“Really excited” – Simon Nemec hopes to play with Devils next season after 2022 NHL Draft pick
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Simon Nemec
Simon Nemec is willing to do anything to force the New Jersey Devils to keep him in North America for next season. He is eligible to play in the American Hockey League and is hoping to be a part of it. He played the past three seasons with Nitra in Tipos Extraliga in Slovakia at the top professional men’s league. He has also participated in the 2022 IIHF World Championship and the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
On Tuesday, on the second day of development camp, Nemec stated, “I want to try and play in North America, maybe the American Hockey League [in Utica] or, you never know, maybe the NHL with the Devils”. Though his Canadian Hockey League rights are being held by Cape Breton of QMJHL, Nemec clearly stated that he had no interest in playing junior hockey, “I played two full seasons against men [in Slovakia]”. “I think it could be better for me in the AHL if anything.”
Simon Nemec excited to be part of the New Jersey Devils
Nemec flew to New Jersey, participated in the development camp, and started forming bonds with other skaters for the first time on Tuesday. As stated on nhl.com, he said, “I’m really excited to be here and I think the Devils are a really good organization for me and the people here are really friendly”. “I think I was a little bit bad on the ice [on Tuesday] because this was just my second time this month. But you will see, the next couple of days it will be better.”
The 18-year-old has a solid right-handed shot which earned him 26 points and a plus 13 rating in 39 regular-season games, and 17 points in 19 playoff games. He recorded 6 points in 8 games at World Championship while noting 1 assist in 7 games at Beijing Olympics. Devils director Meghan Duggan said about his playstyle, “Right-handed defensemen don’t grow on trees, and everyone knows that”. “He was a highly-touted player coming out of this draft and one that our organization is really excited about.”
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Kaushani Chatterjee
(2140 Articles Published)