SAN JOSE — Mikkel Boedker and David Schlemko both debuted with the Arizona Coyotes in 2008-09, but their paths to their first NHL seasons could not have been more distinct.
Boedker was a junior standout with the Pete DeBoer-coached Kitchener Rangers, and won an OHL championship before being selected eighth overall by Arizona in the 2008 NHL entry draft.
Schlemko also won a championship in his final season before his NHL debut. His, however, came playing in the now-defunct CHL as a member of the Arizona Sundogs. After signing with the Coyotes as an undrafted free agent in 2007, the Coyotes assigned Schlemko to the CHL that fall.