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| Brayden Schenn skating in Saskatoon in 2017. |
Last Wednesday, the 27-year-old centre who was born and
raised in Saskatoon, scored a goal to help the St. Louis Blues down the host
Boston Bruins 4-1 in a series-deciding Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. The win
allowed the Blues to capture their first NHL title in team history as they took
the best-of-seven series 4-3.
Schenn was one of three players that were born and raised in
Saskatchewan that helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup along with left-winger
Jaden Schwartz of Wilcox and centre Tyler Bozak of Regina. Schwartz had a pair
of assists in the Cup clinching victory.
In the time flies department, Schenn has completed his eight
full season as a professional since graduating from the WHL ranks following the
2010-11 campaign. In 587 career regular season games split between the Los
Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Blues, Schenn has posted 154 goals and
218 assists for 372 points.
Growing up in Saskatoon, Schenn has always been the quiet
superstar. You talk to him, and you would never know he was putting up monster
point totals.
The gifts he had on the ice were pretty apparent. He had 65
goals and 43 assists in 43 regular season games with the Saskatoon Generals bantam
AA team in the 2005-06 campaign. In his lone midget AAA season with the
Saskatoon Contacts in 2006-07, Schenn piled up 27 goals and 43 assists in 41
regular season games.
Following his time with the Contacts, Schenn played four
seasons in the WHL with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Saskatoon Blades netting
116 goals and 199 assists in 224 regular season games. He was selected by the
Kings in the first round and fifth overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
After moving to the NHL, Schenn often returns to Saskatoon
and area for various fundraising and community events.
Schenn is a respected person in Saskatoon.
In what is now viewed as a more water under the bridge time,
that wasn’t always the case. Schenn did face challenges in his hometown, when
he played for the Blades. He experienced great times and some unfathomable down
times.
It should be noted the bumps Schenn faced with the Blades
were never his fault or the team’s fault. The bumps were a learning experience
about what could happen when an extremely high profile player laces up the
skates for his hometown major junior hockey team.
At the start of the 2010-11 campaign, Schenn, who was in his
19-year-old season, made the Kings and appeared in eight NHL contests. He also
suited up for seven games with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey
League for conditioning purposes before being sent back to the Wheat Kings in
the WHL.
The Blades were in a race for first overall in the WHL that
season, and they made a monster trade with the Wheat Kings to get Schenn.
In the deal that was made Jan. 10, 2011, the Blades received
Schenn and a third round selection in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft from the Wheat
Kings in exchange for the Blades first and second round selections of the 2011
WHL Bantam Draft, a first round selection in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft, a first
round selection in the 2012 CHL Import Draft and then prospects in defenceman
Ayrton Nikkel and centre Tim McGauley.
Schenn arrived home in Saskatoon shortly after helping
Canada win a silver medal at world juniors. He was named the MVP of that
seasons’ world juniors topping the event in goals (eight), assists (10), points
(18) and plus-minus (plus-10) in seven games played.
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| Brayden Schenn starred at all levels of hockey growing up in Saskatoon. |
It seemed like Schenn was going to live out a dream season with his hometown WHL team.
While Schenn always carried himself well, it seemed there
were some in the public that wanted to bring him down.
During the Blades first round playoff series with the Prince
Albert Raiders, someone went online and made racist comments towards First
Nations peoples in Schenn’s name via a fake Facebook account. That development
caused the Blades to hold a news conference to state Schenn didn’t have
anything to do with that fake Facebook account and request a police
investigation.
At that time, the Blades found nine fake Facebook accounts
in Schenn’s name.
Schenn wasn’t made available to the media at that press
conference, but the Blades issued a statement from the skilled forward. One can
only imagine how much time was spent putting this fire out that Schenn and the
Blades had no part of starting.
On top of that, Schenn and his team were focusing on a
player series against an archrival club.
The Blades proceeded to eliminate the Raiders 4-2 in a
best-of-seven series. Saskatoon was swept away in a best-of-seven second round
series 4-0 to the Kootenay Ice, who went on to win the WHL championship.
In 10 playoff games, Schenn put up six goals and five assists
for the Blades. Expectations were high that year that the Blades would win the
WHL title and sizable crowds were showing up at the rink that is now known as
the SaskTel Centre.
