Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils NHL Draft Options At Second Overall

By David Holliday

Juraj Slafkovsky of Slovakia celebrates his goal during the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship match between Kazakhstan and Slovakia at Helsinki Ice Hall on May 20, 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
Juraj Slafkovsky of Slovakia celebrates his goal during the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship match between Kazakhstan and Slovakia at Helsinki Ice Hall on May 20, 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils
Simon Nemec of Slovakia. (Photo by Jari Pestelacci/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images) /

Simon Nemec

Another Slovak player who should be going early in this season’s NHL Draft is a good thing to see as more and more countries in Europe produce top-tier NHL players it can only help the overall talent level moving forward and bring more attention to the game we love.

This player is a defender and a rather offensive one at that. He has the puck-moving skills that teams like to see in the modern NHL. He had positive possession stats in the Slovak League and he had more points per game than Brandt Clarke, who as many Devils fans remember was the defender other than Hughes who could have gone 4th overall at the NHL Draft last season.

He finished the season with one goal and 26 points in 39 games. This is a very solid output. Adding to this, his 6’1 frame really helps, and being just shy of 200 lbs. is another bonus since so many puck movers tend to be small. His vision is high end and his skating is an asset but with physicality lacking he could be a bit of a niche player if he isn’t putting up big points. It is worth noting to that he put up positive possession numbers at his age in the Slovak league, which is at least promising.

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