Словак хамгаалагч Шимон Немец карьераа сэргээх зорилгоор Калгари Флэймс рүү шилжиж, таван жилийн хугацаатай шинэ гэрээ байгууллаа.
Нью-Жерси Дэвилсээс Калгари Флэймс рүү солилцоогоор ирсэн 22 настай хамгаалагч Шимон Немец ирэх улиралд илүү өндөр түвшинд тоглохын тулд бэлтгэлийн арга барилаа өөрчилжээ. Тэрээр домогт хамгаалагч Здено Харагийн адил дугуйн спортыг бэлтгэлдээ түлхүү ашиглаж, аэробик чадвараа сайжруулахад анхаарч байна. Немец өөрийн төрөлх Словакийн уулархаг бүс нутагт дугуйгаар хичээллэх нь тэсвэр тэвчээрийг нь нэмэгдүүлж, тоглолтын төгсгөлийн мөчүүдэд илүү эрч хүчтэй байхад тусална хэмээн найдаж буйгаа илэрхийлжээ.
Өнгөрсөн улиралд Нью-Жерси Дэвилсийн бүрэлдэхүүнд 68 тоглолтод оролцохдоо 11 гоол, 26 оноо авсан Немец тоглолтын цаг нь хангалтгүй байгаад сэтгэл дундуур байсан юм. Тиймээс зургаадугаар сарын 23-нд болсон солилцоогоор Калгари Флэймс рүү ирсэн нь түүний хувьд шинэ боломж болж байна. Шинэ багийн удирдлагатай хийсэн ярианы дараа тэрээр 36.25 сая долларын үнэ бүхий таван жилийн гэрээг баталгаажуулжээ.
Калгари Флэймс сүүлийн дөрвөн улирал дараалан плэй-оффт шалгарч чадаагүй тул шинэчлэлтийн үе шатыг туулж байна. Немец өөрийн дотны найзууд болох Самуэль Хонзек, Мартин Поспишил нарын хамтаар тоглохдоо багийнхаа тооны давуу болон цөөнхийн үеийн тоглолтод илүү их үүрэг хүлээх хүлээлттэй байна. Тэрээр хувийн амжилтаасаа илүүтэйгээр хамгаалалтын ур чадвараа сайжруулж, тогтвортой тоглолтыг үзүүлэхэд анхаарлаа хандуулахаар төлөвлөжээ.
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MUNICH — After landing with the Calgary Flames in a trade he welcomed and signing a life-changing new contract, Šimon Nemec had just one problem when it came to his newfound opportunity.
How could he best ensure he was ready to seize it?
Surveying his options, the 22-year-old Slovak defenseman figured he could do worse than borrowing from the toolbox of one of his country’s most legendary athletes, even if it meant getting slightly outside his comfort zone.
“I started cycling more — road cycling,” Nemec told The Athletic during the NHL’s European Player Media Tour. “I know Zdeno Chára did it before, and it helped him to play bigger minutes. Just build an aerobic system and everything, so we used the bike a lot more than the years before.”
Much easier said than done.
Nemec comes from the town of Liptovský Mikuláš in northern Slovakia, which is cradled by the Tatra Mountains. There aren’t many flat roads to be found. That meant putting in lung-burning rides on steep inclines, which Nemec hopes will leave him with a little more push late in games at the Scotiabank Saddledome this season.
“I have to go with my heart rate,” Nemec explained of those workouts. “Just stay in Zone 2 for (90 minutes), two hours, then I’m starting to get bored. Our sport is different. It’s like 30, 40 seconds (shifts) and then you go change. And now you have to sit on the bike for like two-plus hours.
“I’m still not there. Maybe next year.”
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That challenge aside, the No. 2 pick from the 2022 NHL Draft recognized the need to push beyond his comfort zone.
Playing on a New Jersey Devils blue line that also featured Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes last season, Nemec grew frustrated with his stagnating minutes. He actually saw slightly less average power-play usage (1:13) and overall playing time (19:40) than he did as a rookie in 2023-24 despite putting up a career-best 11 goals and 26 points in 68 games.
Nemec didn’t hide his willingness to move on after the Devils made a general manager change in mid-April, with Sunny Mehta coming in to replace Tom Fitzgerald, and that produced two months of rumors before he was dealt to Calgary on June 23, along with Maxim Tsyplakov for two first-round draft picks, a second-rounder and Étienne Morin.
Nemec had heard whispers about many destinations, but not Calgary.
“It was crazy,” he said. “I expected something. I won’t say I was pushing for a trade, but I was (saying), ‘If we can figure it out, this situation, better for me and probably for the team too (that would be best).’ Then the GM change and everything, I would say that we had great conversations with Sunny and, yeah, he decided to go another way and I’m totally fine with that.
“It’s kind of a little bit what I wanted. To just get a new opportunity somewhere. I would say Calgary, it’s going to be a perfect fit for me.”
Nemec is drawn to the idea of growing up inside a rebuilding Flames program. Calgary has missed the playoffs for four straight seasons and isn’t expected to challenge for a postseason return until after moving into its new rink in 2027-28.
Nemec is friends with Samuel Honzek and Martin Pospíšil, fellow Slovaks already part of the organization, and has been told there will be opportunities for him to play on the power play and penalty kill. It’s not inconceivable that the smooth-skating right shot will be deployed on the team’s top pairing.
He plans to judge the success of his first season with the Flames on how well he handles the increased playing time and how well he fares on both sides of the puck.
“I don’t really measure that with the points because we know that Calgary’s going to be in the rebuild,” Nemec said. “I just want to play my game and be more consistent and just improve my defensive game more. I think I can do that and they can help me. We’ve already spoken about my good things on the ice and like not really good things. We’ve got the time to work on that.”
As for what he’ll take from his four seasons with the Devils organization, including one spent entirely with the AHL’s Utica Comets, Nemec believes he’s become more resilient.
“It was hard,” he said. “Obviously in New Jersey, our team was up and down. We didn’t really play consistently every season. We were in the playoffs, then we were like one of the worst teams, then we were in the playoffs and again one of the worst teams in the league. It wasn’t easy over there.
“I just got more mentally stronger and then be ready for every day because you never know what’s going to happen in the NHL. There’s never a perfect day with travel and everything, back-to-backs, so you just have to be ready for anything and be ready for that 60-minute game.”
Even though he was open to a fresh start, he wasn’t prepared for Mehta’s call informing him of the trade in Calgary about 20 minutes before it was announced officially. Nemec was in such a state of shock that he remembers little of what was said during that short conversation.
However, less than three weeks later the restricted free agent had already signed a $36.25 million, five-year extension to make Calgary his new home.
The commitment was an easy one for him to make.
“I was in a situation where not every team wanted to step in and say, ‘Yeah, let’s trade for him,’” Nemec said. “So I was really grateful to Calgary for doing that. I think they gave up a lot, you can say, and I’d heard so many great things about Calgary. I’ve got my friends there. So, I think it wasn’t a hard decision. We went pretty quick.”
