The extent of the injury to St. Louis Blues forward Brayden Schenn is not known, but we do know that he is questionable against Carolina. His absence will create opportunities for the younger players.
The loss of Schenn will hurt the St. Louis Blues significantly for any duration especially considering how the team has played over the past two weeks. If you can take any positives out of this injury, though there are not many, it’s that players like Robby Fabbri and Robert Thomas will get extended playing time.
Schenn has had a lackluster start to the season but has been one of the Blues most consistent players this year. He is fourth on the team in points with nine and centers one of the essential lines the Blues have.
It remains unclear how long Schenn will be out with an upper-body injury, head coach Mike Yeo says he is “a question mark for Tuesday” but no one on the team has told us the severity of the injury.
More from Editorials
- St. Louis Blues Need Kasperi Kapanen To Be On Best Behavior
- Hayes’ Debut And Other Bold Predictions for the St. Louis Blues
- St. Louis Blues Captaincy Is Suddenly A Huge Problem For 2023-24
- St. Louis Blues National Games Cause More Problems Than They’re Worth
- St. Louis Blues Brayden Schenn Has To Be An Impact Player In 2023-24
This presents an exciting opportunity for players like Fabbri and Thomas to earn some playing time. For Monday’s practice, the Blues had Thomas centering the second line with Fabbri and David Perron.
Fabbri is only two games into his season after returning from back-to-back ACL injuries, but he has looked fantastic to begin his year.
Giving Mike Yeo credit (I know, it sounds strange) he has rightfully placed Fabbri on the fourth line to limit his minutes and ease him back into the NHL. He is averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time but saw increased action in the third period against the Minnesota Wild.
The thought of Fabbri playing on one of the top lines for the Blues gets every Blues fan excited. The former first-round pick has not had the opportunities recently to prove himself worthy of a first-round selection, but this could be a great start toward accomplishing this.
Thomas, on the other hand, is getting his first real shot at the NHL. Also a first-round pick, Thomas has started the year playing on the fourth line. He has one game remaining before the Blues need to decide if he goes back to juniors or stays in the NHL.
It will be interesting to see how many minutes Yeo gives this line against the Hurricanes. He has given the fourth line opportunities to take both defensive and offensive zone faceoffs in previous games but could be reluctant to do so with such a young forward group.
It looks like Ivan Barbashev will also get another opportunity to be part of the lineup. Yeo has him playing with Patrick Maroon and Oskar Sundvqist on the fourth line. I’ve been a big fan of Barbashev’s game so far this year, and I am glad he is being put back in the lineup.
Hopefully, Schenn’s injury will not last too long, the Blues are not playing well at all, and Schenn is one of the Blues best. His line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz was starting to click. The absence of Schenn will allow the Blues to find out where Fabbri and Thomas are in their development and should hopefully shake up the lines for the better.