David Schlemko (born May 7, 1987) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played eleven seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Schlemko played junior hockey for the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) who play in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. Established in 1970, the team has won two national Memorial Cups, five WHL League Championships and seven Divis ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

from 2004 until 2007. He was a member of the Tigers' WHL championship team in 2007. Undrafted, Schlemko was signed as a free agent on July 19, 2007, by the Coyotes to a three-year entry-level contract and was assigned to the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

Arizona Sundogs The Arizona Sundogs were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Prescott Valley, Arizona. They played in the Central Hockey League from 2006 to 2014 with their home games at Tim's Toyota Center. History The team name, Sundogs, re ...

. In 2008, Schlemko was assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. He made his NHL debut with the Coyotes during the 2008–09 season, playing a total of 3 games scoring 1 assist. His first career NHL goal was scored on November 14, 2009, against

Marty Turco Marty Vincent Turco (born August 13, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played nine seasons with the Dallas Stars and one season each with the Chicago Blackha ...

of the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

. During the

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barg ...

, Schlemko played 14 games for the

of the

(CHL). In the 2014–15 season, on January 3, 2015, Schlemko was claimed off waivers by the

. Schlemko played in 5 scoreless games with the Stars as a reserve defenseman before he was again placed and claimed off waivers by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

on March 1, 2015. As a free agent on September 10, 2015, Schlemko joined his fourth organization within a year by signing a one-year contract with the New Jersey Devils. As a late free-agent addition to the Devils, Schlemko surprised in the 2015–16 season, to solidify his role on the blueline and record a career-high 6 goals and 19 points in 67 games. On July 1, 2016, Schlemko was rewarded from his tenure with the Devils by signing a four-year contract as a free agent with the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

. In the 2016–17 season, Schlemko solidified the Sharks blueline, appearing in 62 games in matching his previous season 6 goals while contributing with 18 points. Schlemko's tenure with the Sharks was limited to one season as he was selected by the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expa ...

in the

2017 NHL Expansion Draft Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

on June 21, 2017. The following day, the Golden Knights promptly dealt him to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. Schlemko missed the beginning of the 2017–18 season with the Canadiens after breaking his hand on his first day of training camp with the club. Nearing a return from injury, Schlemko played one game on a conditioning stint with AHL affiliate, the

Laval Rocket The Laval Rocket (french: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play th ...

, before suffering a setback in requiring surgery to remove bone fragments in his hand on October 19, 2017. Schlemko missed the first 25 games of the season before returning to make 37 appearances and adding 1 goal and four assists. For a second consecutive year, Schlemko was placed on the injured reserve list to begin the 2018–19 season, after injuring his knee in a pre-season game on September 29, 2018. Schlemko returned to action to appear in 18 games on the blueline for the Canadiens for 2 assists before he was placed on waivers and demoted to the Laval Rocket on January 8, 2019. Schlemko registered 4 points in 8 games for the Rockets before he was traded by the Canadiens with Byron Froese to the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...

in exchange for

Dale Weise Dale Kenton Weise (born August 5, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Lea ...

and

Christian Folin Carl Christian Folin (born 9 February 1991) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He previously played for the Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Ca ...

on February 9, 2019. Schlemko reported directly to AHL affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey L ...

, and played out the remainder of the regular season to appear in 18 games for 4 assists. On June 30, 2019, Schlemko was placed on unconditional waivers by the Flyers in order to buy out the remaining year on his contract.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlemko, David 1987 births Arizona Coyotes players Arizona Sundogs players Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Dallas Stars players Ice hockey people from Alberta Laval Rocket players Lehigh Valley Phantoms players Living people Medicine Hat Tigers players Montreal Canadiens players New Jersey Devils players Phoenix Coyotes players Portland Pirates players San Antonio Rampage players San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Edmonton Undrafted National Hockey League players