John Scott is the 'Rocky' of Hockey

So there he was ...

• The random topic of a viral write-in campaign to become an All-Star captain.
• The object of derision and embarrassment by vanilla hockey establishment types.
• The subject of a demotion to the minors and then a trade out of the division.

And there was his wife, so totally pregnant that it wouldn't be a surprise if added family stress would induce labor at any time.

Was that the moment history decided to imitate art?

And win he did.

After fan pressure forced the NHL to cave, John Scott had a day for the ages.

The Pacific's captain knew where to be when former Sharks teammate Brett Burns kept his word and found him for the game's first goal:

And ask any sniper in the league: who goes top shelf-far side on a breakaway?

Only the destined, it seems.

When's the last time there was ever an open-ice hit in an All-Star game?

OK, it cost the Pacific a goal and exposed Scott's defensive footwork -- or lack thereof -- but it was worth it for the faux fight.

Kinda served as a subtle tribute to Scott's NHL career, a role that's been heavily marginalized in recent seasons.

This sequence also revealed two other signficant themes on the day:

• Patrick Kane had been booed all weekend; however, after allowing Scott another special moment by dropping the gloves, fans cheered him during the rest of the game.
• Burns actually laid out in an attempt to break up the play.

Not only was Scott being respected as a peer by the game's elite, but the players were competing. Other players, such as PK Subban, were dropping to stop shots, as these mini-games became intense.

So Scott wasn't getting any charity out there, and neither was anyone else. Corey Perry had the lone goal in the title match, making the Pacific's captain an official winner as well as the people's champion.

Incidentally, Scott was also a write-in on the MVP ballot, too. It was a fitting end to an unbelievable day, one that will likely never happen again.

Odds are the league is only now realizing how perfect it actually was.