From the second that Braden Schneider could walk and perhaps even before that, he had a mini stick in his hands.
When he was three-years-old, he did a year of figure skating before he got into playing organized hockey the year after. About 15 years later, he's set to represent the country, but before we get to that, it's time to take a look at the road it has been for the Brandon Wheat King.
(Braden, age 3, figure skating photo in Big River, Saskatchewan)
Schneider lived the first eight years of his life in Big River before the family moved to Shellbrook where they lived for three years. Another move saw the family head to Prince Albert and that's where Braden's competitive hockey days really began with the Prince Albert Raiders U15 team. After a productive 23 point campaign in the 2014-15 season, Braden joined the leadership group for the next season as he was named the team's captain.
His year as captain with the U15 Raiders was also his draft year. In a draft where Peyton Krebs went first, Kirby Dach went second, and Bowen Byram went third, Schneider didn't have to wait that much longer to hear his name as he was drafted 12th overall by the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Carmela Schneider is Braden's mother and she says that day was a special one for the family, one in which Braden and his brother, Marek stayed home from school.
"We were all so pumped, it was such an exciting day for all of us," said Carmela. "We were so excited when he was drafted by Brandon. He has loved every part of his journey with Brandon, he loves the team, he loves the city, and he's made some great friends. I know the organization will always have a special place in his heart."
Speaking of Braden's brother, Marek was drafted 30th overall by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2018 draft. Marek will look to make the Blades this season after he played seven games with them last year and he started this season by playing one game with the Flin Flon Bombers before the SJHL season was shut down.
When it comes to Braden, he's nearing the 200 regular-season games played mark with Brandon as he will enter the upcoming season having played 185 games and if you include the playoffs, he's already suited up in 199. His most productive season as a Wheat King was last year when he tallied seven goals and added 35 assists for a 42 point total, an 18 point increase from the prior season.
He was also named to the Eastern Conference's first all-star team last season as he was one of the top back end players in the league and he proved he can provide offence as well.
2020 NHL Draft:
Four years prior, he was drafted by Brandon and as we fast forward four years, Alexis Lafrenière was the first-overall selection in the NHL draft. Quinton Byfield and Tim Stützle followed Alexis at two and three. 18 picks after they took Lafrenière, the New York Rangers were on the clock again and they selected Schneider. He was one of two Wheat Kings that went in the first round as Ridly Greig went 28th overall to the Ottawa Senators.
"It's just amazing that I'm able to watch my son achieve his dream, he's been talking about getting drafted for a long time and this has been a huge goal of his," said Schneider. "To experience the whole draft in our home was extremely special. We're living a lot of families dream right now, we're really grateful for that, and we're so proud of Braden."
(Taylor Gauthier celebrating a Team Canada win at the World U18 Hockey Challenge in Umea, Sweden in April 2019)
World Junior dream:
Braden was among the final cuts last year for Team Canada, a team that won gold at the World Junior Hockey Championships. With one more year of experience under his belt, Braden received an invite back to camp this year as he made his way to Red Deer last month with the goal of making the team, a goal he came up just short last year.
This year, Braden is one of 25 that has been named to the Canadian roster ahead of the World Juniors which gets going on Christmas Day in Edmonton. Because of restrictions, the rest of the Schneider family wasn't able to be in attendance for any of training camp and they weren't able to congratulate Braden in person. They did; however, get the opportunity to congratulate him virtually.
Members of the Team Canada coaching staff called Braden's parents and Marek was also on the phone. They walked down the hall and knocked on his door and after a short delay, Braden opened the door and his parents and younger brother shared the good news that he had cracked the final roster.
"You could just see Braden's eyes and how happy he was, it was a pretty surreal moment for all of us," continued Carmela. "We had a great moment and it's one that we will never forget."
Carmela is always one that likes to decorate her house during the holiday season and this year, she has with a little bit of a twist. The Schneider house in Prince Albert is now decorated with red and white lights outside.
You can imagine how thrilled Kelly was when I suggested that we change the Christmas lights from white to white and red. “Come on, it’s not every day that your kid makes Team Canada...”. What a good Dad! ❤️🇨🇦🏒 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/NTeagxudjz
— Carmela Schneider (@SchneiderSnide1) December 12, 2020
"I'm that mom that when the kids do well at something or make a team, I'll hang their jersey in the window," ended Carmela. "When we were in Canadian Tire this year, we saw the red and white lights and we thought that would be a great idea."
The family may not be able to support Braden in person like they would have hoped, but they are showing their support from Prince Albert and as we near the beginning of the World Juniors, you can expect the Brandon Wheat King and New York Ranger prospect to be a big piece as Canada looks to win another gold medal.
