Where the Devils' Olympians stand heading into final day of round robin

The New Jersey Devils have 7 Olympians. Some have completed group play, and others have one more game to go before moving into the qualifying round. Each group winner and one second-place team will earn byes into the quarterfinals.

Simon Nemec - Slovakia 

Slovakia is the winner of Group B. They are the only group winner confirmed to enter the final day of the round-robin, as that group has completed this stage. Simon Nemec has played a key role in their success as the top defenseman on the team.

Nemec has recorded a couple of assists by setting up pucks for fellow Slovakian shooters, including Juraj Slafkovsky, with whom he formed the first Slovakian top-pick duo in the 2022 NHL Draft. 

Slovakia was about to fall out of first place in Group B, but a goal by Dalibor Dvorsky with under a minute remaining set them back up for a group win due to goal differential tiebreakers. Finland secured it for them with their 11-0 win over Italy. 

Nemec will play a role in whether they can reach the medal rounds. He isn’t just a depth piece at this point. He is one of their most important players, and because of him, they are a new dark horse candidate to medal. 

Jesper Bratt, Jacob Markström - Sweden

Jacob Markström was the one who allowed the goal with under one minute remaining that cost Sweden first place in Group B. He didn’t play poorly in their 5-3 win; that last goal just made their path to the medal rounds more complicated. 

It was strange to see Jesper Bratt get benched in this match against Slovakia. He dressed, but played 0 minutes in the hockey game. It’s a strange decision, considering that Bratt is one of Sweden’s best offensive players and played a big role for them at the 4-Nations Face-Off last year. 

Sweden is the third-place team in the group, and their next opponent will be determined by how things shake out on Sunday. 

Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Jonas Siegenthaler - Switzerland

Team Switzerland was outstanding in their first game of the tournament against France. They shut them out 4-0. Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils scored two of those four goals, while Nico Hischier did his thing in all three zones. As for Jonas Siegenthaler, his role on the team is similar to his role on the Devils: to defend. 

In their second game, they took on the powerhouse of Canada. Although the Swiss played as well as they possibly could against them, Canada won big by a final score of 5-1. They lost star Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings in the process. 

If you were to ask someone who the dark horse of this tournament was coming into it, they would have likely said either Switzerland or Czechia. Well, those two teams are going to face off on Sunday for the opportunity to be the second-place team in their group. 

Jack Hughes - United States

Jack Hughes has been one of Team USA’s best players. When he’s healthy and motivated, he’s one of the top forwards in the world. There is no arguing it. After being the best player on the sheet in their first game, a 5-1 win over Latvia, he followed it up with another brilliant performance against Denmark. 

Team USA was given a reality check against Denmark, but they prevailed in the end with a 6-3 victory. Jack scored his first goal of the tournament in the win, which is an important goal for Team USA as they try to keep pace with Canada. Whichever of them has the better goal differential will likely be the number one seed. 

At this point, Team USA is Gold or bust. They need Jack to keep this up if they want to compete with Canada’s depth, though. He is as important to this team as Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, either Tkachuk, or his brother Quinn.

The Swiss Devils’ game will take place on Sunday at 6 AM ET. Jack Hughes and Team USA will close their group play later on at 3 PM ET.