The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Die By The Blade community. It was a combination of staff writers and over 200 readers that ranked Buffalo Sabres players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2023. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production to rank each player. Staff votes counted equally with reader votes.
Mattias Samuelsson
Drafted: 2018, BUF 2nd round, 1st pick (32nd Overall)
Position: Defense | Shoots Left
Born: March 14, 2000 | 23 years old
2022-2023 Stats: 55 GP | 2 G | 8 A | +14
2022 T25U25 Ranking: 8
Making his way up the Top 25 ranking this year – and understandably so – is defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, who had a solid third season with the Sabres franchise this past year. Like some other players in the Sabres organization, Samuelsson seems to have hockey in his blood as his Swedish-born father was also a professional defenseman having played 14 seasons in the NHL – including with the Pittsburgh Penguins, for whom he won a Stanley Cup with in 1992.
At 6’4″, Samuelsson’s defensive presence may be the best on the team, as it nicely balances the obvious star of the show (offensive defenseman Rasmus Dahlin). He is a breath of fresh air and a much needed physical player that we will be seeing much more of after signing his long-term deal (through 2029-2030) with Kevyn Adams last fall.
The one big improvement needed, though, is his health to sustain through an entire season. If he can remain healthy, he can undoubtedly expect increased ice time (even more than last year’s average of just over 22 minutes) against top opponents, given his effectiveness on the ice. For example, after coming back from an eight-game absence late last season due to a hand injury, Samuelsson helped lead his team to five out of six victories. His presence is incredibly important, which makes it difficult to sit here and think ‘what if’ we had him on the ice just a few more games during the regular season. Would we have surpassed the Panthers and made the playoffs? Who knows, but I would put my money on…yes.
Another quality he has is his willingness to learn, improve, and strive for playoff hockey – goals that any Sabres fan can appreciate:
And, just for fun, here he is supporting his team and exercising something healthy banter with everyone around him at last year’s development camp:
It is hard not to like the guy as he clearly has talent and size on his side. An added bonus is that he very clearly enjoys being on the Buffalo Sabres and is the type of defenseman the team has desperately needed for several years. It will be interesting to see how the upcoming 2023-2024 season shakes out for him (time to manifest a full season of play and a playoff run!).