| Mackie Samoskevich | Chicago Steel | USHL | L | F | 5’9″ | 172 | Michigan | 2021 | Sandy Hok, CT | 2002 | 2020-2021: B- |
USHL: Chicago Steel Top NHL Prospects, June 2021: Next up is forward Mackie Samoskevich (F, L, 5’11”, 190, Chicago Steel, 11/15/2002, Michigan). Samsokevich’s best asset is his skating. He is smooth and quick on his feet all over the ice. He handles the puck with ease. He is one of the most consistent players when he is out on the ice, and when he has open space to make a move, that is when he thrives. While this is a strong area of his game, there are some concerns as to if he plays too much 1v1. With Samoskevich having fine stick-handling skills, NZ believes it actually improves his ability to be a quality playmaker. He is not selfish as evidenced by his 8GP 1G 9A on route to the Clark Cup Championship. He is always circling the ice looking to make a play and get the cycle game going. Apart from the playmaking side, Samoskevich has a laser shot with a very quick release. His play away from the puck is something Samoskevich could improve on. He does maintain good positioning with an active stick, but the forward needs to work on using leverage to get to spots and off checks.
USHL: Fargo vs Chicago. Clark Cup Game 1, May 2021: Samoskevich is a quick, skilled forward for the Steel who does a great job of navigating open ice. The University of Michigan commit has good edges and quick hands, allowing him to shift quickly to avoid opponents. He plays with his head up and with pace, playing more of a linear game than some of his teammates. Samoskevich was one of the only Chicago players who was able to enter Fargo’s zone cleanly. When space wasn’t immediately available in front of him, he did a good job of chipping the puck behind defenders, making them turn their feet, and then beating them to the puck. In the offensive zone he uses quick cut backs to create separation before looking to funnel the puck to the net. He has good offensive instincts and made some nice plays in the offensive zone to the slot with quick seam passes. Overall, he is a quick, skilled forward who is most effective carrying the puck through the neutral zone and entering the offensive zone with speed. Grade: A
2021 USHL: Biosteel All American Game, April 2021: Samoskevich was one of the more active forwards for the USHL team, and he registered an assist on three shots. He is a smooth skater and was moving his feet throughout the night, which made him effective on both ends of the puck. Without the puck, he came back into his own end hard and was able to force some turnovers that would lead to transition opportunities. On the forecheck his speed made him an issue for opposing defensemen who were forced into making hurried plays with the puck. Unfortunately, many of these errors were not capitalized on because of a lack of team structure but Samoskevich still created extended offensive zone possessions. With the puck on his stick, he used his speed to drive wide, often entering the offensive zone and then driving the puck as low as he could. When he ran out of room he would pull up and delay, but if given space he would continue around the net and look to make plays into the slot. Overall, he is a very active forward and used his skating to his advantage both offensively and defensively. Grade: A-
USHL: Chicago Steel vs. Green Bay Gamblers, March 2021: Samoskevich is a second year forward for Chicago Steel who brings a nice combination of skill and grit to his game. He’s hard on the forecheck, he is strong on pucks and has great balance and edges to make plays in traffic. He has soft hands and can toe drag and pull to create space and change the angle on his release. He scored a bullet snap shot on the power play from the top circles reading the goalie and beating him clean with his release and pin-point accuracy. He competes away from the puck to get open, he is sturdy and tough in the corners and is able to get off checks and walk defenders out of the corners to get pucks to the net front. Mackie uses his balance and clever stick checks to win contested pucks and he’s the kind of player if he loses the puck he fights to get it back. Another Steel prospect who is drawing a lot of NHL Draft attention and proved he has the edges, the puck skill and grit to play at the higher levels. College: Michigan Grade: B+
USHL: Chicago Steel vs NTDP U17, February 24,2021: Samoskevich had an excellent game for the Steel and was consistent for the entire sixty minutes. He started the game with two quick shots on his first shift and drove the puck to the net hard on a rush chance. The Michigan commit would go on to finish the game off strong as well, scoring the overtime goal. Throughout the game, he was winning puck races, competing hard in battles, and consistently looking to put pucks on the net. On his goal, he buried a beautiful shot just under the crossbar high on the short side after winning a battle in the corner and immediately attacking the net. His effort, skating, and willingness to get pucks on the net made him very effective in this game and ultimately led to him scoring the game-winning goal. Grade: A
