Brayden Schenn: Paying dues and breaking records
Brayden Schenn is less than one year removed from a permanent spot on one of the most compelling, young teams in the NHL. But around this time of year, none of that matters.
With 16 points in six games of IIHF World Junior hockey already, Schenn is set to make history. The only question is, how much?
Tonight, Schenn’s Team Canada will take on classic rival Russia in the gold medal game of the tournament. The anticipated matchup not only serves as an opportunity for Canada to reclaim undisputed star status after losing out against the Americans in 2010, but for Schenn to finally lay claim to star status himself.
A quick look at Canada’s all-time World Junior tournament leader board is exactly that; a look at an individual country’s single talent pool in a tournament that relatively few world-wide pay attention to.
But, when you consider the company that the Los Angeles Kings prospect keeps on the list, the significance of it all changes.
Although the all-time World Junior record books are dominated by European players from Peter Forsberg to Robert Reichel and well beyond reach (for this year at least), a spot at the top of the Canadian leader board is about as impressive as spots get.
Currently tied in fourth-place (with Cody Hodgson) for tournament points by a Canadian, Schenn could match a pair of hockey icons with a single point in the gold medal game; Wayne Gretzky in 1978 and Eric Lindros in 1991.
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With two points Schenn would draw even with leader Dale McCourt (18), a record that has stood since 1977. But stat-hoarding and an ability to cash points isn’t what’s important here.
Three weeks ago Team Canada had resigned to the fact that they operated without any particular lights out stars on their roster – it’s a major reason why they were uncharacteristically not favored in Vegas sportsbooks prior to the tournament.
On last year’s roster, they had inevitable 2010 first overall pick Taylor Hall. The year prior; John Tavares.
This year the Canadians have a gritty collection of leaders and first-year players, knowns and mostly unknowns, from scattered throughout the CHL. Even Team Canada captain Ryan Ellis, widely-regarded as one of the sharpest young hockey players on the planet, agreed.
“There have been a lot of highly-skilled players in the last few years; the Tavareses, the Halls and the (Nazem) Kadris of the world,” said Ellis, following an exhibition victory over Sweden in December. “That was kind of their game, this is kind of a workman-like game and that’s what we are bringing to it.”
Obviously no personal barb directed at Schenn or any of his teammates, Ellis was simply summing up the common perception that the team and their supporters had heading into the tournament; that they lacked the high-octane offensive potential that they’ve enjoyed in the past.
And then Brayden Schenn scored 10 points in two games for Canada.
“Obviously it’s a little bit different than last year,” said Schenn, of his role with the team on and off the ice in year two. He is, after all, a leader now. “Last year I was just a first-year coming in… you learn from guys doing it.”
Whether Schenn had intended to claim star status so emphatically in a span of just 48 hours or not, he did. With five goals and five assists in back-to-back round robin victories over the Czech Republic and Norway respectively (Dec. 28-29), he emerged as an individual on whom his team would rely for the remainder of the tournament.
As the sole returning forward from the team that fell in the 2010 gold medal game last January, Schenn brought a lot to the table for his young teammates. Experience in international play and a locker room presence, sure, but more importantly a handful of NHL games and a taste of what it takes to be a pro.
In both 2009-10 and 2010-11 Schenn was involved with the Kings, going three months with the club this season before heading to the American Hockey League under the watchful eye of his professional club. He’s since stopped briefly in the Western Hockey League as well – with the junior team he’s called home since 2007.
In the first three months of the 2010-11 season alone, Schenn, the 2009 fifth-overall pick, has dressed for the Los Angeles Kings, Manchester Monarchs, Brandon Wheat Kings and now Team Canada.
Claiming to have learned a lot during his brief stint in the show and even managing a pair of assists in eight October games with the club, Schenn’s obvious development has been hard to miss. His unprecedented combination of size and speed even harder.
Perhaps as a result of his time in Los Angeles, or simply just growing up with a professional hockey-playing brother*, Schenn has the body and ability to fill star vacancies at just about any level of competitive hockey he qualifies for.
Now with Team Canada and on junior hockey’s greatest stage, the 19-year-old center will have a chance to put all of the skills he accumulated over a busy 2010 to good use, by earning a gold and potentially sniping a Canadian hockey record in the process.
He may have gone through a closet full of team jerseys in 2010, but this time next year there’s only one Schenn will be gunning for. It’s pretty safe to say that he’ll look pretty comfortable as a full-time member of the Los Angeles Kings.
*Luke Schenn of the Toronto Maple Leafs
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