Mackie Samoskevich returns to AHL, but for how long?
Florida's top prospect had been playing well with AHL Charlotte before his strong showing with the Panthers last week
The Florida Panthers are getting some welcomed time off ahead of the NHL All-Star Game.
While most teams will continue playing for the next several days, Florida’s next game isn’t until Feb. 6 when they host the Philadelphia Flyers.
Between injuries and illness impacting the team in recent weeks, the extra time to rest and recharge is a rare, invaluable treat included in the Panthers’ schedule.
While managing the aforementioned physical hindrances, Florida recalled prospect Mackie Samoskevich from the American Hockey League for his second stint in the NHL.
The 21-year-old played in four games with the Panthers over the past week and got looks on three very different forward lines before going back to Charlotte on Sunday.
First, in a game that Florida was missing Sasha Barkov, Samoskevich skated on the third line with Kevin Stenlund and Evan Rodrigues during a 4-1 win in Nashville.
When Barkov returned the following game, Wednesday against Arizona, he took Stenlund’s spot between Samoskevich and Rodrigues, and the rookie played quite well in limited even strength time with the big guns.
The line remained intact for Friday’s game in Pittsburgh, as Barkov’s usual winger, All-Star Sam Reinhart, was doing well on a line with Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen.
Ultimately, it’s that third line with Lundell that Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said he wanted to see Samoskevich, and that’s where he put him for much of Saturday’s game on Long Island.
As I wrote after Florida’s 3-2 overtime win, this may have been an audition of sorts for Samoskevich.
“My original idea with all of this was to see Samoskevich play with Lundell and Luostarinen. That's what I wanted to see,” Maurice said after the game. “We brought him back up, Barkov happened to get hurt, so the whole thing kind of just timed out for the other line to go back together, for Samoskevich to start with Barkov, but that's what I wanted to see, and I was happy with it.”
Should the coaching staff like what they see in Samoskevich enough to feel he’s ready for a regular NHL role, there is some serious potential in adding to an already very deep forward group.
While Reinhart was able to maintain his high level of production on the Lundell line, he also seemingly sparked Lundell’s game as well.
The question would be whether the young Finnish center could stay at that level with the electric Samoskevich on his wing.
Maurice got a small sample size of what it could look like on Saturday night, and he liked what he saw.
“I talked to (Panthers General Manager) Bill (Zito) about 10 days ago I said I'd like to see Samoskevich with Lundell and Luostarinen at some point possibly before the (All-Star) break, so I wanted to see it tonight," Maurice said.
For now, the rookie will continue to hone his skills in the AHL, where he's accumulated 11 goals and 26 points in 32 games, including five goals and nine points over his past 10 outings.
How long he stays there remains to be seen, as it sounds like the brass in Sunrise may be considering him for a regular spot in the lineup.
The prospect of a third line with Lundell centering Luostarinen and Samoskevich providing the kind of quality shifts that Florida received last season from the line with Reinhart on the right would go a long way toward boosting the Panthers Stanley Cup aspirations.
“This stint here, he was very, very good,” said Maurice. “I thought he was more dynamic, tried more stuff, you see the confidence in him starting to grow.”
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