After last season’s abbreviated tryout, Greg Nemisz is officially getting a chance to prove he can stick with the Hurricanes organization.
Carolina agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the 24-year-old forward who scored 11 points (3g, 8a) in just 14 games with the Checkers following a midseason trade from Calgary. The Hurricanes had previously presented Nemisz with a qualifying offer, ensuring they would retain his rights as a restricted free agent.
Calgary’s first-round draft pick (25th overall) in 2008, Nemisz had fallen out of favor with the Flames organization due to injuries and other factors, resulting in a reduced role with the AHL’s Abbotsford Heat. After arriving in Charlotte in a trade that sent Canes enforcer Kevin Westgarth to Calgary, Nemisz scored points in each of his first six games (3g, 5a) as a Checker.
A big (6-foot-3, 197 pounds) body capable of playing all three forward positions, Nemisz needed only eight games to equal his offensive output from 32 contests in Abbotsford (nine points). However, hernia surgery and other concerns limited him to just 14 of a possible 43 games played following the trade.
Nemisz is the first member of the Checkers’ restricted free agent class to re-sign with Carolina. Players from that group still awaiting new contracts are fellow forwards Zach Boychuk, Justin Shugg and Jared Staal and defensemen Michal Jordan and Rasmus Rissanen.