New Jersey Devils
SOURCE: Devils Reaffirm Simon Nemec Future, For Now
A source reaffirms to New Jersey Hockey Now Simon Nemec’s future with the New Jersey Devils, despite a mildly concerning comment by Nemec.

New Jersey Devils top prospect, Simon Nemec, is making noise in the American Hockey League. However, some comments which surfaced on Wednesday from the prospect defenseman came across as mildly concerning when Nemec addressed his Devils future. New Jersey Hockey Now reached out for comment regarding the remark from the 20-year-old defenseman.
MORE: Devils GM Gets Real With Defenseman Simon Nemec
In an interview with Tomáš Prokop of Dennik Sports, a sports news outlet based in Slovakia, Nemec was asked about his future with the Devils.
“It’s hard to say, it’s still too early to request a trade,” Nemec said to Prokop. “If this situation continues, it will have to be addressed, but for now, this is how it stands.”
It’s a mild eyebrow raiser, but sometimes, these things can get lost in translation. So, New Jersey Hockey Now reached out to a Devils source for comment on the situation.
When asked if the organization is aware of any frustration from Simon Nemec, an internal source said, “No. [We’re] not aware of any frustrations. Disappointment for not being in NHL, yes.”
Nemec did explain to Prokop that he’s now on the other side of the toughest stretch of hockey in his career. Nemec’s season got off to a bit of a rocky start. Just before training camp in the fall, the Devils prospect defenseman suffered an upper-body injury playing for Team Slovakia at the 2026 Olympic qualifiers.
He didn’t miss any time in training camp, and made the Devils’ roster skating in their first nine games of the 2024-25 season. However, he didn’t look as strong as he did in his rookie campaign, when he scored three goals and 19 points in 60 games. As a result, he was reassigned to the Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Utica Comets.
Despite the woes Nemec went through earlier this season, his confidence has never wavered. Nemec reiterated, as he has before, to Prokop that he believes he’s NHL-ready.
“I believe I’ve proven multiple times that I belong in the NHL,” Nemec continued. “I just have to wait for another chance and grab it when it comes.”
Asked the source if communication with Nemec has been frequent, transparent, and if both sides are on the same page, it was explained that is, in fact, the case.
“Absolutely. [Nemec] knows the things he needs to work on. That’s part of every young players’ development,” the source explained to NJHN.
The Devils drafted Nemec second overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. The expectation is that Nemec will play a primary role in the Devils’ future as a staple on their blueline.
Currently, the Devils’ defensive corps is robust with talent. Johnathan Kovacevic‘s emergence in New Jersey has certainly played a factor in all of this. Especially given the fact that general manager Tom Fitzgerald confirmed he plans to begin contract talks with Kovacevic—among other key pending free agents—soon.
“Yes, contracts up. We all knew this. I’ll probably start having conversations with his agent after the new year, after the holidays, just to see where they’re at,” Fitzgerald said to NJHN in December. “But the at the end of the day, you said it, we’ve got replacements, but he’s played really well. He’s fitting great with us. I believe he really enjoys it here, so we’ll see.”
Nemec has recently come on strong for the Comets in the AHL. On Wednesday, Nemec registered five points (2g, 3a) in a Utica 7-3 victory over the Hartford Wolfpack. In his last 10 games, the Devils prospect defenseman’s collected 12 points (5g, 7a), and is up to 16 points in 23 AHL games this season.
It seems like Nemec has his swagger back.
What that means for his future? There’s no pen to paper yet between the Devils and Kovacevic. We’ll see what happens if/when that does come to fruition. Regardless, it doesn’t sound like the Devils are eager to move on from the player any time soon.
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