Melissa Samoskevich

Melissa Samoskevich (born March 31, 1997) is an American ice hockey player and director of player development and operations for the Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program. She was previously an assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey program. She plays for the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; now called PHF).

Melissa Samoskevich
Samoskevich with the Connecticut Whale in 2023
Born (1997-03-31) March 31, 1997
Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S.
Height 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Weight 168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
Played for Connecticut Whale
Brynäs IF
Quinnipiac Bobcats
National team  United States
Playing career 2015–present
Medal record
World Championship
Gold medal – first place2019 Finland

A former member of the United States women's national ice hockey team, she won a gold medal at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship.

Playing career

Across 144 NCAA games with the Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program, Samoskevich scored 109 points, the fourth highest total in the university's history. She was named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year in 2016, and would serve as the team's captain in her two final seasons.[1][2]

She was drafted by the Connecticut Whale 2nd overall in the 2018 NWHL Draft. She would sign her first professional contract with Brynäs IF Dam in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) for the 2019–20 season, but would only play 8 games with the club before leaving due to homesickness.[3][4] She spent the rest of the 2019–20 season with the New England chapter of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), and appeared with Team Coyne at the Secret Women’s Hockey Showcase.[5]

In June 2020, she signed with the Connecticut Whale.[6] On August 18, 2020, Samoskevich was announced as a new assistant coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions women's ice hockey program.[7] Her coaching duties with Penn State prevented her from joining the Whale for the COVID-19 Bubble of the 2020–21 NWHL season.[8] Samoskevich returned to the Whale during the 2021–22 PHF season.[9] On August 22, 2022, the Whale announced that she had signed a one-year contract for the 2022–23 PHF season.[10]

Prior to the 2022-23 college hockey season, Samoskevich was named director of player development and operations for the Quinnipiac Bobcats women's ice hockey program.[11]


International play

She represented the United States at the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship.[12][13] She had previously represented the country at the 2018 4 Nations Cup and the IIHF World Women's U18 Championship in 2014 and 2015.[14][15]

Personal life

Samoskevich attended Shattuck-Saint Mary's for high school and played ice hockey with the school's under-16 and prep teams, serving as captain of Shattuck St. Mary's Prep during her senior season.[16][17] She has a degree in history.[18] Her sister, Madison, represented the United States at the 2019 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship and, since the 2020–21 season, plays as a defenseman with the Quinnipiac Bobcats ice hockey program. Her brother, Mackie, is committed to play college ice hockey for the Michigan Wolverines and was drafted 24th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.[19][20]

Career Statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2019–20Brynäs IFSDHL 80662 –––––
2019–20New EnglandPWHPA ––––– –––––
SDHL totals 80662 –––––

References
  1. Pinchevsky, Tal (2014-12-12). "How Elite Hockey Recruit Melissa Samoskevich Found Hope In Sandy Hook". ESPN. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  2. Scifo, Dan (2015-10-26). "Samoskevich Represents Country, Hometown on Ice". USA Hockey. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  3. Abrahamsson, Hans; Ros, Tomas (2019-09-23). "Här är Brynäs nästa stjärnvärvning". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  4. Kågström, Rasmus (2019-10-23). "Nyförvärvet lämnar Brynäs – efter åtta matcher". HockeySverige (in Swedish). Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  5. Jay, Michelle (January 10, 2020). "Secret Showcase headlines busy weekend for PWHPA". The Ice Garden.
  6. Murphy, Mike (2020-06-10). "Melissa Samoskevich signs with Whale". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  7. "Melissa Samoskevich Named Women's Hockey Assistant Coach". Penn State University Athletics (Press release). 2020-08-18. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  8. Murphy, Mike (2021-01-17). "Samoskevich will not be with Whale in Lake Placid". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  9. "Melissa Samoskevich". Connecticut Whale. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  10. "Samoskevich Returns to Bolster Whale Offense". Connecticut Whale. 2022-07-22.
  11. "Melissa Samoskevich". Go Bobcats. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  12. "U.S. Roster Announced for 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship". USA Hockey (Press release). 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  13. "2019 IIHF Ice Hockey Women's World Championship" (PDF). stats.iihf.com. 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  14. Riley, Lori (2019-12-13). "Newtown native takes part in US national ice hockey team drills as team preps to play in Hartford". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  15. Fuller, Jim (2019-04-22). "Quinnipiac's Samoskevich, a Newtown native, still buzzing after gold-medal run with US team". New Haven Register. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  16. "Team USA Player Bios: Melissa Samoskevich". USA Hockey. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  17. "All-USA Girls Hockey Player of the Year: Melissa Samoskevich". USA Today. 2015-04-10. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  18. "2018–19 Women's Ice Hockey Roster: 11 Melissa Samoskevich". Quinnipiac University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  19. Pinchevsky, Tal (2013-12-15). "Samoskevich honors hometown Sandy Hook victims". NHL. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
  20. Jurewicz, Chris (2018-11-04). "Cut from the same cloth". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 2021-07-24.
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