Simon Nemec game breakdown

I dove deeper into one of Nemec's performances against Slovan Bratislava.

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As you might have heard, the New Jersey Devils will be picking 2nd in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

There’s been a lot of smoke about them being enamoured with power winger Juraj Slafkovsky. As such, I wrote my first prospect breakdown of the season on Slafkovsky.

There are a few other players who could, or should, be considered with the 2nd overall pick so I’ll be spending some time on them as well.

Next up on the watch list is Simon Nemec. He was long projected to be the first defenseman off the board, however, that seems a little less likely as we inch closer to the draft.

At any rate, I wanted to see what he was about and bring you all along for the ride. Let’s dive into one of his games against Slovan Bratislava.

Hat tip to AMScouting on Youtube for the shift-by-shift footage used in these clips.

Note: Nemec is No. 7 in blue.

The Good

• For the most part, I liked what I saw from Simon Nemec on the breakout; at least when he was passing – rather than carrying – the puck. He pretty consistently made a good first pass, putting a handful of pucks on the tape for successful outlets. I liked the poise under pressure Nemec showed in this clip. He didn’t panic with a forechecker closing quickly. He deferred to his teammate to get F1 off of him, moved to give said teammate a lane to pass it back, and then he used the time and space created to make a stretch pass into the neutral zone.

• Nemec was not shy about jumping into the play. He made a nice pinch in this sequence, attacking space and slipping behind a couple defenders while they were focused on the puck carrier at the other side of the ice. He didn’t score but he created a really good scoring opportunity.

• Nemec was unusually aggressive without the puck. Sometimes it hurt him (we’ll get to that!) but there were instances where it paid off. Here, Nemec has two opposing forwards behind him. He, of course, is a defenseman. You’d generally expect him to play conservative and stay home in the DZ. Instead, Nemec skates to center, challenges the carrier, and takes a great angle, rushing him to get rid of the puck. Nemec wins the race to said puck, and slides it ahead to teammate to regain full control.

• Nemec did make some nice plays in the defensive zone. In this clip he surveyed the ice and realized there was coverage on the man in front, giving him the freedom to go support his partner. Nemec makes a good stick check to poke the puck away, gathers it, and skates it out of the defensive zone. While he didn’t get past center, Nemec carrying the puck to safety ensured his team – within striking distance at the time – would not be in danger of giving up a shot/goal before the end of the frame.

• Nemec was aggressive at holding the offensive line. This one carried some risk – if the puck gets out, it’s probably a breakaway – but it paid off. Nemec used his stick to prevent the chip out. He engaged in a battle, won possession, and made a cross-ice pass to a wide open teammate who had plenty of time and space to make a play. Nemec’s team did create a scoring chance in a possession that would’ve ended entirely had Nemec not kept the puck in.

The bad

• You know when your GPS gets completely lost and reroutes every two seconds, having you drive all over the place with no sense of direction? That was Nemec on several occasions in this game. My guy was playing right defense. Keep that in mind as we make our way through the rest of the post.

In this clip Nemec skates entirely across the ice to try and challenge the puck carrier. He doesn’t meet him in time and the opponent makes a pass to a wide open man no the weak side for a great scoring chance.

• Above you saw Nemec make a super aggressive (and risky) challenge and get burned. Here is more of the same. Nemec tries to step up and stunt a possession at center ice. He doesn’t and it ends up in the back of his team’s net seconds later. Tie game.

• Nemec’s shooting left a lot to be desired. Early on I made notes of a couple bad shots. You know, low percentage looks when a better play might’ve been available; softies where he couldn’t get everything on it. Whatever, it happens. I was prepared to give Nemec a pass on his shot attempts until he continued failing on them, giving me no choice but to share.

Take this sequence, for example. Nemec calls for a one-timer and drills it off a teammate’s head. Said teammate immediately peaces out and heads to the bench. Nemec gets the puck back, walks the line to the middle of the ice, and throws a shot off another teammate.

• If a couple examples of friendly fire aren’t enough, Nemec has you covered. On the power play in a one score game, Nemec walks in and rips one off his teammate stationed in front. I don’t want to be too hard on Nemec because everyone’s shots hit traffic sometimes. But every shot Nemec took hit a teammate, missed the net, or had so little on it that there was never a chance of ending up in the net.

• In today’s game, you’re seeing more and more defensemen jump into the play, get involved all over the ice, and play more of a rover role than ever before. Nemec took that to the extreme. He was downright chaotic in this game, playing with the aggressiveness of someone playing NHL 22 nine beers deep on a Saturday night.

Time after time Nemec was blowing the defensive zone, leading the rush (without the puck), challenging carriers without having a teammate there to cover, fully committing to pinches when teammates were in 50-50 battles, etc.

• Could some of these plays be coached out of his game? Absolutely. But the pure volume of bad reads, risky pinches, and completely unnecessary activations – like leading a full team rush without the puck – have me concerned.

• Lastly, I was not impressed by Nemec’s puck carrying ability. He looked uncomfortable with it on his stick for extended durations and he did not show the acceleration, agility, or hands, necessary to beat opposing players in space. A lot of his rushes led dump-ins at center ice or failed zone exits.