Not participating in the World Under-18 Championship might have caused some scouts and journalists to forget about a stalwart defender from Slovakia. However, Šimon Nemec had a good excuse: he was busy elsewhere playing with his team, Nitra, in the Slovak league final. He performed well in the national playoffs, and had 10 points (4G, 6A) in 13 games.
Nemec himself said after the regular season that he was quite satisfied with his performances. It may be unusual for him to have only one goal and 25 assists, but many of the shots ended up in the goal after being deflected, giving him a lot more assists than expected.