The Utah Mammoth took a gamble when they selected Dmitri Simashev sixth overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
At the time, the decision raised some eyebrows. Despite being a riser in draft rankings, Simashev wasn’t widely projected to go that high.
Utah passed on several highly touted prospects, including Matvei Michkov, who was selected one pick later, seventh overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Three years later, however, Simashev is starting to show why the organization was so high on him.
The 21-year-old defenceman is quietly putting together an impressive offensive stretch. Simashev scored again on Wednesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights, bringing his total to four goals over his last eight games.
He’s now tied with some of the NHL’s most prominent offensive defencemen for goals over the past eight games, including Quinn Hughes, Evan Bouchard and Matthew Schaefer.
While Utah ultimately fell 5-3 to Vegas, Simashev provided one of the game’s biggest highlights, scoring from the high slot in the third period to pull the Mammoth within one.
For a young defenceman who entered the season with plenty to prove, that’s an encouraging development.
Dmitri Simashev Suddenly Becoming Offensive Weapon for Mammoth
Simashev’s recent production isn’t necessarily coming out of nowhere.
He showed considerable offensive potential in the American Hockey League last season, recording 35 points (eight goals, 27 assists) in 40 games with the Tucson Roadrunners.
That production suggested there was more to his game than simply being a big, mobile, defensively responsible defenceman. Even then, his AHL production was a slight surprise, as many draft pundits didn’t expect him to have that type of offensive ceiling.
Simashev struggled to find his footing during his first extended NHL opportunity, managing just one assist in 28 games.
This season has been a different story.
Through 19 appearances, Simashev has six points, including four goals, while also contributing 25 hits and 13 blocked shots.
He’s beginning to look increasingly comfortable with the pace of the NHL, and Utah has given him an opportunity to take on more responsibility.
With Nate Schmidt sidelined by an upper-body injury, Simashev has been playing second-pairing minutes alongside Andrew Peeke.
Mammoth Justified in Drafting Simashev Ahead of Michkov?
Of course, the comparisons to Michkov aren’t going away anytime soon.
The Flyers winger was widely considered one of the most talented players available in the 2023 draft. Despite that, he fell to seventh, where the Flyers selected him. The Montreal Canadiens, who selected defenceman David Reinbacher at fifth overall, and the Mammoth were questioned most by pundits.
Michkov arrived in Philadelphia with enormous expectations. He immediately demonstrated his offensive ability, recording 26 goals and 63 points as a rookie in 2024-25.
That inevitably made the Mammoth’s decision look even more questionable.
However, Utah (or, then, the Arizona Coyotes) had smaller, talented wingers in Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller.
Simashev offered them something completely different: a combination of size, mobility, and defensive potential that is difficult to find. The organization clearly believed his long-term upside justified selecting him sixth overall.
No one is declaring Utah the winner of that decision.
But Simashev is providing evidence that the Mammoth identified a future stud.
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