New Jersey Devils And New York Islanders 2022 First Round NHL Draft
New Jersey Devils
Thursday night was the 2022 NHL draft, the New Jersey Devils had the No.2 pick and drafted Slovakia’s Simon Nemec. He is a right-handed shooting defenseman.
“Right shot D are difficult to get. We got a good one.” Said Devils Chief Scout Mark Dennehy.
Nemec is 18 and is a gifted offensive player. His hockey IQ, skating, vision, and passing are what make him a good offensive threat and great at power plays. Dennehy is excited about what Nemec can bring to the table.
“His vision in all three zones, plus the ability to pass off either forehand or backhand, allows his team to transition from defense to offense,” Dennehy said.
Nemec has a good amount of experience coming into the NHL. Last season he played with Nitra’s pro team of the Slovakian league. He helped Slovakia win bronze at the Olympic Games. He got silver in the Hlinka Tournament and represented his country in the World Championship.
By draft experts, this is a great pick for the Devils as Nemec brings a lot to the table and has a lot of potentials.
New York Islanders

MONTREAL, QC – APRIL 29: Alexander Romanov #27 of the Montreal Canadiens and goaltender Carey Price #31 hug after their 10-2 victory against the Florida Panthers at Centre Bell on April 29, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
The Islanders had the 13th pick in the 2022 NHL Draft but traded away that pick to the Montreal Canadians for Alexander Romanov and the Canadian’s fourth-round pick (98th overall) in 2022.
Romanov was selected in the second round (38th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft. In his rookie year in 2020-21, he recorded six points (one goal and five assists) in 54 regular-season games. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he had one goal in four games.
Prior to the NHL he played two seasons with CSKA Moscow in the KHL and helped his team win the Gagarin Cup in 2019. In international play, he represented Russia in 2019 and 2020 at the World Junior Championships. He also played for them in the 2018 World Under-18 Junior Championships. He was named Best Defenseman at the 2019 WJC leading the tournament in plus-minus (+12) and leading all defensemen in points (one goal, seven assists).
Last season for Montreal he scored 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 79 games.