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Ranking the prospects in the Utah Hockey Club's pipeline
When the Coyotes embarked on a true rebuild in Year 2 of GM Bill Armstrong’s tenure, I vowed to keep tabs on the prospects filtering through the system. Every month during the season, I published a prospect report. I have also written numerous features on the prospects.
Both of those elements will be staples of my Utah Hockey Club coverage, but several years back, I added a different layer by ranking the prospects in the system; a practice that predates the Armstrong era.
I wanted to give fans a sense of the prospect pecking order. Last year and for the first time, I also broke the rankings down by positions to offer a look at the organizational depth at each position.
As I note whenever I discuss prospects, I am not qualified to rank them. Few reporters are, though many decide that watching video and reading stories makes them experts. If you’re not out on the road scouting these players, and if you’re not trained in scouting, you are not an expert and, quite bluntly, your opinion means little.
If you want expert analysis of prospects from reporters, turn to guys such as FloHockey’s Chris Peters or The Athletic’s Corey Pronman. They put in the work and they have the contacts throughout the scouting ranks to elevate their understanding of players.
Again, these lists are not my own ranking. They reflect my sense of how Utah’s staff feels about its prospects, based on numerous conversations I have had over the past few months. If you want to read other Utah Hockey Club content from ALLCITY Network, follow this link.
Let’s start with the overall ranking of Utah’s prospects.
Utah’s top 10 prospects
No. 1: Dmitri Simashev
Age: 19
Position: Defense
Height/weight: 6-5/203
Shoots: Left
Current team: Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (KHL)
Info: Simashev wowed the staff at development camp and could be in an NHL jersey as soon as 2025-26. He’s big, mobile, and defensively sound with upside in his offensive game. He projects as a No. 2/3 defenseman.
No. 2: Tij Iginla
Age: 17
Position: Wing
Height/weight: 6-0/192
Shoots: Left
Current team: Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
Info: A high-character player with puck skills in tight spaces, Iginla projects as a top-six forward with top-line potential. I’ll publish a feature on him next week.
No. 3: Daniil But
Age: 19
Position: Wing
Height/weight: 6-6/216
Shoots: Right
Current team: Yaroslavl Lokomotiv
Info: A massive power forward who goes to the hard areas, But projects in the top six.
No. 4: Maveric Lamoureux
Age: 20
Position: Defense
Height/weight: 6-7/214
Shoots: Right
Current team: Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Info: Injuries have slowed Lamoureux’s development but he will have time to bloom in Tucson. He projects in the top five, with the potential for a higher ceiling given his size, mobility and puck skills.
No. 5: Michael Hrabal
Age: 19
Position: Goalie
Height/weight: 6-6/209
Catches: Right
Current team: UMass Minutemen (NCAA)
Info: Hrabal’s combination of athleticism, size and smarts project him as the starter of the future.
No. 6: Cole Beaudoin
Age: 18
Position: Center
Height/weight: 6-2/209
Shoots: Left
Current team: Barrie Colts (OHL)
Info: Beaudoin is a gritty, in-your-face player who projects as a third-line center.
No. 7: Josh Doan
Age: 22
Position: Wing
Height/weight: 6-1/183
Shoots: Right
Current team: Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Info: Doan impressed in his 11-game NHL cameo. He’ll push for a spot in the top nine this season.
No. 8: Artem Duda
Age: 20
Position: Defense
Height/weight: 6-1/187
Shoots: Left
Current team: Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Info: Getting Duda signed was an arduous task. The smooth skater projects as a top-5 D-man with terrific puck skills.
No. 9: Jonathan Castagna
Age: 19
Position: Center/wing
Height/weight: 6-2/203
Shoots: Left
Current team: Cornell Big Red (NCAA)
Info: Castagna drove his line in his freshman season at Cornell. He projects in the top nine.
No. 10: Maksymilian Szuber
Age: 21
Position: Defense
Height/weight: 6-3/201
Shoots: Left
Current team: Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Info: Szuber’s hockey IQ, size and mobility give him the opportunity to be a top-6 D-man for a long time.
