At ‘Scotty’s House,’ two-time Stanley Cup winner Gomez will help you survive with laughter

Scott Gomez ambles into camera view, a stump perched on his left shoulder, an ax grasped in his right hand. He lodges the ax upright in the snow, props the stump on the ground, and takes a seat. He removes his gloves, takes off his fedora, runs his forearm across his presumably sweaty brow, returns the hat to his head, and looks to the camera.

“Oh, hi," Gomez says with a smile as if taken by surprise.

His tongue is planted so firmly in cheek it is in danger of piercing skin.

Welcome to Episode 1 of “Scotty’s House," the video the former NHL center and two-time Stanley Cup-winner from Anchorage says is the first in a series on his Instagram feed (@scottycgomez) and intended to make for some laughs and kill some isolation time during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The idea came to Gomez shortly after he returned home from a visit to New York in March and began isolating at his house in Airport Heights. Late last year, Gomez said he was casting about for something to occupy his ample free time — after some broadcasting and an NHL assistant coaching job, he was without a gig — when he hit upon the idea of creating videos about noteworthy Alaska athletes.

Gomez mentioned his idea to his father, Carlos. Carlos had just received an email from an Anchorage-raised filmmaker, T.J. Webb, so he connected his son and Webb. Gomez and Webb developed the idea for Alaska Icons, profiles of Alaska athletes. They traveled to Anchorage in March, set up base at Gomez’s house, and began work on the project. read more