We break into the top three of our countdown with yet another towering centreman, Josh Samanski.

Samanski has had an unusual route to the NHL as a prospect. The German import was never selected in the NHL draft. Samanski spent his first NHL draft-eligible season with the Owen Sound Attack in the Ontario Hockey League. The 6-3 centre suited up in 54 games for the Attack and scored four goals, netting 20 points. The following season, Samanski went back home to play in Germany’s second-tier professional league (DEL2). In his first season back home, he scored four goals once again, but finished with 22 points.

The 2021-22 season was the first in which Samanski played the full season in the top German league. In 42 games, the young centreman scored seven goals and tacked on an assist. However, that was just the start of Samanski’s growth. From 2022-23 to 2024-25, Samanski went from 18 points to 27 points, then finished with 40 points before inking his two-year entry-level deal at the end of the 2024-25 season.

Samanski’s first season back in North America was highly successful, in my opinion. The 190-pound centre started the season with the Bakersfield Condors, where he played in 45 AHL games, scoring eight goals and 31 points. Towards the last quarter of the season, Samanski was called up to the big club, where he dressed in 24 regular-season games, scoring two goals and gathering two assists. But most importantly, the left-shot forward suited up in five playoff games, scoring a goal and two points. I don’t think any fan or analyst expected Samanski to develop so quickly into a legitimate option for a bottom-six role.

Like a lot of the prospects I like in the system, Samanski has a great fundamental skating base. Especially at 6-3, the amount of fluidity he has is exceptional. A lot of bigger players who skate well are more powerful, but I find Samanski to be incredibly light on his feet. The 24-year-old centreman generates speed using his quick crossovers. Sticking with the crossovers, Samanski attacks the defender in transition with his use of linear crossovers. The German forward uses the full length of his stride, but can recover his legs to the middle quickly. Even his edge use is above average; Samanski is able to stop quickly and hold players off with his balance.

As I watch Samanski, there isn’t an area of his skating ability that I thought wasn’t at least average. If I were super picky, I would like for him to continue to work on his strength on the puck. At 190 pounds, there could be a bit of weight to gain, but I don’t want to lose the ability to escape pressure with his skating.

Samanski has the potential to be a very effective player in transition due to his strong skating ability, but also the awareness to take the right routes around the ice and the confidence to make a play with the puck. From the two clips above, highlighting the mobile centre’s skating, you can see that Samanski wants the puck in transition and does the right thing more often than not with it.

It looks too easy at the AHL level for Samanski to slice through the defence with his skating, size, and passing ability. I know I said it earlier, but I have to say it again: I love how he continuously attacks the opposing team with his linear crossovers. The smooth-skating forward is highly aware in transition, knowing when he can make it around a player or when it’s time to pass it off and drive the middle lane. Another note to make is how low Samanski comes; he wants the puck in transition, and he makes sure that he is always an option on the breakout.

What surprised me throughout the year was Samanski’s strong passing ability. Much like Rudolfs Berzkalns, Samanski doesn’t have the shooter’s mentality. I actually think Samanski has some strong shooting mechanics, but he just doesn’t use it enough. I think the pass-first centre has more in him than eight goals in 45 AHL games; however, playmaking is clearly a strength of Samanski’s.

I’ll start with the third clip above. Samanski drags the Wranglers’ defenceman over, opening up a ton of space on the far side of the ice. The German centre makes the pass, but it hops over Quinn Hutson’s stick. I think a play like this is important because it shows us that Samanski knows how to manipulate defenders to create open space. The other two clips above showcase the difficulty of passes that Samanski will complete. Samanski can read and time his teammates’ routes very well, and him constantly prescanning helps with this. Even on his backhand with pressure on him, Samanski can feed a perfect pass into the slot for a high-danger chance. I not only believe in Samanski’s ability to not dead-end the play at the NHL level, but I trust that he will get some bottom-six guys some excellent looks on net.

Finally, I want to talk about the defensive effort in all three zones of the ice. Samanski’s awareness doesn’t just stop with his offensive game; the fluid centreman is constantly reading the play and putting himself in the best position to cover for a pinching defenceman or go support a battle down low.

I am a big fan of Samanski’s two-way game. I think in a bottom-six role, he can provide you with some positive goal results. Samanski will even give you some great minutes on the penalty kill. The skating, size, reach, and stamina give him a fair amount of potential to put up some great defensive results. This is another reason why I prefer the big centreman at centre; he can deal with heavy players down low and stick with players who are good skaters.

I project Samanski to play a role this season for the Edmonton Oilers. With his cup of coffee last year, I think he showed the big club that he is ready to take on NHL competition and can provide some excellent depth minutes. I like Samanski as the fourth-line centre entering the season; this team needs youth and speed. I think the undrafted German can even provide you with some penalty-killing minutes if he is called upon. I don’t expect many points from Samanski, and that won’t be his job at the NHL level, but I do think there is some of that playmaking skill that could pop up every once in a while.

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