Josh Samanski

Every NHL team has a player who leaves the most interesting paper trail, and Josh Samanski is getting his turn under the microscope. This report card looks at what he brought to the Oilers in 2025-26 and what still needs to sharpen up if he wants to matter more than a depth name. In this league, the back end of the roster is where reputations are either built quietly or buried just as fast. The evaluation matters because those are the margins that decide who gets another look.

Germany finally gets its first win, and Samanski is in the middle of it as the tournament starts handing out momentum in real time. Canada, meanwhile, gets help from Nurse in a game that looks a lot cleaner in the box score than it probably felt in the room. At this stage of Worlds, every result starts to shape the group picture and the pressure on the next lineup decision. The margins are thin, and the teams that manage them usually stick around longer.

Day 6 in Switzerland brought more of the same from a few NHL-linked names, and that kind of steady production often tells you more than one highlight clip ever could. Howard, Samanski and Ekholm are giving their nations useful minutes and meaningful points, which is exactly the kind of depth that can tilt a tournament over time. In these events, the stars get the photos, but the players who keep stacking contributions are the ones who quietly shape the bracket.