THN.com/podcast. From THN American Pipeline: 2023 NHL Draft Prospects to Watch from NCAA to High School Dmitri Simashev [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk4OTk1NDE5ODQ4NTE3Mzkz/usatsi_20963667.jpg] Dmitri Simashev NASHVILLE - Bill Armstrong: GM of the Coyotes, but wily like a fox. Arizona made a huge ruckus in the first round of the draft, tapping two Russians early in the first round - and neither was named Matvei Michkov. While Leo Carlsson going second to Anaheim was a minor shocker, Armstrong and his staff created tidal waves by taking defenseman Dmitri Simashev sixth overall and left winger Daniil But 12th. Both play for Yaroslavl's organization. Heading into the draft, it was assumed that Russians would get dinged due to the uncertainty surrounding their hockey program and their future availability as the war in Ukraine rages on. But that risk didn't bother Armstrong. "Listen, there's always risk," he said. "You draft college guys and they don't report - there's a risk. Sometimes players get injured. So we took the two players on the board that we thought would fit our culture: Size, skill, compete and they're workers. Those guys come to the rink every day to make a difference." The Simashev pick even seemed to surprise the 6-foot-4, 198-pound defenseman himself when he heard his name called at Bridgestone Arena, but he was obviously happy. "I'm just shocked now," Simashev said. "Playing in the NHL is my dream." The Coyotes were overjoyed. "He's a physically dominant defenseman," Armstrong said. "We call him the unicorn of the draft because it's hard to find guys who can skate like that as a big man. We got to know him a little bit and fell in love with his personality on and off the ice. He has leadership capabilities, he's very engaging and very intriguing. You can't trade for a defenseman like that in the NHL so our thought process was to draft him and we like where we got him." As for But, he wasn't entirely surprised to go when he did. "I'm so excited," he said. "I'm very proud to be drafted by Arizona." A big fan of Buffalo's Tage Thompson, But may end up having the same career trajectory: With his 6-foot-5, 203-pound frame, he's still raw and wants to work on his skating and balance, but he can score goals and knows where to go to get them. "He's like a Tage Thompson/Alex Tuch player," Armstrong said. "We love the compete in him and he's got that size. For us that size and skill factor is a big advantage for us." The assumption this year was that NHL teams would struggle to get actual live viewings of Russian players, but Armstrong said his whole crew got to see Simashev and But in person. How did they do it? "Top secret," he said with a grin. They did meet the two kids over here before the draft, however. "They weren't at the draft combine," Armstrong said. "So we had to make sure to conduct all our tests: Psychological, fitness testing and medical reports." Both players are under contract for another two years with Yaroslavl and will visit Arizona after the draft before going home - they won't skate over here at development camp. But Armstrong likes the Yaroslavl organization and the development path for Simashev and But. He also isn't worried about waiting a bit for them to come over because the Coyotes had already made four first-round selections in the past two drafts, headlined by Logan Cooley. As for taking the pair as early as they did, Armstrong said he and his team were reading the rest of the league in the lead-up to the draft. "We tried to prepare and judge the draft," he said. "It started to move a bit and there were a couple unknowns that kept moving. You could tell from interviewing the kids where they might be going so we anticipated some things and it worked out." The Coyotes identified the players they liked the most and grabbed them. It's going to take a few years to find out if they made the right call, but you can't help but give it up for the boldness.
