Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda: Luke Schenn

Being an Islander fan, it seems almost inevitable that you should expect to see a long list of players at season's end who spent time on the IR. a little more than halfway through the 2008-09 season, we have seen key defensive players such as Brendan Witt, Radek Martinek, Chris Campoli, Andy Sutton, Freddy Meyer and of course, Rick Dipietro (can anybody say 2021???) spend time away from the team due to injury. That being said, I think a look back at the 2008 NHL entry draft is in order.

I was at work on the night of June 20, 2008. I had no access to the coverage on VS. and believe me, I was not too happy about this. I had a friend who was home watching text message me the results as they happened, and with the first four picks, there were no surprises: Stamkos to Tampa, Doughty to L.A., Bogosian to Atlanta, and Pietrangelo to St. Louis. I can remember the ten minutes the Islanders had to make their pick seemed like hours. Finally, I get a text which made me scratch my head and wonder if I was dreaming: "Isles trade down". It turns out that they had traded draft picks with Toronto. The next text I got felt like I had been kicked right in the gut: "Leafs take Schenn".

I can honestly say that right after seeing this I didn't want to even think about hockey until training camp in September. All I kept saying to myself was "How do you pass on Schenn? How do you pass on Schenn?" It had seemed like a perfect fit.

They clearly weren't going to land one of the big three defensemen (Doughty, Bogosian, Pietrangelo), and it seemed a kid like Schenn would be a great fit. He's a hard hitting, shut down defenseman who has the potential to be compared to the likes of Deion Phanuef. In his first year on the Island, he could have learned from Brendan Witt, a veteran, shut down defenseman as well. Myself, being a huge believer in building your team with defense, saw this as a home run, but sadly it was not to be.

Flash forward four months later. Five of the Islanders defensemen, including the top pair of Witt and Martinek, have spent time injured. Who is to say that someone like Luke Schenn (who by the way, has been an absolute rock on defense for Toronto, and who leads all rookies with an average of oer 28 shifts per game) could definately step up and get some decent (cough) ice time, perhaps even as a second line defenseman. Instead, they have mixed and matched their top pair depending on the opponent and situation.

The Isles traded down once more, this time exchanging picks with the Nashville Predators, and with the ninth overall pick, they select Josh Bailey...wait, Josh Bailey??? "Who is Josh Bailey?", I thought to myself, still shocked at the turn of events which left me with a sour taste in my mouth for the rest of the night and into early morning the next day. I was all ready to set up my own defensive lines with Schenn included, and instead, I was left feeling cheated.

Schenn may not put up the flashy offesnsive numbers that stat lovers look at, but he is definately a force to reckon with in the NHL. It's the small things he does which is quickly making him a fan favorite in Toronto, such as smart defensive play and timely hits in the corners which the fans up there can't get enough of. With all of the injuries the Isles have suffered thus far, there is no question that Schenn would have made a name for himself here on the island.

Now don't get me wrong, this is not ment to say anything bad about first round pick Josh Bailey. In fact, I am a strong believer that he may be the steal of the draft, and he has already made his impact this year.. And the thought of Kirill Petrov, a pick which was a result of one of the mentioned trades, playing in the NHL is an exciting one. In fact, with some of the picks the Isles made in the second and third round, including Aaron Ness and Corey Trevino, I feel that they may have had one of the better drafts this year. I am simply saying that given the situation the Islanders are in with their defense being as injury prone as they are, picking a potential stud shut down defenseman could have been a wise choice. But then again, hindsight is 50/50.