Brayden Schenn, a key part of the Flyers' offseason makeover, has dominated at every level, except the NHL. While Schenn's time in the NHL has been brief, it has been less than stellar.
This latest injury will make his road to stardom that much more difficult.
When the Flyers remade their roster this summer, most of the team's moves seemed geared toward short-term success. But 20-year-old center Brayden Schenn, acquired as part of the trade that sent Mike Richards to Los Angeles, figures to be playing on Broad Street for a long time.
Ranked as the Atlantic Division's top NHL-ready prospect by several publications (ESPN.com and The Hockey News both ranked him as the No. 1 prospect in the NHL this year), Schenn was called up to Philadelphia on Oct. 19 and made his season debut the following day against the Capitals in a 5-2 loss. But Schenn's brief NHL track record has not been as successful.
He was minus-5 in his first four games with the Flyers and did not register a point. To further compound issues, Schenn suffered a broken left foot Wednesday in Montreal that the Flyers say will keep him out for at least a month.
Schenn began the season with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms. TSN reported in early October that the decision to have him start in the minors was because of a contract clause that stipulated he would have carried an extra cap hit of more than $2 million if he played in 82 games.
He dominated the AHL, scoring four goals and earning four assists in only four games.
Schenn, whose older brother Luke is a defenseman for the Maple Leafs, has made it look easy at pretty much every level he has played at since he was 18 years old except the NHL.
His stellar sophomore season with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings convinced the Kings to draft Schenn fifth overall in 2009. Schenn finished his junior career by averaging two points per game for his hometown Saskatoon Blades and then averaged more than a point per game in 16 AHL games.
"He's got the ability to be a top one or two center in the NHL," Phantoms coach Joe Paterson said. "He's got a great, great attitude, and he wants to win. He does a lot of work and he's a great professional for such a young guy."
The NHL has been a different animal for Schenn, who also played in nine games in parts of two years with the Kings. it is not because he is not ready for the big leagues, but for the first time in recent memory, he is being asked to be a support player rather than a star.
"They have such a veteran team, that all of a sudden he doesn't have as much of a role as he did here," Paterson said.
Schenn cemented his top prospect status by earning MVP honors playing for Canada at last year's World Junior Championships.
He was traded to his hometown Saskatoon Blades shortly thereafter.
Blades coach Lorne Molleken said that there is no denying Schenn's offensive skills.
"When he has the puck he sees the ice very well," Molleken said. "But we talked at length throughout his time here about his play away from the puck."
Molleken also believes that, with the veteran talent on Philadelphia's roster, earning and keeping regular NHL shifts will not be easy for Schenn. "It's a big jump to the NHL, and the Flyers are a tremendous organization that has lots of depth. He's going to have to work very hard to succeed."
A broken foot makes the task that much harder.
Atlantic Division Notes:
The Pittsburgh Penguins are leading the Atlantic Division in part because of LW James Neal's nine goals in 12 games. Neal, who scored only once in 20 games after being acquired by the Penguins from Dallas last year, is tied for the league lead with Phil Kessel. ... Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin returned to the lineup on Tuesday after missing five games with knee soreness. ... After opening the season 3-1-0, the Islanders have earned just one point in their past four games. The team's first four games were played at the Nassau Coliseum, while three of its past four have been on the road. ... In the Islanders' most recent loss, a 3-2 shootout in Pittsburgh on Thursday, coach Jack Capuano elected to use goaltender Rick DiPietro in the shootout rather than Evgeni Nabokov, who had played the entire game and made 30 saves. DiPietro allowed one goal on three attempts. It was his first regular-season action of the year. ... On Friday, the Islanders announced that Nabokov had a "lower-body injury." ... Flyers goalies Sergei Bobrovsky and Ilya Bryzgalov allowed a combined nine goals in the team's 9-8 loss to Winnipeg on Thursday. Bryzgalov gave up four goals on 10 shots in relief. Bryzgalov told reporters he felt "lost in the woods" following the game, the NHL's highest-scoring contest since 1996. ... The Devils are 1-2-0 since losing center Jacob Josefson for 3-4 months to a broken right clavicle. The team has been using captain Zach Parise, normally a winger, in the middle with Ilya Kovalchuk. ... The Devils also acquired C Ryan Carter on waivers from Florida. Carter made his debut Thursday and played 13:41 in a 5-3 loss at Phoenix. ... Some Rangers fans showed their love for winger Sean Avery during the team's home opener at the partially renovated Madison Square Garden, a loss to Toronto. Avery was sent to the AHL's Connecticut Whale after not making the team out of training camp. Fans unfurled a banner that read "16 AVERY SEND TORTS (coach John Tortorella) TO THE WHALE" during the first period and chanted "We Want Avery" during the final minutes of the loss. ... The Rangers lost to the Maple Leafs for the second straight home opener and have dropped consecutive home openers for the first time since the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons. Their next five games are against Ottawa, San Jose, Anaheim and Montreal.
