Former Penguins defenseman Ulf Samuelsson has been hired as head coach of Leksands IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL).

The hiring was announced in a press release by the NHL’s Seattle expansion franchise for which Samuelsson had been serving as a scout since September.

Fired as an assistant coach by the Chicago Blackhawks in November of 2018, Samuelsson was out of hockey until September of 2019 when he was hired by Seattle general manager Ron Francis, his former teammate with the Penguins and the Hartford Whalers, to serve as a professional scout.

Samuelsson, a physical defenseman during the Penguins’ first two Stanley Cup championships in the early 1990s, has served as a head coach with MODO in the SHL as well as the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League.

Last month, he spoke with the Tribune-Review about his desire to become a head coach in the NHL.

“That’s a big goal of mine,” said Samuelsson, a candidate for the Penguins’ vacant head coaching position in 2014. “Working hard towards building a resume and a career here. I feel like I’m taking strides each time I work for (a team).

“(Scouting) is pretty fun, but I think the longer it goes now, the more I miss coaching. I’m keeping all the doors open, obviously, but I’m really starting to miss coaching.”

Samuelsson played for Leksands IF in the early 1980s before jumping to the NHL in 1984. Currently, his son Philip Samuelsson, a member of the Penguins briefly in 2013-14, plays for Lekslands IF.

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