Brayden Schenn will not report

[Scout]

Courtesy Regan Bartel:

He isn't going to Brandon - bottom line!


Harsh words from the father of 16 year-old Brayden Schenn today when I spoke to him from Saskatoon.
Jeff Schenn, who is also the father of Kelowna Rockets defenseman Luke Schenn told me that Brayden will never play for Kelly McCrimmon's team.
The reason?
Geography according to Jeff Schenn.

"He never wanted to go there (Brandon) before he was drafted. We told them that but the Wheat Kings told us they would draft the best player available at the time. Since day one he hasn't been happy. I want to see both (Luke/Brayden) of them play, and play against each other. If Brayden is in Brandon, he plays the Rockets just once a season."

The Schenn's are a Tight-Nit Family:

"We are a tight family. I want to spend time with the boys, and being in Brandon doesn't make that possible. I have talked to Kelly (McCrimmon) and he says if he traded Brayden it would be like mixing poison in his drink and drinking it. It would show people that players don't want to play in Brandon."

Schenn wants to play in the WHL:

"I am not saying he can't play in any other centre. If he was playing in the B.C division or the Central I'd be happy with that. But he won't be playing in Brandon I can tell you that much".

Jeff Schenn says if Brandon doesn't trade Brayden, he will either play high school hockey in Shattock St. Mary's or may look at playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

[WHEATMAN]

Jeff Schenn says if Brandon doesn't trade Brayden, he will either play high school hockey in Shattock St. Mary's or may look at playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.


Yeah, Brandon is too far away, but going to Minnesota to play hockey, where the is basically no chance his parents will see him play makes sense right? :spineyes:

[Triton]

Why doesn't the dad have a problem with where Luke is playing? Wouldn't it make sense for Luke to move to the East.

Oh well. I had high hopes of us being able to ice a young group that has potential to be stars but I can see we could stink for a while now.

[Triton]

Jared Cowan's parents smartened up eventually. Do you think Jummy Bubnick's parents are making a big stink about Jimmy going to Kamloops?

They let Luke go off to Kelowna knowing they'll only see him once every 2 seasons. I think Mr. Schenn needs to wee Brayden from the tit.

This is growing old already and I know they're kids but this is getting rediculous.

[old_time_hockey]

I can't stand players parents that but their nose in where it doesn't belong. Ask Eric Lindros how well that worked out for him. Missed out on a Stanley Cup by not going to Quebec/Denver.

Kids and more so their parents are getting too full of themselves these days.

[Scout]

Regan's Rant
The opinions of a Western Hockey League radio broadcaster

Wednesday, June 6, 2007
My Thoughts On Brayden vs. Brandon



I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the Brayden vs. Brandon Wheat Kings situation.
After talking to Brayden Schenn's dad Jeff yesterday, I see his side of the story, yet can sympathise with what the Wheat Kings are thinking.

Jeff Schenn wants his younger son Brayden to play closer to his older son Luke in Kelowna, and feels if Brayden remains in Brandon the two close-nit brothers won't see each other much during the hockey season.
That in fact would be the case considering the Wheat Kings and Rockets will see each other just once next season, when the Rockets make a visit to the former arena known as the Keystone Centre.
But since Luke Schenn has been in the WHL, has Brayden had a great chance to see his older brother over the course of the busy hockey season? Brayden Schenn has been equally as busy playing Midget hockey and playing at the Canada Winter Games for Team Saskatchewan.

Jeff Schenn wants Wheat Kings General Manager Kelly McCrimmon to trade Brayden to either a team in the BC division or the Central.
But if you were Kelly McCrimmon, would you accommodate the prospects demand?
I am guessing McCrimmon has had a gun pointed to his head numerous times by a hockey parent, and surely won't back down to this latest demand.
McCrimmon wants to see Brayden in a Wheat Kings uniform, and believes the teams #1 pick from the 2006 WHL draft will be an impact player. Plus how bad does it look on the Wheat Kings organization that a first round pick doesn't want to report? It sends out a red flag to other prospects that may second guess making the Wheat Kings their junior home.
If Brayden looks at playing elsewhere next season, either at Shattuck St. Mary's in Minnesota (to complete high school) or in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, are their not better options?
If the Schenn's want Brayden to play closer to Luke, why not have him in the BC Hockey League in nearby Vernon or Penticton? Both are winning organizations, with Vernon being just 30 minutes from Kelowna and Penticton just 45 minutes away.

I have always looked at players drafted into the Western Hockey League as being a privilege, and you should go to the team that drafted you.
Until you really know what it's like in Brandon, Swift Current or Portland (in the case of Luke Moffatt), don't judge these organizations from the outside, or from horror stories that you have heard from others.
I would like to see both parties happy - Brayden and Brandon - by having Schenn give the Wheat Kings a try and playing under Kelly McCrimmon, who is a great hockey man, and an individual that can make you into an NHL'er.

