Prospect Rewind: Western Michigan coach sees bright future for Samuelsson

Mattias Samuelsson decided that facing pro competition was the best step for his development when he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Sabres in March.

It's safe to say his college coach agrees with that assessment.

"We'll see if he's ready to play right at the start," Western Michigan coach Andy Murray said. "I mean, he'll be in the Sabres lineup sometime next year whether it's at the start or not. He's going to challenge for regular ice time, for sure."

That's high praise coming from Murray, whose nearly five decades of coaching include ample time spent at both the NHL and NCAA levels. Samuelsson's on- and off-ice maturity earned the respect of Murray and his staff, so much so that Samuelsson was selected as an alternate captain as a sophomore this past season.

Murray spoke with Sabres.com to look back at Samuelsson's two years at Western Michigan.

How did Mattias evolve during his two years in your program?

"I think he was mature beyond his years when he came in after his senior year of high school, both as a hockey player and as a person. So, a real compliment to his upbringing and his family and he obviously grew up in a hockey family. He was mature when he got there. He was a real good player when he got to us. And I think there was some physical maturity that happened during his time here and obviously the opportunity to play against bigger, faster, players at the college level just helped him mature in his game. But to me, it was not areas of weakness that he had to address. He was a complete player when we got him, and I think just the experience of playing against better players helped him over his two years."

We've heard about his leadership since he was drafted. Where did you see that the most?

"I just think in the way that he carries himself as a person. He thinks before he speaks and you see his game, he's obviously a physical force on the ice but more importantly he's a cerebral player. He makes the right decisions with the puck and he can make adjustments in-game. So, physical, mental maturity in so many areas, but just the type of person he is and the way he carries himself."

Is it rare for a sophomore to wear a letter?

"Yeah, it is. We don't vote on them, we select them as coaches. We have our players identify players for us. We have kind of a rating scale for 10 things, leadership characteristics. The players list the top three for each of those categories. He was certainly on that list."

Where have you seen his offensive game develop?

"He's got a heavy shot. He makes good decisions with the puck. And I think at times, being a defensive defenseman, you can play too conservative sometimes, and he didn't do that. He learned how to expand his role, so he's obviously very solid defensively but offensive defensemen are people who move the puck and he's really a good puck mover."

How would you describe the way he affects a game in his own zone?

"He's got a tremendous defensive stick. He's physically heavy on his stick. When he engages you one-on-one, you're not going to get away from him. He defends the prime scoring area very well. He boxes out and maintains solid defensive side positioning. And then when he gets the puck, he makes a good decision with it so he can get it out and he doesn't have to defend again. He solves his own problems. He doesn't give his problems to somebody else by slapping it away. He makes constructive plays getting the puck out."

By the numbers

.46 - Samuelsson raised his points-per-game average this season to .46 (14 points in 30 games), up from .34 as a freshman.

17 -Samuelsson ranked second among Broncos defensemen with a plus-17 rating.

19 - Samuelsson has played a combined 19 games with Team USA during international tournaments over the past three years. He captained the team at the U-18 World Junior Championship in 2017-18 and again at the U-20 tournament this past January.