Devils Found Nemo | 10 TAKEAWAYS

In case you didn't know, Simon Nemec's hockey nickname is Nemo.

I heard it for the first time last season when he was with the Utica Comets and it has just stuck. His coaches refer to him as Nemo, so do his teammates. And on the bench, in the dying seconds of the game against the San Jose Sharks, the Devils going for the extra attacker, I could see associate coach Travis Green yell down the bench to get Nemec's attention, a roaring 'Nemo!' coming out of his mouth. 

If the first two games of his NHL career are any indication, this is going to be a special player. 

And the Devils have found Nemo.

1.

Really happy for Simon Nemec and man, did he not look even remotely out of place. Saw him outside the locker room before he went in to get ready in his gear, he looked completely chill, serene and like nothing big was happening in his life. That cool as a cucumber kind of look.

Moreso than his first NHL game, I was curious about Game 2. Would there be a drop-off, adrenaline less high, and the excitement of his first NHL game.

Turns out, there was none of that.

It wasn’t perfect - and it never will be - but it was a good indication that he’s ready for the challenge.

What might be the most important, is that Nemec looks trustworthy, and is in the right position, to make the right play, to quarterback the second power play unit.

Trust is half the battle. Having the trust of the coaching staff, means you’re doing something right.

"I have been pretty happy with Simon’s first two games," Comets General Manager Dan MacKinnon told me, "What is evident right away is just how strong he is for a 19-year-old. He has been able to come up with a lot of contested pucks and transition play positively."

2.

It may have come as a surprise for some to see Nemec on the Devils penalty kill when John Marino was in the box against the Canucks, but the ability to put him out there down a player, and have trust in the job he will do is part of the reason why only now was the right time to recall him from the American Hockey League.

It’s why the patience for his NHL debut was necessary. If he wanted to be successful and trusted at the NHL level, his defensive game needed work and growth.

So, down with Utica, head coach Kevin Dineen made a development decision that has paid early dividends.

"Because [Nemec] has a tendency to feel the need to have an impact on the game, there's a little bit of an offensive bend towards things and I think that's an area in which we've had a lot of conversations," Utica coach Kevin Dineen said during training camp. "He's a really mature kid and needs to know he can be a real impact player even if it's not on the scoreboard. You can go out there and kill penalties too.”

Nemec, in his second NHL game, played 2:52 on the PK, time on ice behind just Nico Hischier and Jonas Siegenthaler.

3.

Dan MacKinnon made sure to emphasize that his coaching staff in Utica deserve a ton of credit for the transition - through two games - that Nemec has made. 

"Kevin Dineen and Ryan Parent deserve a lot of credit for their work with Simon since he arrived as an 18 year-old in Utica," MacKinnon shared, "The AHL is a very tough league for young players and they worked extremely closely with Simon from Day 1, providing direction and feedback with the mindset that this young man is a very talented defenseman but there is a steep learning curve for the position of defense to prepare for the NHL level.  

"The NHL is not and shouldn’t be considered a “development league” so we are all grateful for how Simon’s time has gone down in Utica and that we have such valuable resources down there in terms of the facilities, operations and coaching staff."

4.

Just before Nemec's NHL debut, I saw him in the hallway outside the Devils locker room, just before heading to put on his gear. You would never have been able to tell this monumental moment was in front of him, a lifetime of work about to come to fruition.

He was smiling, came over and said hello, and chatted briefly, as if nothing was unusual about the night. 

Nemec told me it was Dan MacKinnon who called him, later in the evening, to tell him he had been called up, so I checked in with the Utica GM to get a glimpse into that conversation with the young man.

"It was actually a later in the evening phone call for that type of news," MacKinnon said, "I left a message and he called me right back.  He was excited naturally and mentioned that his girlfriend from Slovakia was visiting. I said of course she was welcome to come up to Jersey with him, so they drove up that night together."

