The Arizona Coyotes selected Dmitriy Simashev from Yaroslavl Jr.as the sixth overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft, which began Wednesday night.
Simashev is a 6-4 defenseman from Kostroma, Russia, who played 33 total MHL games and scored a total of 12 points. Simashev moved up to the Kontinental Hockey League and played 18 games for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He is on a two-year contract with the club.
The selection demonstrated the team’s need for defensemen after losing the likes of Jakob Chychrun and Oliver Ekman-Larsson over the years. The last time the Coyotes selected from sixth overall, the franchise selected Ekman-Larsson.
Considered a deep class for forwards, the top five picks reflected it with four being centers.
The draft began as expected with the Chicago Blackhawks selecting center Connor Bedard, 17, from Regina in the Western Hockey League. He was the consensus No. 1 overall pick in most mock drafts and is considered the best prospect to enter the NHL since Connor McDavid was drafted first by Edmonton in 2015.
With the second pick, the Anaheim Ducks offered the first shocker of the draft and took center Leo Carlsson, the top international skater of the class.
The Columbus Blue Jackets took Michigan center Adam Fantilli, recipient of the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country this past season.
The San Jose Sharks selected center Will Smith at No. 4. The Montreal Canadiens took the first defenseman of the draft at No. 5 with David Reinbacher.
The draft will resume Thursday at 8 a.m. The Coyotes will have 10 picks from the second to the sixth round.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Coyotes select defenseman Dmitriy Simashev at No. 6 in the NHL Draft
