Prospect Info: New Jersey Devils Draft Simon Nemec, 2nd Overall

[Nicomo Cosca]

Maybe it's just a Midwest thing, but sauerkraut on pizza is still one of my favorites. Along with some green olives...damn I want pizza now.

Go right to jail.

 

[Devs3cups]

Some, uhh, interesting liked comments from Shane Wright.

Apparently, he bombed his Montreal interview as well. They were big on "mental resilliance" and he didn't know how to answer questions concerning his questionable play and effort during the season when shown heavy video evidence to back up all of their statements.. Just screaming entitled, especially with that stupid staredown he did as well.

This is a very bad look. Confirms the entitlement hypothesis imo.

 

[MadDevil]

He's a kid who has been told for years how great he is and how he's going to be the #1 overall pick. Not surprised he feels a little entitled and snubbed after he ends up going #4 overall.

I'm sure we'd all be blasting him if we drafted him and he liked those comments, right?

 

[Devilsgrl35]

Wright gives off Josh Rosen vibes. No work ethic but feels entitled to success.

 

[NJDevs26]

Yeah that's a little scary...makes me wonder how much intel Seattle actually did on him since they probably weren't expecting to pick him. You also wonder if the whispers about him bombing his interview go public if he didn't stare down the Habs table.

 

[Devs3cups]

He's a kid who has been told for years how great he is and how he's going to be the #1 overall pick. Not surprised he feels a little entitled and snubbed after he ends up going #4 overall.

I'm sure we'd all be blasting him if we drafted him and he liked those comments, right?

I probably wouldn’t be blasting him, as I’m not here, but I certainly wouldn’t like it. It’s definitely a bad look. Does it define him as a player? Absolutely not, but it shows attitude concerns imo.

 

[Devil made me do it]

Nemec wasn't the sexy pick but he was the wise pick. Wright was not superior to him in anyway and more importantly he was a bad fit for this team. A smart GM would pick Nemec 10x out of 10 in this scenario. It's really that simple. I could see Wright be another Lafreniere. Highly touted consensus #1 pick with tape that showed nothing particular special or eye popping. He will likely never be a star in this league but a servicable 2C is a possibility.

 

[MadDevil]

I probably wouldn’t be blasting him, as I’m not here, but I certainly wouldn’t like it. It’s definitely a bad look. Does it define him as a player? Absolutely not, but it shows attitude concerns imo.

I remember some people saying Jack was entitled once too, so I always take these things with a grain of salt. It definitely wasn't a smart move by Wright though, especially involving a market like Montreal that will make it a bigger deal than it probably really is.

 

[devilsfan35]

Pretty sure the wright Instagram thing is fake. I have never seen who liked comments with any update lol.

 

[Devs3cups]

I remember some people saying Jack was entitled once too, so I always take these things with a grain of salt. It definitely wasn't a smart move by Wright though, especially involving a market like Montreal that will make it a bigger deal than it probably really is.

I slightly remember that being said, but I’m pretty sure it was based around his cockiness that appeared to tend on cockiness. He’s confident and we all love it. Has Hughes done something like Wright did there? If I remember correctly, no.

Also, it’s not just the liked comments. When you add in the staredown to the Habs table, it’s just a bad look all around. I mean, as I said, it’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t define him. It’s just stuff I wouldn’t expect a future high profile professional to do. It’s whatever.

 

[Alex NJD]

If I remember correctly someone on the mainboards gave an example of Wright's video coach talking about how hard he worked and about how Wright would text the guy right after every game.

Also feel like the first round this year included a ton of guys who received praise for their compete level and how hard they work.

 

[OmNomNom]

y'all still want wright?

 

[RayMartyniukTotems]

I would have taken wright, but I feel like Nemec is one of the safer prospects, so I don't hate it

With PK gonzo,Nemec is the guy in a year or two. Hamilton probably is not what Jersey thought he would be. Severson is pretty good and Reilly Walsh will be knocking on the door as will L Hughes and Mukhamadullin, Okhotyuk and Bahl soon to very soon

 

[Devs3cups]

With PK gonzo,Nemec is the guy in a year or two. Hamilton probably is not what Jersey thought he would be. Severson is pretty good and Reilly Walsh will be knocking on the door as will L Hughes and Mukhamadullin, Okhotyuk and Bahl soon to very soon

Hamilton is a top pair guy. He was money to start the year. 2 injuries + getting COVID completely derailed his year. He definitely gets the benefit of the doubt from me.

 

[BurntToast]

Nemec should be a “sexier” pick. I am not an underling stats guy, but I think Nemec gets discredited for playing in a Slovak league.

