Samoskevich will 'cherish' facing Rangers at Winter Classic with Panthers 

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Mackie Samoskevich can still picture himself in his goalie gear, all of maybe 8 or 9 years old at the time -- he can't quite remember -- standing in Henrik Lundqvist's crease at Madison Square Garden after the first period of a New York Rangers game against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Samoskevich, now a 23-year-old forward for the Florida Panthers, was there that night with his youth hockey team from Connecticut. It was his first time at Madison Square Garden. For a die-hard Rangers fan, this was one of those epic, pinch-me, am-I-really-here moments.

"I remember I was really nervous before it too, and I got lit up a little bit," Samoskevich told NHL.com. "But it was super fun."

On Friday, Samoskevich will have another one of those epic, pinch-me, am-I-really-here moments when he walks from the home clubhouse to the field and eventually skates onto the ice at loanDepot park, home of the Miami Marlins, for the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic.

Ironically, the Rangers will also be there as the Panthers' opponent in their first outdoor game (8 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS).

The difference is this time Samoskevich won't be the starstruck kid; he'll be the left wing on Florida's third line trying to beat his, at least for now, former favorite team.

"I remember when we were playing in Cleveland, helicopters flew over during the anthem and I remember the goosebumps," said Samoskevich, who was with Michigan when they played Ohio State at Huntington Bank Field, home of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, on Feb. 18, 2023. "You try to be in the moment as much as possible because those moments go by fast, and you don't get a ton of them. I'll just try to cherish every second of it and enjoy it as much as possible."

Samoskevich grew up in Sandy Hook, Connecticut, which is about 70 miles from Madison Square Garden.

He remembers staying up late to watch the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, sitting up in his bed the after midnight the night of Game 5, when the Los Angeles Kings won 3-2 in double overtime to take away his dream of watching his team win the Stanley Cup.

"I loved (Martin) St. Louis when he was there," Samoskevich said. "That playoff run was so cool. I was watching every game whether it was on the way to practice or in bed. I remember when they were playing L.A. in the Final, I was watching that game late. Obviously, it didn't end the way I wanted it to, but I was a big fan and I loved watching them."

Samoskevich has played one NHL game at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 24, 2024.

A rookie, Samoskevich had no points and played 6:12. Florida won 3-1.

"Really cool," Samoskevich said. "All the games that I've been to as a kid, just dreaming about being down there and it all comes into that night. Obviously, having family there, it was so cool. When they score and you hear the chant they do afterward it's almost like a weird feeling because you grew up loving it when they did that, but obviously during the game you didn't like it. It was really cool being there for my first time and I'll never get sick of it."

Samoskevich grew up playing outdoors on the backyard rink with his sisters, Melissa, who is five and a half years older, and Maddy, his twin. They both played at Quinnipiac University.

Melissa played professionally for the Connecticut Whale in the Premier Hockey Federation and is an assistant coach with the University of Delaware women's team. Maddy plays for Vancouver in the Professional Women's Hockey League.

Mackie also played in an outdoor game with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Jan. 3, 2020.

"Every time you get to go out there, it's so fun, it brings you back to being a kid and definitely moments you cherish," Samoskevich said.

This one in Miami won't have the same exact feeling being that it's not going to be one of those see-your-breath and hope the bench warmers are turned on type of games. He probably won't be looking for a hot chocolate when it's over.

But for him it's special for a different reason.

Samoskevich never experienced the atmosphere of the Rangers playing in one of their outdoor games when he was a kid. He missed out on the 2012 Winter Classic in Philadelphia, the two 2014 Stadium Series games at Yankee Stadium, and the 2018 Winter Classic at Citi Field because his own hockey schedule got in the way. He was playing in the American Hockey League two seasons ago when the Rangers played the Islanders at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Now his own hockey schedule is bringing him to an outdoor game involving the Rangers, and his night will be complete if he can help send the team he grew up rooting for back to New York defeated.

"It's the real deal now," Samoskevich said. "The ('Road to the Winter Classic') show, the cameras around, it's one of those things you think back to sitting on the couch with your family watching that show and idolizing those guys, and now to be a part of it, pretty cool."