The Edmonton Oilers have signed a 23-year-old centre who spent the past season playing in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga to a two-year entry-level contract, the club announced Wednesday.
The Oilers said Josh Samanski’s contract with the NHL team will kick in next season. Samanski, a six-foot-five centre from Germany, also has Canadian citizenship.
This season he scored 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 52 games with the DEL’s Straubing Tigers.
In 2019-20, Samanski spent a season playing in the Ontario Hockey League with the Owen Sound Attack, where he scored four goals and 16 assists in 54 games.
Samanski has competed for the German national team at two world junior ice hockey championship tournaments and in one Deutschland Cup. He also played with Straubing at the 2024 Spengler Cup.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed.