Ulf Samuelsson
| Ulf Samuelsson | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
March 26, 1964 Fagersta, Sweden | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Hartford Whalers (1984–1991) Pittsburgh Penguins (1991–1995) New York Rangers (1995–1999) Detroit Red Wings (1999) Philadelphia Flyers (1999–2000) | ||
| National team |
 Sweden | ||
| NHL Draft |
67th overall, 1982 Hartford Whalers | ||
| Playing career | 1981–2000 | ||
Ulf Bo Samuelsson (born March 26, 1964) is a retired Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman and currently the head coach for the Charlotte Checkers.[1] He played several seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, as a member of the Penguins in 1991 and 1992.
Playing career
Samuelsson has the reputation as one of the dirtiest players in the history of the NHL and one who excelled at antagonizing opponents. He was given the nickname "Robocop" for the body armor he wore on the ice, and Tuffe Uffe ("Tough Ulf" in Swedish) in Sweden.
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 an illegal body check that injured Neely and caused him to develop a condition called myositis ossificans, which ultimately ended his career.[2] Many Bruins fans still consider this to be a deliberate play. It was partially responsible for shortening Neely's hall of fame career.
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.[3] Domi insisted that Samuelsson provoked the punch by repeatedly calling him "dummy".[4] Samuelsson himself received criticism for his style of play during his playing career.
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. In 2003, when Sweden permitted dual citizenships, Samuelsson got his Swedish citizenship back.[citation needed] The entire ordeal was listed as the seventy-second most important international story by the IIHF in their centennial celebrations in 2008.[5]
Transactions
- March 4, 1991 – traded by the Hartford Whalers, along with Ron Francis and Grant Jennings, to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for John Cullen, Jeff Parker, and Zarley Zalapski
- August 31, 1995 – traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Luc Robitaille, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Petr Nedvěd and Sergei Zubov.
- March 23, 1999 – traded by the New York Rangers to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Detroit's 1999 second round draft choice and the Ranger's 1999 third round draft choice.
- June 25, 1999 – traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for future considerations.
- October 19, 1999 – signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Personal
Samuelsson is a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona.[6] Samuelsson's sons, Philip,[7] Henrik and Adam as well as his daughter Victoria[8] are all aspiring hockey prospects. They have come up through the US National Team Development Program, choosing to represent the US internationally as opposed to their father's native Sweden. Philip was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in the second round, 61st overall. The Phoenix Coyotes drafted Henrik in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in the first round, 27th overall. Victoria signed to play her NCAA D-1 collegiate career at Penn State University, beginning in the 2015–16 season.[9]
Coaching career
On May 2, 2011, Samuelsson accepted the head coaching position of Modo Hockey,[1] a position he held for two seasons.[10][11]
On May 31, 2016, it was announced that Samuelsson has accepted a head coach position of Charlotte Checkers [12]
- 2003–04, head coach, Phantoms Ice Hockey Club squirt minor AAA
- 2004–05, assistant coach, Avon Old Farms School
- 2005–06, assistant coach, Hartford Wolf Pack
- 2006–11, assistant coach, Phoenix Coyotes
- 2011–13, head coach, Modo Hockey
- 2013–16, assistant coach, New York Rangers
- 2016–present, head coach, Charlotte Checkers
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 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 Stars | 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 | ||
| 1999–00 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 49 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Elitserien totals | 102 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 173 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| AHL totals | 36 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 92 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| NHL totals | 1080 | 57 | 275 | 332 | 2453 | 132 | 7 | 27 | 34 | 272 | ||||
International play
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
1990 | Sweden |
- Played for Team Sweden in the World Junior Championships 1982, '83 and '84.
- Played for Team Sweden in the European Junior Championships 1982.
- Played for Team Sweden in the World Championships 1985 and '90.
- Played for Team Sweden in the Canada Cup 1991.
- Played for Team Sweden in the Olympics 1998 (first part only).
International statistics
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| 1982 | Sweden | EJC | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 1983 | Sweden | WJC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | Sweden | WJC | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| 1985 | Sweden | WC | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 22 |
| 1990 | Sweden | WC | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| 1991 | Sweden | Canada Cup | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1998 | Sweden | Olympics | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Ulf Samuelsson Named Charlotte Checkers Head Coach". OurSports Central. May 31, 2016.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ The One That Got Away http://www.nwsportsbeat.com/coffee-shop/northwest-athlete-profiles-cam-neely-25312/
- ^ The NHL’s cheapest shots - Tie Domi on Ulf Samuelsson http://sports.ca.msn.com/nhl/photos/gallery.aspx?cp-documentid=23350398&page=8
- ^ Dreger: Sucker-punch considered among most dangerous http://www.tiedomi.com/?p=843
- ^ "Reporter's scoop reveals that Samuelsson is not a Swede in Nagano-98". IIHF. 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- ^ 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."
- ^ Gintonio, Jim. Samuelsson's son makes name for himself, Arizona Republic, April 12, 2009. Accessed April 30, 2009
- ^ Wolfe, Cory. WHL gets defensive, Saskatoon Star Phoenix, April 29, 2009. Accessed April 30, 2009.
- ^ http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/111814aae.html
- ^ http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=9&year0=2013
- ^ http://www.eliteprospects.com/team.php?team=9&year0=2012
- ^ http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article80870227.html
External links
Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1964 births
- American people of Swedish descent
- Arizona Coyotes coaches
- Binghamton Whalers players
- Detroit Red Wings players
- Hartford Whalers draft picks
- Hartford Whalers players
- Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics
- Leksands IF players
- Living people
- National Hockey League All-Stars
- New York Rangers players
- New York Rangers coaches
- Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden
- People from Moorestown, New Jersey
- People with acquired American citizenship
- Philadelphia Flyers players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Stanley Cup champions
- Swedish emigrants to the United States
- Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Swedish ice hockey coaches
- Swedish ice hockey players