During the immediate aftermath of the playoff ouster, there
were a number of people in the Blades fanbase that blamed the post-season
elimination on Schenn.
I was working in Medicine Hat during that time covering the
WHL’s Tigers for the Medicine Hat News, and relatives in Saskatoon told me that
Schenn couldn’t show his face in public in town in the days that followed the
Blades playoff exit. I do recall seeing a Facebook group that existed to dump
hate on Schenn for costing the Blades the Memorial Cup. I can no longer find
that Facebook page.
What Schenn had to deal with in the 2011 WHL playoffs goes
down as a blip on the radar. Most have forgotten what Schenn went through in
that post-season outside of the random ultra-passionate fan.
That episode likely helped prepare Schenn for dealing with
unfair criticisms that ultimately pop up at the NHL level. Some likely came
this season, when the Blues sat last in the entire NHL on Jan. 2.
From that point, the Blues went on a magical run to capture
a playoff berth, and that run continued through the post-season cumulating in a
Stanley Cup title.
Schenn posted 17 goals and 37 assists in 72 regular season
games and added five goals and seven assists appearing in all of the Blues 26
post-season contests.
When you do recall what happened to Schenn in the 2011 WHL
playoffs, it makes seeing him lift the Stanley Cup last Wednesday that much
more special.
Schenn’s parents still live in Saskatoon, and he is
expecting to bring hockey’s most storied prize back to “the Bridge City.”
When that happens, Schenn will be returning home as a hero.
Morons of the week – those that threaten
Kyle
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| Kaylyn Kyle demonstrates a soccer drill in Saskatoon in 2015. |
Death
threats were something Kaylyn Kyle, who is a former standout midfielder with
Canada’s national women’s soccer team, said she experienced this past week.
Kyle, who
was born and raised in Saskatoon, is working as an analyst for TSN during that
network’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup being held in France. Last Tuesday,
the United States thumped Thailand 13-0.
The
American players celebrated every goal in that romp.
Kyle said
the celebrations should have stopped when the score hit 8-0. She said the
continuing celebrations were excessive and disrespectful.
In a tweet
late last Tuesday, Kyle said she had been sent death threats.
Kyle’s
criticisms of the U.S. side were correct. From what I have seen so far, I think
she has been outstanding in her role with TSN.
She gives
insight, the straight goods and tells it like it is.
Sending a
media personality death threats over a critique of something that happens in a
sporting event is way over the top.
I also find
a disturbing trend that some low life types feel like they have a right to lash
out and bully female media personalities in sports especially if they are good
looking without any repercussions.
Those low
life types need to be subjected to a number of days of hard labour.
Kyle ranks
up there with the best in the world in the looks department. Anytime I have had
the opportunity to photograph her at public events, it usually takes just one
click of the camera to get a perfect picture.
Still, she
is excellent when it comes to doing her job, and she is tough both mentally and
physically.
I am pretty
certain Kyle will keep being who she is.
Here’s
hoping the morons encounter repercussions for being morons.
Massive turnout for Filteau’s celebration of
life heartwarming
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| Justin Filteau in action for the Huskies in 2016. |
The
celebration of life for Filteau was held Friday at the Circle Drive Alliance
Church and close to 1,000 people turned out. That right there shows how much of
an impact he made on peoples’ lives.
Filteau
passed away tragically in a plane crash on June 1 just east of Medicine Hat,
Alta., at age 26.
He was born and raised in Moose Jaw and became a high school
football star at A.E. Peacock Collegiate. After graduating high school in 2010,
Filteau was standout at linebacker for the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops from 2010
to 2014 and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies football team from 2015 to
2017.
He had been a position coach on defence for the Saskatoon
Valkyries of the Western Women’s Canadian Football League since 2017.
Filteau was also heavily involved in judo and competed
frequently at the national level in that sport. There was a huge turnout from
the provincial judo scene at the celebration of life.
During the celebration of life, Filteau was honoured with
the posthumous presentation of a blackbelt in judo.
He implemented the two claps and a Rick Flair “woo” as a
fun cheering activity, and that will likely live on in the provincial judo
scene.
Filteau left behind a nice legacy on a number of levels. You
can be sure the people he impacted will dig a little deeper against any
challenge the face and will smile more.
If you have any
comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them
to stankssports@gmail.com.
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