“He said 'I have a two-bedroom apartment. There's a bed there for you. If you don't like the hotel, why don't you come stay with me?' I think he did that to be a real nice guy,” said May.
“Obviously, he has great instincts, but I don't think he actually anticipated that I was going to take him up on the offer, and it turned out to be amazing.”
May went back to his hotel without any further discussion with Schenn and showed up at the then 19-year-old’s building with about six bags, suits and everything else that May had brought with him from California.
“I didn't even know where, like, what floor he was on, what room he was in, and so I talked to the concierge, who I had to introduce myself to, and he called up to Luke,” recalled May.
“I didn't even have Luke's phone number. Luke came down in the elevator, and he was like really nice seeing you, let's go.”
Ordinarily you would assume with the age difference that there wouldn’t be that much common ground for the two players.
“If you know Brad, I mean he can talk to anyone and get along with anyone. And he was from the Toronto area, so he actually had family there and buddies from, like, outside the team and hockey,” said Schenn.
“So, he was kind of out and about lots. But yeah, we’d hang out. We did dinners together. We'd go out for beers here and there. An old school guy and just an unbelievable guy to be around.”
May found the relationship therapeutic as he was missing his wife, Brigette and his son and daughter. Hanging around with Schenn helped him fill in the downtime that he would ordinarily be spending with his family.
“if I didn't have Luke, it would have been really lonely. I really believe that, or I would have been, I say out and about, just trying to fill time. And of course, that idle time is the devil's workshop, right, where you kind of maybe get distracted,” said May.
“We definitely had some deep conversations, and I got to know him very well. And I've watched his career because and I’m so proud of the player that he is, I say the player, but the character that he is.”
During his first media availability as a Jet, Schenn mentioned the importance of getting the team together on the road.
“Getting to know everyone and, to me, like, that's just as big of a part as anything on the ice. You're getting all the guys together off the ice and not even talking hockey sometimes,” said Schenn back on March 10.
“Just kind of getting together and having some laughs. So, I've always, I think, thought that's been really important.”
Maybe that mentality came from his early days with Leafs and his veteran roommate because May touched on the importance of building a bond with his teammates. The former NHLer said even though Schenn was young, he was polished and a smart kid.
“He did the right thing. He wanted to be a professional. He lived and breathed hockey at that age like I think we all do and did. I was energized to be around him and being part of his network and meeting his family, and, of course, his younger brother (Brayden) being a star that he became,” said May.
“You know, I don't know. I have a small part in Luke's development, and I literally, I sit back here as a spectator now a former player, and I cheer for people, and I've been cheering for him for many years, and I'm really happy for his success.”