And isn't that Jeff Schenn's greatest wish for his youngest son?

[Five Hole]

It does make the bantam draft a bit of a joke if some of the higher end picks (or their parents) dig their heels in and say they'll only report to teams in reasonable driving distance from home or whatever other reason. Hopefully more GM's will take a stand in the future. The leage will be stronger in the long run if every team has a chance to get the top players.
Some of these parents need to realize that the higher up the hockey ladder your kid gets, the less you get to call the shots. He can't always play for the best team, in the closest town or city. It's the luck of the draw. And that's the way it should be. Welcome to the real world.
Thankfully, the great majority of WHL caliber kids are just thrilled to get selected by any team, and are more than willing to go and give it their best shot, and their parents are thrilled for them. It's often a tough thing to have your kid end up two or three provinces away, and it's tough for the players too. But, given the chance, it usually works out for the best if the system is allowed to run it's course. Besides, the parents can always watch every game their kid plays on that world class high quality WHL TV streaming video :laugh:

[Dwight Schrute]

let the bidding begin
would say kamloops trade bubnick for him ?
or could mcrimmon rake kelowna over the coals in a deal ?
i say unlike tri-city and toews , mcrimmon should find fair market value (realizing he could end up with nothing) and make a trade.
in drafting schenn the wheaties gained an asset, might as well not let it go to waste.

[wango tango]

parents and families dictating where their children will and won't go isn't a new phenomenon. the schenn and moffatt families are just the most recent examples.

in the past this situation has been handled more discreetly, behind the scenes or in boardrooms.

so what's changed?

knowledge and information.

the parents and families know how much is at stake. the teams are now worth multi-millions, the old boys club is now big business. the business has been built on the backs of children, albeit exceptional ones, who if they fulfill their potential could one day become millionaires in their own right. now i'm not saying a whl career is comparable to working in a gulag, far from it. the parents and families know what a top prospect means to an organization. the leagues owners and governors know what top prospects mean, it's in part why the scholarship program was created. competition for the best of the best is fierce.

media coverage and the 'net have changed the way the dub operates. it used to be the old boys club, a lot of what happened including player rights, drafts, disagreements, team sales, etc. were kept quiet. information was on a need to know basis. very few, or none of us, would even know about the brandon/schenn situation were it not for a media persons blog. the bantam draft results are now posted selection by selection on the whl's website, radio and tv stations in the various cities across the league bring all the latest transactions right into your homes. this coverage has led to greater transparency, the transparency to more knowledge for the parents and families.

the old saying applies, 'knowledge is power'. and with greater knowledge, the balance of power is shifting, in some ways for the worse imo.

[Scout]

Whats wrong with parents and kids these days. When i lived in Brandon it was an honor and a privelidge to put on a W.H.L. jersey. You paid your dues and now are being rewarded for all your hard work. This league was the best and the most followed, and still is in my opinion, by scouts. There was nothing in the world better than pulling on a Wheatking jersey.

The W.H.L. seems to have lost that or kids and their parents are getting egos. The worse thing this parent could have done was gone public. This makes it tougher for the Wheatking brass. Now if they trade him it will be egg in their faces and will be known across the W.H.L. that Brandon lost this one. His dad going to the media is wrong in my opinion. Whats with this guy. Why not have a meeting with the Wheatkings behind closed doors and express his feelings or make a phone call. But to go to the media? Come on. That will just make McCrimmon dig his heels in to save face.

When or will the league step in or take a stand? Maybe any top 3 round drafts who refuse to report to their drafted team should be put on a trade freeze and suspended until they do report. If they don't report than no team should be able to have him and let him go play in a lower league. This refusing to report is becoming to common. I will guarantee you will not get the exposure playing high school hockey or the NCAA from N.H.L. scouts as you would playing in the C.H.L. We are still the # 1 feeder system for the N.H.L. This dictating by the parents or the kids to the W.H.L. as to where they will play has to stop and must be led by the league itself. Teams also better do their homework better and make sure the kid will report or by pass him.

Scout

[Some_Arrogant_Jerk]

My suggestion is to do what us pats fans did to players like Hanzal, and will be(enjoying) doing to Kyle St.Denis, and many other to come probably...

I suggest you heckle and boo the kid, it makes you feel better and it might knock him off his game. It sounds mean, but it might show him that holding daddy's hand, and taking the easy way out is not apart of hockey when you start to get serious about playing.

These franchises spend alot of money, and invest alot of time in their team. If he is going to be pulling this **** at this level, maybe he shouldnt be playing hockey in the dub.

[Brad1022]

Kids have to suck it up......... its an honour to play in the WHL period. Schenn is a good hockey player but hes not good enough to be holding out.

[whlwannabe]

Schenn grow up I've seen you play your not that good.

How can a 16 year old and his daddy think they can just do as they please and go where they want.No buddy even knows if this kid can play with the big boy's he way to slow.
There's alot of other players out there that would gladly go