USHL: Chicago Steel vs Youngstown Phantoms, December 16, 2020: Samoskevich worked hard in this game for the Steel, creating a few nice offensive opportunities and working well on the forecheck. Early in the game, Samoskevich was relentless on the forecheck, putting a string of shifts together where he would cause turnovers and immediately look to create offense from them. He used his skating to pressure defenders into making poor puck decisions and jump on these mistakes, looking to establish an offensive zone attack. He was able to protect the puck well and did a good job of getting his head up to make plays. Through the neutral zone Samsoskevich did a good job carrying the puck into the offensive zone, and distributed it well at the blueline, especially on powerplay entries. Overall, Samoskevich played a solid, consistent game for the Steel and was relentless in his efforts. Grade: B
USHL: Chicago vs Green Bay, November 2020: Samsoskevich is a really skilled and creative offensive threat for Chicago that competes hard, and is always dangerous with the puck. Samsoskevich is not afraid to try defenders one on one, especially off the rush and he is fairly successful in his efforts. Early in the first period, he had two really nice chances that he created by trying a defender one on one. In one instance he was able to toe drag a defender for Green Bay, blowing by him and then coming in on net before ringing a shot off the elbow of the net. On the powerplay, he was also extremely dangerous as he often entered the zone with the puck and immediately looked to attack the net, making plays on the rush to get the puck towards the net. When the play is settled down on the powerplay, Samsoskevich is really good working his spot on the half wall. He moves the puck quick and hard, and displays really good vision, finding his teammates in soft areas, especially in the middle of the ice. When his team was down by three in the first, Samsoskevich made a really nice move on the half wall, making his way to the middle of the ice and flung the puck to the net through traffic for a goal. In even strength hockey when the puck isn’t on his stick, Samsoskevich skates hard and does a nice job of hunting the puck down. Overall, Samsoskevich is a skilled, fast, and creative threat for the Steel that competes hard and produces for his team. Grade: A-
Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep Jamboree, January 2019: Everything about his game is quick as the feet and his feet and stick never stop moving. In one on one situations he made something out of nothing by beating defenders. He could cross opponents over off the rush and make plays in very tight spaces. Very quick twitch with his hands, which left him dangerous at any time with the puck. His two- way game can improve with age but he was a constant factor in the offensive zone. COLLEGE: MICHIGAN
Pro-Am Junior Chowder Cup, August 2018: Athletic right-shot winger that moves well. He has a quick choppy stride but good edges. Gets around the ice quickly. Has good puck and stick skills and handles the puck well in open ice. For the most part, managed the puck well and looks to make plays off of the cycle in the offensive zone. At times played too fast and lost possession. Still rounding out his game but has a good deal of upside. Weekend Grade: B+ College: Michigan
USA Hockey Select 16 National Development Camp, July 2018: Samoskevich is a skilled forward with strong edges and smooth hands. He had a lot of possession time because he’s poised and protects the puck well and uses that time to find lanes to attack the net. He had a few highlight plays on the week; he dangled the goalie in tight for a goal, he deked around a defender and slid a cross-crease pass for an easy tap-in goal and he won a puck battle, carried the puck behind the net and fed Winslow in the slot for a goal. Overall, he’s a highly skilled puck possession style forward with a strong, elusive stick who can make a lot of plays. The only two knocks on his game here were that he tends to initiate a lot of 1v1’s instead of utilizing his teammates more and he needs improvement in his skating, particularly his stride and acceleration. He finished the week with a 2-2-4 line in 5 games. He was drafted by Chicago Steel in the fourth round of the USHL but will return to Shattuck St. Mary’s next season.
NTDP Evaluation Camp Report, March 2018: A late ’02, Samoskevich is a soft handed, skilled forward with a balanced stride and strong edges. He is tough to knock off pucks, he has nice touch in tight around the net and on his passes. He scored a nifty goal off a turnover deking the goalie and showing some patience around the goal. He doesn’t have ideal size or breakaway speed, but he’s an honest forward with quick feet and a quick stick who has continued to improve throughout the past season. A quiet showing here, but we like his upside.
Junior Chowder Cup 2002 Division, August 2017: Samoskevich is a savvy, skilled playmaker who reads the ice well and makes a lot of plays. He made spin moves out of the corner to shake off defenders, he side stepped opponents in the neutral zone when carrying the puck end to end and was able to beat defenders both inside with skill and outside with speed. He’s not the flashiest skater but he’s strong on his edges, can cut in and out and is hard to knock off the puck. He has a quick release and shoots with his head up looking to pick corners. He was a bit inconsistent here after coming from the Select 15’s and wasn’t as sharp defensively but he excels with the puck on his stick.
STX Elite Hockey Shootout, October 2016: Samoskevich has all the tools; fluid skating, strong on the puck and on his stick and the hands to beat defenders in open ice and on 1v1’s. He created plenty of offensive opportunities with his quickness and smart plays. A late ’02 with tremendous upside. Grade: A+