The Chicago Blackhawks are searching for an assistant coach, and Ulf Samuelsson might just be their guy.
According to the Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune, Samuelsson is the “top candidate” to replace Mike Kitchen, who was fired after the ‘Hawks were swept by the Nashville Predators in the opening round the playoffs.
The obvious connection here, is that Samuelsson and head coach Joel Quenneville were teammates with the Hartford Whalers back in the 1980s.
Samuelsson, 53, was an associate coach with the Arizona Coyotes from 2006 to 2011 and he was an assistant with the New York Rangers from 2013 to 2016. Last season, he served as the head coach of Carolina’s farm team, the Charlotte Checkers.
He led the Checkers to a 39-29-8 record during the 2016-17 AHL campaign.