“Countdown to Oilers’ Home Opener: Remembering Dmitri Samorukov’s One Game — and the Trade That Brought Fan-Favorite Klim Kostin to Edmonton”
The countdown to the Edmonton Oilers’ home opener is always a time filled with anticipation, excitement, and a healthy dose of nostalgia. Fans look ahead to seeing Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl lead the team into another season, but in moments like these, it’s also fun to look back at some of the smaller, less obvious connections that have shaped the Oilers roster in recent years. One such story is that of Dmitri Samorukov, a player whose actual on-ice contributions to the Oilers were minimal, but whose presence on the roster set off a chain reaction that ended up bringing one of Edmonton’s most beloved depth players in recent memory, Klim Kostin, into the fold. Sometimes, the biggest impacts in sports come from the smallest and least expected moves, and Samorukov’s time with the team is a perfect example of that principle in action.
Dmitri Samorukov’s time as an Edmonton Oiler is about as brief as an NHL career can get. Drafted by the Oilers in the third round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, he was seen as a promising defensive prospect with good size, solid skating ability, and a strong international pedigree, having represented Russia at the World Junior Championship. The Oilers had high hopes that his game would develop in the AHL with the Bakersfield Condors, and for several seasons, he quietly worked on honing his skills in the minors. Finally, in the 2021–22 season, he got his chance — a call-up to the big club.
Unfortunately for Samorukov, his NHL debut on December 28, 2021, against the St. Louis Blues was a night he and Oilers fans will never forget — and not for the right reasons. He played just 2 minutes and 28 seconds, and in that span, he was on the ice for two goals against. It was an incredibly tough situation for any young defenseman, and head coach Dave Tippett made the decision to staple him to the bench for the remainder of the game. That single, difficult outing would end up being his only appearance for the Oilers. Shortly after, he was sent back to Bakersfield, and by the following offseason, it was clear the organization was ready to move in a different direction.
The story could have ended there — just another prospect who couldn’t quite stick in the NHL. But hockey’s transaction web is a fascinating thing, and Samorukov still had one last gift to give the Oilers. On October 9, 2022, Edmonton traded him to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Klim Kostin, a big, hard-hitting winger with untapped offensive potential. At the time, Kostin was struggling to find a permanent role in St. Louis, and the trade didn’t make major headlines. It was a classic “change of scenery” deal, with both teams hoping a new environment might help each player reach the next level.
What happened next surprised almost everyone. Kostin came to Edmonton with no guaranteed roster spot, but injuries and inconsistent play from others gave him an opportunity. He made the most of it. In 57 games with the Oilers during the 2022–23 season, Kostin racked up 11 goals and 10 assists, but his true value came in the form of energy, grit, and the ability to rise to the occasion in big moments. Fans quickly took notice of his fearless play style — he didn’t shy away from physical battles, he stood up for his teammates, and he seemed to genuinely love playing in Edmonton.
Perhaps Kostin’s most memorable contributions came in the playoffs. Against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, he scored two goals in Game 6, helping to close out the series. His ability to elevate his game when the stakes were highest made him a folk hero among Oilers fans, who began to see him as the kind of player every contender needs: someone who brings a combination of skill, physicality, and pure determination. In a lineup filled with elite stars, Kostin carved out a niche as a glue guy, a player who could shift the momentum of a game with a timely goal or a punishing hit.
The irony is that Kostin’s time in Edmonton was just as brief as Samorukov’s, though far more impactful. After his breakout year, salary cap constraints forced the Oilers to move him in the summer of 2023, trading him to the Detroit Red Wings. It was a tough loss for fans, who had grown to love his personality and play style, but his single season left a lasting mark. When you trace back the path that brought him to Edmonton, it all goes through Dmitri Samorukov’s one lonely game in an Oilers uniform.
In the grand scheme of NHL history, it’s the massive trades and superstar acquisitions that usually get remembered — the Wayne Gretzky deal, the moves that brought in Chris Pronger or Draisaitl’s drafting. But hockey rosters are often shaped just as much by small, seemingly insignificant transactions. The Samorukov-for-Kostin trade didn’t alter the Oilers’ core or rewrite their franchise history, but it provided them with a key contributor during a crucial playoff run. It’s a reminder that in professional sports, every player has a role, even if it’s not the one they envisioned.
As we sit here counting down the days until the Oilers’ home opener, the Samorukov story becomes a fun piece of trivia for fans to share. It’s the kind of anecdote that makes hockey culture so rich — a reminder that the sport is full of unpredictable twists and connections. One player’s short, forgettable debut can end up being the domino that tips into a moment of playoff glory a year later. It also speaks to the Oilers’ front office and scouting department, who saw something in Kostin that made them willing to part with a defensive prospect they’d once hoped could become a steady NHL blueliner.
For Samorukov himself, the trade was a fresh start. While he never broke through with the Blues either, moving organizations gave him another chance to continue his career, bouncing between the AHL and European leagues. His story is not one of failure, but of the reality of professional hockey — the path to NHL stability is incredibly difficult, and for every Connor McDavid who steps in and dominates immediately, there are hundreds of players whose careers are shaped by brief opportunities and constant movement.
Meanwhile, Kostin’s Edmonton chapter is now part of Oilers lore. Fans still talk about his energy, his willingness to throw big hits, and his knack for scoring when it mattered most. His short stint is a reminder that not every important player has to be a long-term fixture — sometimes a single season is enough to leave a mark. The fact that his arrival is directly tied to Samorukov’s departure gives this whole narrative an almost poetic quality.
When the puck drops on the Oilers’ home opener, the focus will be on the present: McDavid chasing another Hart Trophy, Draisaitl continuing his dominance, and the team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup. But tucked away in the minds of the die-hard fans will be stories like this — the ones that connect past seasons and forgotten players to the present moment. It’s part of what makes hockey fandom so rewarding: the knowledge that every name, no matter how small their role, has a place in the team’s history.
And so, as we mark each day off the calendar leading up to the first game at Rogers Place, remember Dmitri Samorukov. Remember his lone game in an Oilers sweater, the tough night that didn’t go his way, and how that moment became the unlikely first chapter in Klim Kostin’s Edmonton story. In the unpredictable world of hockey, even the briefest appearances can ripple through seasons, shaping rosters and sparking memories that last far longer than a box score would suggest. Sometimes, the game’s most important contributions aren’t measured in points or minutes played — they’re measured in the chain reactions they set in motion. And in that sense, Samorukov’s place in Oilers history is far more significant than his time on the ice would indicate.
