The Arizona Coyotes acquired one of the top defensemen of the 2023 draft when they selected Dmitri Simashev No. 6 overall on Wednesday night.
Simashev is a mobile, 6-foot-4 defenseman with a left-handed shot who debuted as a teenager with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the KHL last season.
His valuation by experts has varied in the lead-up to the draft, but most agree that Simashev’s frame and elite mobility gives him the potential to be a shutdown defenseman at the highest level.
The issue that scouts have had with Simashev is his lack of offensive polish. In the Russian junior ranks, the defenseman never scored at even a half-point per game pace.
Still, the Russian’s appearances in the KHL show just how serious his professional potential is; if his game continues to develop over an entire season in the ‘K,’ the Yotes’ may have landed one of the steals of the draft.
“His late-season play really grew on me, especially during the MHL playoffs. Against his own age group, he can carry the load on the blueline and can be physically intimidating,” noted Daily Faceoff’s prospect expert Steven Ellis.
Simashev’s KHL commitments and inability to appear on the world stage as a Russian are among the reasons his stock was so difficult to pin down, but there is no doubt that his ceiling is as high as that of any blueliner in the draft.
The 18-year-old is already a good skater who is comfortable on the puck. He has similar qualities to those that make fellow Russian Alexander Romanov such an intriguing player for the New York Islanders – but on a larger scale.
If everything comes together for Simachev, he could become a nailed-on, top-four blueliner for Arizona.
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