The Los Angeles Kings have signed Brayden Schenn to a one-game amateur tryout agreement and the 18-year old should be in the lineup tonight when the Kings face the Canucks in Vancouver.
"I talked to my agent last night, he got the call," Schenn said following morning skate. "I was pretty excited and I'm looking forward to tonight."
Schenn, who plays with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL was in Victoria, B.C. on Wednesday night as he played a game for the WHL All-Stars against a Russian select team as part of the "Super Series." He is scheduled to skate on a line with Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown in place of Jarret Stoll who will miss the game with a lower body injury.
Kings' head coach Terry Murray said that he had no problem throwing the young player immediately into the fray.
"We're going to play Schenn lots of minutes tonight," Murray admitted. "He's a young guy that we're really high on, he's a great prospect and a really good player for where he's at for his career right now."
Schenn figures that his biggest test will be adjusting to the speed of the pro game.
"Obviously the pace is a lot different than what I'm used to in junior so tonight I'm just going to keep it simple and play my game."
Both the WHL and the CHL had to sign off on the agreement permitting Schenn to play tonight.
While Schenn has yet to sign an entry level contract with the Kings, the two sides remain in talks to get a deal done. If he were to sign following the game he would likely be able to qualify for an emergency recall and would be able to stay with the Kings for several games. The amateur tryout agreement will not affect Schenn's amateur status.
Schenn, who is the younger brother of Maple Leafs' defenceman Luke, was the Kings first round pick, fifth overall in this past Summer's NHL Entry Draft. He has 12 goals and 27 assists in 24 games with the Wheat Kings this season.