Guy’s got a great last name. Photo: Getty Images.
Scott Darling’s story is all about persistence and perseverance. Everyone says getting to the NHL is never easy, but for the Chicago Blackhawks’ goalie, who’ll be starting in Game 4, the road to get to the NHL has been rougher than most.
Here’s six things that might surprise you about one of the best stories of the NHL playoffs.
1. He has had a long, hard road to the NHL
In 2011, things looked pretty bleak for Darling, who had basically hit even lower than rock bottom. The goalie, who was initially drafted by the Coyotes in 2007, had been kicked off the University of Maine hockey team for violating the school code too many times, cut from the Coyotes training camp and found himself in the low-level Southern Professional Hockey League.
“I mean, at one point, I was on the worst team in the worst league, and they weren’t exactly raving to have me there,” Darling told the Chicago Sun Times.
According to the The Hockey News, Darling’s career was pretty much over.
Here’s how bad it was: his goaltending coach had fired him. The worst team in one of the lowest pro leagues in North America didn’t want him back. It was that morning Darling decided he had to stop drinking.
Problems with alcohol abuse (steaming from his struggle with a social anxiety disorder) led Darling to give up drinking in 2011. It was only then that he started the slow climb back to the NHL by playing on nine different minor league teams before signing with the Blackhawks.
2. He’s a hometown hero
Darling grew up outside of Chicago, in suburban Lemont, Ill., so playing for the Blackhawks has special meaning. For his first-ever NHL playoff start, where he made 35 saves, friends and family packed United Center.
3. Darling has a weird pregame ritual
Yeah, I don’t know what that’s all about either. Goalies are super weird.
4. He’s only played in 14 NHL games before making a playoff start
Before replacing Corey Crawford in Game 1, Darling hadn’t played too many games with the Blackhawks. He was initially called up in early October to back up Antti Raanta while Crawford recovered from an injured ankle and got into three games.
But, Darling played well enough during a December call-up to draw notice and earn a permanent call-up from the AHL in late February. The Blackhawks then signed him to a two-year extension and demoted Raanta.
5. He’s already setting records
Darling made 42 saves in Game 1 against the Nashville Predators, setting a Stanley Cup playoff record for going the longest time without allowing a goal in a relief appearance.
6. There are no hard feelings between Darling and Corey Crawford
Goalie hugs! Photo: Getty Images
The goaltending “controversy” could cause tension in the locker room, but by all accounts, Crawford and Darling are buddies with only positive things to say about each other.
Crawford also knows how hard Darling worked to make it.
It’s too soon talk about whether Darling will replace Crawford for the duration of the playoffs (by all means, feel free to discuss it), but coach Joel Quenneville now has an enviable decision on his hands with two dependable goalies to choose between during the most important time of the year.
The NHL playoffs are a time for unlikely heroes and Darling’s story is one sports fans can get behind. If you need someone or something to root for this NHL postseason, make it Scott Darling. Not because you want to see Chicago win another Cup, but because it’s important to remember that even at your lowest point, good things can happen to people who try hard.
