Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. As we go through the summer of 2024, each day our LWOS Prospects Writers will bring you a look at one NHL team’s top prospects or other topical article. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow Ben Kerr and Frederik Frandson on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! You can find all the articles here as well as our extensive NHL Draft preview. Today, we look at the 2024 Utah Hockey Club Top Prospects.
For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoff games) or is 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and we may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
2024 Utah Hockey Club Top Prospects
1.) Top of the Utah Prospects: Tij Iginla
Drafted sixth overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Iginla shoots to the top of the Utah Hockey Club Prospects Chart. The son of NHL legend Jarome Iginla, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His offensive game is creative, skilled, and mature all at once. His toolkit for creating chances is extremely deep, and he makes excellent decisions quickly on the ice. Also, his shot is excellent and lightning-quick. Especially the snapshot, which he utilizes well. It’s an amazing mix between power and accuracy, with a constantly changing release point.
Iginla has decent size and the skating ability to be a power forward. He loves to get to the front of the net, both with and without the puck. He is also physical and effective on the forecheck. Furthermore, Iginla can play the role of playmaker. He stickhandles well and can create space. He makes smart decisions with the puck and has the vision and passing skills to set up teammates. Mature for his age, Iginla is effective in both ends of the ice. Unlike his father, he may develop at centre and is expected to play in the middle this year in the WHL.
2.) Dmitri Simashev
Simashev combines great size at 6’4″ wth outstanding skating ability. He has a long and powerful stride. This helps him to generate excellent speed and acceleration in both directions. Simashev’s bread and butter is his defensive game. However, some areas of his offensive game show flashes of potential. His excellent skating allows him to join the rush or pinch in at the blueline and still get back defensively. His lateral movement allows him to walk the line and open up passing and shooting lanes. Simashev has good passing ability, whether making a first pass to start the transition game or a play in the offensive zone.
Simashev is extremely well-developed defensively, especially for his age. He uses his long stick, excellent skating ability, and his size to cut off the middle of the ice. In addition, Simashev maintains excellent gap control. He forces attackers to the outside and into bad shooting areas. Simashev keeps himself between his man and the front of the net, using his body to block shots and his long stick to cut down passing lanes. His positioning away from the puck is also strong. Simashez stays between his man and the front of the net. He keeps the play to the outside and uses his size and strength to win battles in the corners and in front of the net.
3.) Daniil But
Daniil But has high-end offensive upside, but must round out his game in order to make an NHL impact. He has great size, an incredible shot and quick release, and very good stickhandling ability. This makes him very dangerous in the offensive zone. His reach allows him to protect the puck and extend plays. A quick move of his hands helps to open up passing and shooting lanes. While But improved his skating this year, there is still a long way to go before it is NHL ready. At his current level, he would have a tough time keeping up to NHL speed, but he is young and with the improvements already made, he could get there. He is a real boom or bust prospect as the upside here is very high. He will also need to work on his defensive game to fulfill the potential seen with this ranking amongst a deep group of Utah prospects.
4.) Josh Doan
Another son of a former NHLer, Josh’s father is Coyotes great Shane Doan. Doan plays a similar power game to his father. He has an excellent wrist shot and a very quick release. His shot is very powerful as well as accurate. Doan loves to shoot, and will do so anytime he gets the opportunity. He also loves to drive the puck to the net. He will take a defender wide and then drop his shoulder and get to the front of the net. Doan also has the soft hands to finish in close when he gets there. He is not afraid to get involved in physical play. Doan is effective at getting in quickly on the forecheck and pressuring defenders into making mistakes. He is also not afraid to get to the front of the net without the puck. Doan can score rebounds and tip-ins.
5.) Cole Beaudoin
Beaudoin is another power-forward type. He is the type of player who is a real pain to play against. Beaudoin is an excellent skater with very good speed and acceleration. This helps him to get into the offensive zone quickly. He hits hard on both the forecheck and backcheck. He also loves to get to the front of the net. Once there, Beaudoin creates havoc, screening goalies, getting tip-ins and pouncing on rebounds. When he is on the ice, he is always in the middle of every scrum. He really is a pest and can frustrate opponents and draw penalties. Beaudoin also has decent playmaking ability with good hands, and the vision and passing skills to set up teammates.
