100 per cent effort, 100 per cent smiles for new Blade Tanner Scott

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Tanner Scott is all smiles and dimples these days.

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Forget the shock of being traded with only a few months left to go in his Western Hockey League career.

Forget the sudden move back to the snow-covered Prairies for the first time in his junior career.

Clearly, his water bottle is half-full, not half-empty.

Scott appears ready to embrace his new surroundings and challenge as one of the newest members of the Saskatoon Blades. He’s taking the right attitude on the Blades, who are back in action Friday against the Red Deer Rebels and set to host the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday afternoon (4 p.m., SaskTel Centre).

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“You can only look at it in the positive ways,” says Scott, a 5-foot-8, 179-pound forward who hails from Sherwood Park, Alta., and spent four and a half seasons with the British Columbia-based Victoria Royals.

“Really, this is the last half (of the final season) of my career and I really like the guys in there. That’s probably helped a lot. If you came into a new team and you didn’t like anyone, that would make it really tough, but that’s a great group in there and has made me feel real comfortable,” he said.

“All that, combined with I believe it’s a really good team in there, even though we’re young, there’s a lot of potential for sure. I think we can win a lot of games, for sure, in the last half of the year.”

Scott — who had six goals and 10 assists for 16 points in 25 games with the Royals this season after scoring 19 goals and adding 27 assists for 56 points in 68 games last season — entered Friday’s game with a goal and three assists for four points in six games with the Blades.

“It’s been a little crazy, but I love it,” Scott says of his new surroundings. “I got to move in right away with my cousins, which is nice. I have a lot of family here, so that makes me feel comfortable.”

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Scott’s mom, Lisa (nee Bauer), was raised in the city.

“The transition was really smooth, I thought, and handled the best way it could have been, so I’m really happy here so far, in my time,” Scott says. “The guys have been great in there. The coaching staff has made me feel really comfortable.”

Scott, who has committed to play NCAA hockey next season at Bowling Green University, is winding down his WHL career.

“The biggest thing, also, is it gives you a different perspective before you move on to the next chapter, anyways,” he said. “Coming here, you get to see how another organization runs things and how that’s going. I love it here. It seems like it’s run really great. Everything seems really good so far. Yeah, that’s probably the biggest thing, getting a little bit of a change before going on.”

With a number of moves at the deadline, the team got a lot younger overall, yet Scott finds himself as a new guy expected to lead the way as one of the older players leading the next generation of Blades.

“This is still my fifth year in the league, so I’ve seen a lot. I’ve been on teams that have been rebuilding and stuff, and pretty decent teams as well. I’m kind of bringing that expertise — we do have a lot of young guys — and just being the best leader I can, even though I just came here. I’m 20 and I still want to lead this team and be a big part of that.”

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