Samuelsson set to face Wings

Chris McCosky

Vancouver, British Columbia --Late in training camp, Mikael Samuelsson's new teammates and countrymen Henrik and Daniel Sedin ribbed him for, of all things, not being Swedish enough.

"He's bigger than you think he is and he's got a great shot and is a good skater," Henrik Sedin told Vancouver reporters. "And he can be a little dirty. He's kind of a dirty player and not Swedish that way."

Mikael Samuelsson, dirty?

"He's more Canadian than Swedish," Daniel said. "He's tough to play against and gets under your skin and can frustrate you because he's so strong. He'll fit in a lot of different situations."

The Wings, presently in a scoring drought and off to their worst start in 20 years, probably wish they still had some of what Samuelsson is now providing the Canucks, who signed him away from the Wings last summer with a three-year, $7.5 million deal.

Samuelsson, who has five goals and five assists through 11 games, will play against the Wings for the first time Tuesday at GM Place. But this will be far from a grudge match. Talking to the Globe and Mail on Sunday, Samuelsson had nothing but praise for the Wings and his time there.

"I learned a ton of things in Detroit from the coach but from the other players as well," he said. "I don't know where to start, but it's the environment they bring you into and the small things they do."

Samuelsson took the Canucks' deal, though it was only $1 million more than the Wings offered, because he wanted to prove he could be a first- or second-line player.

He told the Vancouver Sun, "This is what I wanted when I came here. I wanted a fair chance to prove I could be a big part of an offense."