Fresh from his all-star nod, Tucson Roadrunners defenseman Dmitri Simashev continued his successful run over the weekend.
Last week, the AHL announced the Kostroma, Russia native was selected to the All-Star Classic in February. This came after he picked up three assists against Iowa the game before the selections were announced.
Then on Saturday, he scored the game-tying goal in the third period against the San Jose Barracuda, ensuring Tucson got an important point.
“It's great, I think we use a golf analogy quite a bit, when you have a birdie, a lot of times you follow up with a bogey or a par, it's hard to do it two times in a row,” said Tucson head coach Steve Potvin. “Sometimes, you're getting named to the all-star team and you're point streak and you start to feel pretty good about yourself and everybody’s praising you for being an all star, but he’s kind of in the moment and just loves playing the game and wants to compete and wants to improve and shows a lot about his character.”
Tucson (17-12-6-0) hosts the San Diego Gulls (16-12-6-2) for a two-game series starting on Tuesday night. The Gulls are the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.
Last week, the AHL announced that Dmitri Simashev, a Kostroma, Russia, native, was selected to the All-Star Classic in February.
Simashev has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his last 14 games, which is fourth among AHL defensemen in that span. His .94 points-per-game pace is first among AHL rookie defensemen and is third among all AHL defensemen.
Simashev became Tucson’s 16th all-star selection. He’s the third Roadrunner defenseman and their ninth rookie to be an all-star.
“He's so good, he definitely deserves it, he’s been showing out since he got here,” said defenseman Maveric Lamoureux. “He’s definitely one of our best players, so I'm really happy for him.”
Simashev, who the Arizona Coyotes selected with the sixth pick in 2023, won the KHL with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv last year. He played in 24 games this season from October to December, but Potvin said he handled the move to the AHL well.
“Absolutely, absolutely, it's one of the hardest things, everybody wants to be in the NHL, I mean, he's a player, he’s an elite player and he expects to be there but I think what I like about him is that he really enjoys playing and winning and competing I think as long as you have that kind of attitude and find enjoyment in your challenges, you're always gonna be able to rise up,” Potvin said. “He's done a good job for himself, he’s done a good job for our team and at this point we're lucky to have him.”
Simashev, Lamoureux, who was a first-round pick in 2022, Max Szuber and Artem Duda headline a prospect-filled unit of defensemen for Tucson. Lamoureux has played 20 games in the NHL in his two seasons as a pro.
“I'd say D corps is one of the best in the league, that’s for sure,” Lamoureux said. “We don't give much, we don't allow much and I think that's something we really improved since the break.”
One streak snapped, one continues
The Roadrunners fell 4-3 in overtime to the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday night, getting a series split and ending their five-game winning streak.
The point from the 3-3 regulation tie, however, extended Tucson’s points streak to nine games. The Roadrunners have gotten at least a point in 13 of their last 15.
The Roadrunners are 6-0-2-0 since their Christmas break.
“Well, I think since the break our whole game changed, of course, we do want to win every time, we've had a really good streak, it’s hockey, we can't always win them,” Lamoureux said. “We got some bad luck that happen, but we still left out with a point, so it's really good for us anyway.”
Maveric Lamoureux (10), a first-round pick in 2022, has played 20 games in the NHL in his two seasons as a pro.
After Saturday’s games, Tucson moved up to a tie for sixth place with San Diego with 40 points, though if the playoffs started today, the Gulls would have the tiebreaker over Tucson due to their 12 regulation wins to the Roadrunners’ 10. SD and Tucson are six points behind third-place Bakersfield.
Potvin said the streak shows a lot of work.
“Oh, it's massive, any time that you can get on a streak, it's important, your hockey team just puts that belief in your mindset,” Potvin said. “I think we've been working for a long time.”
Tucson has played 13 overtime games this season, the second-most in the AHL. The Roadrunners are 7-0-6-0 in the extra frame.
Stay classy, San Diego
Interstate 8 figures to be full of hockey players this week.
Tucson teams play against San Diego teams on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday this week.
In addition to the Roadrunners’ series against San Diego, UA men’s hockey hosts San Diego State for a two-game series on Friday and Saturday night. The Wildcats are coming off a series split with ASU at Mullet Arena and host their annual Teddy Bear Toss on Friday.
This season, Tucson is 0-1-1-0 against San Diego, but the two compete for the I-8 Border Rivalry Trophy, which the Roadrunners have won every year except in 2021-22.
Potvin said it feels like the whole division is their rivals.
“I think we have rivalry type games against everybody, it’s such a tight division,” Potvin said. “Every game this time of year becomes a playoff game, so it just seems like they're all kind of rivalry teams.”
January promotions
Saturday’s game was UA/College Night. It started with UA women’s hockey captain and junior forward Britney Bridel ringing the Roadrunners’ 10th season bell before the game and also featured appearances by Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat.
Tuesday is $2 hot dogs and sodas, and Wednesday is “Winning Wednesdays.” If the Roadrunners beat the Gulls, then fans get free tickets to the next Wednesday home game.
