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’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, playing a healthy dose of minutes on Draisaitl’s wing against some of the world’s best hockey players, tallying a goal and an assist in the tournament. He was also a staple on Germany’s first-unit power play, using his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame to his advantage as a net-front presence.

Again, I feel that experience playing against the world’s best players at the Olympics really opened the lid on his development, and that growth has now trickled into his NHL career.

Samanski was credited with his first NHL goal on March 21 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and since then, more qualities in his game have emerged and been impressive.

About three weeks ago, I noted that there wasn’t a scrum that Samanski said no to. Whenever his linemates mixed it up after the whistles, the 24-year-old was one of the first Oilers in there, with many on the opposition likely thinking, “Hey, who is this guy anyway?”

Fast forward to now, and Samanski getting into the mix is almost automatic, to the point where it’s bordering on me labelling him very “pest-like” fairly soon.

In addition, over the last ten day stretch, another noticeable trait being incorporated into Samanski’s game is his attention to detail on the defensive side, highlighted by the incredible defensive shift he had against the San Jose Sharks on April 8, with a hard back check, and doing everything humanly possible with his body to prevent the Sharks from maintaining possession, after losing his stick.

He followed that up two nights later against the Colorado Avalanche. The centre gave the puck away in front of the Oilers’ net, but did everything in his power — using every inch of his 6-foot-2 body — to try and block the shot, taking away a scoring chance and redeeming himself for his misstep. In fact, according to Natural Stat Trick, Samanski’s 3.32 blocks per 60 minutes ranks second among forwards on the Oilers, and that willingness to sacrifice your body and get in front of pucks becomes even more valuable come playoff time.

Offensively, Samanski was credited with a goal last game against the Vancouver Canucks, where his pass toward Trent Frederic ended up in the back of the Canucks’ net. Now, it wasn’t a highlight-reel goal, and two of his goals this season haven’t come from him actually shooting the puck on net, but I feel you have to ride the wave of the young centre’s confidence, because over the last stretch of games, you can see it building.

He’s introduced a curl-and-drag shot to his repertoire over the last few games and executed his nicest one two games ago against Colorado, where he toe-dragged and got off a nice low shot, which is a good sign that he’s feeling more and more comfortable on the ice.

As a whole, Samanski can certainly improve in the faceoff circle, winning just below 50% of his draws this season, but his underlying metrics at five-on-five are all positive, with a 51.95 SF%, 55 GF% (11-9), 52.49 SCF% and a 50 HDCF%.

But, above all, as to why I feel Samanski should be in the lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs is the chemistry that he’s had with Trent Frederic and Colton Dach.

The trio has played together the last four games, and has outscored the opposition 2-1, with scoring chances 17-12 in their favour, and they’ve thrown a combined 40 hits. There’s no need to pull the calculators out for that one — the Dach, Samanski, and Frederic line has combined for an average of 10 hits a game over the last four games.

That’s an incredible amount of hits, combined with them chipping in on the scoresheet, and it’s best not to mess with the chemistry they’ve shown, but instead to ride their momentum into the playoffs.

Shifting gears slightly, we’ve toyed around with calling the Dach and Frederic duo the “Bash Brothers,” based on the Mighty Ducks movies, which were actually the inspiration behind the creation of the Anaheim Ducks NHL team following the franchise’s success, and which ironically happen to be the Oilers’ first-round opponent.

That said, there was a clip from D2: The Mighty Ducks where the “Bash Brothers,” Fulton Reed and Dean Portman, were up to their usual physical, pest-like antics, and those antics happened to have rubbed off on their smaller linemate Kenny Wu, who got into a tussle with a netminder and became the third Bash Brother.

Now, if you’re wondering whether this writer is about to make a comparison of Kenny Wu to Josh Samanski — you bet I am, because it’s an ironic and fun comparison that’s hard to ignore.

Wu was a former Olympian, just like Samanski, and much like Wu gained the courage to adopt a pest-like edge while being surrounded by two “Bash Brothers” on his line, Samanski has adopted that same chippy approach and willingness to engage physically, with a 6-foot-4, 218-pound winger on one side of him and a 6-foot-3, 221-pounder on the other. Overall, I feel having those hard-nosed players in Dach and Frederic on each side of Samanski is bringing the best out of the centre, and you need to keep the trio together, whether they’re the third line or fourth line.

Ultimately, Samanski’s steady upward trend since January is very impressive, and at this point, I feel you have to give the 24-year-old the ball and let him run with it, and if I were making the team decisions — however the chips fall — Josh Samanski is in my lineup for Game 1 of the playoffs.

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