Tireless work ethic keeps Schenn ready anytime his number is called

Come early to a Tampa Bay Lightning morning skate and you'll find Luke Schenn working out on the ice with a handful of the scratches for that night's game.
Stick around after the skate is over, long after the game group has left the ice, and there's the veteran defenseman continuing to get some extra work in.
An optional practice is not optional for Schenn. It's mandatory, self-imposed. Sometimes the players at optional practices are outnumbered by the coaches on the ice. Doesn't matter to Schenn. He'll take the extra attention and tutelage, much like the ambitious college freshman looking for the classes with the lowest student/teacher ratio.
If the Lightning have ice available, home or road, regular season or playoffs, Schenn is on it, perfecting his craft, remaining sharp, staying ready for when his number is called.

That moment came in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals versus the New York Islanders at AMALIE Arena, a pivotal contest with the series tied 2-2 and the winner gaining two chances to close out the series and advance to the Cup Final. Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak suffered a "stinger" at the end of Game 3 and was dinged up again to close out Game 4 on Long Island. He tried to tough it out, taking part in pre-game warmups but determined he wasn't able to go.
That meant Schenn, who hadn't played in over two-and-a-half weeks since Game 3 of the Second Round versus Carolina, was in.
He was primed. He'd been preparing for this moment since the day the playoffs started, heck, since the day the regular season began. Losing Cernak was a big blow to the Lightning's chances of winning. He'd formed one half of the Bolts' shutdown blueline duo alongside Ryan McDonagh pretty much since he arrived in Tampa. And he was having a breakout postseason offensively too, contributing eight assists in 15 games, tied for third most among all NHL defensemen this postseason.
Barely anyone noticed Cernak was missing, however, in the Lightning's 8-0 blowout of the Islanders to bring them to within a game of returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the second-straight season and fourth time overall in franchise history. Schenn came in and performed flawlessly, logging 15:36 time on ice, a career playoff high with the Lightning, fighting Islanders tough guy Matt Martin in the second period and tacking on Tampa Bay's final of eight goals in the third for his first playoff goal with the Bolts and third of his playoff career.
Schenn's preparedness helped steady the Lightning in the face of what could have been a game-changing injury.
"Schenner jumped in and played unbelievable tonight, whether he had a goal tonight, he had a fight, played great," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said after the Game 5 victory. "He didn't know whether he was going to be in or out in warmups, so that's kind of the hockey gods, you play great, you earn your bounces tonight."
Schenn said he started Monday skating early, like he always does, with director of high performance and strength coach Mark Lambert, before participating in the Bolts' optional morning skate. He stayed in contact with Cernak throughout the day to try to gauge whether he would need to play. Halfway through warmups, the two talked again on the ice, and Cernak let Schenn know he couldn't go.
"It was a little bit of an interesting day," Schenn admitted Tuesday before the team's charter to Long Island for Wednesday's Game 6. "…It's happened a couple times, a couple times in the first round we went seven defensemen. It was kind of unsure (in warmups) if we were going to go seven (defensemen) or six. You just kind of rely on the past experience in those situations. Either way, whether I'm playing or not, I feel more than prepared."
Schenn stays prepared because of his incredible work ethic and the extra time he puts in, all the time.
"I just think it's part of the job, part of being a pro," he said. "You've got to take it upon yourself sometimes. There's a million things going on, so I think at the end of the day you try to focus on what you can control and that's trying to stay sharp, stay ready. Lots of extra bike sprints for sure. Lots of conditioning skates. Lots of extra work after practices with coaches and strength coaches. At the end, if you keep going, eventually you're going to get an opportunity. The one thing I always want to be is as prepared as I can be if I do get that chance. If you get an opportunity and you're not prepared, that's on me as a player. I never want to have that hanging over my head, so be as prepared as I can and at the end of the day just try to help the team any way I can."
That's been Schenn's role pretty much since coming to Tampa Bay as a free agent prior to the Cup championship year in 2019-20. He skated in only 25 of 70 games during that Covid-shortened regular season, but he was pivotal in the playoffs coming in for an injured Ryan McDonagh in the Second Round versus Boston and staying in when the Lightning decided to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Bruins, Islanders in the Eastern Conference Final and to start the Cup Final versus Dallas, skating in 11-straight games.
He got in more than half the games this regular season, notching two goals and four points in 38 contests, and has been in the lineup seven times this postseason, mainly when the Lightning decide to go 11/7.
Each time he's come in, he's provided a heavy, physical presence, a great first pass out of his own zone to get the attack started and a steady defender with the experience of 797 regular season games and 30 more in the postseason to draw from.
And every now and then, he can crank a shot from the point that finds the back of the net.
"It shows the depth we have as a team," Norris Trophy finalist Victor Hedman said. "Luke is the ultimate team guy. He works so hard when he's playing, when he's not playing. He always stays ready for when he's going to get into the lineup. Yesterday was a good example, I thought he was very crisp in what he was doing, great passes. He plays physical. He's not afraid to get involved physically. You can see that scrum with Martin as well. Luke, he just brings that energy to our team, and when he's not playing, he works so hard in practice and stays after practice to stay in shape and be ready for when he gets called. Yesterday was a good example. He was ready to go from the start, and you can tell."
Schenn's work ethic would be more understandable if he were a rookie trying to earn his place in the National Hockey League. But this is his 13th season. He's 31 years old. He's a long-established veteran in the League who's made stops in Toronto, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Arizona, Anaheim and Vancouver before joining the Lightning.
He has nothing to prove to the coaching staff. And yet every day, he's on the ice during extra sprints, battling with taxi squad players in the corner during compete drills, cranking a few more one timers from the point before heading off the ice and into the locker room, usually the last one to exit.
"Schenner is a pro," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. "And young players should watch the way he conducts himself on a day-to-day basis. He understands his role. He wants to win. He's selfless. He treats his career like every day's going to be his last day. To keep himself in shape, and I know it hurts guys that they don't have an ability to play, it's different for a kid that's been in the League 20 games and he's like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm just glad to be here.' Well, he's been around the block for a bit, and for him to not be down, to keep working, to understand his time is coming and then to have himself thrust into the limelight and perform the way he did, it's a lesson. And it's a lesson people should watch, admire and if you want to have a long career in this league, regardless of the ups and downs, you do the things Schenn does, and things usually work out for you."
Schenn could be in the lineup again for Game 6. Cooper didn't know the status of Cernak when he spoke to the media Tuesday. And Jan Rutta took a high-stick to the face from Islanders star Mathew Barzal after the second period ended Monday, forcing Rutta out of the game for the remainder and resulting in a five-minute major, game misconduct penalty and a $5,000 supplemental discipline fine the following day for Barzal.
Rutta's status for Game 6 is also unknown.
But if one or neither can't play, Schenn will no doubt be a more than capable replacement.
"The longer you go, typically in past history, it's tough to stay healthy every single game for the playoffs," Schenn said. "You just kind of be supportive of the guys, continue to stay the course, work hard and be prepared and that was exactly the situation last night where we had a guy banged up and I had an opportunity and I just tried to enjoy it. It's totally different being in a playoff atmosphere like that at home with fans like that. It was an incredible atmosphere, and I just really wanted to enjoy the moment."