Canadian University Hockey isn’t the most direct path to the NHL. But when you’re already drafted and get the opportunity to chase a championship with your friend, you might as well give it a shot.
In an unusual move, Artem Duda of Moscow, Russia, joined Toronto Metropolitan Univeristy’s Men’s Hockey Team for the back half of their 2023-2024 season.
At first glance, this move doesn’t make the most sense. If your goal is to make the NHL, USports is not the easiest road to get there. However, for Artem Duda, it may have been his only option.
The 20-year-old Russian went 36th overall to the then-Arizona Coyotes in the 2022 NHL Draft. However, logistically, breaking into the NHL from Russia may be harder than through Canadian University.
Feeling like he was ready to take a step toward the NHL, Duda thought he would try hockey at the collegiate level. He was originally scouted by the University of Maine. However, his 12 games in the KHL eliminated that option, even upon two appeals.
After Maine fell through, Duda ended up at TMU. A curious landing spot, but the positives seemed to line up for the defenseman.
TMU had a lot to offer for the one-semester Duda would end up playing. Firstly, they would be hosting the USports National Championship in March of that year. He would hopefully get the exposure he needed and a good performance could land him with an entry-level contract.
NHL scouts often appear at the UCup and with the added publicity Gardner MacDougall’s undefeated UNB squad brought to the 2024 season, there would certainly be eyes on the tournament. TMU may not have won the cup, but it seems like Duda got what he needed from it.
Besides a competitive team that was clearly loading up for a playoff push, TMU offered Duda something no other Canadian school could.
A chance to play with his childhood friend again.
Fellow Russian from Moscow, born in the same year, Daniil Grigorev was halfway through his first season at TMU when Duda signed with the team. Daniil joined the team mainly on the prospect of a guaranteed spot in the UCup, telling the Eyeopener – TMU’s student-run newspaper, “I made my decision instantly.”
The two had played together since they were ten, most notably on the Russian Youth Olympics team back in 2020 where they won Gold. Having someone who not only knows him but speaks the same language as him was a large factor in deciding where he would move across the world.
It was Grigorev who reached out to Duda upon TMU Head Coach Johnny Duco’s request. Duda told the Eyeopener that it was ultimately his fellow Russian who had the biggest impact on his decision.
Once Duda was in Canada, touching down in Toronto on December 26th, he and Grigorev were inseparable. Many even referred to them as “brothers.”
The impact the Russians had on the team over the season became clear in the playoffs. Duda connected on 2 game-winning goals in the postseason. For his semester-long career at TMU, the defenseman had 13 points in 21 games with four goals. Those four goals came off just 8 shots, likely all with his signature slapshot from the point.
But where Duda shined the most in Toronto was with his endurance.
The Russian defenseman ate minutes at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. He would finish a shift, and by the time you blinked, he was back out there. He played power-play minutes and held down the penalty kill. Even without looking at stats, when he was on the ice, the whole team played better.
Duda recently signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Utah Hockey Club. TMU will miss him in their line-up but is no doubt proud of the first-ever player to sign an NHL contract in program history.
