Schenn brothers set to mark grand achievement

Jeff Schenn can only shake his head when told about the exclusive place in NHL history that his sons will have.

The ones who grew up battling on the driveway and in the basement, or on the outdoor rink down the road. The ones skating in the minus-35 degree Saskatoon winters with their buddies for hours on end.

Those two kids now are grown men with families of their own, respected NHL veterans and Stanley Cup champions. And when St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn steps onto the ice at Capital One Arena in Washington on Feb. 27 to play his 1,000th NHL game, he'll match his brother, Nashville Predators defenseman Luke Schenn, who played his 1,000th game on Oct. 17.

They're the eighth set of brothers to each play 1,000 games, joining the Courtnalls (Geoff and Russ), the Hatchers (Derian and Kevin), the Koivus (Mikko and Saku), the Niedermayers (Scott and Rob), the Sedins (Daniel and Henrik), the Staals (Eric, Jordan and Marc) and the Sutters (Brent and Ron).

But the Schenns will be the first to each celebrate the milestone in the same season.

"It's quite an accomplishment just getting there," Jeff Schenn said. "Just like most Canadian kids, or most kids that want to be a hockey player, to get to follow your dream and get to do it, and get to do it for this long, and the experiences that they've had, and the people they've met, and the games and the coaches and the players, it is all just crazy to even think that you get to play the game and get to play it as long as they did. It sort of blows you away."

Luke, 21 months older, was selected in the Western Hockey League bantam draft in 2004, Brayden in 2006. They played one season in the WHL at the same time, in 2007-08, but Luke's Kelowna team played Brayden's Brandon team just once.

They each played for Canada at the IIHF Under-18 World Championship and the World Junior Championship, but never together.

They were drafted into the NHL one year apart, Luke selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the No. 5 pick of the 2008 NHL Draft, Brayden chosen by the Los Angeles Kings with the No. 5 pick of the 2009 NHL Draft.

"A lot of the things in our career, we've kind of gone through together," Luke said. "Even from a distance it's kind of been together and pushing each other, whether it's playing on AAA teams, then it's the WHL bantam draft, and then Hockey Canada, Under-18s, World Juniors, we're pushing each other. Then back to back years we got drafted in the NHL Draft. We've kind of always been able to push each other and been best buddies along the way growing up."

Their winding paths did bring them together for four seasons (2012-16) with the Philadelphia Flyers. Brayden had been traded there by the Kings in 2011, as part of the return for Mike Richards, and Luke joined him after being traded there by the Maple Leafs for James van Riemsdyk in 2012.

"I think of how special it is and how lucky we are," Brayden said. "If you're a hockey player, not every kid but a lot of kids dream to play in the NHL, and just having your brother along for the ride, going through the grind together, the ups and downs and wins and losses and good games and bad games and kind of breaking it all down and pushing each other. I think it's definitely something you look back on, and it was some of the best times of my career playing together and going through the daily grind together."

The Flyers reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice in the three full seasons the brothers were together, but the games weren't really the important part.

"Just everything that goes along with it," Luke said. "Like going on road trips together and getting to go to dinner with the same group of guys, preparing for games, driving to the rink together every day, to practice and games and morning skates. And after games breaking it down, whether it was a good or bad game. ... Being together in the same organization, I think that's for sure at the top of the list as far as highlights, something that not many guys get to say they can do it, and the fact that we got to do it for as long as we did. Looking back, it's actually hard to believe that we got to experience that together."

As much as Brayden and Luke enjoyed it, so did their parents, Jeff and Rita, who could buy one set of plane tickets to see both sons.

"For the family, it's all good no matter where you are," Jeff said. "But for them to get to do that and experience that together, that was really, really special.

"I have a jersey from a dad's trip, it has Luke's No. 22 and Brayden's No. 10 on the back with Schenn. So the two boys playing on the same team, it made you chuckle and was really cool that they got to do that, experience that together, and I got to experience it with them."

Luke and Brayden have the photo as well, which has become a treasured family keepsake and a memory of the happiest times of their professional lives.

