Utah Monthly Prospect Report: Checking in on Dmitri Simashev, Artem Duda, Justin Kipkie and more

A happy coincidence may be playing out in Utah Hockey Club's prospect pool. When you examine the pipeline, you'll notice a ton of depth on defense and in goal. When you think about the development timelines for those two positions, they are traditionally longer than the development timelines for forwards.

With Utah emerging from the rebuild and preparing to challenge for the playoffs, several of those key players have had some time to develop. By the time Utah is ready to challenge for something more, some of them will be ready to join the NHL club on a full-time basis.

At the same time, more recent forward draft picks such as Tij Iginla, Cole Beaudoin and whomever the team drafts this summer may also be ready to join, making this all sync up in terms of timing.

Nobody can accurately predict how much time a prospect will need so it's impossible to fully orchestrate this plan. There will be disruptions such as injuries over the next couple of years, but the future that GM Bill Armstrong imagined when he took over as GM in September 2020 is now on the horizon, with nearly a full complement of prospects ready to skate into the light.

In this month's prospect report, we will focus on Utah's embarrassing riches of defensive prospects by checking in on Yaroslavl Lokomotiv's Dmitri Simashev, the Tucson Roadrunners' Artem Duda, and the Victoria Royals' Justin Kipkie. We've left off a few, including Maveric Lamoureux, but there is room in a future prospect report.

Utah Director of Player Development Lee Stempniak also provided some quick-hitting notes on other prospects, and we caught up with injured forward prospect Tanner Ludtke of the Omaha Mavericks (NCAA, NCHC).

Dmitri Simashev

Nothing in Dmitri Simashev's statistics would indicate improved play this season. His ice time has not changed significantly from last season. His point total may not even match last season's total, and there are still nights when the top team in Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, asks Utah Hockey Club's 2023 first-round pick (No. 6 overall) to take a night off as a healthy scratch.

Not to worry. Utah's development staff has been tracking him closely, and there are marked signs of improvement.

"He has improved his puck play and he's showing more drive to add a little more offense to his game," said development coach Kurtis Foster, who works with the organization's defensive prospects. "I just think that he's in a tough spot with a top KHL team that believes in veteran guys so here and there, he has to sit out a game to get some rest. For the most part, it has been a pretty successful year so far."

Utah director of player development Lee Stempniak agreed.

"He's playing a bigger role on a very good team in the KHL and he's getting tougher matchups," Stempniak said. "So even though his ice time is not shooting up dramatically, he's playing tougher minutes which will only help him as he transitions to North America. It's a really positive sign that he's playing tougher matchups, playing on the PK (penalty kill). They're not sheltering him at all, which is a testament to how well he's actually playing."

One of the aspects of Simashev's game that intrigued the scouts and GM Bill Armstrong — aside from his 6-feet-5, 203-pound frame and his excellent skating ability — is how mature Simashev's defensive game is. It's not a stretch to imagine him one day occupying the spot opposite Mikhail Sergachev, even if it means playing his off side.

But Utah's staff still doesn't know how good the offensive side of Simashev's game can become. The curve is still trending upward.

"Last year, there were times when he was bobbling pucks or not cleanly handling pucks and it was leading to turnovers or rush plays against or forced plays," Stempniak said. "He's showing improvement in that area, whether it's his turnovers under pressure or, when he's not pressured, how cleanly he's making plays with the puck on his stick.

"When he gets the puck on his stick, he's able to advance it out of his zone and make those plays. He's more active. He's jumping in as the fourth man on the rush. He's activating in the offensive zone off the blue line. It hasn't resulted in points or goals, but he's getting more touches in the offensive zone. To me, that's the first step. As he gets more touches and he gets confident with the puck, he's going to make more things happen."

The staff got to see some of those skills on display when Simashev played for Russia at the Channel One Cup in December. Russia's coaching staff allowed a more free-wheeling style than Lokomotiv does and Simashev flourished.

"He was able to be more offensive, to carry the puck, to be in the play," Stempniak said. "Just from talking to him, I think that's a part of the game he enjoys and he's comfortable with, and you saw it in his draft year when he was playing in the MHL (Russia's junior league)."

