It's a pretty standard practice in Boston's North End: When you see a jersey marked 'Samuelsson, No. 5' skating around on the Garden ice, you boo, curse and quickly reach your boiling point.
That tradition started in the early 1990's thanks to a well-known cheapshot artist named Ulf and a lethal leg check on Boston's Cam Neely in the 1991 Conference Finals.
Such anti-Samuelsson madness may live on Monday night as Samuelsson's son Philip, a Boston College freshman defenseman, will be hearing it from the Terrier faithful in the Beanpot finals between BC and BU.
"I knew he wasn’t the most liked guy here in Boston," Philip told the Boston Globe. "I knew that coming in, so really nothing has bothered me from it. But he played the game the way he played it and obviously, you’re going to [tick] some people off if you play that kind of style. But he backed it up, too."
The oldest of four children, Philip chose BC over Notre Dame and UNH. This hasn't been his first taste of Boston hockey as he skated with the Connecticut Lazers of the Metropolitan Boston Hockey League prior to life at the Heights.
The hatred this cities' hockey fans show towards his father didn't derail Philip's decision.
"It was kind of funny when that was brought up. He went [to visit BC] and he said, 'Dad, if I can get in there, this is where I want to go,'" Ulf, now an associate coach with the Coyotes, told the Globe. "He made up his mind right when he went there and met the people and saw the campus. For him, it was an easy decision."
The decision has paid off as the former Whaler, Penguin and Ranger's son has potted a goal and eight helpers in his first season with the Eagles.
"I thought here I would have more of an opportunity to make an impact right from the start," said Philip, who was plucked by the Pens in the second round of the 2009 NHL draft. “After I committed, I was learning from the people I was talking to what a world-class education it was here, and that was something I sort of undervalued at the time, but now I’m really thankful for the decision that I made."
