Nine weeks ago, Utah Mammoth prospect Dmitri Simashev reluctantly faced the media following an on-ice session of development camp.
He didn’t come across as particularly shy, but he did express a lack of confidence in his English. He even made it known, at one point, that he didn’t know how to adequately express what he wanted to say.
Two months later, Simashev faced the media again Thursday — and things were different this time. He almost seemed eager to speak, and he was much more relaxed throughout the conversation.
He’s been staying with the Sergachev family: Mikhail, the Mammoth’s top defenseman, his wife, Liza and their two-year-old son, Theo. They’re all fluent in Russian, which provides a certain level of comfort and familiarity, but they’re also able to help him with English.
Mikhail Sergachev has been in North America since he was 18, so his English is excellent.
Simashev came to Utah with fellow Russian Daniil But. The two of them have played together since they were children, and they hoisted the Gagarin Cup, the most prestigious trophy in European hockey, together in May.
But isn’t as comfortable in his second language as Simashev is, but for the first time since the move to Utah, he felt comfortable enough to address the media on Thursday.
The team made sure to have an interpreter on hand — Eastern Europe scout Rasty Saglo — but But never had to rely on him. His answers were concise, but meaningful nonetheless.
He noted that Sergachev has helped him, too.
“I talked with him and he said just (have) fun here and play my game,” he said.
How do pro hockey players learn English?
Do incoming NHL players get some type of private tutor or elite-level classes to teach them the language? Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong answered the question on day one of rookie camp.
“It’s called Instagram,” he said, only half joking. “That’s the great thing about the world as we know it today, is that when they are on their phones, a lot of the stuff that they’re viewing is in English. They learn English a lot easier and a lot earlier.”
Simashev says simply being in the United States has helped him improve.
“You can learn, like, (any) language in the world and live in Russia, for example, but you don’t have a practice every day in English,” he said. “So here, it’s just the conversation with the guys, (about) the stuff, every day you have an experience speaking in English. It’s getting better every day.”