Panthers get familiar with 2021 first-round pick Samoskevich at developoment camp

When Mackie Samoskevich became the Florida Panthers’ first-round draft pick in 2021, there was no celebration in a packed arena, no joyous walk to the stage to be presented with his new jersey to slip on.

Because the draft was held virtually, Florida general manager Bill Zito was working from a makeshift command center at the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Club and gave Samoskevich the news over the phone.

Samoskevich said he and his family celebrated the momentous occasion with a private party and quickly put up a photo on social media of all of them together with Mackie wearing a new Panthers baseball cap.

“It’s definitely nice to be able to get down here and meet everyone,” he said after a practice at the Florida development camp in Coral Springs earlier this week.

“It was a long year, and I definitely wanted to get here. … I would have rather have been in Montreal instead of at a hotel, but it was still a great experience being drafted and I had my family there so it was a special moment. It was a little different, still a great experience.”

The Panthers hope he will be wearing that new jersey in Sunrise soon enough.

The 19-year-old forward is drawing plenty of attention at the University of Michigan, where he recently completed his freshman season on one of the most loaded collegiate hockey teams in history.

The Wolverines were stacked with first-round draft picks — including 2021 No. 1 pick Owen Power — and spent a lot of the season atop the rankings.

Michigan ended up losing in the NCAA title game to the University of Denver where new Florida teammates Michael Benning and Jack Devine play.

In 40 games with Michigan, Samoskevich ended up fifth on the team among forwards with 10 goals and 29 points.

“I thought it was a great season, we had such a great team,” he said. “All the guys there were great, and it was good to learn from them. It was unique to be around that many talented players and such great people as well. I grew a lot throughout the year.

“I am looking forward to next year, I think we’ll be even better. We had a lot swagger, didn’t put pressure on ourselves and didn’t let it affect us. We just went out and did our thing.”

Samoskevich will return to Ann Arbor later this summer after likely rejoining Team USA for the IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton.

He was a member of the original 2022 team — and scored a goal in one tournament game in December before the event was canceled due to a COVID outbreak.

Samoskevich is scheduled to join the Team USA evaluation camp once he is done with the Panthers’ camp and is expected to try and help the United States defend its title.

“He does everything we have asked him to do and is pretty impressive,” said Geordie Kinnear, Florida’s AHL coach in Charlotte, North Carolina. “You look at how they got to the big game, and sometimes losing creates that hunger within, right? He comes out here and you can see the fire that he has.”

The timeline for Samoskevich joining the Panthers is not yet known.

Because he is returning to Michigan, he will not be able to participate in rookie or training camp this year, but he could compete for a spot on the team as early as next summer.

Due to COVID concerns, the Panthers did not have a development camp last year so this was his first taste of being around the organization as he met coaches and other prospects for the first time.

“It has been a blast, I have really enjoyed my first couple of days here,” Samoskevich said. “I have only been here a couple of days and I feel I have already gotten better. The pace has been really high and it is helping me a ton.”