Florida Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice on the maturity of rookie Mackie Samoskevich. One of the big questions surrounding the Florida Panthers during the preseason has been whether rookie Mackie Samoskevich would make the Opening Night roster. The 20-year-old is entering his first full pro season after wrapping up two successful years with the University of Michigan back in the spring. It wasn’t long after that Samoskevich made the decision to sign his entry-level contract with the Panthers, and not wanting to wait until the summer to get started, he quickly got to work on a PTO with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte and joined them for their Calder Cup playoff run. At development camp in July, Samoskevich hit the ground running and stood out for all the right reasons. He carried that over to a strong showing at the 2023 Southeast Rookie Showcase and has continued to shine during training camp with the Panthers. It's become that clear Florida’s 2021 first-round pick is ready to take the next step, but just how big of a step will that be? For his part, Samoskevich has been saying since the beginning that his goal was to start the season in the NHL [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/features/i-know-i-can-do-it-mackie-samoskevich-aiming-for-nhl-job-with-panthers-this-season]. Based off the comments Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice made on Friday, it sounds like the rookie will be sticking around with the big Cats past the preseason. When discussing Florida’s exhibition finale taking place Saturday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Maurice said he could end up holding Samoskevich out, and in his explanation for doing so, the veteran coach may have indicated the bigger plan for the youngster. “Mackie has played in three rookie (showcase) games,” Maurice began. “He got the hell beat out of him for five days like the rest of them, and he's closing in on seven (preseason) games in 14 days, so he may not play tomorrow. But I've liked his camp.” Should that indeed be the case, Samoskevich will finish his first NHL preseason with 3 goals and 6 points in six games. What’s notable is that his final looks were with high-end line partners, whether it be with Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett on Tuesday in Orlando or with Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell Thursday in Tampa. Maurice has said that if Samoskevich makes the team, it’s going to be with a role that suits the young man’s game. He won’t be playing seven minutes a game on a fourth line that get sent over the boards for defensive zone starts and to muck things up with the opposing team’s star players. With less than a week until Florida’s regular season opener in Minnesota, it appears the stars are aligning in Samoskevich’s favor. His goal of making the Panthers Opening Night roster may be happening. “He's in a good spot right now,” Maurice said. “We've got a couple of nicked guys up front, so who knows, he may make it.” We'll find out for sure in the coming days. Florida's final preseason game against Tampa Bay is set for a 6 p.m. puck drop on Saturday at Amerant Bank Arena. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNjE3OTM2NjIzMjQ4NDky/img_6014.jpg]
