Claimed: Kriztof Mueller - Rookie Profile [1/2]

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Scouting Profile – Kriztof Mueller [GER – C]

 

 

Background

 

Kriztof Mueller was born in Cologne, Germany and began to take to the sport of hockey at just three years old.  Growing up in Germany, it was not easy for Mueller to match up with top competition so at just twelve years old he moved to Canada with his parents, in order to pursue hockey.  Mueller had dominated German hockey in his age group and the one above and while there was a slight adjustment with the move to Canada, it didn’t take too long for him to get adjusted.  After being drafted into the Ontario Hockey League, Mueller had a successful five-year career their before moving on to professional hockey.  While he was never drafted into the NHL, Mueller was a fairly attractive piece to a couple NHL teams and the VHL as well.  In the end, Mueller decided that he wanted a chance to play for his hometown team and has decided to join the VHLM after getting a confirmation from the Express that he will be signed on a speciality contract with the team.

 

Positives

 

Skating – Mueller was regarded as one of the better skaters in the Ontario Hockey League being voted as the top skater on two different occasions.  His fluid stride mixed with his quick acceleration and above average top speed, makes him a dangerous player for any team to defend against.  While he will definitely have to continue working on his edgework as he moves up through to the professional level, one asset that Mueller should always have, that makes him an attractive commodity, is his skating ability.

 

Vision – Offensively, Mueller is hardly one-dimensional but his greatest asset is definitely his tremendous vision.  He consistently can make tape-to-tape passes and has a knack of being able to make some the most creative passes on the ice with the efficiency needed to be efficient and effective as a playmaker.  Kriztof Mueller recorded 207 assists during his five-year OHL career, including leading the entire Ontario Hockey League in assists in his final season.  If Mueller can translate his offense to the VHL, expect him to record a ton of assists to say the least.

 

Discipline – Mueller has never been a very physical player and has always been one of the more disciplined players on the ice.  He never recorded more than 16 PIM in a single season in the Ontario Hockey League, and recorded just fifty-three penalty minutes over his five years.

 

Negatives

 

Physicality – Kriztof Mueller really still needs to fill out his frame as he was pushed around quite a bit in the Ontario Hockey League.  One NHL scout said that, “If Kriztof was two inches taller and thirty pounds heavier, he would have been drafted in the first few rounds of the NHL Draft.”  However, he was not and struggled against bigger and stronger players.  With that being said, this is an area that Mueller can and will likely improve as he gets older and I would expect this to not necessarily be as much of a weakness going forward.

 

Scoring – Kriztof isn’t inept at scoring but he is definitely more of a playmaker than he is a scorer.  His touch around the net is fine, but is shot is rather weak and while it’s accurate, it is hardly a threat to the average goaltender.  Going forward, he will need to work on the strength of his shot and perhaps be a little more selfish when being given shooting opportunities.

 

Defensive Play – The biggest weakness of Kriztof’s game is his defensive play.  He is rather one-dimensional and was consistently someone who hung around the blue line in order to get a quick pass and try and split the defenders with his fantastic speed.  He was not one to come back deep and help out the defense and it got him in the dog house at times and was considered the most significant reason for why he was not drafted into the National Hockey League.

 

Career Statistics

 

2010-2011 (Markham Waxers, AAA): 64 GP, 19 G, 51 A, 70 P, +17, 9 PIM

2011-2012 (Markham Waxers, AAA): 66 GP, 22 G, 62 A, 84 P, +23, 14 PIM

2012-2013 (Kitchener Rangers, OHL): 41 GP, 3 G, 11 A, 13 P, -7, 8 PIM

2013-2014 (Kitchener Rangers, OHL): 66 GP, 8 G, 22 A, 30 P, -2, 6 PIM

2014-2015 (Kitchener Rangers, OHL): 68 GP, 14 G, 44 A, 58 P, +9, 12 PIM

2015-2016 (Kitchener Rangers, OHL): 68 GP, 18 G, 52 A, 70 P, +15, 16 PIM

2016-2017 (Kitchener Rangers, OHL): 68 GP, 21 G, 78 A, 89 P, +26, 11 PIM

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Review:

Hey, look, it's ADV's RP which is ungraded for almost a month!

Nice RP, and cool background of being in German hockey then to the OHL.