Western Michigan's Mattias Samuelsson signs three-year, $2.7M deal with Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres agreed to sign Western Michigan defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to a three-year, $2.7 million entry-level contract on Wednesday.
Samuelsson, a graduate of the National Team Development Program in Plymouth, was selected by Buffalo with the 32nd pick in the 2018 draft.
Samuelsson had two goals and 14 points in 30 games in his sophomore season with the Broncos this year and overall hadseven goals and 26 points in 65 career college games.
The 6-foot-four, 223-pound Samuelsson served as an alternate captain with Western Michigan and was an honorable mention for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference defenseman of the year honors.
The 20-year-old from New Jersey represented the United States in each of the past two world junior hockey championships, including the silver-medal-winning team in 2019.
He is following the career path of his father, former NHL defenseman Kjell Samuelsson, who is the Philadelphia Flyers’ director of player development.
“We are very pleased with Mattias’ growth both at Western Michigan and on the international stage,” said Sabres general manager Jason Botterill, a former forward with the University of Michigan. “He possesses a unique combination of size, speed and skill, and we look forward to working with him on his next steps as a pro.”
Samuelsson will be reunited with Broncos teammate Dawson DiPietro, who signed a $750,000, one-year deal with the Sabres earlier this week.
DiPietro, a free-agent forward, had 12 goals and 17 assists to finish second on the team with 29 points in 35 games.