Well.. it’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a prospect ramblings, but what better time to resume these bad boys than now — Early September — Prime hockey season.
The KHL kicked off a few days ago, and I’ve been having a great time watching top Matvei Michkov get… absolutely 0 gameplay. My two favourite KHL teams, however, faced off last night.
Torpedo and Loko are highlighted by some of my favourite prospects in all of hockey. Torpedo has 20-year-old Habs draft pick Bogdan Konyushkov playing 1D minutes, and Loko has the one and only Dmitri Simashev.
While Simashev was already considered a giant at 6’4″, Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong has revealed he is actually measuring in at 6’7″. Players who are 6’7″ and skate as gracefully as Simashev aren’t just rare; they’re unheard of. Simashev’s teammate, and 12th overall pick Daniil But is even taller, measuring in at a whopping 6’8″.
When I first saw this Dmitri Simashev shift I genuinely laughed out loud
Watch his edgework on this retrieval (26 red). JUST WATCH IT pic.twitter.com/7kIGuB7rrM
— Derek Neumeier (@Derek_N_NHL) April 29, 2023
Bill Armstrong states that, 6th overall pick, Dmitri Simashev is actually 6’7”, not the 6’4” he’s listed at. #Yotes pic.twitter.com/5BDEdto4rj
— Dylan Griffing (@GriffingDylan) September 3, 2023
Red line is But’s height. Armstrong is listed at 6’5” and also has big hair so I could honestly believe the prospect of But being 6’8 pic.twitter.com/VjtriC2zJ3
— Glep (@GlepHockey) September 3, 2023
It’s no secret that I was a massive fan of Simashev this year, ranking him sixth on my personal board. As for But, I was more skeptical, but I can’t pretend a 6’8″ behemoth doesn’t excite me a little bit.
2023 NHL Draft Rankings – Top Defenceman edition!
Here are 31 scouts featured on https://t.co/iR6OWOFhRs and their top defenceman on recent rankings.
Total Count:
David Reinbacher – 18
Axel Sandin Pellikka – 8
Dmitri Simashev – 5Who do you think is the best D-Man? pic.twitter.com/WdcX1aY1kV
— NHL Prospects & Analytics (@hockey_pipeline) June 22, 2023
While Simashev was 7D and But 13F in Loko’s debut, it will be very exciting to see what this season brings for the two giants. The future in Arizona is looking pretty scary, and I can’t imagine teams will be excited to match up against this duo in the future.
Lokomotiv lines today #KHL#Blackhawks Artur Kayumov 2RW#LetsGoOilers Maxim Beryozkin 2LW#Yotes Dmitri Simashev 4D#Yotes Daniil But 13th forward pic.twitter.com/PFXBTcfnaE
— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) September 3, 2023