Brayden Schenn wasn't surprised by trade to Blues

HAZELWOOD, Mo. -- Brayden Schenn was on the golf course enjoying another summer day before turning on the television to watch the 2017 NHL Draft on Friday.

Schenn was golfing with friends, then tuned in to watch the early stages of the draft at United Center in Chicago before turning away. His life then changed with one text from his agent, followed by a phone call moments later from Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall.
Hextall informed Schenn that the center had been traded to the St. Louis Blues for center Jori Lehtera, the No. 27 pick in the 2017 draft, and a conditional first-round pick in 2018.
Schenn was happy in Philadelphia, having completed his sixth season there with 25 goals (17 on the power play) and 30 assists in 79 games. But Schenn will be heading back to the Western Conference, where his NHL career began after he was selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the No. 5 pick of the 2009 NHL Draft.

Schenn admitted he felt a change was coming.
"Whether it was me or someone else, it kind of felt like something was going to shake out," the 25-year-old said Wednesday. "I got a text 30 minutes before from my agent, and after that I was traded.
"... I think it's going to be a good team and a great opportunity. I would say I'm real excited about how it all went down and the whole situation."
The Blues believe Schenn is entering the prime of his career. Fifty-one of his 109 NHL goals and 63 of his 139 assists have come during the past two seasons.
"Coaching against him, seeing the competitor that he is, seeing the way that he scores goals, he contributes at really both ends of the ice," Blues coach Mike Yeo said. "What you learn after you start doing some digging is what a character player and person he is and what a great teammate he's going to be for our group. It's a huge get for us."

Schenn's acquisition couldn't have come at a better time, considering the Blues recently learned that forward Patrik Berglund dislocated his left shoulder while training in Sweden. Berglund had 23 goals and 11 assists in 82 games last season.
"Everything (with the surgery) went very well," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "The doctors and Patrik are happy with the result, but with that result comes a timetable. We'll re-evaluate him in early December to see where he's at. We're hoping to get him back sometime in that time frame.
"We'll move someone into the middle now. You could go with [Paul] Stastny, and then Schenn, and then you have an option to put [Vladimir] Sobotka back in there, [Ivan] Barbashev's played in there, the young player we got from Pittsburgh (in a draft-day trade for Ryan Reaves) is a centerman, [Oskar] Sundqvist, that's the role he can play. We have some internal options. We'll explore those."