The St. Louis Blues have selected Brayden Schenn as their new captain, the organization announced Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Saskatchewan native became the de facto leader of the locker room when Ryan O’Reilly took over in Toronto last spring. He will soon begin his seventh season with the Missouri club, while his contract is valid until 2027-2028.
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“As we analyzed the direction of our organization, it became clear that this team needed a veteran with experience on and off the ice as captain as we transitioned into a new era for the Blues,” general manager Doug Armstrong said at a news conference.
Like last season, forward Robert Thomas and defenseman Colton Parayko will serve as assistant captains. Also added to this leadership group was guard Torey Krug.
“We are the ones who have to lead this team in the right direction. We must lean on each other and move forward. The St. Louis Blues are a historic franchise that has had several great leaders […] like the Plager brothers, Bernie Federko, Wayne Gretzky, [Chris] Extend and [Al] MacInnis, all of whom I watched growing up,” said Schenn, who said he learned from O’Reilly and Alex Pietrangelo in recent years.
Reliable in attack
The former fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Los Angeles Kings has 12 full seasons in the National League under his belt. He is one of the Blues’ best offensive players, as evidenced by his 65-point haul in 2022-2023.
However, St. Louis missed the playoffs and, according to Schenn, he and his teammates fell into a state of complacency.
“If you look at our locker room you can see the guys arrived early to train together. There is great energy and a pleasant climate. We are not satisfied with our last season. “We have a lot to do and want to go into training camp with the right attitude,” said Schenn.
In his career, the attacker has scored 589 points in 858 games. He also won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.