Ulf Samuelsson

Last updated
Ulf Samuelsson
Ulf Samuelsson.jpg
Samuelsson with the New York Rangers in 1997
Born (1964-03-26) March 26, 1964 (age 60)
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 teamFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
NHL draft 67th overall, 1982
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 1981–2000

Ulf Bo Samuelsson (born March 26, 1964) is a Swedish-American former professional ice hockey defenceman who formerly served 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 is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and the first European-born player to have 2,000 career penalty minutes.

Contents

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 was a contributing factor of Neely's early retirement five years later. Throughout his NHL career, Samuelsson was heavily criticized by hockey commentator Don Cherry for his style of play. [3]

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 game 3 versus the Boston Bruins during the 1991 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Samuelsson hit Bruins' star forward Cam Neely with a knee-on-knee check that injured Neely and caused him to develop a condition called myositis ossificans, which ultimately ended his career. [4]

As a member of the New York Rangers in 1995, Samuelsson was knocked unconscious by a punch to the face from Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Domi received an eight-game suspension and a fine for the incident. [5] [6] Domi insisted that Samuelsson provoked the punch by repeatedly calling him "dummy". [7] [8]

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 U.S. citizenship. His Swedish citizenship was revoked, and he was not allowed to play for his native country. [9] Sweden appealed the ruling to the CAS, but their appeal was rejected. [10] [11] The entire ordeal was listed as the seventy-second most important international story by the IIHF in their centennial celebrations in 2008. [12]

Transactions

Personal life

Samuelsson is a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona. [13] Samuelsson's sons, Philip, [14] Henrik and Adam are professional hockey players. His daughter, Victoria, played hockey at Penn State University. [15]

Coaching career

On May 2, 2011, Samuelsson accepted the head coaching position of Modo Hockey, [16] a position he held for two seasons. [17] [18]

On May 31, 2016, it was announced that Samuelsson accepted a head coach position with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. [16] [19] In 2017 Samuelsson was hired as an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League. [20] On November 6, 2018, he was fired along with head coach Joel Quenneville. [21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1980–81Fagersta AIK SWE III 2211516——————
1981–82 Leksands IF SEL 3131440—————
1982–83 Leksands IFSEL33961572—————
1983–84 Leksands IFSEL365111653—————
1984–85 Hartford Whalers NHL4126883—————
1984–85 Binghamton Whalers AHL 365111692—————
1985–86 Hartford WhalersNHL80519241741012338
1986–87 Hartford WhalersNHL7823133162501141
1987–88 Hartford WhalersNHL768334115950008
1988–89 Hartford WhalersNHL719263518140224
1989–90 Hartford WhalersNHL552111317771012
1990–91 Hartford WhalersNHL6231821174—————
1990–91 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL14145372032534
1991–92 Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL62114152062102239
1992–93 Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL77326292491215624
1993–94 Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL8052429199601118
1994–95 Leksands IFSEL20008—————
1994–95 Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL441151611370228
1995–96 New York Rangers NHL74118191221115616
1996–97 New York RangersNHL73611171361502230
1997–98 New York RangersNHL733912122—————
1998–99 New York RangersNHL67391293—————
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL40006903310
1999–2000 Philadelphia Flyers NHL4912358—————
NHL totals1,080572753322,45313272734272
SEL totals102171835173—————

International

YearTeamEvent GPGAPtsPIM
1982 Sweden EJC 521310
1982 Sweden WJC 712318
1983 SwedenWJC10112
1984 SwedenWJC714510
1985 Sweden WC 912322
1990 SwedenWC720218
1991 Sweden CC 30004
1998 Sweden OG 30114
Junior totals20481240
Senior totals2233648

Career achievements

See also

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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. ↑ Kurtzberg, Brad. "The 15 Dirtiest Players in NHL History and the Hits that Prove It". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  4. ↑ Dupont, Kevin (June 21, 2012). "Cam Neely didn't dwell on Ulf Samuelsson hit". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  5. ↑ "The NHL's cheapest shots - Tie Domi on Ulf Samuelsson". msn.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  6. ↑ Lapointe, Joe (1995-10-18). "HOCKEY;Domi's Bill for His Punch: Eight Games and $26,000". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  7. ↑ Domi, Tie (2011-02-16). "DREGER: SUCKER-PUNCH CONSIDERED AMONG THE MOST DANGEROUS". Tie Domi. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  8. ↑ "Domi: Elbow on Niedermayer the 'dumbest thing I did in my career'". www.sportsnet.ca. January 4, 2016. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  9. ↑ Archives, L. A. Times (1998-02-17). "Sweden Player Ruled Ineligible". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  10. ↑ Lapointe, Joe (1998-02-18). "THE XVIII WINTER GAMES; Samuelsson Continues Rangers' Poor Luck". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  11. ↑ "SAMUELSSON'S APPEAL REJECTED IN ARBITRATION". Washington Post . February 18, 1998. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Reporter's scoop reveals that Samuelsson is not a Swede in Nagano-98". IIHF. 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
  13. ↑ 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."
  14. ↑ Gintonio, Jim. Samuelsson's son makes name for himself, Arizona Republic , April 12, 2009. Accessed April 30, 2009
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. 1 2 "Ulf Samuelsson Named Charlotte Checkers Head Coach". OurSports Central. May 31, 2016.
  17. ↑ "MODO Hockey". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  18. ↑ "MODO Hockey". Eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  19. ↑ "Ulf Samuelsson to coach Charlotte Checkers | News & Observer". Newsobserver.com. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-10-30.
  20. ↑ "SAMUELSSON NAMED ASSISTANT COACH IN CHICAGO". American Hockey League . June 15, 2017.
  21. ↑ "RELEASE: Blackhawks make coaching change". NHL.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
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