Fully recovered David Schlemko gets recalled by the Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens’defenseman David Schlemko has gotten recalled this Saturday, after attaining full recovery.
Schlemko suffered a hand injury during the first day of the team’s training camp, and had been out of action until he was eventually sent out to the Canadiens NHL affiliates—the Laval Rocket, for a conditioning stint.
Staring in the Rocket’s overtime win on Friday night—registering a point and also three shots, he was recalled back to the team on Saturday morning.
The Canadiens though needed to be proactive and improvise, as with a total of 24 men on the roster at the beginning of the season, creating room for Schlemko had to be done dexterously. The “axe” fell on Mark Streit earlier in the week, as he was placed on the waiver’s list.
The line up will be one to look at for, as it’ll be interesting to see where Schlemko would fit in. Though, it was popular opinion that Victor Mete’s place alongside Shea Weber was a temporary decision—while the team awaited the return of Schlemko. Now with the brilliant performance by Mete in that role, it’ll be extremely difficult to cross him off the line up.
Mete has performed beyond the expectations of anyone, and has proven himself invaluable. Irrespectiveof the full arsenal of vigorous defenders currently available, he has more than deserved a spot at the top of the pecking order.
It is probably expected that the most likely position is on the third pair with Brandon Davidson, replacing Jordie Benn. One thing for sure is, Claude Julien might have a big decision to make heading into the next game.
30-year old Schlemko was purchased by the Canadiens in June, in a trade deal with the Vegas Golden Knights.
With a total of 360 career games, Schlemko has a record of 17 goals and 70 assists during his stint at the Arizona Coyotes, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils, and the San Jose Sharks.