"I keep it in my household, so does Luke," Brayden said. "It's special. Career is only so long, mom and dad trips are definitely special and important. It's pretty incredible to share those moments with your folks that helped you get there. If you ask any player in the league whether it's Dad, mentor, sibling, whatever it may be, just a smile guys have on their faces for four days, getting everyone to take it all in. So having dad there for the couple of ones that we did in Philadelphia together, it's pretty special. And we're very lucky."

Their time as teammates ended when Luke was traded to the Kings on Jan. 6, 2016.

That's also the point where their journeys took them in wildly different directions. Brayden was traded to the Blues in 2017, helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2019 and now is in his second season as captain.

Luke bounced from the Kings to the Arizona Coyotes to the Anaheim Ducks, who put him on waivers and sent him to San Diego of the American Hockey League in 2018.

He had played more than 700 NHL games by that point, but now was making an 80-mile drive each way between his home in Newport Beach and San Diego.

During Luke's drives, he'd sometimes have Jeff as a passenger, or he'd pass the time talking to Brayden on the phone. But along the way he developed a new level of determination.

"I always told them, I'm somehow going to get to 1,000 games," he said. "Even though you're counted down and out when teams pass you up in the League, I always still believed that there would be a way of achieving that. And that's where I said it's not so much the milestone to get to 1,000 but just continue to want to play and have that fire and want to create that longevity."

Eventually Luke found his footing with help from former NHL player turned skills coach Adam Oates. And it was Brayden who set up the initial connection.

"The year that my brother won the Cup in St. Louis, he was struggling," Luke said. "He hadn't scored in like 15 or 16 games, and St. Louis was last place in the League. One of the only forwards on their team that was having some success was Ryan O'Reilly, and he told my brother that he was working with Adam Oates, and he said to Brayden, you should give him a call. And he did, and Brayden started scoring, getting hot, the Blues started winning, and he ended up winning the Stanley Cup and the rest is history.

"But after about a week of Brayden working with Oates, Oates said to Brayden, I never really ever go looking for clients, they typically come to me. But I got to ask, I used to coach against Luke in Washington and New Jersey, and what's happened to him? He's in the minors? So Brayden passed along the message and I called him, and a couple days later I got traded to Vancouver. But part of the agreement was [Canucks general manager] Jim Benning mentioned to my agent that I would have to start in Utica [AHL]. So I agreed, no problem, I'll go to Utica. And then I asked Oates if he would come work with me in Utica."

They first worked together for about a week and Luke started to see changes in his game. He found success late in the 2018-19 season with the Canucks, which led to a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning the following season. He had two points (one goal, one assist) in 19 postseason games as he helped the Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021.

After short stops in Vancouver and Toronto, Luke signed a three-year, $8.25 million contract ($2.75 million average annual value) with the Predators on July 1, 2023.

And then came the culmination of Luke's dashboard promises when he played his 1,000th game in Nashville against the Edmonton Oilers. Brayden couldn't be there in person -- the Blues had a home game against the New York Islanders that night -- but he certainly was there in spirit.

"Just a proud moment for me, for my family, for him obviously," Brayden said. "He was kind of down and out in the minors and mentally grinded back and proved people wrong."

It'll be the same when Brayden plays his 1,000th game, which will happen while Luke is on the ice in Nashville against the Winnipeg Jets.

Apart but together.

"Even though I'm the older brother, I've looked up to him in a lot of ways, where he's had some success," Luke said. "I think the biggest thing is, when he won the Stanley Cup before I did, I couldn't have been more proud of him, the proudest older brother you could possibly be. Then I think it kind of pushed me to want to achieve that too.

"It's been a crazy journey, and for him to reach this mark, I couldn't be more proud."

Jeff and Rita Schenn will be there, just like they were for Luke, and just like they have been every step along the way, from those snowy days on the pond in Saskatoon to the Stanley Cup celebrations, and now their place in NHL history.

"It's surreal," Jeff said. "I'm a huge hockey fan. Obviously my wife's a huge hockey fan. To think that this could happen, to see your kids to get their dreams, that's been amazing. It's been amazing.

"Winning the Cups and getting to 1,000 games. ... To get there is such a journey."