The Florida Panthers will have a different look when they take the ice on Wednesday in Detroit.
Fresh off the team’s first loss of the young season, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice made a tweak to his forward lines.
It’s not uncommon for Maurice to move around his lines during the regular season to test out players in different spots with different linemates, as it helps gain understanding of which combinations work better in certain situations.
When the Panthers took the ice for their morning skate at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, second-year sniper Mackie Samoskevich skated on Florida’s top line, next to Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand.
As Maurice explained, having a player like Bennett who is so good with mentoring young guys, it makes it much easier to move a younger forward up in the lineup.
“When you get a young guy, especially if he’s a winger, you need a veteran player that wants to play with him,” Maurice said. “And Sam Bennett likes playing him because Mackie can skate with him, he can shoot the puck and he can make plays. Benny likes that speed with him.”
Carter Verhaeghe, who previously skated on the top unit, took Samoskevich’s spot on a line with Evan Rodrigues and Jesper Boqvist.
So far this season, Samoskevich has made the most of his new opportunities.
He’s been a main component of Florida’s second power play unit, with two of his three points so far this season coming while the Cats were on the man advantage.
Last season, Samoskevich played in 72 regular season games for Florida, racking up 15 goals and 31 points, before seeing his playing time limited to only four games during the heavier Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This year, the 22-year-old is looking to further establish himself as not only an everyday NHL player but one who can be counted on to produce similarly to how he’s performed throughout his playing career.
“We’ve got a fairly deep team here,” Maurice said. “If he was on a lot of the organizations that are maybe on a different part of their rebuild, he would’ve been playing bigger minutes in the NHL and putting up numbers and people would appreciate how good he is. He’s going to get that chance now.
“He’s ready for it. He’s fit, he’s strong, he’s fast, he understands our game. I know he’s a young guy but we don’t view him as that. He’s had enough training here to be good.”
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Photo caption: Oct 11, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers right wing Mackie Samoskevich (11) celebrates a goal against the Ottawa Senators during the third period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
