It’s certainly early for a prediction like this, but could a Simon Nemec/Anton Silayev pairing be brewing for the New Jersey Devils?
The New Jersey Devils are a team currently trying to build themselves into being consistent contenders for the Stanley Cup. While the 2022-23 season saw the team on the rise, 2023-24 was a step (or three) backwards. The organization took notice and made some changes, both on the player personnel side as well as the coaching side. As the team continues to grow, they’re going to need to find lines and pairs that mesh well together and can hopefully find some combinations that stick together for a while. Hey, it worked in the days of Stevens, Niedermayer and Daneyko.
Which brings me to today’s discussion and all too early prediction of sorts.
Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec seem set to be major components of the Devils’ future for quite some time. Both have already shown NHL level talent with only their rookie seasons under their belts. While Luke fills the role of an offensive minded defender, Nemec seems more in the role of a two way defenseman. Now while that might seem like enough difference in their roles to eventually place them both on the top pairing, I’m here today to argue against that idea and for a different pairing if everything goes right.
Putting Luke and Nemec together would, in my opinion, be a waste of Nemec’s offensive capabilities. Maybe he’s not going to ring up a ton of goals, but the vision and passing he demonstrated last season are valuable. If both of these guys are on the same pair, they can’t both be jumping up in the play at the same time. So while they might play together at times as situations call for, I don’t think the long term future sees these two together.
Enter the 2024 NHL Draft.
With their 10th overall selection less than a couple of months ago, the Devils saw the top ranked European skater, Anton Silayev, fall down the board a bit for them to snatch up. His game absolutely has some rough edges right now, which is part of the reason why he will continue to develop in his home nation of Russia this season. There are some attributes, however, that are hard to ignore. The immediate one would be size: Silayev stands 6’7″ and weighs 207 pounds, so for everyone who wanted the Devils to add more size, they did at the draft. That size just isn’t going to be available quite yet.
The more important factor here is the type of game he plays. Silayev’s game is based more on defense than on offense, which to me is part of why he made sense for the Devils. In terms of defense prospects and young defenders, the team has quite a bit more talent known for offense. A big, imposing player who can use their size and skill to shut down opponents was a a Devils need and still could be in the future if Silayev doesn’t pan out. Again, I think there were concerns this could be the case, hence part of the reason Silayev fell on draft night a bit; the other part being some teams ahead of the Devils needing forwards, but I digress here.
After the pick was made, the more I thought about it, the more a Nemec/Silayev pairing made sense. If Silayev’s development does pan out, it will give the Devils a left handed and right handed player on the same pair who can both play effective defense. It would also allow Nemec to jump up and use his offense when needed while having a player back to cover if needed. Nemec isn’t the biggest player, but his smarts (which were already apparent even in just his rookie season) on the pair with a guy who can just eat up space with his reach could make for a very effective pairing that wouldn’t even have to be termed a “shutdown” pair.
Now it’s obviously a little early to think about this with Silayev being at least a season or two away from even signing his entry level deal, let alone playing NHL minutes. However, I think Silayev made sense for the Devils given the types of defensemen they already have in the organization. If you also take into consideration his, Luke’s and Nemec’s handedness, Nemec/Silayev makes the most sense as an eventual pairing. For anyone thinking that earlier I was comparing them to Stevens/Niedermayer/Daneyko, I want to be clear that I’m not. Rather, during that time, the Devils were known for defense, and those three played the roles they were known for well. It’s a different era, and the skill sets are different for sure. But for a team renowned for defense, it would certainly be nice (and not surprising at all) for a trio to emerge and reclaim that identity. Nemec/Silayev together, if both develop correctly, could be a huge step in that direction.
What are your thoughts on a potential Nemec/Silayev pairing? Do you think Silayev will find up being a core piece, or will he not live up to his pre-draft assessment? Is there a different defender in the organization currently that you think might be a better fit? Leave any and all thoughts and comments below and thanks as always for reading!