Recording his first two career points, he also was on the ice for 22:38, leading all defensemen on that night. Nemec, however, looked good (some might even say great) in his NHL debut. Well, let me rephrase that the team as a whole and the 6-3 loss were classifiable as a disaster. Nemec indeed received his call-up and was placed into the lineup to make his NHL debut on December 1st against the San Jose Sharks. No Hamilton and a suspended Brendan Smith meant that instead of being able to go 11 forwards and seven defensemen, the Devils were now a blue liner short.
The time for Simon Nemec to be brought up to the NHL was at hand! And while it seemed as though the plan at the start of the season was to keep Nemec in Utica for one more year of development, fate had other ideas. As soon as it was announced that New Jersey Devils defender Dougie Hamilton was injured and required surgery, speculation among the fan base began.
