trenton was six seasons ago?
WEDGEWOOD >> “It feels like a lifetime ago with everything that’s happened and what I’ve gone through. That was a fun time in the overall picture. It was a nightmare at some points, but if you look back, there were the 18-hour trips and the 68 roster players we went through, and then the money things and scandals and everything that went on in that year, I think that helped me overall.
“There’s not much I’m going to go through anymore…getting traded twice was nothing compared to some of the things I had to deal with that year. You can joke about it, but the city was great, the organization was good to me. It was mainly run by Philly, and they did a good job with everything they had, but there were just some outside circumstances you couldn’t really deal with. That’s six years ago, and there are some of those guys I still talk to. There are stories that come up where it’s, ‘Hey, you were there, you know what I’m talking about,’ and it’s funny at times. It’s memory lane, that’s for sure.”