Everything Schenn did last year said he should have been back. Was absolutely the best defenseman that played in Utica last year. His arrival there led to the Comets going on good run that, for a while, had them in the playoff hunt. When he left the team went straight in the tank. His departure wasn't the only reason for the collapse, but Schenn greatly solidified a defense in Utica which, to that point, had been very sketchy. His leadership was very apparent and he really deserved the call up. And in Vancouver, he had an good season and appeared to be important in the development of Hughes. In all cases, his leadership and character were obvious.
At the price, he seemed an automatic to return and, I think, the general consensus was that he should be retained. To me, looking at the play of Schenn and Fantenburg last year, I definitely prefer Schenn. In California I saw a number of LA games and Fantentburg was poor. LA would be in games and then Fantenburg would come out he'd get tied up in his end and often be totally unable to get the puck out and he was prone to making critical mistakes. In in the offensive end, he never seemed to keep the puck in. One of the main reason LA stank last year was the play of the defense and Fantenburg, along with the awful Phaneuf and LaDue, contributed to that.
So, on the one hand, you had a player who contributed to a late season (and unfortunately draft hurting) surge and the other who contributed to the problems LA was having in their end. You have one player that moved the puck well out of his end and the other that had constant problems in doing this. You had one that contributed physical toughness and the other who shied away from it.
Would say Fantenburg is the better skater but positionally Schenn is much better and that more than made up for the skating difference.
So, in the end I'd choose Schenn.
In the end, I have no trust in the Canuck pro scouting and given the acquisitions and trades during the Benning era, I don't see why anyone should. I know people always want to be positive and hope maybe this one will work out, but the track record is obviously bad. On top of that, Schenn had established something here, so why not run with that rather than getting a very fringe player who's established nothing anywhere.