I think there’s a pretty good chance Nemec gets more than 9 games in before Severson could get traded anyways just because of injuries. Once one of Hamilton, Severson or Marino gets injured Nemec should be the guy coming in IMO.
Walsh will likely be given a chance to be that guy initially. It’s up to him to make something of it though.
That isn't exactly a smart decision. There is no need to rush him. Give him the year to develop.
I disagree. I don’t think Walsh is very highly rated and he’s not a good fit.
He’s more ready than Holtz was and I’m not a fan of the assumption that it is always best to be super patient. If there’s an opportunity for him and he shows well and that he can handle it I have a hard time seeing an issue with it.
Maybe. I’m skeptical they will burn an ELC year for Nemec if they don’t have to. We will see what Walsh looks like after the AHL season starts. He looked like he had that league figured out even if he’s looked meh in camp so far at the NHL level. I’m also thinking that absent long term injury on RD you are looking at some press box sitting which I’d be surprised if they want that for Nemec. Just my thoughts.
I don’t see much there in Walsh anymore but he certainly has a shot with a good camp. They also won’t bring Nemec up for the press box. But there is a good chance at least one of the RD is out for an extended period of time and I think Nemec is the most likely fill in.
If the plan is for Nemec to play up here next year (or at least have a good shot at it), it would probably be a good idea to at least give him a cup of coffee if one of our RHD goes down.
What does it matter if Nemec gets into 9, 5, or 20 before the TDL. 9 games only applies to guys being able to be sent back to Jrs. If we are talking burning off the ELC year so be it, it's going to be a contract/cap squeeze most years ahead for the Devils anyways. IMO if the season is going very well, they will replace guys with the best available to keep it it that way.
Why do we need to play him when he is more than likely our 4th best RD? He is not going to be a difference maker so why take a risk in rushing him and hurting his development.
Remember Mercer last year? Heading into camp the talk was to send him down to AHL no matter what, but many of us said let's see how he handles camp and preseason games and go from there, and sure enough he handled it all with a cool hand and stayed with big club and was a positive factor all season.
Mercer was a different scenario because we had no 3rd line center. Right now our RD is stacked so there's no rush with Nemec.
I would hate to see Walsh on the Devils ahead of Brendan Smith or Bahl and Okhotiuk, even though both are lefthanded.
Mercer was a year older with four years experience in the Q and impressive play for Canada at the WJC.
The Q is not a tougher league to play in than the Slovak league.
Nemec has been playing in a pro league for past three seasons, I think that's tougher then Mercer playing in the Q.
Who said anything about rushing Nemec? If he's ready, it's not rushing him, if he's not ready, then you're rushing him, but no one is making the argument to keep him if he's not ready.
You missed the entire point of my post. The point was is that we had a hole at 3c & Mercer was good enough to snatch that role which is the difference. Nemec is in a whole different situation because we literally don't have a roster spot for him until the trade deadline at the earliest. What are we going to do, sit one of Hamilton, Severson, or Marino for Nemec? We going to let Nemec ride the bench? Both of those scenarios make 0 sense & would be terrible roster management. I used the word rush because right now it makes 0 sense to have him make the team. Even if he has a good camp, the correct move would be put him in the AHL to gain some extra seasoning & let him develop until the trade deadline when we trade Severson. By next year he's 100% on the team. It just makes 0 sense for him to make the team right now until Severson is gone.
No, I got your point the first time, but you're acting like I'm advocating him sticking when all I'm saying let him compete for a spot instead of deciding what his fate is beforehand.
