St. Louis Blues: Solving the Brayden Schenn enigma
The St. Louis Blues traded for an enigma in Brayden Schenn this offseason. Solving him is critical for their success.
Several huge moves were made during the weekend of the 2017 NHL Draft. Obviously, the Arizona Coyotes, Chicago Blackhawks, and Columbus Blue Jackets stole the day. However, the St. Louis Blues made one during the actual draft, acquiring Brayden Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers.
He’s an immensely talented forward who has 89 goals over the past four seasons. 90 if you include his opening night goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, Schenn has proven to be a bit of an enigma. His talent is unquestionable. But Schenn’s hockey IQ is inconsistent.
His opening night performance is the perfect analogy of his career. Schenn had a goal and an assist, and at times, was the best player on the ice. And then it happened. Schenn made the kind of mistake Flyers fans saw a bit too often. This mistake nearly cost the Blues the game.
Schenn is outstanding and frustrating at the same time. How can such a talented player make such a big brain fart? Whether it’s going way too high and late on a player in a tightly contested playoff series or fighting a pointless war against a goon, Schenn tends to let his emotions get the best of him. When he does, that’s when he makes mistakes and lapses in judgment.
Trading for Schenn was smart for the Blues even before the injury bug bit them hard. But with Robby Fabbri out for the season, the former Flyers forward is critical to their success. The Blues paid a hefty price for him, surrendering a 2017 first round pick, a conditional 2018 first round pick, and Jori Lehtera to the Flyers.
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It’s easy to see why they did. The Blues need goals and Schenn can definitely provide them. Some might point out he had 17 goals on the power play and just eight at even strength last season. This is a very fair criticism of Schenn.
But his history suggests he can be productive, and even dominant, at even strength too. Last season is the only time in Schenn’s career he has scored more goals on the power play than at even strength. He’s a perfect fit on the power play, as he makes the Blues power play, which converted 21.28 percent of their opportunities last season, more deadly.
In just under 17 minutes of ice time against the Penguins, Schenn had four shots on goal, including six shot attempts at even strength (seven overall). Factor in his goal and assist, as well as his 65.62 percent even strength CorsiFor percentage, and that’s a heck of a game. But it was nearly forgotten because of Schenn’s dumb penalty that allowed the Penguins to send the game to overtime.
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The Blues are taking a chance on him. Schenn is a darn good forward to take a chance on. At worst, he’s extremely talented, albeit frustrating. But maybe the Blues can minimize Schenn’s brain farts. Mike Yeo seems like a good head coach to do that.