Wright, Cooley and Slaf all suffered various let downs. For all the success Slaf has had, Nemec was right there with him. Except, Nemec didn’t mail in the season. Instead he broke a bunch of rookie records. If anyone had “1st Over All” stats it was Nemec. (Purely on Stats)

Also, looking at the pictures Nemec looks almost as big as Slaf, just not as tall. (Slaf could be the Gronk of hockey).

 

[Devs3cups]

Nemec should be a “sexier” pick. I am not an underling stats guy, but I think Nemec gets discredited for playing in a Slovak league.

Wright, Cooley and Slaf all suffered various let downs. For all the success Slaf has had, Nemec was right there with him. Except, Nemec didn’t mail in the season. Instead he broke a bunch of rookie records. If anyone had “1st Over All” stats it was Nemec. (Purely on Stats)

Also, looking at the pictures Nemec looks almost as big as Slaf, just not as tall. (Slaf could be the Gronk of hockey).

Nemec’s playoffs were pretty incredible. 17 points in 19 games as a D-man. The 2nd D-man in points had 8 in 19.

 

[PKs Broken Stick]

What's wrong with pineapple on pizza?






*starts taping knuckles up for the brawl*

I personally don't understand people who hate it.

 

[MadDevil]

I personally don't understand people who hate it.

Well, I'm also the guy who would watch Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and be like "Yeah, I'd try that" to just about everything he ate, so I may not be the best judge of what many would consider "normal" to begin with.

 

[Maine Fan]

Maybe it's just a Midwest thing, but sauerkraut on pizza is still one of my favorites. Along with some green olives...damn I want pizza now.

You are crazy, sounds sicking before it goes down.

 

[Ozolynch]

Nemec’s playoffs were pretty incredible. 17 points in 19 games as a D-man. The 2nd D-man in points had 8 in 19.

This was also an all-time record for ALL defensemen (not a U18 record) in the Slovak league

 

[stastny12]

This was also an all-time record for ALL defensemen (not a U18 record) in the Slovak league

Yep. He even surpassed Lubomir Visnovsky´s stats.

 

[ninetyeight]

Yeah that's a little scary...makes me wonder how much intel Seattle actually did on him since they probably weren't expecting to pick him. You also wonder if the whispers about him bombing his interview go public if he didn't stare down the Habs table.

I bet every top10 team met with most of the 1st round players, but I think this is a very good point. From what I've read I'm fairly sure that Nemec was Seattles #1 target, possibly even ahead of Slafkovsky and Wright. Jiricek was probably another option, picking a top D prospect for a new franchise who just got their #1C prospect a year ago just makes too much sense. I thought there was a real possibility that they would have taken Jiricek and Wright would have dropped even more.

If Wright becomes the franchise talent he was predicted to become when he was 15, this will be a major steal for Seattle and looked back as a big mistake by the other teams (depending how their picks pan out). If however Wright's lack of compete and possible personality issues turn out to be a real thing, this might look like Seattle didn't do their homework and was forced to pick Wright.

 

[Clam Jensen]

I watched some highlights of his yesterday, and man can he skate. Also was super composed with the puck. We’re so lucky to have him and Luke on the team.

 

[glenwo2]

Some, uhh, interesting liked comments from Shane Wright.

Apparently, he bombed his Montreal interview as well. They were big on "mental resilliance" and he didn't know how to answer questions concerning his questionable play and effort during the season when shown heavy video evidence to back up all of their statements.. Just screaming entitled, especially with that stupid staredown he did as well.

Now THIS is truly illuminating (if I may borrow @LeedsMonster 's favorite word) as it paints a more accurate picture as to the type of person Shane is.

Well damn.

Maybe THIS is what Fitz saw that we are seeing now.

Looks like I'm eating crow more quickly than I did during the Nico/Patrick draft.

 

[Guttersniped]

Let's not act like Holtz's callups weren't deeply concerning. We're two years past 2020. In 2019 redraft I absolutely believe Makar goes #1.

Don’t be ridiculous.
No way Makar goes #1 in a 2019 redraft. Hasn’t played a single regular season game.

10 solid playoff games wouldn’t have had him go #1 over Hischier who had played 151 games with 99 points as the devils 1C including a season where he brought them to the playoffs as an 18 year old.

Even Heiskanen had done more at that point and possibly goes over him.

It’s also completely irrelevant to his point. There’s a ton of players who wouldn’t go as high in a redraft 1 or 2 years later who would go higher 4-5 years after the draft.

