About Ulf Samuelsson
Ulf Bo Samuelsson (born March 26, 1964) is a Swedish-American former professional ice hockey defenceman who formerly served as assistant coach of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League. He played several seasons in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and Philadelphia Flyers. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, winning with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and the first European-born player to have 2,000 career penalty minutes. During his playing career, Samuelsson was viewed by NHL stars as "the most hated man in hockey"; he was described to The New York Times as "the lowest form of human being" and someone whose play is all about "trying to hurt you and knock you out of the game". He is also infamous for his knee-to-knee hit on Boston Bruins Cam Neely during the 1991 playoffs that was a contributing factor in Neely's early retirement five years later. Throughout his NHL career, Samuelsson was heavily criticized by hockey commentator Don Cherry for his style of play. Samuelsson played 1,080 career NHL games, scoring 57 goals and 275 assists for 332 points. He scored the 1991 Stanley Cup-winning goal in game six of the finals against the Minnesota North Stars, at 2:00 of the first period in what became an 8–0 blowout victory for Pittsburgh. During the Nagano Olympics, he was ejected from the Swedish team when it was discovered that he had requested and received U.S. citizenship.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.