Mikael Samuelsson - International Play

International Play

Samuelsson debuted for the Swedish national team at the 2005 World Championships in Austria. He recorded five points in nine games as Sweden finished in fourth place, losing the bronze medal game to Russia. The following year, he competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He contributed four points in eight games, while playing on a line with future Canucks teammates Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Samuelsson recorded an assist against Finland in the final, helping Sweden win gold. Several months later, he played for Sweden at the 2006 World Championships in Latvia. As Sweden beat the Czech Republic 4–0 in the final, Samuelsson earned his second gold medal of 2006. He recorded an international career-high nine points over eight games to tie for second in team scoring, while also leading Sweden in shots on goal.

Four years later, Samuelsson attracted media attention after being left off the Swedish roster for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He told reporters, "I pretty much have one comment and maybe I'll regret it. But they (Team Sweden officials) can go fuck themselves," adding that he was not interested in being later added to the roster in the event of an injury. His omission was highly publicized by Swedish media as he was in the midst of a career season with the Canucks (he went on to record the second-highest goals total among Swedish NHLers that season in 2009–10 with 30). Sweden went on to lose to Slovakia in the quarterfinal, failing to medal.