Leafs should return Schenn to junior

For the Maple Leafs, history is something to be packaged and sold, never something to learn by.

They like to talk about the team's status as a famous, ancient franchise, but not about the 41 years without a Stanley Cup. They forgot why, after four Stanley Cups in the 1960s, they got rid of Punch Imlach, and were then stunned when Imlach didn't do a great job when he was hired again.

We've run into this dichotomy again at Leaf camp this year with the Luke Schenn debate, and we in the media are as much at fault as anyone else. Schenn is fresh and new, and thus a good story, and any mistakes he has been making have thus been papered over to serve the story.

The very same people that continually slam the Leafs for failing to draft and develop effectively are now suggesting the right move is to keep this teenage defenceman with the big club this season.

It's as though Jim Benning, Fred Boimistruck, Bob McGill, Gary Nylund, Luke Richardson, Al Iafrate, Drake Berehowsky and Jeff Ware, among others, never happened.

The Leafs only have one blue-chip prospect, and that's Schenn. Why would you risk anything with this young man? There's no risk sending him back to junior and having him lead the national junior team, and all kinds of risks inherent in keeping him in the NHL.

Why risk anything for a team that's not going to be very good at all this season? Marc Staal played four full years of junior and look how good he was in his first season last year with the Rangers. Look at the impact Dion Phaneuf made after four years of junior.

Then remember Rostislav Klesla, the fourth pick in 2000, rushed to the NHL by Columbus at age 18 after only one junior season in Brampton.

Ever hear people talk about Klesla as an impact defenceman anymore? And he was just as highly-touted as Schenn.

But Schenn is a lot more interesting than, say, Mike Van Ryn or Jonas Frogren. Moreover, the Leafs are going to say only positive things publicly about Schenn, so that gets turned into a story about how the kid is wonderfully ready.

Folks - reality check time. It doesn't matter how good Schenn is now. It matters only how good he is by age 24 or 25 when the team, possibly, is back to contender status.

It just shouldn't matter whether he's capable of playing in the NHL right now. The young man could be a treasure, and that needs to be handled with care.

To be fair, neither Ron Wilson nor Cliff Fletcher has committed either way on Schenn, so perhaps there's still time for common sense to prevail.

Having seen this exact same episode played over and over with the Leafs, however, it seems common sense always ends up losing.

It's always going to be different this time with this kid. This kid's more mature. This kid can handle playing against men.

We've heard the same thing so many, many times.

Leaf fans should rejoice in the fact that the team, it would appear, has drafted a bona fide stud to build the blueline around. If it all pans out, he'll be a fixture for a decade or more.

Which means letting him to continue to develop in junior hockey for one more year is the right thing to do.

Comments

[Robert Buckler]

Brad, it's really easy for Cox to just put negative spin on anything the Leafs do, because whatever the Leafs do always ends up being the wrong thing anyways.

And I think Schenn should go to Junior. For the entry-level contract reasons, for the "he's 18 years old and can't handle the media" reasons, and for the "he's 18 years old and hasn't stopped growing" reasons. Hopefully it will let him integrate new facets into his game and experiment a bit without facing the public pressure of "he made a mistake, he's obviously garbage" that he'll get once he reaches the NHL.

[RJ]

kwilson - I know Marc Staal was referenced in the article, I was however referring to the dilemma that Pittsburgh had faced with Jordan two years ago. He was supposed to go back to junior but played out of his mind and ended up staying with the club.

Honest Hockey - Calgary in fact did have the same problem with Phaneuf as the Leafs have with Schenn. Except Phaneuf actually played better in his pre season games (during his first camp.) They debated on whether to keep him up and guess what, Daryl Sutter sent the kid (at the time) back to junior. No need to pad his ego and make him a hot shot. He had to face regection and decide if he wanted to be an elite defenceman. He clearly used it as motivation to be the best.

Wilson mentioned the leafs aren't gunning for the Stanley Cup. If that is the case use what you got and don't drain the future to pad the present.

The Kings, Blues, Thrashers did not spend 14 mil for 4 years on Finger. Neither do they have Kubina, Kaberle, Van Ryn (3 proven NHLers). Those teams need every player they can get.

Why sign Finger if you were just gonna use your 1st round pick???? If that was the case they could've spent the money elsewhere.

[Icarus]

I also think ppl miss the point that this is toronto...
Why do you think top notch d-men like mccabe, and larry murphy, and mathieu schnieder couldn't last in this town, but went off to win stanley cups elsewhere??

I'm a torontonian and the ppl that like to critisize the most are also the ppl that like to complain and whine when we lose as well. Get real! if you're going to INSIST that schenn jumps in the league at 18... then the whole city of toronto better stay behind this kid for 2-3 years and back him up instead of critizing the kid to death.

Let the guy live a lil. let him lead a junior world championship. don't you guys think that WINNING leadership experience is almost an A+ asset to have on a leaf team where there is NO ONE with any stanley cup winning experience left??

