There has never been a doubt about Brayden Schenn’s talent. In 2023-24, he has to truly have an impact for the St. Louis Blues to be successful.
Though people’s opinions change throughout any offseason, most believe there aren’t many expectations for the Blues this coming season. It is being looked at as a transition year until some of the prospects and draft picks are ready to transition to the big leagues.
However, the nature of what this upcoming season really has in store for the Blues might actually rest on the shoulders of Schenn. For the Blues to win, Schenn is going to have to do more than just put up points.
Scoring has never been lacking for Schenn with the Blues. He has scored 50-plus points in every year in St. Louis, with the exception of the Covid-shortened season. Even then, he got close to 40.
So, regardless of who you put him with or how well the team does in wins and losses, Schenn will get some points. As long as he stays healthy, he’s going to produce on an individual level.
However, though the Blues will clearly need his scoring, they need even more from him in the coming year. Regardless of whether he is given the captain’s C or not, he needs to be even more of a leader than anyone might already consider him.
The leadership group has been mostly wiped away. So, Schenn needs to be that guy that can hold guys accountable or lift them up when they need.
Some fans will say he already does that. I say he either doesn’t, or needs to get better.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Schenn as a player and think he’s got a good personality as a person. However, there have been too many whispers about him sometimes being involved in some manner in divisive locker room issues.
With hindsight as our guide, maybe Schenn was right about Vladimir Tarasenko back when he joined the team, claiming he was difficult to play with. I still dislike the fact that became public.
If you’re truly a leader, you need to figure out what makes your teammates tick in constructive ways instead of hoping they’ll bend to your ways. Now that he’s truly a veteran, Schenn can certainly be that guy for this new group of St. Louis Blues.
Schenn is too productive to say he needs to accept a diminished role. However, while he’s not at the same point in his career, he could definitely learn from Alex Steen in how to accept certain things for the betterment of the team.
Schenn has already proven he can do that. When he first joined the Blues, it was heavily implied he wanted out of Philadelphia so that he could be a center.
Over the years, he has become much more accepting of a spot on the wing with the Blues when it made sense. In 2022-23, he even said it didn’t matter where he played, as long as it was helping the team. That’s the attitude the Blues will need.
Schenn has to help this group gel together. It’s not on any one man, but somehow Schenn needs to be someone that can help prevent the kind of teamwide meltdown we saw in 2022-23. The Blues were clearly not a good team that year, but they should not have been as bad and inconsistent as they were.
So, cutting through all the clutter, Schenn needs to put any personal goals to the side. The team does still need him to be a 50-point guy, but they need a lot more now too.
Schenn can no longer say he got his points and did his job. He has to be the guy that can get Jordan Kyrou to play a 200-foot game more often than not. He needs to be one of the guys, even as a forward, that can tell the defenders when things aren’t being done right.
Schenn has led by example. He’s put up the points and played solid defense, but now it’s time to find a way to get the others to do the same.
Being better at faceoffs would help as well, if he’s going to be a true center this year. However, leading the team in every way he can is the main thing he has to do.