Is Josh Samanski in the Oilers’ opening-night playoff lineup? |
With the start of the Edmonton Oilers’ postseason just around the corner, one of the biggest questions surrounding the team is what the lineup will look like once the puck drops for Game 1 on April 20.
That said, Tony Brar released some line combinations from practice on Friday. Of course, nothing is set in stone, but the forward lines were as follows:
Savoie – McDavid – Hyman
Podkolzin – Draisaitl – Kapanen
Henrique – Nugent-Hopkins – Roslovic
Dach – Samanski – Frederic
Lazar
At the time of this writing, it is not yet confirmed if Leon Draisaitl will actually play Game 1, and the status of Jason Dickinson, who has missed the last three games of the season after taking a shot to the ankle, is also uncertain. However, Jason Gregor posted on X on April 16 that he’s highly motivated to play, and a return in the first round seems plausible.
Still, if Draisaitl and Dickinson are both good to go for Game 1, the attention shifts to 24-year-old Josh Samanski, who would appear to be the odd man out for a roster spot… or should he be?
On that note, former NHLer Landon Ferraro was on the Kevin Karius show recently and talked about playing against Samanski when the two played against each other in Germany, and about the steps the Oilers’ centre has taken, saying:
“I played against him in the German league his first couple of years. He’s taken these steady steps, but no way would I have thought that — not that he couldn’t play in the NHL, but for the fact that he could come over in his first year and take a jump. And now we’re talking about, is he in the lineup in the playoffs?”
I’ve been impressed with Samanski’s growth in such a short period since January, and if all players are ready to go for Game 1, the German centre should not be the one pulled out of the lineup. We’ll dive into his growth in such a short time and why he deserves to be in the lineup for Game 1.
Samanski started the season with the Bakersfield Condors, where he registered 31 points (eight goals, 23 assists) in 45 games, and the Oilers recalled him on January 26.
The Erding, Germany, native hasn’t looked back since, and I feel his growth was fast-tracked even further with his Olympic experience playing with Team Germany.
He played in five Olympic games last February,........