Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl skates with former teammate Dominik Kahun for German Olympic team, Samanski to centre 3rd line
The first set of projected lines for Team Germany has been released, according to Daily Faceoff. It’s no surprise that Edmonton Oilers star and Team Germany captain Leon Draisaitl will centre the top line. He’s set to play with former Oilers teammate Dominik Kahun on the right wing, who played 48 games in 2020-21, scoring nine goals and 15 points in 48 games.
On the left wing will be former 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel.
Meanwhile, Josh Samaski is projected to slot as the team’s third-line centre.
Both Oilers are also expected to play powerplay minutes.
The top unit will feature the major NHL talent on the squad, with Tim Stützle at centre, Lukas Reichel on the left, Moritz Seider at the left point, and JJ Peterka at the right point.
Draisaitl is expected to play the right flank, as he does on the Edmonton powerplay to exploit his wicked one-timer, which has led to 175 career powerplay goals.
Samaski is expected to centre the second powerplay unit with Kahun, Frederik Tiffels, Lukas Kalble, and Leon Gawanke.
How much the second powerplay will play, given the wide discrepancy of talent between the two units, remains to be seen. That will be a decision for head coach Harold Kreis.
“As he should be,” said Moritz Seider.
With a team mixed between NHL players and European league players, Germany’s success rests heavily on the shoulders of netminder Philipp Grubauer.
The 34-year-old Rosenheim native has revitalized his career after questions of whether he’d ever be an NHL starter again. With the Seattle Kraken in 2025-26, Grubauer has posted a 2.43 goals against average and .916 save percentage, going 11-6-3.
Team Germany kicks off their Olympic schedule on Thursday afternoon, facing Denmark at 1:10 pm MT.
Projected lines
Lukas Reichel-Leon Draisaitl-Dominik Kahun
JJ Peterka-Tim Stützle-Wojciech Stachowiak
Frederik Tiffels-Josh Samaski-Parker Tuomie
Alexander Ehl-Nico Sturm-Tobias Rieder
Fabio Wagner-Moritz Seider
Jonas Müller-Kai Wissmann
Leon Gawanke-Lukas Kalble
Phillip Grubauer
Michael Menzies is an Oilersnation columnist and has been the play-by-play voice of the Bonnyville Pontiacs in the AJHL since 2019. With seven years news experience as the Editor-at-Large of Lakeland Connect in Bonnyville, he also collects vinyl, books, and stomach issues.
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