Biography

Samuelsson has the reputation as the dirtiest player 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 bodycheck that injured Neely and caused him to develop a condition called myositis ossificans, which ultimately ended his career. 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. Domi insisted that Samuelsson provoked the punch by repeatedly calling him "dummy". 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 His Swedish citizenship was revoked and he was not allowed to play.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. The entire ordeal was listed as the seventy-second most important international story by the IIHF in their centennial celebrations in 2008.

Personal

Samuelsson is a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona. Samuelsson's sons, Philip and Henrik as well as his daughter Victoria 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.

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

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.

Coaching career

• 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-present, assistant coach, New York Rangers

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

Ulf Samuelsson

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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]