Devils reassign Simon Nemec to AHL

The New Jersey Devils reassigned defenseman Simon Nemec to the AHL's Utica Comets on Thursday.

The second overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Nemec appeared in 60 games for the Devils last season after making his NHL debut in December, totaling 16 assists and 19 points while averaging almost 20 minutes of ice time.

The 20-year-old was forced into that sizable role as injuries decimated New Jersey's blue line one year ago, but the team now has a bit of a logjam at the position after acquiring Brett Pesce, Brenden Dillon, and Johnathan Kovacevic in the offseason.

Nemec has appeared in nine of the Devils' 15 games this season and registered one assist. He last played Oct. 22 - New Jersey's last contest before the season debuts of Pesce and Luke Hughes - and was a healthy scratch in each of the past six games. When he's been in the lineup, Nemec has been seeing almost four fewer minutes of ice time compared to 2023-24.

New Jersey had an opportunity to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen Monday against the Edmonton Oilers with Nathan Bastian sidelined by an injured jaw, but Kurtis MacDermid drew into the lineup up front instead.

"We talked about 11/7 and trying to get Nemec involved," head coach Sheldon Keefe explained at the time, per team reporter Amanda Stein. "Ultimately, (we) just decided that seven is a little too disruptive to the defense group that for the most part has played quite well for us."

With the core group healthy, the Devils' blue line has largely shaped up like this:

LD RD Brenden Dillon Dougie Hamilton Jonas Siegenthaler Johnathan Kovacevic Luke Hughes Brett Pesce

Nemec gets the chance to reunite with Seamus Casey in the AHL. Casey got into eight games with the Devils earlier this season and formed the third pair with Nemec before being sent down.

New Jersey takes on the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

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