Scott Darling

Did You Know?

• Darling played for the United States at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, winning a bronze medal after a 4–1 victory over Canada.
• He participated in the Wayne Gretzky Ice Hockey Classic for Team USA in Australia in the summer of 2016.
• After retiring, Darling was depressed for six months before taking up stand-up comedy; by summer 2022 he toured with comedian Ian Bagg and performed in Raleigh.

Playing career

Darling grew up in Lemont, Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago, and as a child idolized Blackhawks goaltender Ed Belfour. He played minor hockey for the AA Vikings, AA Huskies, and AAA teams Team Illinois and Chicago Young Americans, and participated in the 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Chicago Young Americans. He attended Notre Dame College in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, in eighth grade and played AAA hockey for the Hounds, later attending Lemont High School. Darling played two seasons of NCAA Division I hockey at the University of Maine, where he struggled with excessive partying and alcohol abuse, receiving three suspensions from the hockey team within 16 months before being dropped. After bouncing through minor leagues, his goaltending coach Brian Daccord required a dedicated commitment to the gym before allowing him to attend his hockey school. Darling then lost nearly 40 pounds and gave up alcohol in 2011. He recalled his father's motto, 'Saw the wood that's in front of you,' as motivation. In the 2013–14 season, he earned 13 wins in 26 AHL games with the Milwaukee Admirals.

Personal life

Darling was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of a former Army officer who was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and Fort Rucker, Alabama, before the family settled in Lemont, Illinois. In February 2016, he helped a homeless man in Arizona by buying groceries and renting a hotel room for a month; the story went viral after his Uber driver shared it. President Barack Obama recognized Darling's deed during the Blackhawks' White House visit later that month.