The Arizona Coyotes signed defenseman Luke Schenn to a two-year
contract on Saturday.
Schenn, 26, put up four goals and 12 assists between the Los
Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers last season. Selected by the Toronto
Maple Leafs, fifth overall in the 2008 National Hockey League Draft, he has
scored 28 goals and 100 assists in 566 NHL games.
Coyotes general manager, John Chayka said, “We are very pleased to sign Luke to a
two-year deal. He is a good, young defenseman and we feel we can optimize his
performance here. He will be a solid addition to our blue line.”
The six foot two, 229-pound defenseman has played at least
70 games in six of the eight seasons he has played in the NHL. After the Kings
acquired Schenn from the Flyers, on January 6, he was able to pick up his play.
With Los Angeles he was able to use his size and defensive abilities better than
he was able to do with Philadelphia, who rely more on skating in their style of
play.
The shutdown defenseman, plays the position well and is
willing to be a good shot blocker that plays a good physical game and can make
the good pass out of the zone, while having enough skating ability to recover,
without having to take a penalty, if he gets beaten.
While he has that hard point shot, his offensive abilities
prevent him from becoming much more than a shutdown defenseman.
He found comfort after the trade, helping to deliver Los
Angeles the type of hockey they were looking for. Even though he will never be considered
the star play on a roster, he is still an asset to a team that does not need
him to do more than he is capable of doing.
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