NHL Rising Stars: Braden Schneider

Over the past few years, players from other top-tier junior leagues other than the NCAA and the Ontario Hockey League have started to become more prevalent in the NHL. Braden Schneider, a defenseman on the New York Rangers was one of the top defensemen in the Western Hockey League during his 4 seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings, where he played amongst several highly talented players, some of whom are either in the NHL or in the American Hockey League, which is a tier below the NHL. Schneider, and several other Western Hockey League alumni, are revolutionizing the NHL, one player at a time, and are paving the way for the future generations of hockey players from the Western part of Canada.

Schneider, a right shot, 6’2 defenseman is definitely on the bigger side and defies the stereotype that all taller players are slower skaters (which can be true in some cases). Schneider is very quick on his feet, which makes getting breakaways after a bad turnover by the opposing team easy. Schneider’s puck handling skills are just stellar. Puck possession is a natural skill of Schneider’s as he’s been stellar at receiving passes, giving passes and keeping the puck after it’s passed to him. A flaw in Schneider’s game is he’s too physical, and often finds himself in the penalty box, unlike most defensemen. The best part of the 20-year-old's game is his wrist shot. It travels at high speeds and can result in a goal, no matter what angle it’s on. I’d say Schneider’s NHL comparison is Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo because they play the same gritty style, while also contributing defensively and offensively as well.

However, Schneider’s talent didn’t come naturally to him. The 6’2 defenseman from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan had to work extremely hard just to make it past the double A level, which was a tier down from where most hockey players dream of playing: triple-A. Schneider played two years of double-A hockey before being called up to the local AAA U18 team, the Prince Albert Mintos after losing in the playoffs with his U15 AA Prince Albert Raiders team, where in two seasons, he accumulated a total of 40 points (20 in each season).

The next year, 2016-17, Schneider played his first and only season with the U18 AAA Prince Albert Mintos. He finished the 2016-17 season with the Mintos with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 35 games. Schneider would join the Brandon Wheat Kings for one regular-season game in which he did not score any points. Little did Schneider know he would have one heck of a season the next year in 2017-18 as a rookie.

That summer, Schneider played with Canada White in the U17 Canadian Development Camp, where he recorded 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist) in 6 games. After that, he would head to Brandon Wheat Kings rookie camp, where he ended up making the team. He would go on to play 66 games, recording 22 points (1 goal, 21 assists) playing alongside young talents like Stelio Mattheos, a Carolina Hurricanes prospect, Tanner Kaspick, a St. Louis Blues prospect, Ty Lewis, a former Colorado Avalanche prospect, and Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson just to name a few. I remember watching Schneider with the Wheat Kings, and my initial thought was “Man, this guy is good!”. I can honestly say that Braden Schneider was such a treat to watch throughout his 4 years in Brandon, and the team definitely would have gone down the hill if Schneider didn’t make the Wheat Kings as a 16-year-old.

That summer, Schneider competed in the Hlinka-Gretzky Tournament in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, competing with and against top prospects. He accumulated 3 points (2 goals and 1 assist) in 7 games. Canada went on to win the tournament, and Schneider was named one of the top 3 players on his team, which is a huge compliment to Schneider’s game because he played alongside current Rangers teammate Alexis Lafreniere, the first overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Dylan Cozens, a forward for the Buffalo Sabres and Kirby Dach, a forward for the Chicago Blackhawks. Shortly after the Hlinka-Gretzky Tournament, Schneider headed back to Brandon to begin his second of four seasons with the Wheat Kings. Schneider finished the 2018-19 seasons with the Wheat Kings with 24 points (8 goals, 16 assists) in 58 games. Brandon faced an upset as they failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

The next season, 2019-20 was a big season for Braden Schneider. He was an assistant captain for the second year in a row, under the captaincy of Connor Gutenburg, a truly amazing leader who basically became the backbone of the Wheat Kings in terms of leadership after the departure of Stelio Mattheos. Schneider would end the COVID-19-shortened season with the Wheat Kings with 42 points (7 goals, 35 assists) in 60 games. Despite the rough end to the season, Schneider left Brandon for the summer with the honor of playing in the CHL Top Prospects Game, which acknowledges the best eligible prospects for that summer’s upcoming draft (for the 2020 Draft class, their wait was extended to October due to COVID-19), and the WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team, which acknowledges the top players in each conference.

The 2020-21 season was a weird season for Schneider, as it was for everyone else in every hockey league in North America. The WHL season took place in a bubble, which had every Canadian team playing in Regina, Saskatchewan, the home of the Regina Pats. In 22 games, Schneider accumulated 27 points (5 goals, 22 assists), which is impressive for just 22 games. Prior to the 2020-21 season, Schneider also played in the World Junior Championships, which took place in Edmonton. Canada ended up winning the silver medal, losing to the USA team in the final. And finally, Schneider ended his career in the WHL with a bang, winning the Bill Hunter Trophy as the top defenseman in the WHL, and being invited to play with Team Canada in the 2021 World Cup, where they won gold.

Fast forward to present times, Schneider is with the New York Rangers where he is currently in the middle of the Rangers’ third-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While I may still be salty about the Rangers beating the Hurricanes in the second round, I still cheer for the Rangers, because Braden Schneider is an amazing hockey player with tons of potential. It’s been incredible seeing him grow and develop his skills as a hockey player, and it’s not every day that you see someone transition from the laid-back style of the WHL to the mildly intense style of the American Hockey League, where Schneider played 24 games, recording 9 points (all assists) with the Hartford Wolfpack to the extremely intense style of the NHL, where he played in 43 regular season games, recording 11 points (2 goals, 9 assists) in such a short timeframe.

I predict, after watching Braden Schneider perform at both the amateur and professional levels, that he’s not going back to the Hartford Wolfpack anytime soon. I think that Schneider’s second season will bring lots of success to the 20-year-old defenseman and that he’ll accumulate 20 points at worst. I could potentially see him moving up to the first defense line with Adam Fox, who is arguably the Rangers’ best defenseman, but I don’t see that happening in the next1-2 years as there is some things that Schneider has to work on before he earns the honor of playing on the same line as 24-year-old Fox. Until then, Schneider will try to get better. Practice by Practice. Game by game.