Scott Darling

Scott Darling
Darling with the Chicago Blackhawks in December 2014
Born (1988-12-22) December 22, 1988
Newport News, Virginia, U.S.[1]
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 232 lb (105 kg; 16 st 8 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
National team  United States
NHL Draft 153rd overall, 2007
Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career 2010–present

Scott Darling (born December 22, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Phoenix Coyotes in the sixth round, 153rd overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Amateur

Darling grew up in Chicago's southern suburb of Lemont, Illinois and as a child, idolized the Chicago Blackhawks' goaltender Ed Belfour. He played youth hockey with the AA Vikings (Orland Park), AA Huskies (then Darien, now Romeoville), and AAA Team Illinois and Chicago Young Americans. He attended Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Saskatchewan in 8th grade and played AAA hockey for the Hounds. He attended Lemont High School.

Prior to turning professional, Darling attended the University of Maine, where he played two seasons of NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey with the Black Bears ice hockey team.[2]

Professional

In the 2013–14 season, Darling enjoyed his most successful American Hockey League (AHL) season, earning 13 wins in 26 games with the Milwaukee Admirals.[3]

On July 1, 2014, the Chicago Blackhawks signed Darling as a free agent to his first NHL contract on a one-year deal.[4] Darling made his NHL debut on October 26, 2014, starting in goal against the Ottawa Senators, making 32 saves in the 2–1 win.[5][6] He became the first former Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) player to play in an NHL game.[7] On November 1, 2014, it was announced that Darling had been reassigned to the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, following starting goaltender Corey Crawford's recovery from an upper-body injury.[8] However, he was recalled two weeks later, on November 15, 2014.[9]

On February 22, 2015, Darling was promoted from Rockford and placed onto Chicago's NHL roster, replacing Antti Raanta as the team's backup goaltender, who himself was demoted to Rockford. The Blackhawks also signed a Darling to a two-year contract extension.[10] On March 18, 2015, Darling recorded his first NHL shutout in a Blackhawks' victory over the New York Rangers.[11] On April 15, 2015, Darling recorded his first playoff win after replacing Crawford in net, making 42 saves, with the Blackhawks defeating the Nashville Predators 4–3 in double overtime.[12] Darling set an NHL record in his debut for the longest relief appearance without allowing a goal (67:44), as well as the most saves in relief without allowing a goal (42). On June 15, 2015, Darling became the first Chicago-area native player to win a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks. [13]

On April 28, 2017, at the conclusion of the Blackhawks season in 2016–17, Darling's rights as a pending free agent were traded by Chicago to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the Ottawa Senators' original 3rd round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.[14] On May 6, 2017, Darling agreed to terms with the Hurricanes on a four-year contract.[15]

International play

Darling played sporadically for Team USA in the 2018 IIHF World Championship: tallying one win on 87% SV and 2.25 GAA. Keith Kinkaid played in goal for the rest of the tournament where Darling and Team USA won the bronze medal after beating Canada 4-1 on May 20, 2018.

Personal life

Born in Newport News, Virginia, Darling was the son of an Army officer who was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington and Fort Rucker, Alabama before the family finally settled in the Chicago suburb of Lemont.[1] At the University of Maine, he was involved in excessive partying and by his sophomore year was abusing alcohol. He frequently violated the school's code of conduct and was given 3 suspensions within a 16-month period resulting in him being dropped from the hockey team.[16]

After bouncing around for several years through various minor hockey leagues, his goalie coach Brian Daccord said that he was not permitted to play at his hockey school until he made a dedicated commitment to the gym. It was at this time, he lost nearly 40 lbs and gave up alcohol in 2011.[1][17] Darling said even at the lowest point, after being cut from what might have been the worst team in organized hockey, he never forgot something his father told him about getting ahead: "It was kind of like his motto—'Saw the wood that's in front of you.' " [18]

