Top 25 San Jose Sharks under 25: No. 18 Mirco Mueller

When looking at the 25 under 25 list, I was surprised at how low Mueller was on our list. A former first round pick, Mueller had all of the hype in the world attached to his name. Is the shine starting to come off a once sterling prospect?

Mueller is never going to be a point producing player at the professional level. While a fairly smooth skater, his game unfortunately doesn’t translate into offense. After 11 points in 50 games this past season with the Barracuda, it is time to start looking at potential ways to jump start his game.

He played eleven games this past year with the Sharks and registered zero points. His possession numbers were decidedly average as he only had a 50.9% CF at 5v5. He did spend most of his time with Matt Tennyson and Brendan Dillon, according to Hockey Analysis. In both cases those teammates actually did worse away from Mueller. Is Mueller a player that can cut it at the NHL level?

As a bottom pairing defensemen he won’t provide much offense but it would be interesting to see how he does over a larger sample. He now has over half a season of NHL playing time under his belt. He is getting passed by players like Dylan DeMelo but should that be the case? They provide similar offensive production and Mueller has the loftier pedigree. It will be fascinating to follow as the Sharks enter training camp in just over a couple of months.

Name: Mirco Mueller

Age (as of 10/12/16): 21

Position: Defenseman

2015-16 Team: San Jose Barracuda and San Jose Sharks

Where he’ll (probably) be next year: San Jose Barracuda

What we like: Smooth skater, hard to knock off the puck

What to improve on: Any sort of offensive game

Highlight:

Mueller is never going to be the type of player that makes the highlight reel. He is always going to be unsung hero, no matter the level of hockey he plays in the next couple of years. The biggest highlight he had this past year with was a fight with Joe Colborne in mid-November.