John Scott talks about experience playing with Duncan Keith and what he’ll bring to the Oilers

QUESTION: John, you played with Duncan Keith, so tell us what we can expect from him. We know he’s 38-year-old Duncan Keith, but what can we expect?

JOHN SCOTT: A 38-year-old Duncan is like a 30-year-old everyone else. He keeps his body in such good shape, like he literally has it down to a regime, how many calories he takes in, what he puts in his body. He’s going to come in in tremendous shape, he’s very serious, he’s work regimented, and he’s got a little screw loose.

You’ve seen him play against Vancouver in the playoffs where he’s crosschecking guys and high-sticking guys in the teeth, so he’s definitely passionate. It’ll be good for Edmonton because Duncan takes hockey seriously and if you’re playing bad he’s going to scream at you from the back of the bench.

I’ve been involved in it numerous times where Duncan is effin’ and jeffin’ with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane during the games saying ‘what are you guys doing? this isn’t going to fly, let’s go’ literally screaming at each other during the game. That’ll be good for McDavid and Draisaitl and those guys because I don’t think they’ve really been held accountable for much.

We saw last year in the playoffs, they were turning pucks over, they weren’t really taking care of their own end, and Duncan will let them know.

QUESTION: When Duncan Keith got traded here, we heard a lot about the intangibles and what he’ll bring to the dressing room. As somebody who got to play with him and who was in a room, how much does that stuff actually matter?

JOHN SCOTT: It does matter because you don’t want to disappoint players, especially a new guy coming in who has the repuation that Duncan keith has. If you’re his partner or if you’re a forward playing on his line, you don’t want to let Duncan Keith down. He’s a 38-year-old Hall of Famer who’s been the best defenceman in the league for a decade. He’s not that defenceman anymore but he’s Duncan Keith. You’re getting Duncan Keith.

There’s that kind of persona, that aura that comes with him, so it does weigh a lot in a locker room. When he gets in that room whenever he gets there after his quarantine, the guys will perk up and they’ll be like ‘oh gosh, we’d better bring our A game because Duncan Keith is here.’

Who knows how long that lasts. Maybe it lasts the whole season because he’ll be the first guy in the room and he’ll be the last to leave and, if you lose, he’s going to expect you to be watching tape and correcting your mistakes. It’s not like ‘oh no, we’ll get them next time,’ it’ll be ‘no, why did we lose, let’s figure it out, and let’s not do it again.’

That’s Duncan. He’s very, very serious about hockey.