Edmonton Oilers prospect Dmitri Samorukov suffered a broken jaw during last night’s development camp tilt against the Calgary Flames, the team announced Sunday afternoon. The defenseman will be out six weeks, missing the rest of training camp and the beginning of the regular season.
Samorukov, originally a third-round pick of the Oilers in 2017, is returning to North American this season after spending last season on loan with CSKA Moscow in the KHL. He’s shown solid upside at all levels of the game, scoring 45 points in 59 games with the Guelph Storm in his last OHL season in 2018-19. He continued his development with a successful rookie campaign in the AHL, getting into 47 games with the Bakersfield Condors in 2019-20. Last season’s stint in Russia saw him post eight points in 48 games while exhibiting solid two-way skill.
While it was unlikely Samorukov would crack the roster for the Oilers this season, the injury likely hurts those chances even further. However, he’ll be an important part of the defense core in Bakersfield this season as he enters his third professional campaign. Steps forward there this season could very well lead to an NHL opportunity in the future, possibly as soon as a call-up at the end of this season or next. He likely sits as the second defenseman on the depth chart in Bakersfield behind Philip Broberg, a first-round selection of the Oilers in 2019.
Cancel the parade, Kenny!
@backhandinbaptist – Sounds like you watched the same game I did last night! Strange that most reports are that he won’t have surgery on the jaw. Usually we see the “S-word” mentioned when the downtime is several weeks with these types of injuries. At least Bourgault didn’t end up in the hospital from the check from behind…
@Mac where was this watched?
@wreckage – It was streamed live on edmontonoilers.com, and you should be able to watch tomorrow night’s rematch there, as well. I believe puck drop is around 6:00 PM (MT), at The Dome, but check the website early tomorrow to confirm that.
@Mac I went to the game in Calgary 2 years ago. $5 everything. Apparently still not open to the public so not possible this year.
@wreckage – At the start of last night’s broadcast, it looked like they only had cardboard-cutout fans, but eventually the movement gave them away. That, and the guy who was tagged as the “Lost Fan” — he was wearing a Leafs retro-look sweater, with Nylander’s name on the back! Show of hands for those who’d *really* like for everything to get back to “real” normal, as opposed to this “what the bleep are the COVID-rules here today?”
@Mac & @wreckage, I watched the game on You Tube under TaiwanHockey , might when get a chance check out air time and the youtube channel . Stay safe , usually when Flames-Oilers get together there has always been fireworks , hope the youngsters don’t get out of hand as have seen some dawny brooks over the years , Stay Safe everyone
link to youtube.com