Former Aspen Leaf hockey player Fisher Scott drafted into USHL by Dubuque

Fisher Scott is that much closer to following in his older sister’s footsteps to the college ranks. The 15-year-old standout hockey player was recently drafted by the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League, the top junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey.

“It was kind of a cool deal for him. It’s a tough list to get your name on and being a little mountain hillbilly from Basalt, Colorado, and earning your way on that list is not easy,” said Peter Scott, Fisher’s father. “It’s a tough team to make and being drafted doesn’t guarantee a spot on the team by any means, but it definitely guarantees you a spot at camp and to go earn your way onto the team.”

Fisher grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley and once played for Aspen Junior Hockey. Then, this past fall, he moved to Denver to join the Colorado Thunderbirds, one of the top AAA hockey organizations in the country. He’ll likely play for the Thunderbirds and 16U coach and former NHL player David Clarkson again next season, but not before going to Dubuque’s main camp this summer — coronavirus permitting — to try his luck in the USHL, largely a 20-and-under league.

“It’s pretty cool, especially from a small town like Aspen, being able to do that and show all the little guys that maybe look up to me what’s possible,” Fisher said. “It doesn’t really mean anything yet, but it’s a cool notice.”

Fisher was drafted in the eighth round of the USHL Phase 1 “futures” draft on May 4. Considering he’ll be one of the youngest players at Dubuque’s camp fighting for only a few roster spots, he understands his USHL playing days are likely still a few years out. Still, the experience he will gain skating against high-level juniors as much as five years his senior could pay big dividends down the line.

Should Fisher eventually get to compete for the Fighting Saints, the chances of him making it onto a college team skyrocket. According to the USHL website, “95% of USHL players receive Division I college hockey opportunities.” The league also boasts having 287 alumni in the NHL.

“It gives him an opportunity and this summer will be the most competitive and best hockey he’s ever been exposed to. All those kids are top shelf,” Peter Scott said. “He’d love to have an opportunity to play college hockey, for sure.”

Fisher’s older sister, Stella Scott, is a 2019 Basalt High School graduate who recently finished her first season playing for NCAA Division I Long Island University in New York. It was LIU women’s hockey’s inaugural season, one that included winning the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance championship.

Like her brother, Stella grew up playing for AJH before moving on to higher-level camps and teams in high school. She largely credits her time spent at the North American Hockey Academy in Vermont as paving her way to playing in college.

“Being out on the East Coast is the only way for a girl’s hockey player, personally, to make it to the level that I did, because there is so much exposure and the hockey out there is insane,” said Stella, who plays on the left wing for LIU and studies business. “That was the only ticket for me, personally.”

If all goes to plan, Fisher hopes to find that same success at the college level. A defenseman, he’ll hopefully get a taste of the USHL as soon as the coronavirus pandemic will allow it. In the meantime, his 16U Thunderbirds team is setup to be one of the country’s best next season.

“We should be a really good team again next year. Probably top 10, top five even. We should be really good, and the year after that I don’t know what I’m going to do yet,” Fisher said. “Playing college hockey is the goal. I’d say I’m on a pretty good path right now.”

acolbert@aspentimes.com

via:: The Aspen Times