| Samuel Kňažko | |
| Birth Date: | 2002 8, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Trenčín, Slovakia |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lb: | 190 |
| Position: | Defence |
| Shoots: | Left |
| League: | NHL |
| Team: | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Prospect League: | AHL |
| Prospect Team: | Cleveland Monsters |
| Former Teams: | TPS |
| Ntl Team: | SVK |
| Draft: | 78th overall |
| Draft Team: | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| Draft Year: | 2020 |
| Career Start: | 2021 |
Samuel Kňažko (born 7 August 2002) is a Slovak professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing for the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kňažko was selected 78th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.[1]
After his selection by the Blue Jackets, Kňažko was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with Blue Jackets on June 9, 2021.[2]
Kňažko served as Slovakia's captain in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the IIHF World Junior Championship.[3]
He was selected to make his full IIHF international debut, participating for Slovakia in the 2021 IIHF World Championship.[4]
Kňažko was selected for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 2015–16 | HK Dukla Trenčín | SVK U18 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | HK Dukla Trenčín | SVK U18 | 43 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | HK Dukla Trenčín | SVK U18 | 24 | 4 | 18 | 22 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18 | HK Dukla Trenčín | SVK U20 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2018–19 | TPS | FIN U18 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | TPS | FIN U20 | 49 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | TPS | FIN U20 | 48 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | TPS | FIN U20 | 23 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | TPS | FIN U20 | 15 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | TPS | Liiga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Seattle Thunderbirds | WHL | 27 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 12 | 25 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 50 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 44 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Liiga totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Slovakia | U18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2018 | Slovakia | HG18 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 2019 | Slovakia | U18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2019 | Slovakia | HG18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2020 | Slovakia | WJC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 2021 | Slovakia | WJC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| 2021 | Slovakia | WC | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Slovakia | OGQ | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Slovakia | WJC | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Slovakia | OG | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2023 | Slovakia | WC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 31 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 26 | |||
| Senior totals | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||