There’s a chance Holtz takes off at some point and looks like a good pick. I have my concerns about Holtz which I have voiced but there’s talent and it’s far too early to call it a bad pick.

Not sure what Makar’s ranking tells us about Holtz, I don’t think anyone was expecting Holtz to rocket up to the top of a redraft.

Early redrafts (which I dislike, but hey, if other people like them whatever) are cartoonishly volatile as early break-out prospects rocket up them and slower developing prospects can just randomly drop. They shift around


Here’s an 2017 re-draft from October 23rd 2019 by JD Burke from Elite Prospects.

1) Elias Pettersson (#5)
2) Miro Heiskanen (#3)
3) Cale Makar (#4)
4) Nico Hischier (#1)
5) Cody Glass (#6)
6) Nolan Patrick (#2)
7) Martin Necas (#12)
8) Erik Brännström (#15)
9) Robert Thomas (#20)
10) Owen Tippett (#10)
11) Juuso Välumäki (#16)
12) Gabriel Vilardi (#11)
13) Henri Jokiharju (#29)
14) Filip Chytil (#21)
15) Nick Suzuki (#13)
16) Drake Batherson (#121)
17) Maxime Comptois (#50)
18) Timothy Liljegren (#17)
19) Kailer Yamamoto (#22)
20) Michael Rasmussen (#9)
21) Alexandre Texier (#45)
22) Casey Mittelstadt (#8)
23) Lias Anderson (#13)
24) Ukko-Pekka Luukonen (#54)
25) Ryan Poehling (#25)
26) Klim Kostin (#31)
27) Emil Bemström (#117)
28) Nic Hague (#34)
29) Aleksi Heponiemi (#29)
30) Jake Oettinger (#26)
31) Kristian Vesalainen (#24)

32) Morgan Frost (#27)
33) Josh Brook (#56)
34) Mario Ferraro (#49)
35) Ivan Checkovich (#212)
36) Cayden Primeau (#199)
37) Sasha Chmelevski (#185)
38) Urho Vaakanainen (#18)
39) Eeli Tolvanen (#30)
40) Jarry Anderson-Dolan (#41)
41) Alexander Volkov (#48)
42) Jesper Boqvist (#36)
43) Conor Timmins (#32)
44) Cal Foote (#14)
45) Jason Robertson (#39)
46) Cale Fleury (#87)
47) Shane Bowers (#28)
48) Ian Mitchell (#57)
49) Josh Norris (#19)
50) Jack Studnicka (#53)
51) Alex Formenton (#47)
52) Mikey Anderson (#103)
53) Morgan Geekie (#67)
54) Max Gildon (#66)
55) Kole Lind (#33)
56) Pierre-Oliver Joseph (#23)
57) Dmitri Samorukov (#84)
58) MacKenzie Entwistle (#69)
59) Adam Ruzicka (#109)
60) Evan Barratt (#90)
61) Markus Phillips (#118)
62) Michael DiPietro (#64)

And don’t think that Burke just wasn’t aware of how talented Jason Robertson was, he had him at #15 on his original 2017 draft board. He had Norris at #35 at the draft and he dropped him here too.

Then Brayden Olefson did a redraft on December 28 2019 at Dobber.

1) Cale Makar (#4)
2) Elias Pettersson (#5)
3) Miro Heiskanen (#3)
4) Martin Necas (#12)
5) Nico Hischier (#1)
6) Filip Chytil (#21)
7) Robert Thomas (#20)
8) Morgan Frost (#27)
9) Juuso Välumäki (#16)
10) Cody Glass (#6)
11) Erik Brännström (#15)
12) Maxime Comptois (#50)
13) Nick Suzuki (#13)
14) Henri Jokiharju (#29)
15) Nolan Patrick (#2)
16) Emil Bemström (#117)
17) Alexandre Texier (#45)
18) Drake Batherson (#121)
19) Cal Foote (#14)
20) Aleksi Heponiemi (#29)
21) Cale Fleury (#87)
22) Ryan Poehling (#25)
23) Lias Anderson (#13)
24) Casey Mittelstadt (#8)
25) Kristian Vesalainen (#24)
26) Conor Timmins (#32)
27) Owen Tippett (#10)
28) Sebastian Aho (D - #139)
29)Jason Robertson (#39)
30) Lucas Elvenes (#127)
31) Klim Kostin (#31)

Well, there you have it. As I mentioned above, I still think Lias Andersson is worthy of a first round pick, although just barely. At the time it seemed like a bit of a stretch by many – Lias was considered a safe pick, but by no means a home run. That’s essentially what the Rangers has on their hands.

