cw said:
I still feel that it was more than coincidence that Schenn's best hockey came when he was partnered with Kaberle. Like Komisarek, Schenn should stick to a pretty simple game because he isn't that skilled offensively. The difference to me is that Kaberle helped Schenn to keep it simple. Kaberle would position himself so it was easy for Schenn to dump him the puck and then Kaberle would kind of do the rest and was more reliable to take the right man/do the right thing on a rush. And Kaberle would try to mind the store when Luke went off to the boards for puck battles. On offense, Schenn would cover for Kaberle defensively.
The same potential exists with Gardiner as a partner except Gardiner is still a little wild and learning. He isn't nearly as easy to play with right now even though he's got lots of talent. He's not always in a position to easily dump the puck off to. He isn't as reliable to take the right man on a rush. And he can get himself into some trouble that he often skates himself out of but it has to give his partner some jitters sometimes.
But I found Schenn just as effective last season when he was on his game, after Kaberle had been traded. Sure, I'll give you the fact that Kaberle made things easy for anyone that he played with, however I still think Schenn is a very solid defender when he plays an aggressive game and hits opponents hard on the boards in the defensive zone.
I even found Schenn a very reliable first pass defenseman, he is able to be patient and find the open forward when he is on his game, not needing to rely on another puck mover to get him out of trouble. It's his game right now, between the ears, that is his problem. Whether that is his confidence level or what have you, something isn't as easy and I think he needs to buy himself a bit more time, by hitting hard and taking the player off the puck with authority, rather than trying to use his stick to poke the puck off the player alone. He doesn't have as much time to get the puck out as he does when he hits them. I'm not saying that using an active stick or using your partner are bad things, they should be encouraged, but I find Schenn much more effective, when he's punishing on the boards is all.
