Music City, as most people know, or Nashville, Tennessee, was set to bring in thousands of hockey fans for the highly anticipated 2023 NHL Draft. Headlined by Connor Bedard, who most agreed was the best draft prospect since Connor McDavid, it was a jam-packed draft, and the Arizona Coyotes had a chance to make noise with picks six and 12.
After wowing the crowd once, taking Russian defenseman Dmitri Simashev sixth overall, why not wow them again? That’s why general manager Bill Armstrong took Russian winger Daniil But. But, 19, projected to go later in the first round, was a big reach; at least, that’s what many scouts and analysts said.
After an alright first season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) across the seas in Russia, he’s making lots of noise this season. With his KHL team, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, he’s putting up big numbers in a league where young prospects like himself rarely succeed, but he’s proving the doubters wrong and looks to be a steal rather than a reach.
KHL Is No Easy Feat to See Success as a Teenager
Many regard the KHL as the second-best league in the world, right behind the NHL, and for the most part, many scouts, fans, and teams agree on that. That can make it extremely difficult for a young prospect to see success, let alone get ice time in a league with grizzled veterans who’ve been doing this for a long time.
Thus, But’s performance so far this season is impressive, to say the least. He’s notched five goals and 13 points in 19 games, which is over half the points he had last season. Seeing growth was inevitable, but to see him shoot out of the gates like this is extremely promising.
If you remember, But had a terrific prospect camp with Utah earlier this summer, so maybe this was a sign all along, but it’s very encouraging to see what he has been able to do 19 games into the season. He’s growing into his big 6-foot-7 frame and has shown that given his unique skill set, it won’t slow him down, it’ll only propel him.
What Does Next Season Look Like?
If you didn’t know, his contract with his KHL club, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, expires after this season. This was a hot topic when Arizona drafted him because his status coming over to the United States was unknown. Shortly after, though, we all learned he would only be in Russia for two seasons.
Most hockey fans took notice of Matvei Michkov coming over to play for the Philadelphia Flyers sooner than most anticipated. As a result, it’s anticipated that But will come over next season. Of course, if the team wants him to sign an extension, that may change this fluid situation and complicate things. From what we can see right now, though, it looks like he’ll be coming over to either play with Utah or the Tucson Roadrunners.
That begs another point: Will he report to the Roadrunners in the American Hockey League or make the immediate jump to the NHL? He’ll certainly get a look during the preseason, and if he looks sharp, he’ll likely stay with the NHL club; if not, expect a similar situation to Josh Doan and Guenther, who were seasoned in the AHL with the Roadrunners. Armstrong will do whichever is best for his development. We’ve seen him do this with countless prospects, most recently with Doan, who was sent back down to the Roadrunners.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens, but there’s no doubt Utah has high hopes for this kid and expect him to play a big role with the team down the line.
Utah Has High Hopes for But
Of course, any first-round draft pick has high hopes, but Utah could really use a sharpshooter like But to complement its offense. They already have their sniper in Guenther, who is off to a hot start this season, and adding But to the mix just makes Utah that much more dangerous. Unlike Guenther, however, But stands in at a staggering 6-foot-7, making him one of the tallest players on the team and in the league. He has many likable traits, and when he moves to North America next season, it will be an exciting time in the 801.
