TORONTO — Dmitri Simashev has spent most of his adult life attached to someone else since being selected sixth overall in the 2023 NHL draft.
First, it was youth hockey teammate Daniil But, who was taken six picks after Simashev in the same draft and by the same team. Then, it was fellow Russian and NHL mentor Mikhail Sergachev, who serves as alternate captain for the Utah Mammoth and invited Simashev to live in his house upon arriving in Utah this year.
The connections will likely remain, especially after Simashev’s first NHL point was an assist on Sergachev’s goal on Wednesday in Toronto, but the 20-year-old is doing everything he can to become his own man.
“I don’t know, actually, it’s better to ask coach,” Simashev said when asked if his first point was extra special for the assist to Sergachev. “I just play my game.”
Moving out of Sergachev’s house and into his own apartment in downtown Salt Lake City recently helped establish some independence for Simashev, but the rookie’s personality and mindset set him apart beyond his current living arrangement.
One of the first tell tale signs for fans who follow the Mammoth social media accounts was his fashion sense. Simashev earned a shoutout in a GQ style article published Tuesday about NHL players branching out from the standard suits previously required by the league.
The fits have been fire, as the kids might say, ranging from Louis Vuitton to motorcycle jackets, and always featuring a signature pair of sunglasses.
Upon closer examination, however, fans started to spot another unique accessory among many of Simashev’s fits: a book.
A professional athlete born in 2005 who likes to read physical books? That alone puts Simashev in a realm all his own, but it doesn’t end there.
He’s not reading contemporary popular novels such as “A Court of Thorns and Roses,” like many young adults his age. Simashev started the season reading Stephen King’s “11/22/63,” and said his favorite authors are 19th-century greats Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, both from his native Russia.
Simashev said his parents influenced his love and taste in reading by introducing him to the classics and encouraging him at a young age.
Another Gen Z professional athlete who has been spotted with a book in hand during pre-game entrances is Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, who Simashev cited as one of his favorite NBA players after attending his first Utah Jazz game earlier this season.
“When he got drafted and I saw that he likes to read and play chess, I was like, ‘Hey, me too,'” Simashev said of his 7-foot-4 basketball counterpart.
Simashev hasn’t found a teammate to play chess with yet, but said he often plays online. Judging from his winning mentality on the ice, it should come as no surprise the young tactician needs more competitive outlets.
“Finally, I got the first point, but the game is continuing,” Simashev said after his first NHL assist on Wednesday. “We have a third period. We have to win tonight.”
Utah conceded three goals in the third period for an eventual 5-3 loss in Toronto, and it’s not hard to imagine a competitor of Simashev’s caliber is already plotting his comeback in another back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday in Montreal and Ottawa.
“He’s way ahead of me, he’s unreal,” Sergachev said of his blue-line partner. “Defensively, he’s doing everything right. Points are one thing, offense is one thing, but playing defensively like he’s playing, it takes a lot.”
Seven games into Simashev’s NHL career, he was playing in high-pressure, end-of-game situations; something Sergachev said he wasn’t trusted with until his third year in the league. Considering Segachev won the first of back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in his third year, that’s quite the compliment.
Simashev is already starting most Mammoth games as part of the top defensive pairing with Sergachev and is averaging the fifth-most time on ice among Utah defensemen. Utah is tied for the most wins in the NHL at nine, despite nine of the Mammoth’s first 13 games coming on the road.
The marathon stretch of eight road games in two weeks for the Mammoth reaches its end this weekend in Montreal and Ottawa, with the team’s homecoming set for Wednesday, Nov. 12, against the Buffalo Sabres at the Delta Center.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.