Schenn shows up to work

Brayden Schenn recently got his first real taste of the sprawling metropolis that is Los Angeles after the Kings made him the No. 5 selection in the 2009 Entry Draft.

Outside of a stroll through suburban Manhattan Beach, Schenn’s view of L.A. was mostly limited to "the hotel and back." With all the nation's second-largest city has to offer, how does a 17-year-old from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, not explore the numerous options available to him?

Schenn knew he was out on the West Coast for one thing -- the Kings' prospect development camp. There's no time to sightsee or carouse when you're trying to show why the club focused on you.

"You're not coming down here for a holiday," he said after a session at the club's practice facility in El Segundo. "You’re coming here, I guess, to prove. And just be part of the first pro camp. The 100 percent focus is on the hockey. I'm getting better day by day."

In his second season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League, Schenn had 32 goals and 56 assists for 88 points in 70 games. After leading the Wheat Kings to the Memorial Cup finals, the 6-foot, 196-pound center racked up another 8 goals and 10 assists in 12 postseason games.

Along the way, Schenn developed a reputation as a tenacious competitor who was just as focused on preventing goals -- the 82 penalty minutes compiled for the Wheat Kings offer the clearest evidence.

Indeed, that was what stood out most to Kings coach Terry Murray.

"Got talent," Murray said, offering up his synopsis. "Knows how to work. Knows how to play hard and gritty. He shows that every day. That willingness to battle and dig in in those battle situations along the boards.

"He has the right idea of how to play the game in the way that we want to see players play."

Had the Kings passed on Schenn, it was likely that the Toronto Maple Leafs would have taken him with the No. 6 pick. Brayden’s older brother, Luke, played in 70 games for Toronto and made the NHL’s all-rookie team last season as a defenseman.

"I'm sure he was pretty disappointed, but he's happy for me now," he said. "But hey, I'm an L.A. King now."

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