Kjell William Alf Samuelsson (born 18 October 1958) is a Swedish former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who played 14 seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

and

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

between 1985 and 1999. He is currently the Flyers Director of Player Development. On December 17, 2018 he was named interim assistant coach of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL.

Playing career

Samuelsson was well into his professional career in his native Sweden when he was chosen 119th overall by the

in the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower ...

. At age 26 he made the move to North America and spent the bulk of his first season with the Rangers organization with their American Hockey League affiliate in New Haven but did manage to get into nine NHL games. The following year he was a full-time NHLer but found himself on the move when New York traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for netminder

Bob Froese Robert Glenn Froese (born June 30, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. Early life Froese was born in St. ...

. With the Flyers, Samuelsson settled in and became a reliable defender and earned a spot on the All-Star team during the 1987-88 season. He won two Barry Ashbee Trophies (awarded to the Flyers top defensemen) before a deal late in the 1991-92 season sent him out of Philadelphia. The trade was a five-player blockbuster that landed him in Pittsburgh just in time to contribute to the 2nd of back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships. The towering blueliner became an unrestricted free agent following the 1994-95 campaign and signed back with the Philadelphia Flyers. He spent the next three seasons with the Flyers but was only healthy for the first one and when his contract expired, the Flyers opted not to resign him. Samuelsson signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final season of his career then retired following the 1998–99 season. He was the last active NHL player to have been born in the 1950s. Samuelsson played 813 career NHL games, scoring 48 goals and 138 assists for 186 points, as well as compiling 1,225 penalty minutes. Despite his surname and reputation as a physical defenseman, he is not related to former teammate

Ulf Samuelsson 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. He played several seasons in the NHL with the Har ...

Coaching career

Upon his retirement, Samuelsson started his coaching career as an assistant with the ECHL's Trenton Titans in 1999-2000 before taking a similar role with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, the following season. He served in that role for six seasons, winning the Calder Cup in 2005. On October 23, 2006, Samuelsson became the head coach of the Phantoms on a day where the Flyers released head coach Ken Hitchcock, promoted Flyers assistant (and former Phantoms head coach) John Stevens to head coach of the Flyers, and brought then-Phantoms coach

Craig Berube Craig Berube (; born December 17, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Chief", Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL for ...

to the Flyers as an assistant. Samuelsson returned to an assistant's role the following season when Berube returned to the Phantoms' head coaching position, and continued that for six more seasons - including four after the Phantoms relocated to Glens Falls, New York. In 2013, Samuelsson transitioned into a development coach for the Flyers, overseeing the team's drafted prospects at the amateur levels. On December 17, 2018 he was named interim assistant coach of the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms due to Scott Gordon being named interim head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Personal life

Samuelsson and his wife Vicki have four children. Samuelsson's son

Mattias Mattias is a masculine given name found most prominently in Northern Europe. It is a cognate of Matthew and Matthias, and may refer to: Sports * Mattias Adelstam (born 1982), Swedish footballer * Mattias Asper (born 1974), Swedish goalkeepe ...

was drafted 32nd overall by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in the

2018 NHL Entry Draft The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the 56th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The 2018 NHL Entry Draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dalla ...

. Both of his sons, Lukas and Mattias, played hockey for Western Michigan University.

now plays for the

of the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelsson, Kjell 1958 births Living people Leksands IF players National Hockey League All-Stars New Haven Nighthawks players New York Rangers draft picks New York Rangers players Philadelphia Flyers coaches Philadelphia Flyers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Stanley Cup champions Swedish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Swedish ice hockey coaches Swedish ice hockey defencemen Tampa Bay Lightning players VEU Feldkirch players