Mattias Samuelsson (born March 14, 2000) is an American 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 ...

currently playing for 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 ...

of 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). He played collegiately at Western Michigan.

Playing career

Junior

Samuelsson played three seasons in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. He was part of the team that won the silver medal at the

2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. He was captain of the team at the

2020 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2020 Ice Hockey World Junior Championships (''2020 WJC'') was the 44th edition of the Ice Hockey World Junior Championship. It began on December 26, 2019, and ended with the gold medal game being played on January 5, 2020. Canada defeated Ru ...

. Samuelsson was drafted by the

Sarnia Sting Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...

in the fourth round of the 2016

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

Draft, but chose not to play there.

College

After originally committing to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, Samuelsson de-committed and went to Western Michigan instead. He played two seasons at Western Michigan, where he scored seven goals and 19 assists. He was an alternate captain for the team in his sophomore year, despite being the youngest player on the team.

Professional

Samuelsson was drafted in the second round, 32nd overall, by the

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 ...

. He signed a three-year contract with the Sabres on March 25, 2020. He made his NHL debut with the Sabres on April 18, 2021, in a game against the

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 ...

. Samuelsson scored his first career goal on November 30, 2022, against the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. The Sabres signed Samuelsson to a seven-year, $30 million contract on October 12, 2022.

Personal

Samuelsson's Swedish-born father, Kjell, played 14 seasons as an NHL defenseman for the

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. His mother Vicki is a Pennsylvania native. Mattias grew up modeling his game after that of longtime NHL defensemen

Mattias Ekholm Mattias Hans Ekholm (born 24 May 1990) is a Swedish ice hockey defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often ...

and

Victor Hedman Victor Erik Olof Hedman (; born 18 December 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenseman and alternate captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hedman was selected second overall by the Lightning in the 20 ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelsson, Mattias 2000 births American men's ice hockey defensemen American people of Swedish descent Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Ice hockey players from New Jersey Living people People from Voorhees Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Camden County, New Jersey Rochester Americans players USA Hockey National Team Development Program players Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players Youth Olympic gold medalists for the United States Ice hockey players at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics