Since general manager Bill Armstrong was hired, he and his scouting department have prioritized drafting and building the team through free agency. We’ve seen rebuilds with the Arizona Coyotes franchise, and most, as we know, have failed, and it all started at the draft. From Kyle Turris to Dylan Strome, countless GMs have come through this organization to fix it but ultimately failed.
Related: Utah HC: No Better Player to Be Named Captain Than Keller
Armstrong and company seem to have solved the puzzle with the Coyotes and now the Utah Hockey Club, building a young core with Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan, and so on. They’ve also made massive trades, such as this summer when they acquired two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev.
With the regular season quickly approaching, this is the first of many prospect reports this season as Utah’s prospect pool continues to grow.
Simashev Kicking Off Sophmore Season in KHL
During the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville, the Coyotes had a Russian waiting for them at sixth overall. However, they chose the one that not a single person had predicted; instead of winger Matvei Michkov, they took defenseman Dmitri Simashev. At the time of the pick, it didn’t make a lot of sense given the depth of the draft at forward, but now, looking back on it, it could be the steal of the draft.
Last season, Simashev only notched ten points in 63 games in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), but as a defensive defenseman, this was expected. This season, however, a step forward in his offensive abilities would make him a much more versatile defenseman. The 19-year-old is currently injured but has one point in seven games, and hopefully, upon his return, he can find that offensive engine in his game that would unlock his two-way play.
While the Sergachev trade certainly changed the team’s dynamic for the defense, Simashev no longer has the pressure of becoming the number one defenseman. That was the mindset of many fans when he was initially drafted, but he has room to grow into a top-four role, and with plenty of resources in Utah, there is lots of faith being put on Simashev’s shoulders.
Iginla Primed for Massive Season in WHL
Similar to the Simashev situation, the 2024 NHL Draft housed plenty of defensemen available to take, and it…
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