Around that time, Scott was dealing with a nagging groin injury and Daccord, Lange and athletic therapist Duane Bartley worked with him to stop it from reoccurring. They developed a new pre-stretch routine and dynamic warmup that he has made his routine every day since.
Then, with the Marlies, he could see the pieces Daccord talked about working in unison with the championship tandem of Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard. In every on-ice session with the Leafs’ goaltending staff he felt like he was learning something new.
“When I was there I really focussed on what they did off the ice. It was really important to see the consistency and how they were able to obtain that consistency,” Scott said.
“I grew a lot with the Marlies and I understood things to do off the ice and learned the mental side of the game. Because of that I came into the season with a little more confidence.”
Bartley watched Scott make that progress firsthand during those morning routines and chats over coffee.
“He’s a really mature kid,” Bartley said. “He comes in, he does his work, he doesn’t create a whole lot of troubles for anyone. He’ll make a great professional. He’s got that mindset already. He’s now ready to go day-in and day-out. I think he’s going to have a pretty good career.”
Scott credits people like Lange, Bartley and Daccord for their time with him and Hunt and Habscheid for their belief, even when he wavered.
“They gave me everything. I owe all of my success up to this point to them. When you come to Prince Albert when you’re 16, you move away from family, you’re still becoming an adult at 16 and I can’t thank them enough,” Scott said.
By the end of the season, Hunt saw a kid who was just “business as usual.” And the Leafs were blown away by that progress.