St. Louis Blues Top 5 Players Of 2018-19 Regular Season

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ST. LOUIS, MO – APRIL 06: St. Louis Blues center Brayden Schenn (10) gets ready to take a face off during a NHL game between the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues on April 06, 2019, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, Mo. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

4. Brayden Schenn

Brayden Schenn has to be considered one of your top five players for a few different reasons. Firstly, is the quality of his play.

Schenn might not have had the breakout season we saw in 2017-18, but he was a top line performer. Once he settled into this current squad, he was exactly what the team needed him to be.

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Like everyone, he struggled at the start of the season. Even so, he came alive with 17 goals and 54 points. We would love to have had the 70 points from the previous year, but maybe that was an outlier. Perhaps his average of 50-plus points in Philadelphia is more what he truly is.

There is nothing wrong with that. The Blues need a consistent 50-plus point player. They’ve thought they would have it in so many other guys in the past and been let down. Nobody is going to complain about Schenn’s point totals if he keeps hitting 50, even if he had one great year that outshined all of that.

Beyond his stats, Schenn showed he could lead too. It’s not the leadership you see from the stands or the kind you give captaincies for, but leadership by buying in and accepting your role.

Despite his fantastic play, Schenn showed glimpses of being a malcontent in 2017-18. There were whispers of that coming from Philly fans when the Blues acquired him, but we shrugged it off.

Then, he comes out in the media and criticizes his linemate. Whether you agree with what he said or not, you do not normally do that in public.

With all the turmoil going on in the locker room to start 2018-19, he could have just gone downhill. He could have easily told everyone he was going to be a center and they’d have to live with that. He did not.

Instead, Schenn handled everything like a professional. He accepted, willingly or begrudgingly, a move to the wing to stay on the team’s top line.

He formed quick chemistry with Ryan O’Reilly and that extended over to Vladimir Tarasenko. That trio playing together went undefeated for well over 10 games. It was only injury that finally knocked them off their perch.

Schenn had a big part in that. His tenacity kept things alive for the other two. He began to take up net-front position and got rewarded for it with big rebounds.

All of that combined make Schenn a big reason why this team is where it is. The Blues just need to do some convincing that he is just as well off staying on the wing here than going anywhere else just to be a center.

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