ST. LOUIS – By his own admission, Brayden Schenn is usually one not to disclose his emotions for all to see.
But even the human in the New York Islanders center, who was acquired by the St. Louis Blues just four days ago at the NHL Trade Deadline, couldn’t even simulate what was about to happen at the first TV timeout in the first period.
It’s a rarity to see, but Schenn’s return after getting traded was overwhelming, to say the least.
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One day, the former Blues captain is at one side of the hotel in San Jose to sliding over to the next, absorbing the pitch from Islanders brass, to making his way back into the city he’s called home the past nine years to dressing in the visiting locker room and facing guys he went to war with countless times.
Everyone understands the business side of being a professional athlete, but when Schenn was the focal point, first on the jumbotron, then getting the thunderous ovation from the sellout crowd of 18,096 who will never forget being an integral part of the city’s first Stanley Cup in 2019, it admittedly got to the 34-year-old.
There was applause. There were obvious tears. A part of the Blues fabric was leaving, and the fans wanted to show their appreciation.
“It was a pretty emotional night,” said Schenn, who picked up the primary assist on Mathew Barzal’s OT winner and first point with the Islanders. “I can usually hold it together pretty good, I’m not going to lie, but driving into the rink today got me a little bit. The fans have been so good to me, the organization has been so good.”
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The Blues knew what was coming, too, and were rightfully impressed with how the crowd showed its appreciation after 650 regular-season games and 485 points, 58 more playoff games and 29 points.
“Brayden Schenn’s meant a lot to this organization,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “Stanley Cup champ, one of the players that brought home the Stanley Cup to St. Louis for the first time. He’s just an incredible family person and husband, father and community guy.”
Blues rookie Jimmy Snuggerud has known Schenn for less than a year and even felt the emotions during the tribute, calling Schenn’s mentorship “massive.”
“That was sad, honestly,” he said. “Even for a guy like me watching whose only known him for not even a year now. Just what he’s done for this franchise and this program bringing a Cup and being a great captain. … it’s really great to see ‘Schenner’ and what he has to do with the Islanders. I’m watching him, I’m cheering him on. It’s really cool to see that. I’m just so happy for him.
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“From the day I stepped foot in, I moved in with him right away. From off-ice antics to on-ice antics, a guy I’d go to basically for all answers because he’s been through just about everything as a player. It’s honestly really cool just to see what he’s done and not knowing him for this long and still get the opportunity to live with him and more or less play with him on the ice. Honestly it was really cool.”
Schenn stayed in St. Louis to pack up as many belongings as he could and help his wife process and gather up whatever was needed while his new teammates headed home. He will make his Islanders home debut on Friday while getting in one last day with his former teammates, who also gathered at the Schenn household on Monday to spend as much time together now that that time is gone.
“It has been a tough couple days,” said Blues goalie Joel Hofer, who often played with Schenn’s two sons in the locker room after practices. “Him and ‘Faulker,’ two good friends. It was definitely fun to battle it out against him.
“I wanted to take (the tribute) all in. He means so much to this organization and such a good person to us. He’s great. I definitely wanted to take it all in.”
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