Samoskevich playing confident hockey for Michigan
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Mackie Samoskevich’s office adaptation to college life hasn’t been bad. Michigan helps players as much as they can, he said. He’s enjoying a psychology class.
But while his coach thought he had a good first half, Newtown’s Samoskevich called it more of a slow start. They agree, though, that in the new year, his confidence has made him a standout freshman forward and a key contributor to the No. 2 team in the nation.
“I think at the start of the year there’s a lot of bigger guys, faster. It took a little bit of time to get my feet going, to get that confidence,” Samoskevich said Thursday at the PPL Center as Michigan prepared for an NCAA men’s hockey tournament first-round game.
“Toward Christmas, I started to gain that. I came back with a ton of confidence.”
Samoskevich and the Wolverines, the top seed in the tournament, will face Atlantic Hockey champion AIC on Friday at 3 p.m. (ESPNU). Quinnipiac faces St. Cloud State at 8 p.m. (ESPNews).
The Wolverines’ roster includes 13 NHL draft picks, including Samoskevich, a first-round pick for the Florida Panthers last summer. His linemates, junior Johnny Beecher and freshman Dylan Duke, were Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning selections, and Samoskevich said they’ve developed chemistry and a friendship.
“He’s a tremendous player,” Michigan coach Mel Pearson said. “His growth’s been outstanding. He’s been a big contributor and one of the reasons we’ve had success in the second half, too, and he’s only going to get better.”
At the Christmas break, Samoskevich went to Alberta with the United States junior national team for the World Junior Championship, and Pearson said Samoskevich’s just being picked for that tournament was a confidence booster. A COVID-19 outbreak ended that tournament early, though it was rescheduled for August.
Samoskevich, one of three siblings who’ve all played for their country, still enjoyed the experience.
“It was pretty special,” he said. “It was super-fun. I got to meet a lot of people. I think for my game, playing at that pace, playing for your country gives you that little extra confidence.”
In 18 games since then, he has six goals and 11 assists. Only four times in the past 16 games did he fail to record a point. He made the Big Ten’s all-freshman team and was named to the allconference-tournament team.
“Confidence is a fragile thing,” Pearson said. “You can’t go down to 7-11 and say ‘I want confidence, can I buy some?’ You can’t get a scratch-off ticket and scratch it off and find confidence. You have to earn it, and Mackie did.”
For the season in 37 games, Samoskevich has 10 goals and 18 assists. Those 28 points put him 15th nationally among freshmen but second on his team to defenseman Luke Hughes (17-20-37), who last summer joined brothers Quinn and Jack as high NHL firstround picks.
“He has tremendous speed, a great shot,” Pearson said of Samoskevich. “I’m always bothering him about hitting the net. He should have 20 (goals) this year.”