Just who is Mikael Samuelsson?

Per request by the Predator's Den's Jason Kirk, I will uncover the deep secrets of Mikael Samuelsson. Who is he? Where did he come from? Why did the Wings pick him up? And what impact has he made thus far on the team? The Basic Stats: Name: Mikael Samuelsson Age: 28 Hometown: Mariefred, Sweden Height: 6-2 Weight: 211 lbs. Pos: RW Shoots: Left Drafted: 5th Round pick in 1998 (145th overall) by San Jose What's his NHL background? After being drafted by San Jose in 1998, he was eventually traded to the New York Rangers with Chris Gosselin in exchange for Adam Graves in June of 2001. Interestingly enough, his first two NHL goals were against the Avalanche. His first goal beat Patrick Roy and ended his shutout string of 192 minutes and 39 seconds. In February of 2003, the Rangers sent Samuelsson to Pittsburgh with 3 other players for Alexei Kovalev, Dan LaCouture, Janne Laukkanen, and Mike Wilson. Four months later, he was once again traded, this time to the Florida Panthers. While in Florida, he played 37 games and gained 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists). Fast forward to September 2005 when the Red Wings signed this unrestricted free agent. In the first four games of the regular season, Samuelsson has scored a goal in each game and notched an assist as well. What did he do in the lockout? During the lockout, Samuelsson returned to his native country, Sweden, where he played for Sodertalje SK. In 29 games, he notched 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists). He also played for HC Geneve-Servette, a team in the Swiss National League. There he brought in 2 goals and 4 assists in 12 games. What are the scouting reports saying? Well TSN's reports say the following:

Assets: Has good size and excellent two-way ability. Plays a solid game in all three zones. Is willing and able in the penalty-killing department. Flaws: Has to use his size more in order to maximize his value at the NHL level. Won't ever put up huge scoring totals. Career potential: Checking line winger.

Why the Wings? Well, the Detroit Red Wings appear to have a growing fondness for Swedes. GM Holland says that this is "just a coincidence." The Russian Five no longer exist in Hockeytown, but the Sweden Seven does. "There's never been this many Swedes before," Nicklas Lidstrom said. "It's a different feeling." Along with Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Kronwall, and Zetterberg, Detroit newcomers Andreas Lilja, Johan Franzen, and Samuelsson round up the seven Swedes. "It's nice," Tomas Holmstrom said. "There is a lot. I'm not sure what's happening." Holland signed Samuelsson to add veteran depth to the third and fourth lines. "He's played in the league, he has almost 200 games of experience (188), and we feel he can provide hard work and energy to this team," Holland said.

Courtesy of DetroitRedWings.com

Up until this point, Samuelsson never really had an NHL home. The Wings showed the most interest before the start of exhibition and it wasn't a hard decision for him to sign with Detroit. "It's an awesome organization, and it has to be when you consider all the world championships they've won and making the playoffs year after year," Samuelsson said. The Wings and the rest of the league aren't the only one surprised with his scoring thus far, Samuelsson is to. "I can't remember ever doing that before," Samuelsson said. We'll have to see how he does throughout the season but he seems to be a great addition to the Wings team thus far! UPDATE (Matt): Samuelsson appears to have at least the potential to put up good numbers: He scored 32 goals and had 78 points in 66 games with the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the AHL in 2000-2001, the same year he entered the NHL with the Sharks. He won Rookie of the Month in 2000 for his performance in December of that year. That season was far and away his best, by the way. Obviously, success in the AHL doesn't automatically translate to success in the NHL and that certainly has been the case so far for Samuelsson but perhaps that will change now that he is on a skilled team. Even if his offensive production goes down, he seems to be a solid player in his own zone and that alone makes him a worthwhile pickup. Especially for a paltry $537,500. As for Jason's question: "And does he have a fear of Predators?" Whatever his attitude was before he came to Detroit (he was on a Pens team that Nashville gave a 6-0 spanking in 02-03), he's a Red Wing now and fear of the Preds is not in the job description!