An Enforcer with One Point Is Leading the NHL in All-Star Voting

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports Canada.

Some probably love it, others likely hate it. But given the fact the All-Star Game is an exhibition contest, who really cares?

Arizona Coyotes tough guy John Scott is the early leader in NHL All-Star voting. He has no goals and one point on the season, and that's not by accident. He's an enforcer who has 11 career points in 280 games. The 33-year-old's career high for points is four, which came last season. To put it kindly, he's not the most skilled player in the league.

The rest of the leaderboard looks legit and is comprised of worthy stars, with Alex Ovechkin, 43-year-old Jaromir Jagr, Patrick Kane, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and P.K. Subban next in voting. But above them all sits Scott, who has played on six teams over his eight-year career.

"I think it's cool and fun, and if the fans want to throw me in the All-Star Game, I'll definitely go," Scott recently told reporters. "It's kind of honour. It's one of those things where not everybody gets to go, so I'm not going to be upset about it and pout about it. You've got to roll with it and have fun with it."

This happens in every sport—baseball just went through something similar when the Midsummer Classic was shaping up to be the Kansas City Royals versus the National League All-Stars before some late-voting surges knocked unworthy candidates like Omar Infante out of the mix.

When you allow fans to vote, this is the kind of stuff you have to prepare for. And if this is who they want in, there's nothing wrong with that, even if Scott, based on merit, isn't exactly the most deserving candidate. In reality, he probably won't hold on to the top spot. The player with the most votes from each division will be selected as the captain of his team, with the remaining 40 players being named by the NHL's hockey operations department.

The ASG format will now consist of four teams playing a three-on-three tournament. If the league has decided to go full-on gimmick mode, why not have Scott involved in the festivities?

He's a lot of fun, after all.