This Buffalo Sabres Defender Has Been A Great Story
This Buffalo Sabres defenseman has been quite a surprise this season for the Atlantic Division club.
The Buffalo Sabres are currently at the top of the Atlantic Division standings with a 44-20-6 record and 96 points. Mattias Samuelsson has certainly been a notable reason for the Sabres' success this season, as he has been having an excellent campaign. After a few tough seasons, Samuelsson has put together the best season of his NHL career in 2025-26.
The 6-foot-4 blueliner has set new career highs with 12 goals, 27 assists, and 39 points in 67 games. He also has a team-best plus-35 rating so far this season. When noting that Samuelsson was the subject of criticism at times, it is great to see him respond by having such a strong 2025-26 season.
He has once again cemented himself as a very important part of the Sabres' blueline and has undoubtedly helped Buffalo take a major step forward this season because of it. It will now be interesting to see how Samuelsson finishes off this season, but it is hard not to be impressed with his strong play.