The Utah Mammoth are bringing over two of their top prospects from Russia in time for next season, signing defenseman Dmitri Simashev and forward Daniil But to three-year entry-level contracts.
FILE – Daniil But poses with Arizona Coyotes officials after being picked by the team during the first round of the NHL hockey draft, June 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, file)
General manager Bill Armstrong announced the deals Wednesday, the latest bit of good news for the club that just got its full-time name and is going into its second season in Salt Lake City.
Simashev was the sixth pick and But was taken 12th in the 2023 draft when the team was known as the Arizona Coyotes. Each of the 20-year-olds spent this past season in the KHL with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and won the Gagarin Cup.
“Dmitri has established himself as one of the top defenseman prospects in the NHL,” Armstrong said. “Daniil is a highly skilled forward with a great shot and playmaking skills who is coming off a career season.”
Getting them signed allows Utah to play them in the NHL or the American Hockey League next season. It was a key step just getting them to North America to fit in with a young core led by captain Clayton Keller, forward Logan Cooley, defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and goaltender Karel Vejmelka.
With the salary cap going up, Armstrong has more than $21 million in room to use in free agency and trades to take the Mammoth to the next level and end the organization’s playoff drought of 12 years — excluding the expanded format in the bubble in 2020. They won the second draft lottery drawing to move up from picking 14th to fourth, giving the front office the chance to add another player with elite talent for the future.
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