Kelowna Rockets
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 will play for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
I'm as sure of this as I am that Carlo Calaiacovo will get injured. While there is an abundance of defensemen competing for the two available positions (Kaberle, Kubina, Finger and Frogren will form the Leafs' top 4), Schenn will, at some point, stand-out from the majority of the group. Whether it's in training camp or mid-way through the season, as soon he joins the team he'll stay there for the remainder.
Before Schenn arrived, Anton Stralman was the Leafs' best defensive prospect. Now, however, things have changed. While Stralman is still shaping up to be a premium offensive defenseman, the Leafs haven't had a franchise caliber defender in quite some time.
On Draft Day '08, the Toronto Maple Leafs made the bold move of trading up from the 7th selection to grab Kelowna Rockets defenseman Luke Schenn 5th overall.
Leaf fans have been waiting a long, long time for a young franchise calibre to fall into their lap, and they may finally have found one in Luke. Heading into the draft weekend, Schenn had the presitigious honor of being lumped together into the group of elite four defensemen, who along with Stamkos, highlighted the top of this year's draft class. Luke was proclaimed the most NHL ready and defensively sound blueliner among the group, but his supposed lack of an offensive game has caused some fans to label him as nothing more than a defensive stay-at-home defenseman. [more…]
*Update: Cliff Fletcher just reported to me via e-mail that getting Luke Schenn under contract is "not necessarily" his next focus.
Two more highly-coveted young [more…]
