New Jersey Devils Learning From Past Player Development Mistakes

As Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella said when asked why Matvei Michkov was being scratched, “It’s just part of the process. With young guys, they can watch games, too, as far as development. It’s trying to help him.”

And a game here and there definitely helps. But for Simon Nemec and the Devils, six or seven games of not playing stunted his development as a player. There is a reason why the Devils took him 2nd overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. They saw potential for him to be a top-four defenseman in the NHL. Again some defensemen take longer than others to develop. They also need to develop the right way.

The New Jersey Devils did right by Nemec, sending him to the AHL. New Jersey learned lessons from the past with players like Adam Larsson and Alexander Holtz. There were definitely others in between as well. Everyone knows the history with Larsson and former head coach and current Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer. Larsson was being benched for mistakes. Young players under DeBoer were afraid to make mistakes for fear of being benched or scratched.

This was not the case with Simon Nemec and Sheldon Keefe. However, that was the case for Holtz with Lindy Ruff, now the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres and Travis Green, now the head coach of the Ottawa Senators. Not to mention the New Jersey Devils were turning Holtz into a player he was not. The Devils drafted him as a scoring winger, like Lucas Raymond in Detroit, but not a defensive third-line hockey player.

Say what you will about practicing alongside NHL players; there is only so much a player can learn in practice. A player can learn only so much by watching videos and in the press box. Last year, Holtz needed to learn how to play and learn from his mistakes, not be punished for them. NHL coaches have a tendency to punish young players, not superstars.

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And last season, a few players were making a lot more mistakes than Holtz was and did not see their ice time cut. But Holtz is in Vegas now as part of the Paul Cotter trade on Day 2 of the NHL Draft. Holtz probably should have been in the AHL building confidence as a player, scoring and learning the game there instead of on the third and fourth line with the Devils. Though he was productive with his 16 goals averaging 11 minutes of ice time.

With Simon Nemec, it was about timing and opportunity. He got hurt in the Olympic Qualification against Hungry playing for Slovakia. He had a left shoulder injury, and while there was no official update on his condition and he was ready for training camp, clearly, he was still feeling the effects of the injury.

Not to mention other players had just passed him by in the lineup. Namely Jonathan Kovacevic. With Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes out of the lineup, Kovacevic stepped and slotted into the top four with Jonas Siegenthaler. Nemec played alongside Seamus Casey, who earned a spot as well. However, once Pesce and Luke Hughes returned from their injuries, Nemec was the player watching.

Keefe could not justify taking out Kovacevic, who has been Mr. Consistent for the New Jersey Devils this season. He must be the young defenseman with the upside the team saw last season.

While Nemec was improving, there were signs he needed more seasoning. While everyone was looking at points, his play with the puck and in his own zone were not as good as they were last year. And last season Nemec played 60 games because of the injury to Dougie Hamilton. Though he picked up 19 points (three goals and 16 assists), he made rookie mistakes. Those mistakes carried into this season. He has just one assist in nine games.

Nemec should have stayed the entire year last season in the AHL. Now he will get more seasoning going to Utica. Again, there was a similar pattern when Adam Larsson went down this route after being selected fourth overall in 2011. He was with the big club, but he was not.

The issue is that the New Jersey Devils President and General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald, built this team to win this season. New Jersey did not have the time or patience to let Simon Nemec figure it out with the big club. Going to the AHL was what was best for him and the organization moving forward.