The Leaf Blog: Situa-Schenn Brewing On The Blueline

Maybe it’s time to start campaigning for Luke Schenn to be an All-Star this year.

An AHL All-Star.

As Schenn supporters react hastily to this suggestion, they should understand that there is a strong case to be made for Schenn to be demoted, as his season hasn’t quite been brilliant thus far. Though, it has as much to do with the potential benefit of a minor league stint as much as Luke’s play through 14 games.

Before the season, Burke and Wilson cited Schenn as their most consistent first-passer of a year ago, and noted that the expectations for Luke would rise in his second full NHL campaign.

Then take a look at last week’s contests, in which Schenn was glued to the bench for most third periods, as Wilson sat the sophomore in favour of the club’s offensive-minded blueliners, Kaberle, Beauchemin, and White. Luke would then be dispensed in penalty kill scenarios, only to return to the bench for the remaining even-strength and powerplay shifts. For a player who was widely considered one of the club’s two best defenseman last year, it appears Schenn has perhaps fallen out of favour with Wilson.

When Michael Komisarek was brought in on July 1st, the Leafs acquired a player who is essentially an advanced version of Schenn, minus the offensive upside. Komisarek makes clean, short passes exiting his zone, and generally tends to be defensively astute. Both right-handed shots, both hulking men, though Komisarek has cemented his game, while Schenn only began to make a name for himself last year.

Komisarek wasn’t thought of as a replacement for Schenn, but rather an upgrade to the right-defense position. Though the mustached wonder, Ian White, has once again played his way into a top-4 role, leaving Schenn with greatly reduced minutes, playing alongside Garnet Exelby the last while, and more recently Jeff Finger.

Damien Cox was an outspoken proponent of returning Schenn to Kelowna last year, citing that junior hockey would provide further opportunity to develop Luke’s offensive game. Cox then warned that Schenn could become a Luke Richardson-type player, who does nothing more than contribute with a sound defensive presence.

Of course, it would be a stretch to suddenly believe that Schenn’s development will taper off in the near future, as he has just turned 20, and is competing in the NHL at an uncommonly young age. Mind you, that’s not to say his development can’t still be optimized if he is handled correctly by the organization.

Which brings us to the AHL argument.

Of the top-20 highest scoring defenseman in 08-09, 13 of them spent time in the AHL before becoming productive NHLers. At 20 years old, it would be perfectly acceptable for Luke to join the Marlies. Consider the team’s current top 3 defenders — Juraj Mikus, Carl Gunnarsson, and Phil Oreskovic, who are all older than Schenn.

If Luke Schenn were a Marlie, Dallas Eakins would play the daylights out of him, and in all situations. His role would resemble that of his stint with the Kelowna Rockets, only the competition would be stronger, faster, and more closely resemble NHL competition.

Schenn has enjoyed some solid minutes for the Leafs this year, but he isn’t playing enough, or participating offensively as his talent will allow him. They called him “The Human Eraser” throughout his junior career, but Schenn was regarded by scouts just as much for his first-rate ability to pass the puck as his penchant for laying out opponents.

As a benefit to the Leafs, making room for Jeff Finger might (emphasis on the might) allow Brian Burke the leverage to trade the overpriced blueliner to a desperate team later in the year. Finger was good statistically last year, and maybe there’s a team out there willing to swap for him.

When you consider how many Schenn jerseys have been sold, and how often you see his face plastered just about everywhere in Toronto on Leaf advertisements, it seems unlikely that Schenn will play at the Ricoh.

Though a stint with the Marlies is far from being a crazy suggestion, really, because better defensemen than Luke have taken more indirect paths to NHL stardom, many of them cutting their teeth in the AHL on the way.

With no first round picks currently in hand for the next two years, the club’s most recent first round assets, Kadri and Schenn, must be well-managed in order to maximize their full potential as prospects. It seems the right call was made with Kadri, who is beginning to accelerate his production with the London Knights.

For Luke Schenn, given the chance to play 25+ minutes while embracing his creativity might be the difference between a career player who puts up 30 points a year as opposed to 15. Playing 10-15 minutes a night with Garnet Exelby is perhaps a misuse of one of the brightest young talents in the Maple Leafs organization.

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