The Russians are coming: Dmitri Simashev, Daniil But to join Utah Mammoth for 2025-26 season

When the scouting braintrust of the Utah Mammoth first came together five years ago, GM Bill Armstrong, director of amateur scouting Darryl Plandowski and associate director of amateur scouting Ryan Jankowski adopted a mantra: Leave no stone unturned. As the team began a full-on rebuild, the trio knew it would need to find players at every stage of development, in every credible league, in every corner of the hockey-playing world.

The signing of Russian prospects Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But, announced on Wednesday, is a prime example of those efforts.

"We're excited because not a lot of people have seen these guys play," Armstrong said. "We took a big swing at the [2023 NHL] draft. We thought they were the two best players on the board and we weren't afraid to take them. There were some people who questioned us, but you know the saying, 'No risk, no reward.'"

Utah's exhaustive scouting approach has already paid dividends in the form of countless draft picks over the past four years, and with the signing of professional European free-agents such as Karel Vejmelka. But in May of 2023, Armstrong, Plandowski and Jankowski took that no-stone-unturned mantra to an extreme level.

Live viewings are a critical piece of most scouting staffs' core philosophy, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022 prevented scouts from traveling freely throughout the country. That, in turn, led many analysts, scouts and GMs to question NHL teams' ability to fully evaluate draft-eligible Russian players.

Armstrong, Plandowski and Jankowski found a way around that obstacle. The three men flew to Mink, Belarus, and sat in the upper corner of Chizhovka Arena to watch Simashev and But compete for Russia's U18 team in a tournament. The only other team scouting that tournament was the New Jersey Devils.

One month later, the team selected Simashev at No. 6 overall and But at No. 12 overall at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville. Pending travel visas, both players are expected to attend development camp in Park City this summer, and training camp this fall.

"It feels amazing," Simashev said. "I had a goal to win the Gagarin Cup and then go to the NHL and try to be the best player I can be. I watched highlights of every Utah game. I know every player in Utah and how they play. Coming to Utah, for me, it's basically like a dream."

There's a lot to like about the development paths of Simashev and But. They played the past two seasons in the KHL — widely considered the second best league in the world. They played in the Gagarin Cup Finals the past two seasons, and they won the KHL title last week with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.

But the development curve was not perfect.

"It's a fine balance because they played in one of the top leagues in the world on a team that's very strong so it's not a traditional development situation because the KHL is not a developmental league," Utah director of player development Lee Stempniak said. "It's a professional league where they're trying to win. At times, they played to stay in the lineup and they played to win games. If you're playing junior hockey and you're with your own age group, there's more opportunities to try things and there's more freedom to play your own game."

Fortunately for Simashev and But, they have attributes that translate well to the NHL game. Both skate well, both have size (But is listed at 6-feet-6; Simashev at 6-5), and both play a mature, NHL-style game.

"But doesn't force plays," Stempniak said. "He takes what's there so I think he'll earn a coach's trust quickly because he doesn't turn pucks over and he's not cheating for offense. He's willing to chip pucks and chase.

"What stands out, of course, is he's a really big guy who is able to play on the inside by taking pucks to the net and attacking the middle of the ice. A lot of times with his reach, he's able to get a shot on net or make a pass and he's also learning to fight for his space and get rebounds. As you watch the playoffs, a lot of teams have really big D so forwards that are big and get to the net front and win pucks are really valuable."

Simashev has impressed the staff with his defensive abilities, but there are areas of his game that he has not been allowed to fully display as a young defenseman on a team that generally just asks its blue liners to advance the puck to the forwards, rather than carry it themselves through the neutral zone.

"He's just so good defensively," Stempniak said. "Between his size, his skating ability and his defensive IQ, he kills so many plays through the neutral zone. He surfs well, he's quick to close defensively in the D-zone, and there's an aggressiveness to his game to end plays quickly by taking away time and space."

"He's a high-end skater. He's so smooth, he's so powerful, and he has a really good ability in pivoting, but there's also been an improvement with his puck play. He's not asked to do a lot for Lokomotiv, but his execution with pucks improved this year in terms of finding secondary options, moving pucks out of the zone, and using his feet to create passing lanes. With his skating ability, I think there's some potential to join the rush and be part of the attack in the NHL that we haven't seen yet."

Armstrong expects both players to be in the NHL lineup next season.

"I think that they have the ability to fit in and play the North American style game a little bit quicker because of their tendencies and how they play," he said. "It's about cutting to the net. It's about playing hard, blocking shots. They're two kids that have come from a great culture with Lokomotiv; a winning culture that forced them to play the right way coming up."

There are more prospects on the way from this part of the world.

The second wave

When Armstrong, Plandowski and Jankowski slipped into Belarus two years ago, Simashev and But were not the only players they watched. Defenseman Artem Duda, the team's first, second-round pick in 2022, was playing for Russia's U20 team. And three months earlier in Belarus, Jankowski and Russian scout Rusty Saglo had watched Belarusian forward prospect Vadim Moroz.

The staff used the last of its four third-round picks (No. 88) on Moroz in the same draft in which they selected Simashev and But.

Moroz, 21, had a strong season with Dinamo Minsk, with 26 goals and 44 points in 66 games. The team also won its first-ever KHL playoff season with a victory against CSKA Moscow. Moroz had three more goals in the playoffs.

"He's really talented with the puck," Stempniak said. "He can beat guys one on one, he's got a big shot, and he makes plays.

"His point totals jumped up a lot this year, but he's always played a strong, two-way game. He's responsible. He's in the right position on the ice and in the playoffs, we saw him being a little more physical and using his body and playing on the inside — just doing the things where that looked like a really good sign for him to have success in North America."

Moroz has one year remaining on his contract with Dinamo, after which he could also end up in the NHL lineup.

Duda has overcome as many challenges as any prospect in the Utah system. After coming over from Russia two seasons ago, Duda expected to enroll at the University of Maine and play NCAA hockey. Eligibility and agent issues kept that from happening, so he played USports hockey in Canada for Toronto Metropolitan University before reporting to Tucson this past season.

In 70 games with the Roadrunners, he had six goals and 29 points to allay some fears.

"We didn't know what to expect because of the simple fact that he had almost taken a full year off, so yeah, we were a little bit nervous in that sense," Armstrong said. "But he came to camp in great shape, he played well and every day he got better and better. I think he put on 11 pounds of muscle in one year."

Duda's most impressive quality is easy to see.

"He's an elite skater," Armstrong added. "You don't find many guys 6-feet-2 that can move like that. He can absolutely fly. When he's on his game, he's rounding the net, beating the first forechecker and moving the puck. He's got a great shot and he's got great hockey sense, but what I really like about his development is that he has improved his jam, his firmness from the corner to the net, and just his whole battle and competitiveness in tough areas."

With Simashev and But joining the team, and Moroz and Duda not far behind, the scouting and management staff are finally enjoying the fruits of years of labor.

"This is what we envisioned five years ago," Armstrong said. "It's like I always say, "Just keep finding good players and stacking them one after another.' That's what we've tried to do, and that's what we'll continue to do."