Ulf Samuelsson: It’s all about winning

Ulf Samuelsson: It’s all about winning
By Stan Fischler
Nov 6, 2001, 20:24

 

If a vote were taken today for the title of “Most Hated NHL Player,” Ulf Samuelsson would be one of the top three finalists, if not the actual winner. The 31-year-old Swede has terrorized NHL opponents for a decade by employing an assortment of hooks, elbows, and spears—among other delicacies—to stop his foes. That he has succeeded is evident in many ways. Ulfie also happens to be one of the leagues premiere all-around backliners. And, for another thing, he is one of the NHL’s highest-paid defensemen. Some might say that it is all in the genes. But Ulfie is not so sure.

“It just kind of happened,” Samuelsson says. “You know, when I started, I was nine years old. But maybe I was already a little bit more competitive (than other kids).”

A native of Fagersta, Sweden (Pop. 10,000), he grew up with the equally feisty Tomas Sandstrom.

“Ulf was always a tough player,” says Christer Rockstrom, the New York Rangers Swedish-based scout. “When I saw him as a junior in Fagersta, he played the same style. He was fearless. He was hitting and running people. You could see the instinct. He wasn’t as mean as he was today. He also wasn’t as good. He wasn’t as controlled.”

When Swedish players first came to the NHL, they were considered “soft” by North American standards, but Samuelsson changed that.

“He’s the type of guy you hate to play against but you love to have on your team,” admits Rangers captain Mark Messier. “We’ve crossed paths a few times in my career.

“One thing I think gets overlooked because of Ulf’s reputation is the fact that he has very good skills. He’s a good all around hockey player.”

Ulfie has been around long enough to have heard the charges that he is downright filthy on the ice. He dismisses them with a straight face and counters that hockey is a rough game, and he happens to play it physically.

“I’ve never tried to put a player out for the season,” he says. “But it wouldn’t bother me if I put a player out for a game.”

How much Samuelsson, at his advanced age, will help the Rangers this year is debatable, although there is no doubt in coach Colin Campbell’s mind that he has got a winner.

“I know what I can do best, and I’ll find a way to do that here,” Samuelsson vows. “I like to play against the other team’s best line, and hopefully, I’ll get to earn that spot on this team.”

In an interview at Madison Square Garden, Samuelsson examined his game and the NHL.

 

What makes Ulf Samuelsson, the player one of your former Penguins teammates described as the best all-around defenseman in hockey, tick?

I love to compete. I think that desire to compete day after day, night after night whether we are in first place or last place says a lot about my game. I may not have as many natural skills as some of the other defensemen in the league, but I try to make up for that with my big desire to win. It drives me.”

 

How many sticks do you go through in an average game and how many during a season?

Today it was two. Sometimes it’s more, sometimes it’s less. As far as the season goes, gosh, I don’t know, maybe two or three times 84 games. I also give away a lot of sticks to fans and charities.

 

Taping of one’s stick is essentially a personal science. How do tape your sticks?

I just use a small strip of tape (holds up two fingers about seven inches apart). No big deal. Some guys load their sticks with tape but I don’t.

 

What do you go through to make your sticks game-ready?

Well, that depends on how they come. Wood sticks are not as consistent as aluminum sticks. With wood ones, you have to sometimes put a lot of work into them. (But) most of the time you have to just tape them up and go.

So do you have a preference, wood or aluminum?

I like wood.

 

You are one of the most intense players in the game today. How do stay within the fine line of rational play and going completely off the deep end?

Well, you must always try to stay mentally calm. Often it is difficult—especially after getting a stick across the face. But I try to set a game plan for myself and stick to it. I try not to let anyone get me off my game plan. If someone is able to get me off my plan then I wind up hurting my team if I get too excited and lose it.

 

I just called your style “intense.” Others say you’re downright dirty. How do you address that?

Sometimes I’m dirty. But sometimes this is a dirty game. I try to keep the lumber down because that is usually a penalty and that will hurt the team. There is a fine line you have to stay within.

What do you consider to have been your best season personally? That does not have to necessarily include the Penguins championship seasons.

I had some good seasons in Hartford, but it is impossible to judge one’s career without looking at the overall picture—which must include how the team did. Like I said, I had some good years in Hartford, but the bottom line is we were not a very good team.

In Pittsburgh it was the opposite. We were a great team and the two championships proved it. The old cliché that “if the team does well you will do well” is such a true statement. If you personally get two goals a game for the whole season and your team gives up six a game and you lose each game six to two and finish in last place, is that a good season? Some may say yes and some will say no. I say no. The only thing that drives me is the desire to win each and every game I play. Winning is the only thing I can judge by.

How about those Penguins championships in 1991 and 1992?

Those were the best years of my life so far. Hopefully we can make another couple of runs here (in New York).

 

How will the newly instituted obstruction rules affect your punishing style of play?

I don’t believe it will have too much effect on my style personally, because that is not really my angle towards the game. I kind of hit and run a little more. But it will affect everyone to some extent in the beginning, until they can get used to it.

 

What three elements do you feel are essential for a young hockey player to be able to grow and eventually hope to become a top-rated defenseman like yourself?

Well, without a doubt he must have the talent to be able to play at this level. Not many have that God-given talent. He must also possess a tremendous amount of patience to be able to learn. It is not easy to become a good defensemen in this league. He must also have a fire inside of him.

 

What do you mean by a fire inside him?

A fire to win. A fire to contribute to your team any way you can. Go out and get the job done on the ice, on the bench, in the dressing room, at practice, on the road. It all comes down to winning.

 

What are your thoughts on the trade that brought you to New York?

Oh I was excited. I knew I was going somewhere, and to be able to come to one of the biggest cities in the world and to a team with such a history dating back to the Original Six is definitely exciting and I am proud to be a part of it.

What did you do with your Penguins Stanley Cup rings?

I still have them. I don’t wear any jewelry. I don’t even wear my wedding band. It has to be a very special occasion for me to put them on. 

 

You are now living up by suburban Rye, NY. How is life in Rye compared to living in Hartford or Pittsburgh?

I like the Rye area. It is a nice area from what I have seen so far. Living in Hartford was also nice. (But) as far as I’m concerned, Pittsburgh has too many red necks.

This first appeared in the 08/1995 issue of Hockey Player Magazine®
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