Dmitri Simashev learned he’d achieved his lifelong dream the same way you did: on Instagram.
After arriving from Russia and impressing during his first preseason, the Utah Mammoth rookie made the team’s opening night roster, a fact he apparently discovered while scrolling on his phone.
“I don’t talk with anyone, actually,” he said. “I just see the roster on Instagram.”
Now the 20-year-old defenseman hopes to fill fans’ timelines with highlights all season long to prove he belongs.
“The job’s not finished. [It’s] only the start now,” he said. “I need to prove every day I’m on the team. If I’m on the main roster, it’s not for sure I’m here in two weeks.”
Simashev, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, played in the Kontinental Hockey League with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl for the last three seasons. He won the league’s cup in May.
That experience helped the young defenseman impress during his first preseason in Utah.
“I think he answered the question by his play,” head coach Andre Tourigny said. “The way he played, the way he skates, the way he defends, the way he can pass the puck made the difference. … He proved he can play in the league right away.
“Most importantly, he arrived here with a focus and a maturity in his prep every day and his desire to play right away. You can see it, you can feel it. He was [on] a mission.”
He may have looked calm on the ice … but inside?
“During the camp I was nervous,” Simashev said, “and now I’m nervous more.”
The Mammoth have a stable of veteran defensemen ahead of Simashev, including fellow Russian Mikhail Sergachev. So how much the team will need to lean on the rookie remains to be seen. But the 6-foot-5 Simashev is “going to be a big part of our future,” forward Logan Cooley said.
“He’s an unbelievable player, great guy,” Cooley added. “He skates so well. Takes a lot of room out there. I’m excited for him.”
Cooley, 21, can remember well his first NHL season and share in Simashev’s excitement after making the roster.
The veteran Sergachev, who has taken Simashev under his wing and under his roof, was more muted.
“‘Good for you,’” Simashev said and laughed when asked about Sergachev’s response to his success. “That’s it.”
The youngster knows, though, that the real work is only beginning.
“A lot of guys make the team every year but after one week or two week they’re sent to the AHL,” Simashev said. “Maybe they relax.”
He isn’t ready to exhale yet.