Sheldon Keefe Sends Blunt Message to Devils Demoted Defenseman

NEWARK — The New Jersey Devils made the right decision to reassign Simon Nemec to the American Hockey League (AHL) on Thursday. The sophomore defenseman played nine game so far this season, and showed inconsistencies that were expected to be improved upon from his rookie season. The problem? He actually looked better in his first season as opposed to the small sample he displayed in the 2024-25 season. As a result, the Devils head coach was clear with why he’s now playing in the AHL.

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According to Keefe, the decision to reassign Nemec to the Utica Comets was made before they left for their three-game road trip to western Canada. However, there were justified reasons to bring Nemec on the road trip.

“Obviously we’ve got six defensemen we like right now, that are playing every day, and they’ve remained healthy,” Keefe explained to New Jersey Hockey Now. “The decision for Nemec to go down was made before we went on the road trip, quite honestly. This decision was made to, you know, because we’re going so far away, we wanted to keep him and that close, in case we needed him. You don’t know what you’re going to what you’re going to encounter on a trip like that, and such distance and time change and all that’s hard to bring somebody on the fly.”

The truth of the matter is that Nemec was expected to come into training camp an improved player, even with the impressive performance he put on as a rookie. What the Devils received last season was a player who was replacement level for then injured Dougie Hamilton.

What they got through the first nine games was a player who lacked that ability.

As a result, Johnathan Kovacevic, who rose with the expectations of the organization, stole the roster spot from the former second overall selection. The Hamilton, Canada native has now become a staple in the Devils’ top-four on the blue line and is one half of the better duos alongside Jonas Siegenthaler.

Now that he’s down at the AHL level, Keefe explained there’s still much for the 20-year-old to learn.

“I also think there are some things for him to learn and be a part of, while taking a step backwards and being without our group,” Keefe said. “So that’s the first thing. But, he needs to get down and get playing. And you know, that’s the biggest thing. You know, our defense is a lot better and deeper this year than it was last season.”

So down Nemec goes to the AHL where he’ll most certainly play top-pair minutes next to Seamus Casey. The Comets are going through their own transitional period after they relieved former head coach Kevin Dineen and replaced him with interim head coach Ryan Parent. He’ll be the best player of the bunch and should help Utica finally capture their first win.

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And although Keefe and general manager Tom Fitzgerald made the decision to demote Nemec for the benefit of his development, Keefe shared a blunt message about why the reassignment happened.

“Quite honestly, the standard, the expectations for every player and for our entire team is a lot higher,” Keefe concluded. “So all of that happening around us right now allows someone like Nemec to go down and really work at his game and play a lot. Just like Seamus Casey, just go down and worry about their game and not have to worry about sort of adapting and adjusting to the NHL, but just work on their own development. So it buys us some time with the fact that, we’ve got a good group going right now and continue to work with him, and he’ll be ready for when we need him.”

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