Dmitri Simashev is a popular teammate.
That’s what postgame interviews revealed after the Utah Mammoth’s 4-on-4 scrimmage at development camp Thursday, where the black team pulled off a narrow 6-5 shootout victory over the white team.
Simashev, 20, is set to make his North American debut after signing his entry-level contract with the Mammoth this spring. Whether that’s in the NHL or the AHL is yet to be determined — especially with the amount of defensemen Utah now has after free agency.
In this, his third NHL development camp, things are coming more naturally for Simashev, who won MVP honors for the camp.
“I feel more comfortable,” he said, going on to explain that both socially and hockey-wise, things are easier.
Part of that comfort likely has to do with the time that he’s spent with fellow Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. The two have been training together in Moscow along with New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov, where Simashev said he’s gotten great advice.
“Just enjoy the process and (work) on your details,” Simashev said Sergachev tells him. “He said ‘You know a lot, but you will come to the U.S. and you will know more.’”
Simashev showed well all camp long. Right from the get-go, it was clear that his skating is a cut above everyone else’s — as it should be, having played two seasons (and two Gagarin Cup Finals) in the KHL.
He said his focus this season is to get better offensively after he finished with just one goal and six points in 56 games last year.
That’s aligns perfectly with what the Mammoth’s development staff wants to see from him.
“He skates so well, he’s going to defend well and the thing for us is I think he hasn’t scratched the surface yet with the puck,” said Lee Stempniak, Utah’s director of player development.
“Not the high-end plays. We saw some of those today, which are always nice, but just getting the puck, cleanly moving it, cleanly advancing up the ice. He has more poise with the puck this year than last year.”
Development camp games don’t carry much weight, but for what it’s worth, Simashev scored a goal and two assists Thursday, and he generally seemed to control the play at both ends of the ice.
Doing that at the NHL level is another story, however.
Who else stood out at the Utah Mammoth’s development camp?
Cole Beaudoin
Beaudoin, whom Utah drafted 24th overall in 2024, seems to have taken a major step in his development.
He had a great training camp last year, but there were a few clear things he had to work on, including skating. This year, he seems better in every noticeable way.
He’s bigger, for starters. He seems faster, his skating is smoother and his puck control is better. He even seems more comfortable in his media scrums — and I talked to him over the phone on several occasions throughout the season.
“He’s got a nonstop motor,” Stempniak said of Beaudoin. “He just never gives up.”
Beaudoin said his goal is to come into training camp and make the team this year. Whether that happens or not, it shouldn’t be long before he wears the Mammoth jersey for the first time.
His work at camp earned him the “Award of Excellence.”
Owen Allard
After going undrafted in his first two years of eligibility, it was a long shot that Owen Allard would have an NHL career.
But now, a year after finally being drafted (fifth round in 2024), his path to the big league is clear.
He said it himself: He won’t likely be a top scorer in the NHL, but he can provide value as a depth guy who plays hard, is responsible defensively and chips in a goal here and an assist there.
As Allard prepares for his professional debut, which will likely come with the Tucson Roadrunners this season, he’s looking to get stronger and faster.
He’s got the “faster” part down. He stood out at camp as one of the quicker guys on the ice all week long. To this point, he’s mainly played against other kids within a few years of his age, but AHL competition largely consists of grown men.
Michael Hrabal
Michael Hrabal, the 6-foot-7 goalie, turned down an NHL contract this summer in favor of staying at UMass in the NCAA another year.
That’s not to say he doesn’t want to play in Utah — he just feels college is the right place for him to be right now.
It was evident during camp that he may be onto something. It’s not that he didn’t look good, it was just that he wasn’t as good as an NHL goalie would have been in a lot of the drills we saw.
And if there’s one thing that can ruin a young goalie’s career, it’s throwing him into the deep end to teach him how to swim.
“There’s still a lot of space to improve if I want to be in the NHL,” he said. “(I’ve) still got a lot to do.”