GET real. If schenn is as good as everyone says he is there's nothing he can do WRONG by staying in juniors, he can only excel and grow. Just give him a chance and in 2-3 years we'll have that superstar defencemen we need to build our team around.

[JUST1RICK]

There are a lot of good arguments both ways but ultimately if you have a tomato plant and there is a tomato that is almost ripe, do you pick it right away knowing that it will taste okay and wont make you sick, or do you wait until it becomes fully ripe and enjoy the full benefit of taste and nutrients? Even if he is good enough to play in the NHL right now is it in his best interests and how will it impact this team? In junior he will learn to become a leader both on and off the ice, his game will improve (despite what some people think about the competition being sub par) the coaches and trainers in junior are all proffessionals and good at what they do. If you look around at all the sports there are people who were really good in junior and made the jump and failed. So ultimately are the risks of keeping him in the majors worth the rewards?

[Bob Holden]

Bobby Orr was an all-star at 18. The list of defencemen who have come to the NHL at 18 or 19 and gone on to all-star status and Norris trophies is a short one.

The choice of sending him back to junior or keeping him with the Leafs is a no-brainer for a good team. Hopefully the leafs will step up and show some common sense.

[FRT]

Yes...but then there are the success stories. Bobby Orr coming to the NHL at 18...Phil Housley straight out of high school at 18...Brad Park too at 18. Look at Gretzky...they though the skinny little toothpick was going to end up dead meat on the boards...we all know what transpired there. Same thing with Sid "Still a Kid" Crosby...However with that said...I too agree with your assessment 100% Damien...send Luke back to the "W" for one more season and a World Junior Tourney!

[Craig]

I don't often agree with Mr. Cox's point of view, but he's right on target this time. At the most, the Leafs should let Schenn play his nine games with the big team without affecting his entry-level status then send him back to junior. He'll learn so much at the World Junior tournament - like how to win - and hopefully spread the knowledge when he's ready to play with the Leafs full time.

[Ron in CR]

Best piece you have written since the spring Damien. Very fair. Good work.

[Don]

I read Simmon's column this AM and he says keep Schenn with the Leafs, I read Cox's article and he says send Schenn back to junior hockey. I say, let Fletcher and Wilson make that choice. Wilson has coached an 18 year old defensemen before and did a fine job with Vlasic and Vlasic had nowhere near the potential talent Schenn has. Wilson has proved himself as a coach that can coach young players and improve them not destroy them, Washington, Anaheim and SJ. At this point, I'm going to belive Wilson and Fletcher and not Damien Cox. They laid out the criteria for Schenn to make the club, play in the top 4, and be outstanding. He rose to that challenge and has done both and added a bit of offense that was not asked of him in preseason.
This is a far different situation from the leafs of old. I dont' think anyone of the defensemen Mr. Cox has quoted in this column showed what Schenn has showed in preseason and training camp. I remember them all, some of those mentioned are not even in Schenn's class, Jeff Ware? come on. He was a flop in training camp and the dumb leafs at the time kept him in the bigs.
I'll go along with whatever Fletcher and Wilson decide. They are the guys that see him up close, nobody else. Sooner or later you have to trust Wilson's judgment with this team.

[Mike Ritchie]

Right on Damien. Keeping Schenn on the team means they are looking at what's best for this season. The focus of this team should be the season after the season after next season.

[rocketman 10]

Crosby ... maybe they should have held him back too

[Robert Foster]

Damien Cox is having a good camp, he looks like he might be able to fit in at the Star this year but they could be rushing him. He should be sent back to his Junior team where he can fine tune his writing skills and get a weekly stipend rather than the full salary he could make at the Star. The Star could be a winner in 4-5 years and they could further develop the team with good draft picks.

[Alex]

Damien...sometimes I wonder if you are the only sports writer with some brains in this town. Bang on about Schenn, why rush him? He has the potential to be a top defensemen for 10 or more years. Let him develop as good teams would a la Detroit and montreal.

[ML]

For the love of god send the kid back to junior a d man takes much longer to develop than a forward, let him excel and maybe develop some O in junior. Keeping Schenn would be the last straw for me I can't take the BS much longer.

[Mike Milner]

On balance, it's probably better he go back for another year. Let's face it, this season for the Leafs will be a combination of an on-ice train wreck and a bad episode of the "gong show". I have no idea how this team is going to finish anywhere above 28th in the league. The other teams that are keeping Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian already have a number of good young players that these guys can bond with. The Leafs have the absolute worst set of prospects in the NHL, bar none.
Why will waiting another year make any difference? Save the kid the trauma.

[Mark]

hey damien, you might notice that every single other top-5 pick from this draft will be starting the season in the NHL.....and a few more from the top-10 as well.

I guess all those teams are stupid as well.

Or, at least, none of them are as clever or as acquainted with the history of prospect development as one Damien Cox apparently is. Perhaps you should offer them your services as a consultant. See how much they offer to pay you for your thoughts on the matter.

For some reason, you think the Leafs should be the only one NOT to do it....even though Schenn has probably looked more NHL-ready than any of them.

