Two skilled European centres signed by the Oilers took different paths

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If you are the Edmonton Oilers and in serious win-now mode with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and trading away draft picks for immediate help, one of the few avenues to travel to restock the pipeline is through European free-agency.

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So, we bring you Josh Samanski and David Tomasek.

Two skilled centres who have gone down different paths.

The German-born Samanski, 23, who had 40 points in 52 games in DEL Straubing this past season, has signed an Oilers entry-level deal for two years while the Czech-born Tomasek, 29, who won the Swedish League scoring race at Farjestads, is on board for one Oilers organizational season at a $1.2 million cap hit (NHL or AHL).

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Some scouting reports:

“Tomasek is a nice signing by them, a very skilled player that I think can fit in well with the Oil. I think he’s more of a top-six type of player than a third-line centre. Good speed, above average shot, sees the ice well,” said former Oilers goalie Mike Zanier, the long-time Vaxjo broadcaster in Sweden, who watches the entire SHL keenly.

And another view of the  6-foot-5 Samanski from a long-time German top league observer:

“He is not the super talent like (Ottawa centre Tim) Stützle but he’s improved from season to season,” said Gunter Klein, who has covered the best German league for about 40 years and wrote the first German biography on Draisaitl, coming out May 20.

“Early this season in a TV interview Samanski made it clear he wanted to go overseas. I think he’ll be a valuable bottom-sixer (in the NHL). That was his initial role in Straubing, on a team with some older players from North America, but he developed into the best player in that club,” said Klein.

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The left-shot Samanski, who grew up in Germany but also played two years of junior in Canada (Brantford, then OHL in Owen Sound), just finished his fourth year with the Straubing Tigers. Josh got his hockey education in Europe after his dad John, born in Canada, moved there to continue playing after a college career at Bowling Green University in Ohio. John, who would later coach in Germany, was a big offensive piece of the 1984 NCAA championship team that featured three future NHLers — Dave Ellett, Garry Galley and Gino Cavallini.

Klein certainly remembers Josh’s dad John’s arrival in Germany in the mid ’80s.

“In my second season as a hockey reporter (1985/86) Augsburg, then a team in the second division, signed John. This young Team Canada sniper started with eight goals in three games before he suffered a shoulder injury. Nobody expected that this sonny boy John Samanski, who club officials said would like to play with a walkman and headphones under his helmet, would spend his further life in Germany. He got married and now has a family with five sons, all big guys with curly red hair like the dad. Josh is the most gifted of the Samanskis,” said Klein.

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And yes, the word is Draisaitl acted as the Oiler salesman, pitching the just-turned 23-year-old Samanski on the benefits of his NHL team in a conversation with the young centre. Samanski played prospect hockey in Mannheim, like 29 did.

Tomasek, 6-foot-1 and 187 pounds, played two junior OHL years in Belleville, then back in Czechia, Russia, Finland and for the last two seasons for Farjestads. He had 57 points with 24 goals in 47 games this past season, beating out Filip Hallander for the SEL points title. Of note: Derek Ryan also won an SEL scoring title with Orebro in 2014-2015, before signing with Carolina to start his NHL journey. Over two Farjestads seasons Tomasek, born in Prague, had 102 points over 99 games. One other note: Tomasek was on the 2016 Czech world junior team with Boston’s David Pastrnak.

The Tomasek signing follows an Oilers road of signing older Euro forwards. They did it with Swiss-born centre Gaetan Haas, who returned to Europe after 92 games over two seasons, mostly as a fourth-liner. He came from Bern, with lots of speed and a talent for defensive play, but he went back to Biel in his homeland.

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They also brought over Swedish forward Joakim Nygaard, but just for 42 games because he was hurt a fair bit. He went back to Farjestads on a long-term contract. They gave Joel Persson a 13-game NHL look in 2019-2020, too, before was traded to Anaheim. Persson returned to his club team Vaxjo where he’s currently a teammate of Kevin Lowe’s son Keegan.

Tomasek and Samanski will be competing with farmhand Noah Philp for possible centre work next season. Since Tomasek is older and has a one-year, one-way NHL deal, he has a better chance of making the Oilers, on paper. Plus, he’s a right-shot centre like Philp with Ryan, 38, possibly retiring after this season.

How is Tomasek compared to, say, Nygard, who flashed some brief NHL talent?

“Tomasek is definitely more skilled than Nygard is,” said Zanier.

While there’s the immediacy of NHL work for Tomasek because of his age, Samanski, who played in the Christmas 2024 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, is the more intriguing signing because of his age and his size, clearly. But Samanski might have to start in Bakersfield.

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This ‘n that: The two European player free-agent signings follow that of Ohio State University defenceman Damien Carfagna on a two year deal, who is reporting to Bakerfield on an amateur tryout but  is currently hurt, like most of the farm squad. While he’s a smallish blue-liner at six feet and 185 pounds, the book on Carfagna is he’s a clever, competitive defender. He’s also a left-shot for the organization that is loaded with righties. Fellow defenceman Travis Dermott, who has had some personal issues, should be ready to play this weekend for Bako. He hasn’t played a game since the Oilers reclaimed him off Minnesota Feb. 26.

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