Mattias Samuelsson – USNTDP

Date of Birth – Mar 14, 2000

Age – 18

Place of Birth – Voorhees, NJ, USA

Nation – USA / Sweden

Position – D

Height – 6’4” / 193 cm

Weight – 218 lbs / 99 kg

Shoots – L

Rankings

#39 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM

#38 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

#31 by ISS HOCKEY

#39 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY

#21 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)

#31 by TSN/McKenzie

The son of former NHL defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, Mattias is a young defenseman close to the mold of his father. Big bodied with a decent point shot and a simple game defensively, Samuelsson is solid if unspectacular rearguard prospect. He plays the kind of game you typically find in a prospect with talent and size but who may not be as athletically gifted or developed as quickly as some others in his group.  He is not going to wow anyone with flashy plays, instead sticking to solid, smart and simple choices with a high probability of success.

As with a lot of big prospects his skating is the weakest part of his game right now but there certainly is a lot of room to improve. As he continues to grow into his heavy frame, and if he can learn to loosen his lower body up a little more, he could develop some more fluidity in his skating…particularly his lateral movement and improve his chances of reaching his potential ceiling of a solid 2^nd or 3^rd pairing defenseman that one would pair well with some of the more offensively skilled blue liners that are becoming more and more the norm in today’s NHL.

Bill Placzek profile on Mattias Samuelsson:

Big reliable defender who makes his money with simple up-ice plays and a very good job defending in his own end. This is a very large man child who is still growing. His skating is good, his balance is good and he gets plenty of power behind his point shot on the power play. His growing into his game and no one can predict the full upside as he may be a very large man. Understands what a big defender must do and continues to comply. The son of former Flyer 6’ 7 “Kjell Samuelsson, is committed to the University of Western Michigan. A big boy who plays big.

Committed to playing semi locally in Kalamazoo at Western Michigan next season, Samuelsson’s size and pedigree could make him a very intriguing choice for the Red Wings with one of their second rounds picks and would slot in nicely next to a player like Filip Hronek, or dare I say Quinton Hughes.

Would Mattias Samuelsson be a good choice for the Wings at 30th overall if available?