St. Louis Blues: Brayden Schenn Proving Doubters Wrong Early

The St. Louis Blues had big plans when they picked up Brayden Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers. The team might not have planned on him getting off to a good start, but they have been pleasantly surprised.

When the St. Louis Blues picked up Brayden Schenn, they were hoping he was going to infuse some energy into the team and help with the team’s power play. He has managed to do both in the early stages of his Blues career.

When the deal was made, the fans were mostly positive but a little bit split. The main issue with Schenn was whether or not he could produce at even strength.

Schenn had a very good year with the Flyers in 2016-17, but 17 of his 25 goals came on the power play. The Blues needed the bump in power play production, which was a huge reason they got him. However, they just needed him to give the team a bump in scoring in general.

Schenn has silenced critics in the early going with St. Louis. Right now, he is only a couple games in but he and his linemates have really fit the bill of what the team needed them to be at the start.

Through two games, he has a goal and four points. The Blues line that Schenn is currently leading also has nine of the team’s total 25 points.

Schenn has really done a fantastic job gelling with this team early on. He seems to have an excellent connection with Jaden Schwartz, as both have four points a piece as of writing.

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Schenn might not have become the power play quarterback that fans had hoped yet, but he’s getting involved. Overall, he cannot help that the team’s power play itself has remained quite anemic.

Schenn currently has one power play assist. Considering the Blues only have two total power play goals, that’s not a bad thing.

Beyond just the stats, it has been good to see his style of play. Schenn’s line has, quite frankly, been the team’s best in the early going.

We all know that Vladimir Tarasenko will take off and score around 40 (hopefully 50) goals. We know that the team is going to be top heavy with scoring, despite a need for it to be spread out.

The fact that Schenn is doing well from the get go is an extremely positive sign. He’s on a great pace right now.

Schenn took five games with Philly last season before he got up to four points. He’s reached that point in only two games in 2017-18.

Schenn ended up with 25 goals and 55 points last year. If he can simply keep up his current pace and keep the pointless games to a lesser extent, he could improve that point total by a good margin.

He does not even have to score at a torrid pace. All it takes is consistency, which is something the Blues sorely need.

Adding to Schenn’s possibilities is the potential return of Alexander Steen. We do not know if Steen will be plugged into Schenn’s line, but the simple addition is going to help.

It seems very likely that Steen would go onto the second line. He simply seems a better fit.

However, if Steen gets placed on the top line, Vladimir Sobotka would be an intriguing addition to the second line. He would provide a little more speed and grit than Dmitrij Jaskin.

Any additional help for that line could yield fantastic results. They’re clicking so well that a solid upgrade could only help.

Nobody should think that Schenn is going to set any kind of records. He is going to have his dry spells like any other player.

The current makeup of the second line will almost surely change over the course of the year. The longer they keep this up, the longer Schenn is producing though.

Next: Blues Bringing Scottie Upshall Back Made Sense

The bottom line is Schenn has really come to play with the Blues. Whether it is the simple change of scenery or the relief to get out of the shadow of the media and fan scrutiny of LA or Philly, Schenn has shown up early.

He is not a pure goal scorer or a slick playmaker like some across the league. He is still fun to watch though.

Schenn seems to be a jack-of-all-trades. He is not a master of any one sector of the game, but he is solid in it all. That’s more what the Blues need and he is doing just that right now.

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