Robert Müller (ice hockey)
Robert Müller (June 25, 1980 – May 21, 2009) was a German professional ice hockey goaltender.
| Robert Müller | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Robert Müller (left) in 2004 | |||
| Born |
June 25, 1980 Rosenheim, Bavaria, FRG | ||
| Died |
May 21, 2009 (aged 28) Rosenheim, Bavaria, GER | ||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) | ||
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg; 13 st 5 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for |
EHC Klostersee (2nd Bundesliga) Star Bulls Rosenheim (DEL) Adler Mannheim (DEL) Krefeld Pinguine (DEL) Füchse Duisburg (DEL) Kölner Haie (DEL) | ||
| National team |
 Germany | ||
| NHL Draft |
275th overall, 2001 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 1997–2009 | ||
Draft
Müller was drafted by the Washington Capitals as their ninth-round pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, 275th overall, but never played for the team.
Career
He won the German championship with the Krefeld Pinguine in 2002–03, repeating the feat with the Adler Mannheim in 2006–07.
Illness and death
In November 2006, Müller was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, known as glioblastoma multiforme. Part of the tumor was surgically removed, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment later in the year. It seemed to be impossible for him to play professional ice hockey any longer but Müller recovered and had his comeback on February 3, 2007, at the DEL All-Star Game 2007.
In 2008, he was reappointed to the national team at the Skoda Cup in Switzerland.[1] In August of that same year, while playing for the Kölner Haie, the tumor continued to grow, requiring another operation. After that he absolved his physician, [Wolfgang Wick], from patient/physician confidentiality. Wick told the media that Müller was terminally ill and already exceeded anticipated average life, as only 3% of the people having the same cancer live over five years.[1]
On December 18, 2008, his doctor decided Müller was no longer cleared to play, as his condition grew worse.[2]
He died of brain cancer on May 21, 2009; he is survived by his two children.[3]
After his death it was announced that the Kölner Haie, Adler Mannheim and EHC Klostersee will all retire his number 80. EHC München also retired his number 80, even though Müller had never played for München. The DEL also announced that starting with the season 2009/10 the number 80 would never be used in the league again.
In 2017 his silhouette was used for the logo of the 2017 IIHF World Championship.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1997–98 | EHC Klostersee | 2nd Bundesliga | 45 | 28 | 17 | 2581 | 151 | 1 | 3.55 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
| 1998–99 | Star Bulls Rosenheim | DEL | 32 | 1863 | 105 | 1 | 3.38 | 0.881 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||
| 1999–00 | Star Bulls Rosenheim | DEL | 50 | 2228 | 131 | 1 | 3.50 | 0.879 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||
| 2000–01 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 60 | 1299 | 51 | 1 | 2.36 | 0.912 | 2 | 103 | 1.16 | .966 | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 15 | 638 | 26 | 1 | 2.45 | 0.887 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 2002–03 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 50 | 2763 | 107 | 5 | 2.32 | 0.912 | 14 | 1.99 | .918 | ||||||||||
| 2003–04 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 49 | 2892 | 131 | 6 | 2.72 | 0.914 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||
| 2004–05 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 47 | 2769 | 136 | 1 | 2.95 | 0.914 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||
| 2005–06 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 51 | 3003 | 154 | 1 | 3.08 | 0.888 | 5 | 4.24 | .864 | ||||||||||
| 2006–07 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 23 | 2.61 | 0.915 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | |||||||||
| 2007–08 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 232 | 11 | 0 | 2.84 | .917 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007–08 | Füchse Duisburg | DEL | 12 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 697 | 37 | 0 | 3.18 | .902 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007–08 | Kölner Haie | DEL | 24 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1461 | 65 | 1 | 2.67 | .916 | 14 | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | Kölner Haie | DEL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
References
- Oliver Hinz (2008-11-25). "Solace in Pads in a Fight for Life". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- "Doctor forbades Müller from sport". (in Finnish) hs.fi. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
- "Robert Müller passes away". IIHF.com. 2009-05-21. Archived from the original on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Müller. |
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
