He played his amateur career for the Kelowna Rockets. He also is known to be a pretty good soccer player. Scott has an older brother, Christopher and a younger sister, Katieas well as a younger stepbrother, Joel. He was selected in the first round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, 23rd overall, by the San Jose Sharks.

 

Hannan has been praised by players like Petr Sykora and Peter Forsberg for his ability to frustrate opposing forwards. Alexander Ovechkin called Hannan "the toughest defenseman to play against.  Hannan has played for Canada in many international tournaments.

Hannan was selected as an NHL All-Star for the Western Conference in the 2003-2004 Season.  On July 1, 2007, Scott Hannan signed a four-year, $18 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche.