| Šimon Nemec | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 15 February 2004, Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team (P) Cur. team F. teams |
New Jersey Devils Utica Comets (AHL) HK Nitra |
| Ntl. team |  Slovakia
|
| NHL Draft | 2nd overall, 2022 New Jersey Devils |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
Šimon Nemec (born 15 February 2004) is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman for the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted second overall by the Devils in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, becoming the second of back-to-back Slovak selections.[1]
Competing internationally as part of Slovak national team, Nemec won a bronze medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics, which was the first Olympic medal for Slovakia in ice hockey.[2] He is identified as part of a rising new generation of Slovak ice hockey players.[3][4]
Playing career[]
HK Nitra[]
Nemec was born in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia, and played youth hockey for the local club, MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš. Nemec began playing at the highest level in Slovakian hockey, Tipos Extraliga, starting in the 2019–20 season at the age of 15 with HK Nitra.[5] In his 2019–20 season, he split his time between Tipos Extraliga, Slovak 2. Liga and Slovakian national junior team. After the conclusion of the season, in league play, he solely played in Tipos Extraliga.[6]
Nemec was selected fourth overall by the Cape Breton Eagles in the 2021 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) import draft, but he elected instead to play his draft-eligible season in Slovakia.[7]
Going into his draft year, Nemec improved his game and recorded one goal and 25 assists for 26 points in 39 games for HK Nitra in the 2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season. In the playoffs, he recorded five goals and 12 assists for 17 points in 19 games, taking his team to the finals, where HK Nitra lost in six games to HC Slovan Bratislava.[8]
New Jersey Devils[]
_(1).jpg){kind=link}
Nemec playing with the New Jersey Devils in November 2023
Following the 2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season, Nemec was seen as one of the top defensive prospects heading into the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and debated alongside Czech David Jiříček as the defenceman to be taken first.[9][10] Throughout the year, multiple scouts considered him a top five selection.[11] On 7 July 2022, he was selected second overall by the New Jersey Devils, after fellow countryman Juraj Slafkovský was selected first overall by the Montreal Canadiens, thus becoming the two highest drafted Slovak-born players in the NHL Entry Draft history.[12] It was only the second time in history that a single European nation had the top two selections in the draft, after Russia in 2004.[1] On 14 July, Nemec signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Devils.[13]
Nemec made the move to North America for the 2022–23 season, spending the entirety of the campaign with the Devils' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets, and recording 12 goals and 22 assists in 65 games.
On 1 December 2023, the Devils recalled Nemec.[14] He made his NHL debut that night, recording two assists in a 6–3 loss to the San Jose Sharks.[15] He scored his first NHL goal on 7 December, the game-winner in a 2–1 victory over the Seattle Kraken.[16]
International play[]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Slovakia
| ||
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Bronze | 2022 Beijing | |
| Hlinka Gretzky Cup | ||
| Silver | 2021 Czech Republic/Slovakia | |
Nemec participated as part of Team Slovakia in the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, leading Slovakia in scoring with four points and being named one of his team's top three players.[17][18] He then made his senior IIHF international debut as part of the national senior team at the 2021 IIHF World Championship.[19] Later in 2021 he served as Slovakia U18 team's captain at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, leading the team to a silver medal. He was voted most valuable player of the tournament, scoring one goal and five assists for six points in five games.[20][21]
After participating in the aborted 2022 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nemec was named to the Slovak squad for the 2022 Winter Olympics. He was one of three teenagers on the team, alongside fellow defenceman Samuel Kňažko and forward Juraj Slafkovský. He finished the tournament with an assist in seven games as Slovakia won the bronze medal game against Sweden, their first-ever Olympic medal in ice hockey.[20][2] In his second outing of the year with the senior team at the 2022 IIHF World Championship, Nemec lead all Slovak defencemen in scoring with one goal and five assists in eight games.[22]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2019–20 | Team Slovakia U18 | Slovak-Jr. | 12 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | HK Nitra | Slovak-Jr. | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | HK Nitra | Slovak | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | HK Levice | Slovak.1 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HK Nitra | Slovak | 37 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | HK Nitra | Slovak | 39 | 1 | 25 | 26 | 20 | 19 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 14 | ||
| 2022–23 | Utica Comets | AHL | 65 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Utica Comets | AHL | 13 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 60 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Slovak totals | 88 | 3 | 45 | 48 | 32 | 24 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 14 | ||||
| NHL totals | 60 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International[]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Slovakia | HG18 | 7th | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Slovakia | WJC | 8th | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Slovakia | WC | 8th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Slovakia | HG18 | 
|
5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Slovakia | OG | 
|
7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2022 | Slovakia | WC | 8th | 8 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2023 | Slovakia | WJC | 6th | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | |
| 2023 | Slovakia | WC | 9th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2024 | Slovakia | WC | 7th | 8 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Slovakia | OGQ | Q | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 20 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 14 | ||||
| Senior totals | 35 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 10 | ||||
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Schram, Carol (8 July 2022). Slovak Surprise: Slafkovsky And Nemec Make History As Top Two Picks In 2022 NHL Draft.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 IIHF - Slovakia wins first ever Olympic medal.
- ↑ Whyno, Stephen. "Slafkovsky, Nemec lead new Slovak hockey golden generation", 8 July 2022.
- ↑ Powers, Scott (8 July 2022). NHL Draft provides Slovakian hockey with historic moment.
- ↑ Hokejista Nitry sa môže stať najmladším hráčom v histórii Tipsport ligy (sk-SK) (9 August 2019).
- ↑ Tessler, Josh (10 November 2021). Scouting Report: Šimon Nemec. Smaht Scouting.
- ↑ Kennedy, Ryan (30 June 2021). The CHL Import Draft was wild.
- ↑ Kerr, Ben (5 May 2022). Simon Nemec Scouting Report: 2022 NHL Draft. Last Word On Sports.
- ↑ Campbell, Ken (7 July 2022). NHL Draft: Comparing top defensemen Jiricek and Nemec.
- ↑ Zator, Matthew (24 June 2022). 2022 NHL Draft Showdown: Simon Nemec vs. David Jiricek.
- ↑ Portzline, Aaron (4 July 2022). Simon Nemec, the No. 2 NHL Draft pick, made a wise choice to pivot from soccer.
- ↑ Engel, Heather (8 July 2021). Slovakia makes history in first round of 2022 NHL Draft.
- ↑ Morreale, Mike (14 July 2022). Nemec, No. 2 pick in 2022 Draft, signs with Devils.
- ↑ Simon Nemec Recalled by Devils (1 December 2023).
- ↑ Devils Fall to Sharks in Nemec's Debut (1 December 2023).
- ↑ Nemec scores 1st goal of career and Schmid makes 37 saves as Devils top Kraken 2-1 (8 December 2023).
- ↑ Wheeler, Scott [@scottcwheeler] (3 January 2021). Slovakia's top 3 players of the tournament: - Simon Latkoczy - David Mudrak - Simon Nemec (2022) Good run. They're going to be better next year, too..
- ↑ Slovakia U20 at eliteprospects.com.
- ↑ MS 2021: SR do Rigy s historicky najmladším tímom, nedostali sa doň Koch, Regenda a Hrehorčák (sk) (15 May 2021).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Potts, Andy (18 January 2022). Slovakia looks to teen trio.
- ↑ Ellis, Steven (7 August 2021). Russia wins Hlinka-Gretzky Cup gold with convincing win over Slovakia.
- ↑ Devils choose Simon Nemec 2nd overall (7 July 2022).
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chase Stillman |
New Jersey Devils first round draft pick 2022 |
Succeeded by Anton Silayev |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Šimon Nemec. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |