Friday, March 5, 2010

Brandon Wheat Kings' Brayden Schenn signs with Los Angeles Kings

Press Release

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have signed center Brayden Schenn to a three-year entry level contract, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced Thursday.

Schenn, 18, was selected by the Kings in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He played in one game with the Kings this season (December 14 at Vancouver) after signing a One-Day NHL Regular Season Amateur Tryout Agreement.

He has played in 54 games this season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and he leads his club in points (85) and he leads in assists (56). He also ranks tied for third in goals (29) while recording a plus-31 rating and six power-play goals. Schenn’s 85 points also rank seventh overall in the WHL while serving as a team captain.

This is Schenn’s third season playing for Brandon. In 70 regular season games in 2008-09, he recorded 88 points (32-56=88) and 82 penalty minutes en route to being named a WHL Second-Team All-Star. His 88 points led Brandon and ranked seventh overall in the WHL. His 32 goals were tied for second on the team and his 56 assists were ninth in the WHL (second on the Wheat Kings). In 12 playoff games, Schenn recorded 18 points (8-10=18) and 12 penalty minutes as he helped the Wheat Kings reach the WHL’s Eastern Conference Finals. His 18 points was tied for first on Brandon (tied for ninth in the WHL) while his eight goals was third (tied for ninth in the WHL).

In 2007-08, the 6-0, 192-pound native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, led Brandon with 71 points and 43 assists (28-43=71) in 66 regular season games en route to being named the WHL Rookie of the Year. His 71 points ranked first among all WHL rookies, while he was second among league freshman in goals and assists. He became the first 16-year-old since 1971 to lead Brandon in scoring.

Internationally, Schenn won a silver medal at the 2010 World Junior Championships, where he teammed with fellow Kings prospects Colten Teubert, Brandon Kozun and Martin Jones. Schenn also won two gold medals representing Team Canada in 2008, first at the 2008 Under-18 World Championships and the second as an alternate captain at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. Schenn won a bronze medal for Canada West at the 2008 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.

Brayden is the younger brother of Toronto defensemen Luke Schenn. He was the third youngest player to appear in a game for the Kings and the 19th teenager to play for the Kings all-time.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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