Utah HC signs defenseman Artem Duda to three-year, entry-level contract

Mike Gould
Mike Gould
Utah HC signs defenseman Artem Duda to three-year, entry-level contract
Credit: KHL

The Utah Hockey Club has signed defenseman Artem Duda to a three-year, entry-level contract, PuckPedia reported Tuesday afternoon.

Duda, 20, spent the 2023-24 season playing at Toronto Metropolitan University, collecting two goals and seven points in 12 games.

The Arizona Coyotes originally selected Duda in the second round (No. 36 overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. The 6’1″ left-handed defenseman had committed to play at the University of Maine in the 2023-24 season before being deemed ineligible to play by the NCAA.

Duda’s new contract with Utah carries an average annual value of $950,000, including $95,000 in signing bonuses, and will see Duda paid $82,500 per season in the American Hockey League.

The Moscow-born Duda played his junior hockey in the CSKA Moscow system in Russia before making his KHL debut with the club in the 2022-23 season, collecting three assists in 14 games.

Duda came over to North America ahead of the 2023-24 season, but his KHL experience made him ineligible to play at the University of Maine, even after numerous appeals by his representatives. He ultimately joined the TMU Bold in January 2024 and spent the remaining balance of the season playing U SPORTS hockey.

The Coyotes selected three defensemen in the 2022 NHL Draft who still feature prominently in the Utah organization: Duda, Max Szuber, and Maveric Lamoureux, the latter of whom is a 6’7″ righty who played for Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Earlier on Tuesday, Utah signed another Russian, forward Egor Sokolov, to a one-year contract. Utah has been one of the NHL’s most active teams this offseason, acquiring the likes of Mikhail Sergachev and John Marino while drafting Tij Iginla and re-signing Sean Durzi, Barrett Hayton, and Michael Kesselring.

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