Brayden Schenn is on a roll

The St. Louis Blues have someone to be proud of in their center and alternate captain Brayden Schenn.

Although Schenn didn’t register a point in the Blues’ game Monday night against the Los Angeles Kings, he has been picking up his pace. He has registered five points (two goals, three assists) in his last 10 games dating back to April 24th. He has 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 53 games played.

As I’ve mentioned in my previous article, Blues left winger Jaden Schwartz provides the offensive help that the Blues need. However, he has registered just 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 38 games played. His numbers are nowhere near Schenn’s numbers, which is due to the fact that he missed 15 games due to a lower-body injury. So let’s not be too hard on him.

Like Schwartz, Schenn has suffered his fair share of injuries. Schenn has suffered an upper-body injury that turned out to be a mild concussion. This apparently prompted the Bleacher Report to write an article titled, “Brayden Schenn: Will His Career Be Derailed Before It Begins?”

Obviously not, because the Flyers traded Schenn to the Blues on June 23, 2017 in exchange for center Jori Lehterä. And, like many players who were traded to the Blues, Schenn has enjoyed success in St. Louis. He put up career-highs in points (70), assists (42), and goals (28) in his first season with the Blues. He finished his first season with a career-high 70 points (28 goals, 42 assists) in 82 games played.

Schenn last registered a point in the Blues at the Vegas Golden Knights game last Friday. He was awarded an assist, his 19th of the season, on Schwartz’s seventh goal of the season at 16:18 of the second period. Schwartz’s insurance goal padded the Blues’ lead to 3-1, but the Golden Knights stormed back to tie the game 3-3 to force overtime. Jonathan Marchessault scored the game-winning goal for a 4-3 win at 4:42 of the overtime period.

Despite the Blues’ loss, they clinched a playoff berth. The following day, they lost again to the Golden Knights, 4-1.

In his postgame press conference appearance, Schenn told the media: “It was physical towards the end there, some hits, some scrums… if we play them (in the playoffs), we look forward to it.”

“I don’t think the first half of the game we were nearly as good as we needed to be. The emotion came in the second half.”

Schenn has been contributing on the ice. He’s a 2019 Stanley Cup champion and signed an eight-year, $52 million contract extension on October 4, 2019 for a reason. He has used his talent and physicality to his advantage as he has been a spark on the Blues’ offense.

Schenn is also a role model off the ice. He can comment on the Blues’ offense, and when necessary, provide constructive criticism. He appears to be an honest, no-nonsense man. Honesty and transparency are two qualities that every leader should identify with. He’s a pretty good alternate captain. Let’s hope that he’ll bounce back from his off year next year.