From The Archive: Kelowna Strategy All In The Family
Welcome to this edition of "From The Archive". In this recurring series, we open The Hockey News' vault and display some of the top WHL-related articles from the past. Today's article comes from the 2008 Draft Preview edition, where Rob Vanstone wrote about former Kelowna Rockets defenceman Luke Schenn.
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Kelowna Strategy All In The Family, Draft Preview 2008, May 1, 2008
The Kelowna Rockets drafted Luke Schenn with the hope he would become a premier stay-at-home defenseman.
To enhance his development, the Western League’s Rockets took the stay-at-home part literally. Schenn lives with the same family that billeted former Kelowna star defenseman Shea Weber, now of the Nashville Predators.
The association with Weber does not end there. In the spring of 2005, the Rockets summoned Schenn – their first round pick in the 2004 bantam draft – after he helped the Saskatoon Contacts win the Canadian midget-AAA title.
Schenn, then 15, was with the Rockets for the WHL final before accompanying them to London, Ont., for the Memorial Cup.
He did not play a game with the Rockets during the late-season call-up, but that was not the intent. Instead, the Kelowna brass was hoping that osmosis would have an effect.
“We brought him in and we put him with Weber and we left him rooming with Weber through our last round of the playoffs,” recalled Rockets GM Bruce Hamilton. “Then we took him to the Memorial Cup. It was important to us that he learned exactly the way Weber operated because we wanted that from him.”
The following season, both defensemen were rookies – Weber with Nashville and Schenn with Kelowna.
“He pretty much took me under his wing,” Schenn said. “Going into the Memorial Cup, I got to watch how he played the game and how he was off the ice. I got to take a lot of mental notes from him and see what type of guy he is. I think it has helped out a lot.
“That’s not to say I’m Shea Weber or anything like that, but it was interesting to see a guy like that. He has done a lot of great things in his career and he is where he is today – a great NHL player – for a reason. I still keep in touch with him. It’s great to have a guy like that who you can talk to.”
Schenn, a surefire top 10 prospect for the draft, would love to emulate Weber by reaching the big leagues.
“He isn’t the same type of player as Weber,” Hamilton said. “He’s not a real loud guy. He’s kind of a guy who will show you by his actions. He’s not a cheerleader. That’s something that I think will improve in time.”
Improvements are also warranted, according to Schenn, with regard to his quickness afoot and his anticipation.
“His physical game is second to none,” Hamilton said. “When he gets you, he gets you. The other side to him is he is prepared to play any way you want to play. He’s not one-dimensional. His strongest asset is his strength.”
Schenn is never going to be a dominant offensive player. He had modest totals – seven goals and 28 points – in 57 regular season games. He added 100 penalty minutes.
He also helped Canada win a gold medal at the 2008 World Junior Championship.
“Obviously, there are a lot more offensive D-men out there than I am, but I can get the odd assist here or there,” the Saskatoon-born Schenn said, chuckling.
A late birthday (Nov. 2, 1989) is the reason he has played three full WHL seasons before becoming draft eligible. But with that day finally approaching, Schenn is amped for the next chapter of his career to begin.
“To get a chance to live that, it would be pretty exciting,” he said. “It would be a dream come true to play.”
Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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