For NHL teams looking to pick up a forward with speed, skill and a high offensive ceiling in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft being held July 23-24, Mackie Samoskevich is an enticing choice.
The Newtown, Conn., native joined fellow Nutmeg State product Scott Morrow at Shattuck-St.Mary’s School in Minnesota to play his Midget AAA hockey before jumping to the USHL with the Chicago Steel. On a team that went 79-18-4-2 from 2019-21, Samoskevich had a superb rookie year in 2019-20, but battled through injuries in his second campaign. Getting healthy in time to win the 2021 Clark Cup championship, Samoskevich put up 10 points in eight playoff games and heads to Ann Arbor this fall to play at the University of Michigan.
With Samoskevich, it's always been about his skating and offensive tools. He is at his best when leading the rush and forcing the opposition to collapse into their own end and allow clean zone entries for quality scoring chances.
“Dynamic offensive player,” a Western Conference NHL scout said. “Explosive, powerful athlete. First-round talent in terms of speed, stick skill, release, offensive playmaking ability 1-on-1. He’s at his best when he’s using his speed to drive wide or push defenders back to create a big gap. He can then cut back and make open-ice plays.”
With speed to burn, Samoskevich can elevate his pace to match any situation. But he also has tremendous agility and slippery elusiveness, allowing him to slow things down and force defenders out of passing or skating lanes. When he does that, he is able to unleash a shot that many feel is already pro-quality in terms of release and accuracy.
“He’s got a great shot; he needs to shoot more,” said the scout. “I think he’s a mega-talent who is still learning how he can maximize that consistently. When he’s playing the speed, drive and shoot game, he’s big-time.”
However, observers can see that when Samoskevich doesn’t move his feet and gets out on the perimeter where he’s looking to create and hit seams, he isn’t as effective as when using his explosiveness to back defenses up and take pucks hard to the net. The scout noted that he will at times try to be more of an outside playmaker looking to force pucks through seams.
“That’s not his game,” he said. “I think he still has to sort out his identity.”
If consistency has thus far eluded the 5-foot-11, 190-pound center/right-winger who ended up as the New England Hockey Journal’s No. 2 prospect for the 2021 NHL draft, then he has plenty of time to get there. He doesn’t turn 19 until mid-November and is expected to make a formidable Wolverines forward group that much more deadly.
A second scout weighed in on Samoskevich to New England Hockey Journal, citing his pure upside as a reason to take a chance sooner rather than later.
“He missed some time in the middle of the season and it might have been out of sight, out of mind,” he said. “But, the best way to win games at any level is to score, and this guy does that. Even if he isn’t scoring, he can still help you in a variety of ways.”
The potential to develop into a versatile, 200-foot player as he refines his defensive habits and gains more playing experience, is real. At the lower levels, he’s been asked to focus on his scoring, but with his elite wheels and nimble hands, he should be able to translate that into quality defensive play in his own end. One scouting service recently described him as a “demon on the forecheck,” and that ability to disrupt and force turnovers bodes well for him to be able to find a place higher and lower in the Michigan lineup and when he’s ready to turn pro.
New England Hockey Journal draft prediction: With a lot of variance in this year’s evaluation process due to COVID, scouts across the league got a much bigger sample size with USHL players, so Samoskevich is a better swing at the bat to take than others whose playing time was limited. He is in play anytime after pick 20, and might be a good candidate for the Boston Bruins or New York Rangers, the two NHL clubs closest to home, because of his speed and skill. Even if he doesn’t land in the top 32 selections, he would be a priority early second day pick because there is simply too much talent here to leave on the table for long.
