Dmitri Simashev skates to the side during practice as the Utah Mammoth hold rookie camp at their new practice facility in Sandy on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News).
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – Hockey has officially returned to the Wasatch front as the Utah Mammoth hosted the first two days of rookie camp at their brand-new training facility in Sandy.
As the majority of their recent first-round picks and other top prospects took to the ice, spirits were incredibly high as the young skaters broke in the spectacular new space.
Related: Take A First Look At The New Utah Mammoth Practice Facility In Sandy
Here are three takeaways from day two of Utah’s rookie camp:
Ask anybody in the Utah Mammoth organization and one of the first things they’ll mention about Tij Iginla is his offense.
Despite only playing in 21 games for the Kelowna Rockets last season before undergoing hip surgery, Iginla still finished eighth on his junior squad with 32 points and actually led the team with 1.52 PPG.
Had he played in all 68 games, Iginla would’ve posted approximately 103 points last year.
Pretty absurd.
Tij Iginla has been extremely impressive in Kelowna to start the year. From tonight: pic.twitter.com/EVu7Q8kFZh
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) October 8, 2023
Now a full participant at the Mammoth’s rookie camp, each of his tremendous offensive skills have been on full display.
Whether it’s his lethal wrist shot, elite vision, quick hands, great positioning or the way he’s simply able to manipulate defenses with or without the puck, Iginla is incredibly dangerous.
WAY more intense and competitive today.
A little bit of brilliance from Iginla on this play. Watch his puck control, the way he shields the puck with his body, and then the FILTHY pass he connects on.
Very gifted offensively. That’s what he brings. pic.twitter.com/0mSPElZtZH
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 11, 2025
“Iggy is such a skilled guy. He’s a good mentor like his father. He will be a good hockey player for sure,” Defensemen Dmitriy Simashev said.
“He’s so good. I like him, actually.”
For Iginla, the next two weeks will be a critical opportunity to demonstrate what he’s capable of when fully healthy at the NHL level.
After missing all of rookie camp last year and dealing with some nagging injuries in the preseason, the young forward can now really settle into his game to make a sizable push towards the roster.
“We’ve watched him bomb around here for the last couple days and he’s got a little bit of fire in his belly and he’s eager to prove,” Bill Armstrong said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do scoring wise, playing wise, & see if he can make our team.”
With a pair rookie games this weekend and more preseason games to follow over the next few weeks, Iginla will be one of the most interesting storylines to follow as he illustrates just how close he is to actually earning NHL minutes.
Will he make the final cut? Probably not.
But that doesn’t mean he isn’t close.
Take one look at Daniil But and it’s difficult not to be in complete awe of his sheer size and towering presence on the ice.
Spent a lot of time watching Daniil But today.
He is just absolutely massive out there. Lots of work to do but his upside is very high.
Has the potential to be a dominant presence on the ice. pic.twitter.com/Df9FKmNdjg
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 11, 2025
Standing 6-foot-5, But stands above most other skaters and utilizes his size to battle in the trenches, dirty areas and near the net front as he imposes his will.
Through two days of rookie camp, But rarely lost these types of battles as he effectively tossed his weight around, delivered a few punishing hits and was simply too large for most players to even intimidate.
The boys are BATTLING today. pic.twitter.com/cy9U5PAeHk
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 11, 2025
Now, while he does possess a lot of potential upside and could be a dominant presence in the NHL, it’s going to take a sizable amount of work to get there.
Based on the few hours we watched him this week, his size, physical dominance, and hands were visible.
However, it was pretty apparent during those few sessions that he needs to continue developing his hockey IQ, awareness, positioning and his one-timer left a lot to be desired.
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
“He’s a pretty good guy. We’ve played together for eight years… It’s really good to play with him. @utahmammoth Daniil But on being at camp with Dmitri Simashev pic.twitter.com/a79JcSkw9g
— Utah Mammoth PR (@UtahMammoth_PR) September 11, 2025
The next few weeks will be very telling as to where But will likely spend most of this next season and how he can improve his game.
For now, it seems as though he’d greatly benefit from spending a lot of time in Tucson, dedicating his efforts towards improving his craft and doing everything he can in order to really challenge for an NHL job next season, but we’ll see what management has in mind.
After a statement performance during development camp this past summer, defenseman Dmitriy Simashev only continued to shine during the first two days of rookie camp.
The biggest difference between him and most the other prospects?
He looks like an NHL skater.
For a guy who was restricted heavily by his coaches in terms of offense in the KHL, Simashev looks just fine at camp.
Thus far he appears to have a high hockey IQ, great vision, good handles, and makes a lot of the right decisions in terms of moving the puck. pic.twitter.com/12I8UiGiIr
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 11, 2025
Despite being restricted by his KHL coaches in terms of offense, Simashev was calm, cool and collected when handling the puck in the offensive zone during camp.
Regardless of the drill, line, or situation, he ran things front the point incredibly well as he consistently surveyed the zone, zeroed in on the best point of attack and then moved the puck effectively.
Defensively, no issues whatsoever as he utilized his elite skating to close down gaps, battle for the puck and orchestrate breakouts.
Honestly, his approach reminded me a lot of Mammoth defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in terms of his ability to slow things down yet remain incredibly effective and impactful.
Having spent so much time with Sergachev since signing his entry level contract and actually living with his fellow countrymen since returning to Utah, it makes sense that he’d mirror his game.
“I think he’s tired of my questions every day,” Simashev joked.
“He’s one of the best defensemen in the NHL…just ask about his experience.”
So, will he make the roster out of training camp?
Hard to say.
With roughly 10 or 11 NHL level defensemen battling for six spots, it’s hard to see him beating out players like Nate Schmidt or Ian Cole among others.
However, Simashev has the right mindset as he’s willing to do whatever the coaches ask and is fully confident he can make it.
“If the coach says to me, play D solid, I will be playing D solid…what the coach say to me, I will be doing it,” Simashev said.
“I know I can make the roster for sure, I am a confident person, but there’s some good D on the roster already…I will be good.”
Simashev on making Utah’s roster: “If the coach says to me, play D solid, I will be playing D solid…what the coach say to me, I will be doing it.”
“I know I can make the roster for sure, I am a confident person, but there’s some good D on the roster already…I will be good.” pic.twitter.com/kmtP322vfE
— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 11, 2025
Regardless of where he begins, Simashev appears to be a special talent.
He’s an elite skater, incredibly smart, clearly possesses offensive abilities and is learning from one of the best in the game.
If it takes some extra time, that’s ok.
But based on this past week, it seems as though he and Maveric Lamoureux likely have the best chance of seeing NHL minutes this season amongst the prospects.
