Again with the "picking for need" - we don't need a right handed defensemen today. We have a 1st pairing RHD and 2nd pairing RHD. 3rd pairing can either be a UFA or some journeyman, also who cares it's the 3rd pairing.
Either way, this pick doesn't help NJ in 2023. Nemec might get a cup of coffee as I expect him to start in Utica, but this player won't really have any effect on this coming season.
If Fitz was desperate and wanted to save his job, then surely he would have picked the guy he could plug into the 2023 lineup and get immediate dividends from, right? Or the rough-and-tumble boom/bust kind of prospect Fitz apparently has a boner for in Jiricek. Or overdrafting Cutter because he's big and feisty and hits people. THAT would be a shortsighted luxury pick. Not punting on the media darling to pick a boring steady defenseman who won't play this year.
There's no immediate gratification that comes with the Nemec pick. So why are we talking about need? We don't NEED him on the Devils roster right now, we have right handed guys for this season. A need pick would have been for a guy that can fill a slot now.