For the time being, Simashev will focus on helping Lokomotiv chase the Gagarin Cup; a trophy the team has never won. Lokomotiv currently leads the KHL with 89 points. The Gagarin Cup Playoffs begin March 26.

"The KHL is a much different game," Foster said. "If they break a puck out and he's the weak-side D, he can join the rush. But I don't find that the D are leading the rush in the KHL. They're more joining the rush. It's almost like a soccer match. It's a possession-based game where if they don't have a play, they'd rather flip it into the neutral zone, get into their structure of their 1-2-2, and almost make teams make mistakes, and then they pounce on their mistakes.

"There will be an adjustment from that when he comes to the NHL, but the message to Dmitri is always, 'Do what your coaches want. We want you playing as much as possible so focus on the team and winning, but work on your offensive game as much as you can in practice and make sure that you're using your feet as much as you can to put yourself in positions to add as much offense as possible.'"

It is possible that Simashev could join Utah Hockey Club as soon as next season with his KHL contract expiring this season. Foster has developed a tight relationship with the prized blue line prospects so he has a good sense of Simashev's mind set.

"He's a lot more open about how he's feeling with me, and how he's playing," Foster said. "He's a very driven kid. He does all the extra stuff after practice and away from the rink. He's focused on his eating and his habits. He wants to play in the NHL and he's made mention that that's his dream. We've got him into a position where I'm hoping he can come over and contribute."

Artem Duda

Tucson Roadrunners assistant coach John Slaney chuckled when asked how defenseman Artem Duda has adapted to his first season in the American Hockey League.

"He seems like he's been here a few years already," said Slaney, who coaches Tucson's defensemen. "He's still learning and he asks a lot of questions, but he's just hands on, and he already acts like a pro, especially off the ice."

One of the qualities that strikes you about Duda is his unflappability. After coming over from Russia last season, 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 season.

That's three teams, two countries and a total culture shock for the 20-year-old, 2022 second-round pick (No. 36), and yet he is logging heavy minutes and has 18 points in his rookie season.

"I've just been tremendously impressed by Artem Duda," Stempniak said. "With all that he's been through, and given the fact that he hasn't played much hockey — under 20 games last year — he's been a good American League defenseman, despite a new country and a big step up in level of play."

Duda's best qualities were on display in a cameo appearance at development camp two seasons ago.

"He's definitely a smooth skater," Slaney said. "He's able to gamble a little bit on the offensive side because he can get back pretty quick.

"Defensively, he's learning the game in tight areas under pressure. He's learning how to move the puck quickly and escape from pressure situations on breakouts or puck retrievals, but he's very quick in that situation and he has great vision."

The challenge for Duda is twofold.

"One is just being more assertive defensively," Stempniak said. "He's got a good stick and he skates so well, so it's just about using his body a little bit more to kill plays. Not to hammer guys, but just get into his man and separate him from the puck. He does it at times but you want to see it more consistently."

That syncs with how Utah wants its defensemen to play: Play with tight gaps. Use the stick to eliminate options. Then use the body to kill plays as soon as possible, whether it's through the neutral zone or in defensive-zone coverage.

"The second thing is we're challenging him to do more with the puck because he's got the ability to do more," Stempniak said. "We're trying to draw that out of him, to see what that offensive level is, how much offense he can contribute, and how dynamic he can be because he handles the pucks so well. Again, he sees the ice well. He skates well. He can shoot it. It's just trying to tie it all together to see if there's another level of offense in his game, which I believe there is."

Like his countryman, Simashev, Duda prepares with his eyes always on the prize.

"He has a really good routine off the ice," Slaney said. "He's one of the first three guys at the rink every morning. He gets his workouts in. He prepares himself for practice. He has a schedule that he follows with the team, but he also has his own. He's just very mature for his age. It's really good to see, because that's what he'll need to do to achieve his dream of playing in the National Hockey League."

Justin Kipkie

The flu bug hit the Victoria Royals hard last week. At times, four or five guys were out of practice and one to two each game.

Justin Kipkie was one the hardest hit, missing three days. So coach James Patrick did what any coach would do with his star defenseman upon his return to the game-day lineup. He played him for 28 minutes.

