Arizona Coyotes' John Scott leads NHL All-Star voting

Sarah McLellan | azcentral sports

DETROIT -- Coyotes winger John Scott joked about a campaign platform, kissing babies and shaking hands but in reality, the 33-year-old isn't sure why he was atop the leaderboard among fan votes for the NHL All-Star Game by mid-afternoon Wednesday after the polls opened Tuesday.

"I don’t know what’s going on," Scott said Wednesday after the Coyotes finished practice at Joe Louis Arena. "I just kind of stay out of it. Everyone gives me updates. The guys are giving me a hard time about it, but it's kind of neat. The fans, they obviously like me for some reason. I think it’s more of a joke than anything, but I’ll take it."

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The format for the All-Star Game has changed this season. Each division will go up against each other in a 3-on-3, three-game tournament. The top vote-getter from each division -- regardless of position -- will be named an All Star and captain with the remaining 40 players appointed by the NHL Hockey Operations Department.

Scott, who has chipped in an assist in six games this season, is ahead of the likes of Washington's Alex Ovechkin, Chicago's Patrick Kane and Florida's Jaromir Jagr, but he doesn't seem to be taking the early results too seriously.

"I don’t want to have my name in the headlines for this reason," Scott said. "Like, it's a fun little thing and hopefully it'll die down over time. It’s not something -- I definitely don't want to be voted into the All-Star Game. It would be cool, but I definitely don't deserve it to this point. You never know. There's still some time left. I could turn it on."

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.

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