Schenn cherishes big moment at Winter Classic

They say good things come to those who wait.
For Brayden Schenn, that was certainly true early in his career.
Schenn made his debut with the Los Angeles Kings in 2009, was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, dealt with a handful of significant injuries and played in 17 NHL games over three seasons before that first career goal came.
But when it did, boy, was it memorable.

"It's a funny story," Schenn told stlouisblues.com, recalling the moment his first goal was scored. "Before the game, our coach at the time - Peter Laviolette - stopped me in the tunnel as we were going out for warm-ups and told me 'You'd better score tonight. I can't wait forever to see you score your first.'"
It was the 2012 NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. More than 46,000 fans packed the home of baseball's Philadelphia Phillies to watch a hockey game between the Flyers and the New York Rangers. The game was scoreless midway through, but that's when Schenn's big moment came.
Schenn won a face-off in the offensive zone and the puck went back to the point. Flyers defenseman Matt Carle chased it down and threw it blindly towards the net, seemingly just hoping to keep it in the zone. Carle's shot hit Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist in the pad and directed right to Brayden Schenn, who quickly fired it home for the 1-0 lead.

"Right place, right time, got a lucky bounce," Schenn recalled. "After that, I had a straight blackout moment and jumped into the glass (to celebrate). I remember Claude Giroux telling me that this isn't the World Juniors, you don't jump into the glass in the NHL.
"But my first goal with my family and friends at a home game in the Phillies' stadium, I'll remember that forever."
So after the goal, did he say anything to Laviolette on the bench?
"I was a rookie, so no, you don't say much," Schenn said. "I just kept my mouth shut and kept playing."
Schenn hasn't played in a game since Dec. 12 due to an upper-body injury, but he has been practicing with the team and appears to be getting closer to getting back in the lineup.
If he returns on Saturday for the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Target Field (6 p.m. CT, TNT, 101 ESPN), perhaps he's got another big outdoor moment to provide when the Blues meet the Minnesota Wild.
"Being outside, it brings you back to being a kid again," Schenn said. "You don't get many chances in the NHL in front of that many fans in outdoor temperatures. Just being in the outdoors, underneath the lights, playing in front of a lot of people, it's cool."