- Oilers forward Josh Samanski sat on the “Singles Couch” at a German beer festival and introduced himself as “Finn”
- He played four seasons in Straubing, so the fake name was doing real work
- Read below for the video and what Samanski says he actually wants in a partner
Josh Samanski spent part of his summer in Bavaria pretending to be somebody else.
The Edmonton Oilers forward turned up at the Gäubodenvolksfest in Straubing, one of the largest beer festivals in Germany, and took a seat on the event’s long-running “Singles Couch.” Then he introduced himself as Finn.
Samanski was asked what he was looking for, and he played it about as straight as a guy can play it.
“I’m pretty much a normal guy. I like to go to Volksfest with the guys. Just looking for true love and, hopefully, it works out today.”
Here’s the video, filmed by local German outlet idowa:
The alias had a purpose. Samanski played four seasons for the Straubing Tigers of the DEL before signing in Edmonton, which makes him a recognizable face around town.
Daily Hive reported that 93 singles took a turn on the couch, and Samanski was not the only hockey player sitting there under a different name.
Asked to describe his ideal match, the 24-year-old kept his standards refreshingly low.
“Beautiful eyes, the rest doesn’t matter. Of course, we have to get along well… Maybe non-smoking would be nice.
“I just loaf around at home on the couch and stare at the ceiling waiting for the day to be over. If a nice girl likes doing that as well, I’m her guy.”
Samanski is not a household name in North America yet, but his rookie year was real. He put up eight goals and 31 points in 45 games with AHL Bakersfield, made his NHL debut on Jan. 26 against Anaheim, and finished with three goals and six points across 29 games between the regular season and the playoffs.
His first NHL goal was a gift from the other end of the ice. Oliver Bjorkstrand threw the puck toward his own net on March 21, it slid past Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Samanski was the last Oiler to touch it. Watch the video of the strangest first goal you will see this year:
He also suited up five times for Germany at the Milan-Cortina Olympics and scored once.
By the end of the season Samanski had settled in as Edmonton’s fourth-line center between Colton Dach and Trent Frederic. Holding that job is a different question now that Mike Babcock is running the bench and the Oilers have bigger problems to sort out.
Camp opens in Edmonton next month, where Samanski can go back to being Josh.
