Silvertips defenseman Mirco Mueller is officially starting the season in the NHL.
The San Jose Sharks made a pair of moves with defensemen the past two days, ensuring Mueller is one of seven defensemen with the big squad when the team opens the season Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings.
Mueller played in the maximum six games for San Jose in the preseason — the Sharks had seven preseason games, but two were played simultaneously by split squads. He averaged 19:57 of ice time in the five games for which TOI was charted. He registered one assist, no penalty minutes and an even rating. He also received plenty of time on the power play and the penalty kill.
Mueller, a 19-year-old from Switzerland, played the past two seasons in Everett. He was San Jose’s first-round pick (18th overall) in the 2013 NHL draft. As a 19-year-old drafted out of the WHL he is ineligible to play professionally in the minors, so he either sticks with the Sharks or is returned to Everett.
Though Mueller made the opening-night roster, it doesn’t ensure he won’t be sent back at some point. He can play in nine games before the first year of his entry-level contract kicks in. Even if he plays more than nine games he can still be returned to Everett, but teams are less likely to return a player to juniors if a year of his contract is burned. San Jose’s 10th game is Oct. 26, though if he’s not scratched between now and then it seems likely he’ll be sticking for good.
Everett already implemented its contingency plan for Mueller sticking in the NHL by trading for Russian winger Nikita Scherbak, making Scherbak and Russian center Ivan Nikolishin the Tips’ two imports. If Mueller is sent back, one of the three will have to be traded.
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