MacKinnon also mentioned that on that drive from Utica to New Jersey, Nemec also spoke with Utica head coach Kevin Dineen.

Nemec and his girlfriend packed up his stuff and began the drive, arriving around 1 a.m.

5.

You never want to lose your captain, especially when it's Nico Hischier, particularly for an extended time. But that was the reality for the Devils when Hischier was knocked out of the game in late October against the Sabres. It's clear, by having talked to him and his teammates, that his recovery was tough, it was long, but what is undeniable is that Nico did not return before he was ready.

All you have to do is look at his numbers and his immediate impact since returning. His team is 4-1-0 since he returned on Nov. 25, the captain helped lead the way with 2 goals and 4 assists.

6.

The Hughes brothers have never shied away from their competitiveness with one another.

Jack is running away with the Hughes NHL Showdown. He now has 13 points in seven games (7G-5A) against the Canucks, eldest brother Quinn has five assists in those seven games. games against the Devils. And littlest brother Luke, just doing the most littlest brother of things, saying 'hey, I'm here too!' and had a goal in his first game against Quinn and the Canucks.

7.

I don’t think there was a funnier comment throughout the entire Hughes Brothers buildup than that of mom Ellen Weinburg-Hughes….

“Luke wanted to be a goaltender, but every time he was in net, he was brutal,” she said on the NHL Network the night before the game in Vancouver.

The Hughes family is exceptionally private when it comes to their inner family dynamics, but it was fun to see this little glimpse of mom Ellen ribbing her kids a little bit.

At the same time, Luke really robbed us of having a Hughes play at every position on a hockey team.

8.

If 'get comfortable being uncomfortable' was the motto of the 2022-23 Devils season, 'respect the game' appears to be that of the 2023-24 season. Especially when respect isn't being paid.

Against the Sharks, Lindy Ruff pointed right to the disrespect.

"Just the lack of respect with the puck on the goals, puck management on the goals, not respecting the game," he said post-game. "You can do all this good work, and garner the play, but if you’re going to disrespect the game, which we did, it’s disappointing."

Now, Canucks third-period comeback attempt aside, there was far more respect for the game in New Jersey's play in Vancouver. Look at how multiple goals were scored... net-front presence, winning puck battles, not expecting the game will come to you, but instead making it come to you, it's exactly what Ruff was asking for from his team.

Having a net-front presence, something Ruff explicitly said was non-existent against the Sharks was part of the Devils success against the Canucks.

Michael McLeod's goal? Right in front of Thatcher Demko.

Erik Haula? All alone in front of Demko.

Jack Hughes? Ridiculous skill, but also right in front.

Not all goals have to be scored that way or created equal, but you sure make life easier on yourself when you're respecting the game in the way that Ruff has been pushing his team.

9.

A point of emphasis watching the Canucks attempt the comeback should be that the Devils did not stray from their game.

Did you catch the move from Ondrej Palat, in his 700th NHL game, that led to the Jesper Bratt game-winning goal? Watch how he corrals the puck with his skate blade, settles it down off a pass from John Marino and sends it straight to Kevin Bahl in a blink of an eye.

Great shift all around from Palat to make that goal happen.

10.

Here's a comment that was very telling, to me anyway, from Alexander Holtz.

I'll preface this with there is no one who has more confidence in Alex Holtz than Alex Holtz. And that's a good thing.

But he's also human. So whatever he says publicly about never wavering, I am sure there had to have been some difficult moments of questioning why it had become so difficult to find consistent success.

Right now, he's there. And this quote after his game, and goal, against the Flyers put it all in perspective.

"It just gets you more confident that you can score at this level as well," he said, "I put up good numbers in the (AHL) but I’m starting to put the puck in the net here. It’s obviously a huge confidence boost."

It's a tiny glimpse into how very important it is to have that personal confidence reaffirmed by translating into on-ice success. Removing a lurking feeling of doubt, whether we want to acknowledge it or not, opens up a whole new world.

And we're seeing that from Holtz.