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Schenn to Stay!

by on October 27, 2008 in Uncategorized - 471 Comments

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Sorry folks, been really busy over the past week or so. Let’s talk some breaking news:

“The Maple Leafs will announce as early as this afternoon that rookie defenceman Luke Schenn will be staying in Toronto and will not be going back to the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. Teams can hold on to rookies for nine games before their contract as junior-aged players kick in. The 18-year-old Schenn has played well enough to stick with the big team.

Schenn has been averaging over 21 minutes after eight regular-season games and has been solid defensively for the club.

“I think logic would suggest that the decision isn’t going to be a difficult one,” Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher said.”

From the Toronto Sun this morning: http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2008/10/27/7216556-sun.html

It’s been fairly obvious that Schenn is able to not only fit in at the NHL level, but stand out and excel as well. He’s come exactly as advertise so far: smart, physical, defensively responsible and full of character. He’s made the transition from a WHL star to a 20+ minute a night NHL defender fairly seamlessly and from all indications, seems to be a big hit in the locker room as well. And why not? Seeing an 18 year old take on a seasoned NHL fighter in Chris Neil on Saturday to stand up for his teammate getting hit (Stajan) tells you all you need to know about this kid’s heart.

Those are definitely the positives of this whole situation. The negatives are mostly just questions right now.

#1 – Is it worth it eat up one year of his entry level contract?

At this point, I’d say Schenn’s earned it. No problem here. If the Leafs feel this is their man, they’ve got the dough to keep him long-term.

#2 – Where does Schenn find the time to develop his offensive game? Will he get any PP time?

This is probably the major drawback with me. As I outlined in one of my blogs a few weeks back, I feel that Schenn could have a Weber-like offensive impact at the NHL level provided he had the opportunity to log plenty of PP minutes and work on it back in junior. Weber and Phaneuf both needed an extra year in junior, is Schenn that far ahead of them?

#3 – Does Schenn get to play in the WJC in Canada this year?

One of the big selling points of playing back in junior for Schenn was for him to continue to decorate his impressive trophy case with perhaps a WHL MVP or WHL Best Defenseman award as well as have the opportunity to captain the Canadian junior to another medal in his home country. Essentially, it’d be the opportunity to go back and be “The Man”, log a ton of ice and become a leader. As I mentioned earlier, him sticking for Stajan against Neil shows that he’s got what it takes “upstairs” to be an NHL impact player right now.

Concern #1? Check.

Concern #2? Still a question.

Concern #3? Check.

What are your thoughts?

Always a pleasure,

Alex Tran

[email protected]

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  • Hockey_Guru

    I absolutely love this kid, but it’s the PP time that scares me. Another year of WHL wouldn’t hurt him at all. He’s doing great up here right now, but the PP time and WJC should be more of a priority to the Leafs concerning Schenn’s development.

    Either way, this kid is going to be really good, but rounding out his game in the WHL wouldn’t hamper his development. He’s ready to play against the big boys, but a more prominent captains role would be more beneficial in my eyes… oh well atleast this means a trade should be coming.

    Oh yeah and I loved to see him take on Neil. Woulda been awesome if he actually dummied him though!

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  • Joey

    He has the 1/2 the heart of Wendel….nuff said. Welcome to the big time. Thing with sending him to the Junior is the coach mite not be too good at helping him develop the way Wilson can. And id rather him be better defensivly then offensively. Which he can only get in the NHL playin against the best players in the world. He will get his PP time once someone is shipped out of TO. I personally think this is the best thing for his development being coached by wilson….Well thats my opinion guys LOL.

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  • skeptic

    I find it interesting that Eklund had surgury and you got busy at the same time…and now that eklund is back you have made your first post in quite a while..I can’t wait to see Alec Brownscombe’s first post in in 6 days and see what his excuse is…

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  • Hockey_Guru

    Skeptic, you must be gib_johnston. You are a moron. Do you really think they are gonna come explain themselves to you for not writing an article coincidentally while Ek was sick??

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  • HP

    Schenn is yet to score a single point and is a minus 3. Right now he is just a minute muncher. Is that what a 5th overall pick is for. So he came to Stajan’s defence. Great, now he can be an minute munching enforcer. For the love of God, send him back to junior and have him develop some offence in his game!!!

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  • Jason L

    Schenn has outgrown the Western Hockey League. So what if he hasn’t scored or is a minus 3? He is on the ice against the other teams best players, and looks great doing it. Who happens to be on the ice in the final minutes of the game defending the lead? Schenn.

    Going back to the WHL to improve his offensive game is ridiculous. You don’t get better by playing against inferior opponents. He spends the end of every practice working on his shot, and at some point in time in the future, you will see him on the PP, but only when he is ready.

    The WJC is fun to watch, but as far as development goes; it is kind of a joke. What competition will the Canadians face other than the Russians? Maybe USA…not much to learn there for a player that has been there and done well.

    If he is handled correctly, Toronto is the right place for him to be. The coaches and the organization are better equipped to grow him to his potential than in the WHL.

    But then again, only time will tell.

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  • http://admin Alex Tran

    To Skeptic:

    I’m a university student and last week was when I had 3 of my midterms.

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  • puckbuddy

    I’m sorry but honestly, who thinks that Schenn will have a better coach than Wilson if he get sent down anywhere?

    He is gonna have one of the best coaches (defensive minded one) in the best hockey league in the world… What could be better for him than that? He has shown he can more than hold his own thus far.

    Plus what are we talking here that we will lose out on with his contract, something that we don’t need to think about 8 yrs. from now?

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  • betterforsome

    I heard somewhere that NHL teams can still allow their under 20 players to leave the team for the World Juniors, and then either send them to junior or reassign them to the lineup afterwards – anyone know if this is true?

    Also why does Schenn have to develop offensively? It would be nice, but if he is what he is, a physical, Robyn Regher/Adam Foote type player, I’m fine with that.

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  • Troy

    HP, don’t read a lot into the stats right now.

    He’s an 18 year old rookie! He’s developing better than anyone expected, and continues to get better.

    If you expect him to come in and be a superstar, you wouldn’t see that after another year in the Juniors either.

    We’re all talking about development, what’s best for his future, not just how he’s doing right now.

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  • http://admin Alex Tran

    To Betterforsome:

    Yes, that’s true, although it rarely happens.

    “If he’s playing in the best league in the world, why would we have him go play in a teenage tournament?” Wilson said after practice on Monday.

    I don’t agree with Wilson’s statement at all, but that’s just me.

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  • http://admin Alex Tran

    To PuckBuddy:

    It’s obvious that he’s leagues ahead of everyone thought he was, particularly in the defensive zone. The question is, how is he going to develop his offensive game? There is certainly the potential there for him to become a Weber-like player, but only if he gets the chance to hone his skills.

    Or are we ready to simply accept him as a Foote type player?

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  • goldenleafs

    I think we just accept him for what he’s doing. Schenn said he does have an offensive side to his game, but right now he’s just doing what the Leaf’s want him to do.

    Watching the way he moves on the point with the puck proves to me that he knows what he’s doing offensively… his powerplay time will come.

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  • Mark Ribble

    AGREE 100% Goldenleafs…
    Schenn will develop his offensive side as his progression continues. By the end of the year, he will likely be seeing the PP more often than not.
    I was skeptical in the beginning, but watching him game in and game out, it appears we have something special here.

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  • daddoo
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  • puckbuddy

    “The question is, how is he going to develop his offensive game? There is certainly the potential there for him to become a Weber-like player, but only if he gets the chance to hone his skills.

    Or are we ready to simply accept him as a Foote type player?”

    I would be fine with a foote like player, but like everyone says, he is still 18, in like 5~6 yrs he might have found his offensive touch and if not, if he does become a premiere shut down guy, remember the last time we had one of those – I don’t, I would be happy with that too.

    Listen for years and years – before the blogosphere, we have been numbly been feed BS about this team and are conditioned to expect wrong decisions and bad things to happen, I am not one of those fans; something about this kid, no one, not even the Leafs could screw this up.

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  • Liquid

    Initially Alan I wanted Schenn sent down for exactly the reasons you listed…. I am still having trouble wrapping my head around tossing the potenial than is Colaiacovo when Schenn could be playing in the WHL.

    However…. on another blog somebody posted the following:

    The last defenceman who won the Calder was Barret Jackman in 2003. He had 3 goals, 16 assists, and was 23 playing alongside one of the game’s best defencemen in Al MacInnis on a St. Louis Blues team that was 5th overall in the West with 99 points and a 41-24-11-6 record.

    Luke Schenn needs to put some points up on the board and improve his +/- to be truly considered for a Calder, no doubt. But keep in mind that he is emerging as an 18-year-old leader on a severely underskilled Leaf team who all the “experts” had pegged as finishing in the bottom three teams of the East.

    Compare his defensive stats with Jackman’s 2003 numbers:

    Jackman: 82 games, 20:02 average time on ice, 3:13 average shorthanded time on ice, 52 hits, 47 blocked shots, 11 takeaways and 190 PIM.

    Schenn: 8 games, 21:24 average time on ice, 3:22 average shorthanded time on ice, 19 hits (195 hits projected!), 14 blocked shots (143 blocks projected!), 3 takeaways (31 takeaways projected), and 15 PIM (154 PIM projected).

    Barret Jackman was 22 years old; Schenn is 18. Schenn is a Calder contender. So is Doughty as far as I’m concerned. It’s not going to be an easy choice for the NHL brass this year.

    Wilson says he likes Schenn’s outlet pass…. If the Leafs can start scoring Schenn will start accumulating points.

    Cheers

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  • Liquid

    Sorry… I meant Alex.

    Cheers

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  • http://admin Alex Tran

    Those are some fantastic stats Liquid, thanks a lot for that.

    Imagine where Schenn’s going to be 4 years from now…

    Scary.

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  • looshV

    Hey RG, just wanted to say good call on Shenn staying……I really didn’t think he would be able to adapt to the NHL game so smoothly. Shenn looked good tonight and I’ve noticed when he makes a mistake his ability to recover and then intercept the opponent is exceptional. Smart decision making is a pleasure to watch, and I don’t get nervous when he has the puck in the defensive zone.

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