And that list of names you brought up.....guys like Iafrate, Richardson, McGill went on to have very good careers. Not sure why you think they're examples of rushing a player into the league.

Smarten up.

[RP]

damien, I couldn't agree more with you on this article, first in a long time, I feel one of the problems is the Leafs management falls prey to the media, they get blind sided for trading up to get a stud defenseman, then when he looks like he might make the team people dump on them for maybe ruining him by playing him now, damned if they do and damned if they don't

[Vorak The Toaster]

People! It's not about whether Schenn can just barely make the cut this year and play as a 5th defenseman. It's about whether he will be a great player in 3 years after dominating in junior hockey. Schenn's development will be stunted if he doesn't return to junior.

[adam]

some of you can't help but whine anytime the leafs or their players are questioned. grow up, really. schenn is going to pick up bad habits 'cause he's so far above the CHL level? are you kidding me? the kid's good, real good, but he's not that far above the junior level. what's wrong with him being one of the best juniors on the planet, gaining more confidence, refining his game in a position where he's better than most? all we keep hearing about is how good and deep the leafs D is. just makes more sense to send him down.

[William S]

How can management learn from past history when they have no link to it. When you keep changing GMs and coaches a club's history has little meaning. A better track of history would be to weight Wilson's success/failure with juniors (66.67%) and the leaf pressure cooker atmosphere (33.33%). What is Wilson's track record with under age players? We know the leaf atmosphere is hard on under age players and chew up most of them, but a coach with success could minimize that impact. I think Schenn should stay in Junior not because of his talent level or development level, but to keep him off of a projected bad team this year and allow him to be 'one of' the building blocks next year and not 'the hope of the future' this year.

[bob55]

Cox claims he has no anti-leafs bias, yet has never said one bad thing about JFJ. When JFJ was finally relieved of his duties, after being universally condemned, Cox called him a "hot commodity" in the hockey world. Now he claims the ONLY option is to send Schenn to junior. Also, to trade a first round pick for Bobby Ryan (a #2 pick) is insane. Admit that whatever the Leafs do is wrong ... it's what you live for bud

[EJ McN]

I think a more apt comparison at this point is Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who under Wilson played as an 18 year-old with the Sharks with 3 years junior experience and who has turned out pretty well. The point that has rarely been raised about the hiring of Wilson is that during his tenure in San Jose, the Sharks development and handling of young players was amongst the best in the league. You can maybe point upstairs to part of that - and yeah, the Leafs and Sharks are different in many ways - but Wilson deserves a lot of credit for the on-ice education that went on there. Schenn's in good hands with him.

[SuperSean]

I think this whole situation is nuts and people are over-complicating the whole thing.

Is he good enough to play in the NHL and not be a pylon? By all accounts, yes, he's big and strong enough. He's skilled enough and has the mental toughness.

Saying sending him to Junior is risk-free is stupid. He's going to log 30 minutes a game playing against children. He'll be the big fish in a small pond. He'll have inferior coaching than what Ron Wilson will deliver. So what, he dominates the CHL, who cares - he should do, he's good enough to be playing in the NHL!

On the flip side, if he goes back to junior, develops lazy and bad habits (which happens to prospects) he's wasted a whole year of development and regressed. Worse, he could get injured or something stupid and not even be playing for the Leafs when it happened.

I also think it is comical to compare the 1980's players listed with today. Gary Nyland suffered a few nasty knee injuries that ruined his career. Jim Benning was not physically ready to play in the NHL when he was left to his own devices on some bad Toronto teams. Al Iafrate lacked the mental tenacity to exploit his skills to their fullest. Drake Berehowsky was one dimensional and then did his knee (playing junior if I recall). Jeff Ware was never a blue chipper. Fred Boimstruck didn't have game and was a bust pick. Which leaves Luke Richardson who has been a pretty solid NHL d-man and had a successful career. Also, how many of those guys broke in with a successful coach like Ron Wilson? We're not talking John Brophy and the idiot brigade from the 80's.

I remember an 18 year old, hard as nails d-man who broke in with Washington and turned out ok... Scott Stevens.

Its about coaching and mentality. If I were the Leafs brass, I'd want Schenn getting beat one-on-one by Crosby or getting caught with a bad first pass by the Montreal Canadiens, then scoring twenty goals, being plus 35 and learning nothing in junior - a man among boys.

All this rubbish about years of eligibility and salary caps - pick your best 23 players and let the bean counters work the numbers.

[Adam C]

Hey, I have an idea! Let's compare our decision-making to Atlanta and LA! Imitating two of the crappiest, most poorly run teams in the league is sure to be a recipe for success!

I don't care what stupid teams do. Don't rush an 18-year-old defenceman into the league in a year when you're not planning to win anyway. And Tomas Kaberle, btw, was 21 when he played his first NHL game.

[Dennis]

Alex...anyone with half a brain can determine that Schenn should be sent down (even after 9 games played at the NHL level) to junior. Sadly, even with half a brain, that makes Cox the smartest sports writer in Toronto!