Ulf Samuelsson

Ulf Bo Samuelsson (born March 26, 1964) is a Swedish-American former professional ice hockey defenceman who currently serves as assistant coach of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League.[1] He played several seasons in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers. He was a two-time Stanley Cup champion as a member of the Penguins in 1991 and 1992. He is currently a US-based scout for the NHL Seattle Kraken, which will begin play in 2021.

Ulf Samuelsson
Ulf Samuelsson with the New York Rangers in October 1997
Born (1964-03-26) March 26, 1964
Fagersta, Sweden
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Hartford Whalers
Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers
Detroit Red Wings
Philadelphia Flyers
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 67th overall, 1982
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 1981–2000

During his playing career, Samuelsson was viewed by NHL stars as "the most hated man in hockey"; he was described to the New York Times as "the lowest form of human being" and someone whose play is all about "trying to hurt you and knock you out of the game".[2] He is also infamous for his knee-to-knee hit on Boston Bruins Cam Neely during the 1991 playoffs that completely ended Neely's career five years later.

Playing career

Samuelsson was selected 67th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. In February 1987, Samuelsson played in the "Rendez-vous '87" series as a member of the NHL All-Stars. The two game series between the NHL All-Stars and the Soviet national team took place in Quebec City and replaced the NHL's mid-season all-star game for the 1986–87 season.

He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Ron Francis in 1991 and was a member of Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup winning team in 1991 and 1992. He scored the 1991 Stanley Cup-winning goal in game six of the finals against the Minnesota North Stars, at 2:00 of the first period in what became an 8–0 blowout victory for Pittsburgh.

In a game versus the Boston Bruins during the 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Samuelsson hit Bruins' star forward Cam Neely with a body check that injured Neely and caused him to develop a condition called myositis ossificans, which ultimately ended his career.[3]

As a member of the New York Rangers in 1995, Samuelsson was famously knocked unconscious by a sucker punch to the face from Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Domi received an eight-game suspension and a fine for the incident, described by some as one of the cheapest shots in NHL history.[4] Domi insisted that Samuelsson provoked the punch by repeatedly calling him "dummy".[5]

Samuelsson played 1,080 career NHL games, scoring 57 goals and 275 assists for 332 points. He accumulated 2,453 penalty minutes over the course of his career.

During the Nagano Olympics, he was ejected from the Swedish team when it was discovered that he had requested and received US citizenship. His Swedish citizenship was revoked and he was not allowed to play. The entire ordeal was listed as the seventy-second most important international story by the IIHF in their centennial celebrations in 2008.[6]

Transactions

Personal life

Samuelsson is a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona.[7] Samuelsson's sons, Philip,[8] Henrik and Adam are professional hockey players. His daughter, Victoria, played hockey at Penn State University.[9]

Coaching career

On May 2, 2011, Samuelsson accepted the head coaching position of Modo Hockey,[10] a position he held for two seasons.[11][12]

On May 31, 2016, it was announced that Samuelsson accepted a head coach position with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League.[10][13] In 2017 Samuelsson was hired as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League.[14] On November 6, 2018 he was fired along with head coach Joel Quenneville.[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1980–81 Fagersta AIK SWE III 22 11 5 16 — — — — — —
1981–82 Leksands IF SEL 31 3 1 4 40 — — — — —
1982–83 Leksands IF SEL 33 9 6 15 72 — — — — —
1983–84 Leksands IF SEL 36 5 11 16 53 — — — — —
1984–85 Hartford Whalers NHL 41 2 6 8 83 — — — — —
1984–85 Binghamton Whalers AHL 36 5 11 16 92 — — — — —
1985–86 Hartford Whalers NHL 80 5 19 24 174 10 1 2 3 38
1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 78 2 31 33 162 5 0 1 1 41
1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 76 8 33 41 159 5 0 0 0 8
1988–89 Hartford Whalers NHL 71 9 26 35 181 4 0 2 2 4
1989–90 Hartford Whalers NHL 55 2 11 13 177 7 1 0 1 2
1990–91 Hartford Whalers NHL 62 3 18 21 174 — — — — —
1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 14 1 4 5 37 20 3 2 5 34
1991–92 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 62 1 14 15 206 21 0 2 2 39
1992–93 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 77 3 26 29 249 12 1 5 6 24
1993–94 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 80 5 24 29 199 6 0 1 1 18
1994–95 Leksands IF SEL 2 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
1994–95 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 44 1 15 16 113 7 0 2 2 8
1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 74 1 18 19 122 11 1 5 6 16
1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 73 6 11 17 136 15 0 2 2 30
1997–98 New York Rangers NHL 73 3 9 12 122 — — — — —
1998–99 New York Rangers NHL 67 3 9 12 93 — — — — —
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4 0 0 0 6 9 0 3 3 10
1999–2000 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 49 1 2 3 58 — — — — —
SEL totals 102 17 18 35 173 — — — — —
NHL totals 1080 57 275 332 2453 132 7 27 34 272

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1982 Sweden EJC 5 2 1 3 10
1982 Sweden WJC 7 1 2 3 18
1983 Sweden WJC 1 0 1 1 2
1984 Sweden WJC 7 1 4 5 10
1985 Sweden WC 9 1 2 3 22
1990 Sweden WC 7 2 0 2 18
1991 Sweden CC 3 0 0 0 4
1998 Sweden OG 3 0 1 1 4
Junior totals 20 4 8 12 40
Senior totals 22 3 3 6 48

Career achievements

See also
  • List of NHL players with 1000 games played
  • List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes

References
  1. "Florida Panthers Name Ulf Samuelsson Assistant Coach". NHL.com/panthers. November 9, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  2. "How to Slash, Maul and Jab Your Way to Stardom". New York Times. January 21, 1996. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  3. "The One That Got Away". nwsportsbeat.com. March 25, 2012. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  4. "The NHL's cheapest shots - Tie Domi on Ulf Samuelsson". msn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  5. Dreger: Sucker-punch considered among most dangerous http://www.tiedomi.com/?p=843
  6. "Reporter's scoop reveals that Samuelsson is not a Swede in Nagano-98". IIHF. 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  7. O'Donell, Chuck. "Ulf Samuelsson: the fearsome defender recalls the night the Penguins' bid for a third straight Stanley Cup title came to an end – The Game I'll Never Forget", Hockey Digest, May 2003. Accessed December 8, 2007. "Samuelsson has dabbled in broadcasting, calling the Salt Lake City Olympics for a television station in Sweden. But mostly, he enjoys hanging out in his home in the Arizona suburb of North Scottsdale, A.Z., with his family."
  8. Gintonio, Jim. Samuelsson's son makes name for himself, Arizona Republic, April 12, 2009. Accessed April 30, 2009
  9. "Penn State Welcomes Four for 2015-16 Season :: Official Athletic Site of Penn State :: Official Athletic Site of Penn State :: Women's Ice Hockey". Gopsusports.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  10. "Ulf Samuelsson Named Charlotte Checkers Head Coach". OurSports Central. May 31, 2016.
  11. "MODO Hockey". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  12. "MODO Hockey". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  13. "Ulf Samuelsson to coach Charlotte Checkers | News & Observer". Newsobserver.com. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  14. "SAMUELSSON NAMED ASSISTANT COACH IN CHICAGO". American Hockey League. June 15, 2017.
  15. "RELEASE: Blackhawks make coaching change". NHL.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
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