CANMORE – Confident in his shot, poised in a leadership role, and sure of himself, Canmore Eagles Vinny Scott’s newfound conviction is doing wonders for the new captain’s on-ice dexterity.
On fire since puck drop in September, the ready-to-shoot right winger is having the best start of his junior hockey career, while leading the Eagles (6-5-1-1) to a winning record at nearly the quarter mark of the season.
The soon-to-be 20-year-old is on pace to clobber his stats of the last three years combined after being “a man on a mission” in the off-season.
“I shot a lot of pucks,” said Scott. “I’ve always kind of struggled with my shot. It was an area of my game I needed to improve and I think my on-the-ice mindset has been different where, last year, the confidence wasn’t there, so I would just pass up opportunities. Now I just take it.”
In September 2021, the Eagles acquired Scott as an 18-year-old from the Sherwood Park Crusaders where he played two seasons.
As a Crusader, and in his first season in Canmore, Scott combined for 14 goals and 42 points (11 power play points) in 115 games.
Eagles head coach and general manager Andrew Milne said when the club traded for the “underutilized” forward, they thought he was “a better player than what his stats said.”
“I don’t think he had a ton [of confidence] when he came from Sherwood Park,” said Milne. “They maybe didn’t have him playing that type of game, that offensive game, and I think he really evolved that over some time last year with us and we saw that towards the end of last year he took that step.”
During last season’s playoffs, when the Eagles faced the Camrose Kodiaks and soon-to-be champion Brooks Bandits, sparks of Scott’s scoring excellence began surfacing. He netted four goals and had 10 points in 11 games before the team was eliminated in the second round.
He spent his off-season as a “man on a mission,” especially on the verge of playing his final season in junior hockey. By way of club vote, Scott was anointed as the team’s captain.
Now, 13 games into the 2022-23 season, the captain’s name can’t be kept off the score sheet. With speedy skating, ankle-breaking agility and a quick release, Scott is on pace for 65 points and leads the Eagles in scoring with six goals and 14 points and in power play points with five.
One of his goals is being an overtime winner against Brooks, a juggernaut in Canadian junior hockey.
Secured the bag. 2 points and we’re outta here. 🏔🦅 pic.twitter.com/jTiFZiDZMy
— Canmore Eagles (@canmoreeagles) September 24, 2022
GOTTA SEE IT:
— Canmore Eagles (@canmoreeagles) October 17, 2022
Speed, courtesy of Vinchenzo & Smit.
🦅⛰️ pic.twitter.com/bSsLtnQWbB
“This is where I should have been, regardless,” said Scott.
“I think that’s because of the work I put in and everything’s clicking, so as long I keep going and don’t change anything hopefully we keep going.”
Billed as five-foot-seven and 160 pounds, Scott is an untraditional stereotype of a hulking hockey player. But what he lacks in size and strength, Scott plays a big game to his advantages.
“There’s situations on the ice where it would be nice to be six-foot-two and 200 pounds and just muscle through a guy,” said Scott. “But then, at this size, I can stop and go the other way and do an evasive move that he can’t keep up with. It’s just different areas that I’m better in than if I were to be bigger.”
Scott’s coach said one of his biggest strengths is a competitive nature.
“He’s not going to back down from anybody,” said Milne. “No matter how fast, how skilled, he’s going to take it head on, one-on-one; he doesn’t get afraid of anybody and that’s truly just from his competitiveness and his desire to want to be good. That’s the reason he’s our captain.”
The Eagles next two games are on the road, Friday and Sunday (Oct. 21 and 23) against the Okotoks Oilers and Olds Grizzlys.
The club returns to their second home game in Banff, Tuesday (Oct. 25) at the Fenlands against the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
