Claimed: Kriztof Mueller - Biography [1/2]

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KRIZTOF MUELLER - BIOGRAPHY

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Born in Cologne, Germany, Kriztof Mueller has never taken the most ideal path to being a professional hockey player.  While not a Canadian or American like many of the other players that play professional hockey, Mueller became a fan watching his hometown Cologne Express play growing up.  His journey wasn’t always smooth but the one thing that stayed consistent was his dream of playing professional hockey for a living.  This is the biography of the top prospect who is ready to explode onto the scene in the VHLM.

 

EARLY YEARS

 

Kriztof Hans Mueller was born in Cologne, Germany to parents Hans and Lena.  Hans was a German who grew up in the area while Lena was an Austrian woman with family living in Cologne.  Lena’s heritage is the reason they named their son Kriztof, which is Austrian, rather than the German version in Christophe.  His family didn’t have any athletes in it, but rather just worked hard and lived their standard day-to-day life.

 

Mueller would start playing at just three years old, as he expressed a lot of interest with how big the Express were getting at the time.  It didn’t take long to see that he was ahead of his age group, with his father posting videos up on Youtube showing off his son’s clear natural ability.  Over the years he would continue to grow and get better before playing his first season of league play as a part of Cologne’s Under 9 years old league.

 

Mueller was only seven at the time and led their league in scoring, with really no equal peer.  His skating was a step above and he was capable of dangling through an entire team.  Some felt he needed to tone down his celebrations and pass more though, so some parents threatened to take their son’s off the team.  Nevertheless, Kriztof kept doing what he was doing and continued to impress local scouts of some of the older age groups. 

 

Mueller kept playing in these local groups but it was becoming clear that he was not being challenged at all, leading each league in scoring from the age of seven to eleven.  Eventually, Kriztof knew he had to change things up and perhaps look for a greater challenge for his skills.  His parents agreed and decided that moving to Canada would be best for his career, with Hans and Lena knowing they could maintain their restaurant in Canada.  The trio would pack up and move to the Markham, Ontario to get their new start and so Kriztof could play for one of the best prep schools in the country, Everest Academy.  Notable players that came out of Everest Academy included Anthony Duclair, Jeremiah Addison and Dylan Sadowy. 

 

LIFE IN CANADA

 

Over two seasons with Everest Academy, Kriztof shined bright recording 63 points in 49 games, leading the team in both seasons.  It was here that while he played incredibly well, he was first seemingly challenged.  One OHL scout had this to say on Mueller: “It was nice to finally see him facing some tougher competition.  We weren’t sure for a while how serious we could take his statistics in Europe, just simply due to him facing off against mostly players who probably will never play professional hockey.  To see what he was able to do in his two seasons of Everest, really showed off his talents.  Now we will get to see him play for the Waxers, and this will be the ultimate challenge to see if he will be capable of taking it to the next level.”

 

Indeed, Kriztof was committed to playing for the Markham Waxers, which is a very successful AAA minor league program with a lot of successful standouts that previously played for the team.  Notable alumni includes Steven Stamkos and several other NHL players who went through the program.  Mueller would find a lot of success in Markham finishing second in scoring for the team in both seasons, with 162 points in 131 games but both season’s the Waxers fell short of their ultimate title winning aspirations.

 

Only one other thing was important to Mueller in that moment, and that was being drafted into the Ontario Hockey League.  Kriztof wouldn’t have to wait too long, as he was drafted twenty-third overall by the Kitchener Rangers, which is ironic given that the city used to be named Berlin.  Joining the ranks of the Rangers, Kriztof was excited to show his talents at the OHL level.

 

ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE

 

Kriztof Mueller’s five years as a part of the Kitchener Rangers was for the most part successful.  His first few seasons were a bit of a struggle recording just 11 goals and 43 points in 107 games.  Over this period he was also a bit of a defensive liability at times but that would be a trait he would work on going forward.  It is very much his defensive struggles and slow start to his OHL career that many credit as the reasoning he was never drafted in the NHL, as he never really hit his stride till his third year in the OHL. 

 

His third season saw the German forward record 58 points in 68 games while improving his overall game defensively.  He started to use his speed more and had a real knack for not only finding open teammates, but the back of the net as well.  By now, he knew it was real unlikely for him to get drafted to the NHL, so his goal was to play good enough to earn a chance at professional hockey either in the NHL or the VHL.  His fourth and fifth seasons saw him combine for 159 points and a +41 on route to pretty successful campaigns for the Rangers.  While the teams never managed to break all the way into the Memorial Cup, Mueller endeared himself to the city and had a strong show overall on behalf of the Rangers for five seasons. 

 

THE VICTORY HOCKEY LEAGUE

 

After five seasons with the Rangers, it was time for Kriztof to decide if he wanted to attend a NHL or VHL camp.  At the end of the day, Mueller grow up a fan of the VHL with Cologne being his hometown team, so he decided to go the VHL route due to the European expansion that the league has done in the past.  “I want to play for the Express and while I understand I may not get a choice, I want to see if I can impress enough to earn their interest.”  It seemed like the plan worked for Mueller as he has a franchise player deal set up with the Express, meaning he can skip the draft altogether and join the Express next season.  Kriztof, in the meantime, will join the Saskatoon Wild who recently drafted him in the VHLM Dispersal Draft.

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Review:

Dat moment when Oct 9th was 2 months ago.

This poor kid is going to have to play in a VHL where Cologne no longer exists. Feels bad, man.

Kitchener Rangers are a nice team to play for as well in the CHL. Can't say anything bad about the Saskatoon Wild either.

Word count met. Good bio!