Achieving vs. Sustaining the NHL Dream: Devils’ Nick DeSimone Weighs In

The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft is mere days away.

It is an exciting time as young hopefuls look to achieve their dreams and hear their name called after being selected to one of the league's 32 teams.

With so many young hockey players beginning their own unique journey, the question arises: Is it more difficult to achieve the NHL dream or to sustain it?

Kristy Flannery of The Hockey News posed that exact question to three current New Jersey Devils players and former captain Andy Greene . This week, we will run a daily series focusing on one player who will give his perspective and thoughts on sustainability in the league.

Next up is Nick DeSimone .

It took the 29-year-old only a few seconds to say the word sustain.

"Making it not that it is easy, (but it) is one thing; being able to be in it every day is next level hard," he said.

Throughout his professional hockey career, DeSimone has appeared in 38 NHL games and 341 American Hockey League (AHL) games.

Notably, 34 of those 38 NHL games were played during the 2023-24 season. He remained in New Jersey after being claimed off waivers from the Calgary Flames on Jan. 25, 2024.

During his end-of-season media availability, he told The Hockey News that the most challenging part of being a player is increasing the number of games they are in the lineup.

"It is a really good league, and there is always somebody trying to take your job," he said. "Being able to stay in the NHL for a long time, like (Brendan) Smith or (Ondrej Palat) it is really impressive."

Devils' forward Nathan Bastian agreed with DeSimone, acknowledging how difficult it is to sustain the NHL dream.

"There are a lot of kids who get to come up and play a game, two or three, but being on the team at (training) camp and being there all year and constantly doing that is hard. It is really hard," he said in an exclusive interview.

While certain players like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier , and Dougie Hamilton enter training camp with a roster spot secured, there are always depth players like DeSimone and Bastian who need to prove themselves and fight for their spot season after season.

To wrap up our mini-series, we will hear from former Devils captain Andy Greene .

Related: Devils’ Nick DeSimone Opens Up About the Reality of Being Waived

Related: Ahead of 200th NHL Game Devils’ Nathan Bastian Talks ‘I Made It Moment’ & Sustaining the Dream