Why Devils waited to send down Simon Nemec to AHL, what’s next for his development

The Devils’ current trajectory and Simon Nemec’s development path were not going to intersect early this season.
The franchise and fans hoped Nemec, their former top prospect and No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft, would take the next step and become one of the Devils’ top defensemen. When it was clear that wouldn’t be the case right away, they benched Nemec for more than two weeks before demoting him to the American Hockey League before Thursday’s win that improved their record to 9-5-2.