Darling played in the Wayne Gretzky Ice Hockey Classic for Team USA in the summer of 2016 in Australia.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT Min GA SO GAA SV% GP W L Min GA SO GAA SV%
2005–06 North Iowa Outlaws NAHL 8 2 4 0 405 28 0 4.15 .888 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 North Iowa Outlaws NAHL 1 0 0 0 15 3 0 12.00 .786 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Capital District Selects EJHL 22 9 9 3 1,242 70 1 3.38 .924 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Indiana Ice USHL 42 27 10 2 2,391 121 1 3.04 .908 3 1 2 179 11 0 3.69 .889
2008–09 University of Maine HE 27 10 14 3 1,566 72 3 2.76 .895 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 University of Maine HE 27 15 6 3 1,511 78 0 3.10 .895 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Louisiana IceGators SPHL 30 6 22 0 1,598 102 0 3.83 .892 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Mississippi RiverKings SPHL 35 15 17 1 2,055 100 1 2.92 .905 1 0 1 59 5 0 5.12 .762
2011–12 Florida Everblades ECHL 1 0 1 0 58 5 0 5.14 .773 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Wichita Thunder CHL 1 0 1 0 60 4 0 4.01 .840 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 32 13 12 4 1,819 85 2 2.80 .907 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 1 0 0 0 25 0 0 0.00 1.000 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 26 13 6 2 1,347 45 6 2.00 .933 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Cincinnati Cyclones ECHL 6 4 1 1 368 16 0 2.61 .916 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Rockford Icehogs AHL 26 14 8 0 1,419 52 2 2.20 .927 — — — — — — — —
2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 14 9 4 0 833 27 1 1.94 .936 5 3 1 298 11 0 2.28 .936
2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 29 12 8 3 1,551 67 1 2.58 .915 — — — — — — — —
2016–17 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 32 18 5 5 1,689 67 2 2.38 .924 — — — — — — — —
2017–18 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 43 13 21 7 2,476 131 0 3.18 .888 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 118 52 38 16 6,557 292 4 2.67 .910 5 3 1 298 11 0 2.28 .936

Awards and honors

Award Year
NHL
Stanley Cup 2015 [19]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Darling, Scott (December 23, 2014). "An Interview with Goalie Scott Darling of the Chicago Blackhawks". Puck Junk (Interview). Interviewed by Sal Barry. Archived from the original on December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ Reading Royals (August 29, 2010). "Royals Sign Goaltender Scott Darling" (Press release). Reading Royals. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2012 – via OurSportsCentral.com.
  3. ↑ "Scott Darling Nets Shutout in First Start Between Pipes for Admirals". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 2, 2013. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  4. ↑ Chicago Blackhawks (July 1, 2014). "Blackhawks Agree to Terms with Three" (Press release). Chicago Blackhawks. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  5. ↑ Hedger, Brian (October 26, 2014). "Blackhawks to Start Rookie Goaltender vs. Senators". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Ottawa Senators at Chicago Blackhawks, 10/26/2014". National Hockey League. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ Southern Professional Hockey League. "Former SPHL Goaltender Scott Darling Win NHL Debut" (Press release). Southern Professional Hockey League. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ Myers, Tracey (November 1, 2014). "Blackhawks Updates: Crawford Starts, Darling Reassigned". CSN Chicago. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  9. ↑ Chicago Blackhawks (November 15, 2014). "Blackhawks Recall Darling, Assign Raanta" (Press release). Chicago Blackhawks. Archived from the original on November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ National Hockey League (February 22, 2015). "Blackhawks Recall Goalie Darling, Send Down Raanta" (Press release). National Hockey League. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  11. ↑ Knobler, Danny (March 18, 2015). "Brad Richards, Scott Darling Enjoy Unforgettable Outings in Win at Rangers". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Blackhawks Top Preds in 2OT After 3-Goal Deficit, Pulling Corey Crawford". ESPN. Associated Press. April 16, 2015.
  13. ↑ Lewis, Tisha (June 16, 2015). "Scott Darling: First Blackhawk Raised in Chicago Area to Win Stanley Cup". MyFoxChicago. Chicago: WFLD-TV. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015.
  14. ↑ TSN.ca Staff (April 28, 2017). "Hurricanes Acquire Rights to Darling from Blackhawks". The Sports Network. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  15. ↑ Williams, Terrell (May 6, 2017). "Hurricanes, Darling Agree to Four-Year Deal" (Press release). Carolina Hurricanes. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2017 – via National Hockey League.
  16. ↑ Simmons, Jeff (April 16, 2015). "Person of Interest: The 411 on Scott Darling". Sportsnet. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  17. ↑ Campbell, Ken (November 17, 2014). "After Overcoming His Demons, Scott Darling Wants to Make Mark on the NHL". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  18. ↑ Litke, Jim (April 15, 2015). "From South Suburbs to Lowest Rung of Minors, Local Hero Scott Darling Finally Back Home". Canada.com. Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 20, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  19. ↑ Cohen, Jay (June 15, 2015). "Chicago Blackhawks Win the Stanley Cup". The Huffington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
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