UPDATED: Devils Simon Nemec Injured in Olympics Qualifier Game

THIS IS A DEVELOPING SITUATION

Well, this is certainly not the way the New Jersey Devils wanted to start 2024-25. While participating in a qualifying match for Team Slovakia, Devils defenseman Simon Nemec suffered an injury.

The extent of the injury is currently unknown, however, it is being labeled as an upper-body injury. The injury appeared to be his shoulder, or perhaps his collarbone, that was bothering him.

UPDATE: Slovak doctors say nothing is broken or dislocated for Nemec. More tests will be run on Saturday to determine if he’ll play on Sunday game against Kazakhstan — which the Devils will need to grant Nemec permission to play.

While battling for puck possession with a Team Hungary skater, Nemec became tied up with the opposition and awkwardly slammed into the end boards behind Slovakia’s net.

Nemec was determined unable to return by Slovakia for the remainder of the game.

The Devils defenseman remained hunched over on the ice in some pain. However, the 20-year-old defenseman was okay enough to stand up on his skates under his own accord and skate off the ice on his own.

Nemec did remain on the Slovakia bench and spoke with team trainers for a short time, but ultimately went down the tunnel to the Slovakia locker room for further evaluation.

Here’s a look at the play when Nemec became injured.

Here’s the Nemec injury.

EDIT: Now he’s gone down the tunnel with 7:33 left in the second.#NJDevils https://t.co/JZHnsZ4JtU pic.twitter.com/3SUK4eVYgf

— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) August 30, 2024

The Devils suffered far too many injuries to sustain last season. It ultimately contributed to their regression from a stellar 2022-23 season, and they ultimately missed the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Nemec replaced an injured Dougie Hamilton — who missed the remainder of the 2023-24 season — and impressed in his first stint of NHL action.

The then 19-year-old skated in 60 games, scoring three goals and 19 points and was a minus-7.

Nemec is projected to start the 2024-25 season on the Devils’ blueline. Most projections see him starting as the Devils’ third-pair right-defenseman alongside newcomer Brenden Dillon.

In addition to Nemec, Devils forward Tomas Tatar is playing for Team Slovakia as well.

The Devils and their fans are certainly hoping this is a situation where the young defenseman can walk away able to participate in training camp.

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