Top 5 centers
1. Cole Beaudoin
2. Sam Lipkin (21): 6-2, 192, Tucson (AHL)
3. Tanner Ludtke (19), 6-0, 185, Omaha (NCAA)
4. Gabe Smith (17): 6-4, 207, Moncton (QMJHL)
5. Samu Bau (20): 6-5, 216, Ilves (Finland)
Thoughts: The loss of Conor Geekie in the trade for Mikhail Sergachev left an enormous hole in Utah’s pipeline at a critical position. Outside of Logan Cooley, Utah has no top-six center prospects on the NHL club or in its system. Barrett Hayton will hold down that role at the NHL level for now, and Beaudoin could rise to become a No. 2 center, but that is not his projection.
Lack of center depth has haunted this franchise for almost all of its existence. Of course, if the franchise had enjoyed the same sort of lottery luck in Phoenix as teams such as Edmonton, Colorado, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Tampa or San José, they would have drafted one of those top center prospects by now, but the Coyotes never drafted higher than No. 3.
At some point, this deficiency will have to be addressed, whether through lottery luck, finding a gem below the top two picks, or acquiring one via trade, which both St. Louis and Vegas accomplished on their way to the Stanley Cup. Right now, Utah’s center depth is not Cup quality, and it may not even be playoff quality.
Top 10 wings
1. Tij Iginla
2. Daniil But
3. Josh Doan
4. Jonathan Castagna
5. Vadim Moroz (20); 6-2, 183, Dinamo Minsk (KHL)
6. Mikko Matikka (20): 6-3, 201, Tucson (AHL)
7. Julian Lutz (20): 6-2, 194, Tucson (AHL)
8. Noel Nordh (19): 6-2, 198, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
9. Aku Räty (23): 6-0, 193, Tucson (AHL)
10. Ilya Fedotov (21): 6-1, 172, Sochi (KHL)
Thoughts: With Clayton Keller (25), Nick Schmaltz (28), Matias Maccelli (23), Lawson Crouse (27), and Dylan Guenther (21) holding down top-nine spots with the NHL club, Utah appears to be set up for good success on the wings with Iginla, But, Doan and other prospects coming soon.
This is also the easiest position at which to acquire skilled help via free agency and trades.
Top 10 defensemen
1. Dimitri Simashev
2. Maveric Lamoureux
3. Artem Duda
4. Maksymilian Szuber
5. Will Skahan (18): 6-4, 216, Boston College (NCAA)
6. Justin Kipkie (18), 6-3, 194, Victoria (WHL)
7. Terrell Goldsmith (19): 6-4, 216, Prince Albert (WHL)
8. Tomas Lavoie (18): 6-4, 223, Cape Breton (QMJHL)
9. Veeti Väisänen (18): 6-1, 187, KooKoo (Finland)
10. Matthew Morden (19): 6-4, 203, Harvard
Thoughts: Draft-day trades for Mikhail Sergachev (26) and John Marino (27) have Utah set up well for years to come with prospects such as Simashev, Lamoureux, Duda and Szuber on the way, but the system could still use more depth and probably one more high-end guy.
Tucson fans are in for a treat this season with the opportunity to watch Lamoureux, Duda and Szuber play. Too bad they didn’t get to watch Geekie as well, but that’s the price you pay for a projected top-pair defenseman (Sergachev).
Top 5 goalies
1. Michael Hrabal
2. Melker Thelin (19): 6-2, 170, Björklöven (Sweden)
3. Carsen Musser (19): 6-4, 220, Colorado College (NCAA)
4. Rasmus Korhonen (21): 6-5, 203, Västerås (Sweden)
5. Anson Thornton (21): 6-3, 185, team TBD
Thoughts: The Coyotes filled out their goaltending pipeline last season when they drafted Hrabal, Thelin and Musser in the second, fifth and sixth rounds respectively. It was a wise move, given the dearth of quality goaltending prospects in the 2024 draft, and the lengthy timeline required for developing NHL goalies.
With Tucson’s spots locked up by Matt Villalta, Jaxson Stauber and perhaps Dylan Wells, all five prospects will have the opportunity to develop and play a lot of games at lower levels.
Top photo of Dmitri Simashev via Getty Images
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