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Oilers’ Josh Samanski goes incognito at German festival to find romance

Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

By Michael Menzies

Aug 22, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 22, 2026, 11:51 EDT

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Hockey conversation is ramping up towards the end of August, as Edmonton Oilers fans ponder questions about their club.

Is Josh Samanski ready to take a step and seize a job with the big club all season? Are the Oilers looking to target a right-handed centre for the fourth line? Will Samanski go back and forth from Bakersfield this season?

However, these questions are not top of mind for the 24-year-old. The German forward is looking for… love?!

In a now-viral social media clip, Samanski had a little fun while at Gäubodenvolksfest, a festival in Straubing, Germany. Using a fake name, “Finn” sat at the festival’s “Singles Couch” and revealed what he’s looking for in a woman.

“Beautiful eyes, the rest doesn’t matter,” he said in German about his ideal partner. “Of course, we have to get along well. Maybe non-smoking would be nice.”

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In a world now dominated by online dating, the Singles Couch interviews participants to see if they can find a connection through their videos. It’s a long-standing matchmaking tradition at Gäubodenvolksfest.

“I’m pretty much a normal guy,” he said, adding in the interview that he doesn’t drink after being given a voucher for a free beer.

“I like to go to Volksfest with the guys. Just looking for true love and, hopefully, it works out today…I just loaf around at home on the couch and stare at the ceiling waiting for the day to be over. If a nice girl likes doing that as well, I’m her guy.”

Samanski’s cover may have been blown, though. He cut his teeth as a member of the Straubing Tigers for four seasons, leading to his pro contract with the Oilers, so there’s a good chance his ruse was busted.

The guy has had a busy year.

He went from signing an NHL contract last April, playing in the World Championships, suiting up with the Bakersfield Condors in the fall, earning the call to the NHL in January, representing his country at the Olympics in February, scoring his first NHL goal in March, playing five playoff games in April, and then playing in the World Championships again this May.

He’s earned the right to blow off some steam.

Oilers fans hope his celebrity will only grow in his homeland this coming season with another step in 2026-27. And with the news that the Oilers will play two regular-season games in Cologne in 2027-28, will the Singles Couch be at the arena?

Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and co-host of PreGaming and Oilersnation After Dark. He’s also been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years of news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, Menzies collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues. Follow him on X at Menzies_4.

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