Schenn'd Him In with a Vengeance
Get in there, Brayden. And don't make me look stupid (I do enough of that on my own).
That's right, #10 is back in the lineup and ready to hit the ice once more with the parenting Flyers club. Brayden's already proven he's an AHL messiah. Now it's time to prove those faithful of his skills (such as myself) to be correct.
Schenn has received all levels of flack since plopping his 20-year old backside on a plane somewhere out West and flying East to Philly. After all, it was he who was the keystone of the whole 'Mike Richards to the Kings' deal. Flyers fans figure if management's shipping out our best two-way forward and captain, then we best get some damn great talent in return.
In Brayden's four regular season games played this season in a Bullies uniform, he's collect no goals, no assists, no points, and a minus-5 rating on the ice.
Cue screeching record....
In Schenn's defense, he was brought up from Glens Falls, NY as the Flyers slipped into an early skid in their schedule. No one was doing all that fantastic, and prior to #10 cracking the roster, the Orange & Black 
were on a good performance streak. Some believed Schenn interrupted the flow in chemistry that had existed in our line combinations.
But that's all ancient history.
With the recent injury bug attacking our locker room like a flock of groupies backstage at a Metallica concert, and Andreas Nodl picked up off waivers, Schenn's appearance in a Flyers sweater has never been more welcomed.
Yesterday, Flyers beat writer Tim Panaccio reported that Schenn was on the ice practicing with Talbot centering and Voracek mirroring him at right wing.
Immediately I loved what I was reading.
Granted Brayden was signed on board to be a center, but with Giroux, Briere, Talbot and Couturier dug straight down the middle of our forward lines, van Reimsdyk out with an upper-body injury, and Jaromir Jagr just coming back from pulling a muscle around his ol' Florida panhandle, our wing position needs energizing.
And that's exactly what Schenn brings to the table.
Brayden has always been commemorated for being the type of skater who plays bigger than he is. Not only has his offensive skills shown gleams of brilliance, but he has the ability to break up the opposition's chances in our zone defensively.
One way he succeeds this is by throwing his 6'1", 190-pound frame around like a piece of heavy furniture in a domestic dispute. You add all that to Talbot's grit and tenacity in front of the net, and Voracek's ability to dangle and break free at any moment, and I believe we've got ourselves one hell of a third line combo.
Soft hands, hard hits, effective forechecking, dangling pucks, toe drags and fortitude all rolled into one barreling ball of kickass.
Sign me up.
If anything, this is Schenn's time to show his hometown skeptics that he deserves to wear a Flyers crest. It was a tough break early on in the season when Brayden suffered a shoulder injury and then fractured his foot blocking PK Subban's shot back in October, but he's got his chance this Friday against the Ducks to show up with a vengeance.
And mark my words.....he will.
