Former teammate believes Samuelsson will complement Dahlin

DALLAS - Bode Wilde spent the past two seasons playing with Mattias Samuelsson with the U.S. National Team Development Program, so he knows a bit about what Buffalo should expect from the defenseman the Sabres selected with the first pick of the second round on Saturday.
His review should get people excited.
"They're getting a guy who will complement Dahlin pretty well," Wilde, a second-round pick by the Islanders, said. "I can just imagine those two playing together. Mattias will definitely lock it up defensively and shut down and allow a guy like Dahlin to have a bit of freedom.

"He's an incredible player and he was an incredible captain on our team last year, so they're getting a hell of a player."
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Samuelsson was greeted by Dahlin upon hearing his name called at American Airlines Center on Saturday, but the two got to know each other during their fitness testing at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo earlier this month.
"We did the testing together and we talked and just like mingled a little bit during our spare time there," Samuelsson said. "He seems like a great kid and obviously he's a hell of a hockey player so I'm really excited to be with him for a little bit."
Samuelsson was the 17th-ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting, and he was ranked as the 20th overall prospect by Kris Baker of SabresProspects.com.
"Samuelsson stands out with his stout defensive posture augmented by impressive size and skating," Baker wrote. "At 6-foot-4 and already closing in on 220 pounds, he moves about with agile footwork and above-average four-way mobility.
"He's disciplined with how he uses his big frame to shut down the attack, but he's not just a big guy who cancels out his checks as he is also disruptive force that regularly gets his stick on the puck."

Samuelsson takes from his father when it comes to his size. Kjell Samuelsson played 14 seasons in the NHL and currently works as a development coach for Philadelphia. It was Kjell who taught Mattias how to apply his tall frame on the ice.
"He was a pretty big defenseman, so he's definitely taught me how to stick up for yourself and how to use my body to my advantage," Mattias said. "Just not to back down and don't be afraid to play your style of game and use your size to my advantage."
Samuelsson will begin his collegiate career next season at Western Michigan University, where his older brother Lukas is a sophomore. In the meantime, he'll have the chance to get to know Dahlin and the rest of Buffalo's prospects better once development camp kicks off next week.
"They have a lot of good pieces coming together and a lot of young guys," he said. "I'm just hoping that I can be a part of that core group coming up."