6.) Maveric Lamoureux
Lamoureux’s offensive game is a bit of a work in progress but he has the tools to be a threat. He has an outstanding slap shot. He fires it on the net with excellent velocity. Lamoureux also sneaks down from the point to let go of an excellent wrist shot. However, Lamoureux could stand to move a bit laterally and open up shooting lanes. Lamoureux is solid in transition. He makes a smart first pass. He is also a good stickhandler and can carry the puck through the neutral zone and generates efficient zone entries. Conversely, Lamoureux needs to work on his poise with the puck in the offensive zone. He seems to rush things at times, making a simple pass on the perimeter, or as mentioned, taking the shot that isn’t open. As it stands his offensive game is a bit raw.
Lamoureux uses his size and skating ability to play a strong defensive game. His skating allows him to maintain good gap control and force attackers to the outside and away from quality scoring areas. If they try to slip by him, Lamoureux can explode quickly and throw a thunderous body check. He is a feared hitter. He also does a good job of using his long stick to cut down passing and shooting lanes. Lamoureux wins battles along the boards as well as in front of the net. Lamoureux can also transition the puck up the ice when a turnover is created. He will need to improve his lateral movement though as smaller, shifty forwards can sometimes give him some issues.
7.) Michael Hrabel
Hrabel is a huge goaltender, coming in at 6-foot-7. He’s a strong skater, allowing him to get around the crease and cut down angles. This, combined with his size gives shooters very little to shoot at. His side-to-side movement is also strong. For a young goalie, Hrabel’s rebound control is good, but there is still some work to do. He gets in and out of the butterfly quickly taking away the bottom of the net. Even when he is on his knees, his shoulders reach the crossbar, meaning he isn’t sacrificing the top of the net. Hrabel is calm in the net. He battles through traffic and gets himself square to the shooter no matter what the traffic around him.
8.) Artyom Duda
Duda is an undersized, offensive defenceman with an absolute bomb of a shot. In order to succeed in the NHL as an undersized defender, one must possess strong skating skills. This is something Duda has. His excellent agility and edgework allow him to get out of tough spots in his own end, and to create passing and shooting lanes by walking the line in the offensive end. This combined with his strong stickhandling also allows him to lead the rush through the neutral zone and generate efficient zone entries. Once there, he has the vision and passing skills to be a playmaker from the point and set up his teammates.
9.) Sam Lipkin
A former seventh round pick, Lipkin has shown great development during his time at Quinnipiac University. His size, 6-foot-2, skating ability, physicality, and defensive game have him projecting as a potential third or fourth line centre down the road. He does it all for Quinnipiac, including killing penalties and facing the opposition’s top lines. Lipkin also has some offensive flair as he put up 78 points in 78 games over his two college seasons. Lipkin signed his pro contract late last season and played a few AHL games. That is likely the next step in his development as the he looks to make good as a longshot amongst the Utah prospects.
10.) Egor Sokolov
Sokolov is a big forward who uses his body to protect the puck extremely well down low. With his strong stickhandling and big frame, it is extremely difficult to knock him off the puck. He extends plays and keeps possession for his team. Sokolov can play the role of playmaker when working down low. He has good vision and when he spots an opening, he can make a quick pass to a teammate to set up a scoring chance. Sokolov has the type of soft hands where he can make a quick move to open up a passing lane and get the puck to a teammate. He is also effective on the forecheck, creating pressure on opposing defenders and causing turnovers. Sokolov is not afraid to throw a big hit on a defender retrieving a loose puck or to take a hit to make a play.
Honourable Mention (4th Round Pick or Later, Not Necessarily #11 Prospect): Aku Raty
Raty is effective at both ends of the ice. His feet never stop moving and this allows him to be involved in battles on the boards and in front of the net in all three zones. He is a responsible player with good hockey sense and who is almost always in the right position. Raty’s defensive game and ability to kill penalties could help him to win a role in the NHL. However, there is also some offensive upside with a decent shot and good playmaking skills. He got his first NHL game last season and will be looking for more this year.
Main Photo Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie – USA TODAY Sports
