Our 2022 Buffalo Sabres player report cards continue today with a look at defenseman Mattias Samuelsson.
Total Season Stats (Sabres): 42 GP | 0 G | 10 A | 10 PTS
Age: 22
Contract Status: Signed through 2022-23 ($925,000)
I’m going to go ahead and make a bold statement here, so stay with me: Mattias Samuelsson is, in part, the future of the Buffalo Sabres’ defense. (Okay, maybe it’s not that bold…)
Samuelsson is arguably one of Buffalo’s top defensive prospects, and we saw glimmers of his development shine throughout the course of the season. He played a big role for the Sabres over the course of this season, and the fact that he’s also a big body physically doens’t hurt, either.
In addition to his NHL time, Samuelsson appeared in 22 games for the Amerks, where he contributed offensively with two goals and 13 assists. Unfortunately, he had a nagging injury towards the end of the season and never got to skate with the Amerks in a playoff game before their eventual elimination. It’s too bad, because he would’ve been an incredibly valuable addition to their lineup for the postseason.
It’s exciting to think about Samuelsson in the lineup full-time next season.
Mattias Samuelsson is just too big pic.twitter.com/jVOmXnaU7K
— The Charging Buffalo (@TheChargingBUF) April 12, 2022
Season Grade: B+
Grade Mattias Samuelsson on his 2021-22 season.
| A – excelled above expectation | 278 |
| B – did better than expectation | 350 |
| C – met expectation | 44 |
| D – did worse than expectation | 2 |
| F – did much worse than expectation | 4 |