Will Schenn's promotion hurt Couturier's growth?
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Flyers Report: Broad Street Bull
Will Schenn's promotion hurt Couturier's growth?
Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer
Center Brayden Schenn, from all accounts, is going to be a quality NHL player.
But it’s fair to wonder if the Flyers promoted him too soon.
Not because of his ability, mind you. The 20-year-old center appears to be NHL-ready.
But I question the promotion if it means center Sean Couturier is only going to get about 10 minutes of ice time, as he did in Thursday’s 5-2 loss to undefeated Washington.
Schenn, recalled from Adirondack on Wednesday, was inserted onto the third line, between Jakub Voracek and Scott Hartnell.
That moved Couturier down from the third line to the fourth unit, where he centered Max Talbot and Andreas Nodl.
Couturier had been averaging nearly 15 minutes a game and had been one of the Flyers’ most pleasant surprises.
On Thursday, he played 10:09, including only 5:36 in even-strength situations.
Coach Peter Laviolette downplayed the development, attributing it to the fact the Flyers had to kill six power plays, which disrupted the rotation of their lines.
True, but the Flyers killed EIGHT power plays against the Kings last Saturday and Couturier still managed to play 14:13.
Any way you look at it, Couturier’s time will be greatly reduced if he stays on the fourth line. Is that good for the development of a fast-emerging 18-year-old?
Center is Couturier’s natural position, but the Flyers might be better-served putting Couturier _ who scored a goal late in Thursday’s loss _ at wing on the third line.
That might mean Scott Hartnell drops down to the fourth line. Yes, it’s an expensive spot for a $4.2 million winger, but Couturier’s development should be the priority.
Schenn was minus-3 on Thursday, but two of the goals Washington scored while he was on the ice were deflected off Flyers.
“I thought he had a strong game,” Laviolette said. “Sometimes the statistics are not a reflection of somebody’s game.”
You could argue that the Flyers would have been better-suited if they hadn’t recalled Schenn until (if) a top-nine forward was injured. Instead, they rolled the dice by scrambling three of their four lines.
Was it the right choice?
Give us your feedback.
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Defenseman Kimmo Timonen injured his right hand blocking a shot and said he didn’t know if he would play Saturday. More will be known Friday….Schenn's line was minus-7.....Schenn won four of 11 faceoffs...The Flyers have allowed five or more goals in five of their last nine meetings with the Caps; they are 1-3-1 in those games…..James van Riemsdyk had seven shots and Jaromir Jagr had five…..Matt Carle and Andrej Meszaros each blocked five shots….The Flyers host St. Louis on Saturday night.
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Would Couturier be better suited with 10 minutes a night or playing another full season in juniors? It's a long season, he'll get his ice time. In the interest of keeping him healthy it's probably better to have him play 12-14 minutes/game anyway. Yeah, they bounced the lines around tonight to get Schenn in the lineup and it may have cost them points, but whatever, it's game 6. By the way, congratulations on your promotion Brayden, you get to play with Scott Hartnell! Hope you aren't concerned with your +/-.— sla6yer- One thing Schenn and Richards now have in common: the coach disruptes every line trying to force them into the line up. He doesn't fit right now, and he is less than impressive. Mind boggling how poorly thought out this was. And they did not even run lines in practice: what were they thinking??? What is so disappointing is that the line-up was clicking along very well. Loose Schenn, bring back Rinaldo (we had no energy tonite and threw 0 big hits) and cut Shelley.— dahlster
- Sure didn't seem like the chemistry of the first 5 games was present tonight...was this why?— JosephL
- As the saying goes about a picture...check out this video of Couturier setting up Voracek. http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?id=127757 Then go try and find one of Schenn doing the same thing in the NHL (good luck). It's mind blowing to think that Couturier was moved down following performances like this one.
— icarus - Reading the comments from Schenn seem more an insight into his personality than anything else. He is chomping at the bit to be up with the team. They saved his locker, they made room for him... yet he seems very arrogant. Very little difference between arrogance and immaturity. Maybe he is very skilled, but it seems that the team needs team players not hot shots wanting the limelight. I like Couturier. Seemed to fit in flawlessly. Is Schenn going to create the same atmosphere that most fans feel was poisonous with Carter?— new flyer fan
- Realizing that writers have to write, papers have papers to sell, and people like you and I have time to waste reading it, there is one thing to remember. It is only 1 game, with 75 or so left....Lavs will figure it out, he's too good not to be up. Courterier is too good not to be up. Done deal, that's why coaches get paid what they do, to take the ingredients and cook us a Cup of something other than liptons or chunky soup.— Bleue
- Schenn has yet to accomplish anything in the NHL. He is a project. He is now a career minus 5 in the NHL, with 2 assists in 10 games. Compare that to Courturier...pretty tough to make a case for Schenn. I have heard for a long time about Schenn being the best player NOT in the the NHL, and he just may have to stay that way. At best, he was irrelevant tonight.— Hexy4GM
- Another Yiri Dopita? He was the "best player not in the NHL", too. I'm with you. Schenn has an awful lot of positive press for a player with no stats to back it up. — icarus
- Hartnell should wear a mask while on the ice for the theft of $4.2M from the team.— BobbyD
- Couturier has played very steady and is 1 of 4 forwards who has played consistently on the PK, very rare for an 18 yr old rookie. Tonight I finally saw the difference between Scheen & Couturier, Scheen is a more formidable physical presence than Couturier, but Couturier has played better in the games I've seen them both play. The Flyers have 4 more games to see how this will shake out, but I wouldn't be comfortable with the inexperience both would bring to the 3rd & 4th line center spot, if both stay on the roster. Max Talbot was signed, I believe to be the 3rd line center, and I feel the Flyers envisioned Scheen starting the season as the 3rd or 4th line center, but his injury & Couturier's play changed all that. Scott Hartnell was just awful tonight, & I just can't see him scoring more than 15 goals this year, especially without Briere as his center. That’s not what the Flyers expected from a $4.2 M winger, with another year left on his contract.— sox12st
- I agree that the development of Couturier should be paramount. He seems so natural. If that means putting a guy stealing ridiculous amounts of money (Hartnell) on the 4th line and/or putting Schenn at wing then so be it.— bleedmidnightgreensection236
- i vote for rinaldo playing in place of nodl. nodl sucks. the whole schenn and couturier thing will play itself out eventually. if they continue to improve (couturier) and start to improve (schenn) then they'll definitely make hartnell that much more expendable (i.e. trade or 4th line duties for this team).— kdub13
- "Hartnell should wear a mask while on the ice for the theft of $4.2M from the team." What's the point? It would just come off the first time he fell anyway.— AreaMan
- Will Shenn promotion hurt Couturier? Yes— justacarpenter
