At age 26 he made the move to North America and spent the bulk of his first season with the Rangers organization with their American Hockey League affiliate in New Haven but did manage to get into nine NHL games.

The following year he was a full-time NHLer but found himself on the move when New York traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for netminder Bob Froese.

He won two Barry Ashbee Trophies [1](awarded to the Flyers top defensemen) before a deal late in the 1991-92 season sent him out of Philadelphia.

[citation needed] Samuelsson played 813 career NHL games, scoring 48 goals and 138 assists for 186 points, as well as compiling 1,225 penalty minutes.

Upon his retirement, Samuelsson started his coaching career as an assistant with the ECHL's Trenton Titans in 1999-2000 before taking a similar role with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, the following season.