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Kraken trade 25th overall pick, conditional 2nd rounder for F Mackie Samoskevich

Let’s set the scene with an appropriate song. The Seattle Kraken announced today that they have traded their 25th overall pick this year and a conditional 2nd round for 2027 (which is either going to be Winnipeg or Columbus’ picks) for Florida’s Mackie Samoskevich. COAST 🔀 COASTWe've acquired forward Mackie Samoskevich from the @FlaPanthers in exchange for the 25th overall pick in the 2026 #NHLDraft and a conditional second-round pick in 2027 → http://bit.ly/SEAMackie— Seattle Kraken (Bot) (@notseattlekraken.bsky.social) 2026-06-21T17:39:51.221Z Samoskevich is a Connecticut-born forward who primarily plays Right Wing and Center. He is 5’11, and 180-pounds who came from the University of Michigan; playing with Matty Beniers in their National Title season. In the NHL, he has primarily played as a depth piece for the Florida Panthers through their cup runs in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Samoskevich is primarily described as a solid, analytically strong player with great skating speed who unfortunately has yet to truly break out in the NHL, with decent but low point totals. Of course, part of that was the Panthers top 6 was an absolute killer’s row, and when he was given additional ice time, he showed some flashes of potential; potential he only got to show when the Panthers were almost half Springfield Thunderbirds at one point. Mackie Samoskevich with 12 goals, 20 assists, and 32 points in 77 games during the 2025 seasonpic.twitter.com/I3UtZUSynI— RotoWire Sports Betting (@RotoWireSports) June 21, 2026 The trade for Samoskevich seems to indicate that the Kraken are trying to get a little younger, as even if he’s struggled to truly find his goalscoring form, he’s both an RFA and a 23 year old at that; potentially leaving one of Tolvanen, McMann, or Schwartz as the odd man out. It is also an acquisition for yet another middle 6 forward, so high-end skill is still a major need coming into the NHL Draft, and as NHL Draft theory goes; the higher the draft pick, the better chance of an NHLer coming out of the deal. If they kept this pick, EliteProspects.com suggests that the players potentially available at this position were Mathis Preston; a center who fell considerably throughout the year as his pedestrian season masked his otherwise strong skating ability, Juho Piiparinen; a Finnish defender who split time between Tappara and it’s U20 team, and Yegor Shilov; a Russian-born center from the QMJHL. It’s a bet, and given the price a potentially steep one if they’re losing out on Winnipeg or Columbus’ 2nd. But if Samoskevich keeps his form, there’s a good chance he could turn into a strong contributor for the team and remains so under a cost controlled contract; something that the Kraken could always use. Personally, I think this is a bet the Kraken should be taking if they can swing it. Get a high-skill forward at the draft, get an NHL-ready player just before, keep working the phones to get some more talent. As for how he meshes with the team? We’ll find out. Let’s all welcome Mackie to The Deep!