Former University of Maine hockey goalie Scott Darling, a backup goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks, received words of praise from President Barack Obama when the team was honored at the White House Thursday for its 2015 Stanley Cup Championship.
Darling was praised by the president for his act of kindness to a homeless man during a recent Blackhawks road trip to Arizona.
The text of the president’s remarks follows:
“… Then we’ve got backup goalie, Scott Darling, who — go ahead and wave, Scott. [Applause.] So Scott grew up idolizing the legendary Blackhawks’ goalie, Eddie Belfour; came up big in the playoffs against Nashville. But I want to highlight something he did just a couple weeks ago, when this team was on a road trip in Arizona. He struck up a conversation with a man down on his luck. Scott, I suspect, recognized some of his own struggles in the past, thought he might be able to help. He set him up in a hotel room, paid the bill for a month, hoping that that would be enough time for the man to get back on his feet.
“Scott didn’t tell anybody about this, except for his new fiancee. But a couple days later, the story went viral. Apparently, an Uber driver told the story to a beer-league hockey player. I’d never heard of beer-league hockey — [laughter] — but it sounds like fun. [Laughter.] And that player posted it online.
“And I couldn’t have more respect for Scott’s modesty, but now that it’s out there, I think it’s the kind of good deed that bears repeating. A champion reached out to help somebody who could use a hand — even though he didn’t have to, even though nobody was looking, even though he wasn’t asking anybody for credit. I like to think that reflects something about our city, about Chicago. It’s a very American thing to do. And so, Scott, I just want to say thank you.”
Darling, who spent the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons at UMaine before being dismissed from the team, overcame a combination of an anxiety disorder and alcohol abuse to eventually earn a spot with the Blackhawks last year after several minor league seasons.