Stan Bowman has been busy at work, even with the Oilers trying to grab a playoff spot and jockeying for position while also dealing with the injury and sickness bugs going through the locker room. In fact it looks to me like Bowman is even better at finding hidden gems than Ken Holland was. Let's go through who he has already added - and is working on adding to the ranks.
Oilers sign German forward Josh Samanski
Dubbed the "greatest German talent at forward," Samanski played a season each in the OJHL and the OHL before going back to Germany to play in the German minor leagues. Now 23, I can't help but wonder what made Samanski go back to Germany the first time. Was it homesickness? Lack of ability to adapt to the North American way of life or to speak English? English classes are taught in Germany, thanks to a tradition the Americans started post-WWII.
Samamski attended the Arizona Coyotes' prospect camp in 2023, but didn't sign there. Samanski could be a forward, if he develops properly, that become the next wave of players to take the place of guys like Zach Hyman once they retire. Bowman did have a reputation as a great drafter and developer as the GM Of the Hawks in the 2010s, so he's likely going to bring the same kind of attention to detail to Edmonton. Samanski is a 6' 5" and 189 lbs center, so he's already a big body although he could probably use another 5-10 lbs of muscle. He broke through in the German leagues last year, putting up 14-26-40 in 52 games.
European development doesn't always translate to the NHL - for every Niklas Lidstrom, Mats Sundin, or Alex Ovechkin, there's a Linus Omark, Nail Yakupov, or Anton Belov. Hopefully Samanski chooses to make his way to Bakersfield next season, he is at least an intriguing prospect. One thing that may change his mind about coming back to North America from his junior days? Money. He's signed for two seasons at $975K AAV with a $1 million performance bonus in the last year of the contract - no word on what the terms of said bonus are, though. Also interesting is apparently Leon Draisaitl made a sales pitch to Samanski about coming to Edmonton. Dr. Drai - killing it not just on the ice, but off of it too.
Oilers sign Czech forward David Tomasek
Tomasek is also an interesting player who came over here once before to play junior hockey, this time in the OHL. However, after only two seasons with the Belleville Bulls he went back to Europe where he's bounced around the Czech pro leagues, the Swedish pro leagues, the KHL, and the Finnish pro leagues. He caught the eye of NHL teams after going 24-33-57 in 47 games in the Swedish pro leagues last season. At 29 years old he's a very late bloomer and it appears the Oilers are going for broke here as they signed Tomasek to a one-year, $1.2 million deal for next season.
At 6' 1" and 189 lbs, Tomasek is a bit undersized for the NHL, but not significantly. If those hands can translate to the NHL - even in a depth role - he'll have himself an NHL career, even if it's just as a role player, which honestly there's no shame in that.
Word is, according to that article I linked to on Samanski, Tomasek will be viewed as a top-six forward, likely vying with Matt Savoie to take Jeff Skinner's spot next season or to play center in the bottom six if not that. With the McDrai duo firmly entrenched at center for the foreseeable future, it's unlikely Tomasek can play top six center in anything more than spot duty, especially in his first pro North American season. Interesting also to note that Tomasek's contract is a one way contract as opposed to Samanski's being a standard two way ELC. More information about Tomasek can be found here.