It’s amazing how a little piece of injury news can change an entire viewpoint of a season. Braden Schneider’s shoulder injury was one of those pieces of news that did change how we viewed the last two seasons. It doesn’t change everything, but it does add context to some of his inconsistencies on the ice. That said, Schneider has some lofty expectations from the fan base, and while he didn’t hit them last season (no one on the Rangers did), there’s hope he will be a force come puck drop this season.
Braden Schneider’s 2024-2025 season felt incomplete, at least to me. He played 80 games and put up 6-15-21, which were all career highs. I’m not a big plus/minus fan, but it’s worth mentioning his +9 was second on the team to Will Cuylle and tied with Adam Fox. His role as a 3RD in somewhat sheltered minutes played a role, but he still executed that role fine. But still, it felt like something was missing.
As noted in this week’s Patreon post, Schneider has surprisingly decent offensive numbers. He’s one of the better Rangers defenders at transitioning the play to offense and gaining the offensive zone. I say surprisingly because Schneider has been viewed as more of a stay at home defender who delivers hits. Yet his 146 hits over 80 games, less than 2 hits per game, suggests otherwise. In fact, Schneider has hovered around just 2 hits per game for most of his young career.
Schneider’s offensive/defensive splits were a bit more extreme this past season. It’s in line with what we saw in 2023-2024, just with better defensive numbers. It’s safe to say Schneider’s defensive play was a product of the team around him, but we also don’t know how much the shoulder injury impacted him. A torn labrum impacts push off strength, which would impact his ability to protect the front of the net and gain positioning.
I feel Braden Schneider’s season was incomplete because we need to start seeing his defensive game round into shape. The Rangers are banking on him being a top-four defenseman, but he hasn’t been able to consistently hold down that spot. His inconsistent play in his own zone was definitely impacted by that injury, and it changes how I’ve viewed his defensive play over the last two seasons. It seems small, but this is the difference between a top four, two-way defenseman and a bottom pair one-sided defenseman.
I am pleasantly surprised by Schneider puck moving and overall play driving abilities. The Rangers need play drivers on the blue line, and while he’s not Adam Fox in that regard, Schneider adds that much needed skill set to a blue line full of question marks. Flexibility to play LD is also going to work in Schneider’s favor. He has a unique opportunity to gain a stranglehold as the team’s 3D, and if both his healed shoulder and the Sully factor improve his defensive play, then we may be looking at a huge x-factor on the blue line.
2024-2025 Braden Schneider report card grade: B
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