On the other hand, here are the players that, in my opinion, no longer justify their first-round selection:
Michael Rasmussen
Timothy Liljegren
Jake Oettinger
Shane Bowers
Eeli Tolvanen

Not sure why these players get a negative shout out without all the other 1st rounders not on the list (Vilardi, Yamamoto, etc).


Here’s something different, a very early 2017 redraft from March 22, 2018. Hockey News had their Scouting Panel for 2018 Future Watch do a re-draft list for 2017 as well. The panel is “the blended opinions of 11 scouts, directors of player personnel and GMs”.

1. Nico Hischier, C (taken 1st by New Jersey)
2. Nolan Patrick, C (taken 2nd by Philadelphia)
3. Casey Mittelstadt, C (taken 8th by Buffalo)
4. Elias Pettersson, C (taken 5th by Vancouver)
5. Miro Heiskanen, D (taken 3rd by Dallas)
6. Cale Makar, D (taken 4th by Colorado)
7. Martin Necas, C (taken 12th by Carolina)
8. Eeli Tolvanen, RW (taken 30th by Nashville)
9. Robert Thomas, C (taken 20th by St. Louis)
10. Cody Glass, C (taken 6th by Vegas)
11. Lias Andersson, D (taken 7th by NY Rangers)
12. Filip Chytil, C (taken 21st by NY Rangers)
13. Juuso Valimaki, D (taken 16th by Calgary)
14. Gabe Vilardi, C (taken 11th by Los Angeles)
15. Owen Tippett, RW (taken 10th by Florida)
16. Erik Brannstrom, D (taken 15th by Vegas)
17. Nick Suzuki, C (taken 13th by Vegas)
18. Conor Timmins, D (taken 32nd by Colorado)
19. Michael Rasmussen, C (taken 9th by Detroit)
20. Timothy Liljegren, D (taken 17th by Toronto)
21. Kailer Yamamoto, RW (taken 22nd by Edmonton)
22. Ryan Poehling, C (taken 25th by Montreal)
23. Morgan Frost, C (taken 27th by Philadelphia)
24. Klim Kostin, RW (taken 31st by St. Louis)
25. Urho Vaakanainen, D (taken 18th by Boston)
26. Drake Batherson, C (taken 121st by Ottawa)
27. Kristian Vesalainen, LW (taken 24th by Winnipeg)
28. Josh Norris, C (taken 19th by San Jose)
29. Cal Foote, D (taken 14th by Tampa Bay)
30. Henri Jokiharju, D (taken 29th by Chicago)
31. Pierre-Olivier Joseph, D (taken 23rd by Arizona)

32. Dylan Samberg, D (taken 43rd by Winnipeg)
33. Alex Formenton, LW (taken 47th by Ottawa)
34. Aleksi Heponiemi, C (taken 40th by Florida)
35. Jonathan Davidsson, RW (taken 170th by Columbus)
36. Ian Mitchell, D (taken 57th by Chicago)
37. Jaret Anderson-Dolan, C (taken 41st by Los Angeles)
38. Nicolas Hague, D (taken 34th by Vegas)
39. Marcus Davidsson, C (taken 37th by Buffalo)
40. Alexandre Texier, C (taken 45th by Columbus)

And finally, Scott Wheeler has a later redraft from June 9th 2000:

1) Elias Pettersson (#5)
2) Cale Makar (#4)
3) Miro Heiskanen (#3)
4) Nico Hischier (#1)
5) Nick Suzuki (#13)
6) Martin Necas (#12)
7) Robert Thomas (#20)
8) Gabriel Vilardi (#11) [Wheeler admits he’s probably too high on Vilardi lol but he had all sorts of injury troubles.]
9) Cody Glass (#6)
10) Nolan Patrick (#2)
11) Drake Batherson (#121)
12) Erik Brännström (#15)
13) Kailer Yamamoto (#22)
14) Filip Chytil (#21)
15) Nic Hague (#34)
16)Juuso Välumäki (#16)
17) Owen Tippett (#10)
18) Emil Bemström (#117)
19) Alexandre Texier (#45)
20) Morgan Frost (#27)
21) Josh Norris (#19)
22) Henri Jokiharju (#29)
23) Casey Mittelstadt (#8)
24) Conor Timmins (#32)
25) Timothy Liljegren (#17)
26) Jason Robertson (#39)
27) Lucas Elvenes (#127)
28) Jack Dugan (#142)
29) Maxime Comptois (#50)
30) Michael Rasmussen (#9)
31) David Farrance (#92)

And his typical Honorable Mentions throw ins at the end.

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