"That was the last thing we wanted to do," Patrick said, laughing sheepishly. "But another guy got sick. I didn't like Kipper's game as much, but he hadn't skated for three days and he was sick so what am I going to say? The last month has been his best month of hockey this season.

"We won in Spokane and Kipper scored in overtime, but more than that, I just thought in some of those games against real tough competition, he's been our best D or really the best player in the game. We've had to use him for 27, 28 minutes but he's been really, really good."

Entering the weekend, Utah's 2023 fifth-round pick (No. 160) was one point behind last season's total of 52. His 51 points rank sixth among Western Hockey League (WHL) defensemen. The fact that his offensive production has not dipped despite an increased focus on another area is a great sign.

"We want to see him be more assertive defensively," Stempniak said. "I think he's looking to rely on his stick to kill plays, but that's not the way we want to play in Utah, and the way Bill [Armstrong] wants to play."

It's not the way Patrick wants Kipkie to play either. Patrick played 21 seasons and 1,280 games in the NHL. When he talks, the advice comes from a deep well of experience.

"In the NHL, that's how you have to play so I want him doing it at our level," Patrick said. "You can get away without doing it a little more here. I mean, I've got no other choice. I've got to put him on the ice and he's going to play big minutes and he's going to run our power play, but we spend less time in our D-zone when he goes back harder for pucks and that helps his offense."

Patrick works closely with the Utah development staff. It's a relationship that is based on respect.

"I like their approach," he said. "They're very engaged with me as a coach, but also with the player. I know the things we are talking about are things that Kurtis has been driving home all along. He sees the exact same things I do, or I see the same things that he does. We just need a little more of that from Kipper, and I think Kipper has delivered.

"At the end of the day, I don't know how many points or how many goals he will have compared to last year, but he has made a concerted effort to go back harder on retrievals and be more engaged in the battle. You can say that's being physical, but it's really just not playing as much of a contain game. He's taking matters into his own hands."

Prospect notes

Tanner Ludtke hasn't played a game since Nov. 16 at Arizona State. The 2023 third-round pick (No. 81) sustained a shoulder injury in that game that required surgery. Omaha coach Mike Gabinet said at the time that the injury was probably season-ending, but he didn't close the door on a return for Ludtke in the postseason.

With four games left in the regular season and the Mavericks sitting in third place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Ludtke is still holding out hope for that return.

"I’m working to get back," he said. "I have a few more tests to clear before I’m able to play but I’m hopeful to get back in time to make a playoff push with the guys."

In the meantime, Ludtke had another procedure. In early February, he underwent lasik surgery on his eyes.

"I wore contacts my whole life so being able to wake up in the morning and see right away is still pretty crazy," said Ludtke, who enjoyed a speedy recovery. "

"I think it depends on how nice of a machine the place you go to has. For me, I got it done at 2 p.m. and then I laid in bed for around four hours in a dark room and it was honestly pretty clear after that. The first week, you have to take a lot of eye drops but then it chills out. I was back on the ice in two days after doing it so the recovery time isn’t really that long."

With a little luck, Ludtke's shoulder rehab time is also nearing an end and he'll have the opportunity to compete for an NCAA championship. In his freshman season at Omaha, Ludtke had 11 goals and 28 points.

• Utah forward prospect Vadim Moroz has been on a tear over the past four weeks. In his past 11 games, the 2023 third-round pick (No. 88) has six goals and 11 points for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. Moroz is tied for 18th in the low-scoring KHL with 20 goals in 56 games.

• Utah 2024 fourth-round pick Gabe Smith was expected to return to the Moncton lineup after missing a few weeks due to injury. The 6-feet-5, 207-pound center has 15 goals and 32 points in 42 games this season for the Québec Major Junior Hockey League club.

Defenseman Veeti Väisänen is enjoying more ice time and a bigger role with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. The third-round pick (No. 96) was in a third-pair role early in his first season with the team, but he has been playing alongside Nashville Predators' first-round pick Tanner Molendyk of late. "He played 22 minutes the other night, 18 the game before, 25 the game before that," Stempniak said. "That's up from a stretch where he was playing 14, 15, 16 minutes."