Robert Müller

German ice hockey player
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroGerman ice hockey player
A.K.A.Robert Muller
A.K.A.Robert Muller
PlacesGermany
wasAthlete Ice hockey player
Work fieldSports
Gender
Male
Birth25 June 1980, Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany
Death21 May 2009Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany (aged 28 years)
Star signCancer
ResidenceRosenheim, Upper Bavaria, Bavaria, Germany
Stats
Height:172 cm
Weight:85 kg
Sports Teams
EHC Klostersee (Germany)
Kölner Haie (Germany)
The details

Biography

Robert Müller (25 June 1980 – 21 May 2009) was a German professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1998 to 2009.

Career

Müller made his professional debut with EHC Klostersee of the 2nd Bundesliga in the 1997-98 season, before playing in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) from 1998 to 2009. He won the league championship with the Krefeld Pinguine in 2002–03, repeating the feat with the Adler Mannheim in 2006–07.

The Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) selected Müller as their ninth-round pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, 275th overall, but he never played for the team.

Illness and death

In November 2006, Müller was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, known as glioblastoma. Part of the tumor was surgically removed, followed by chemotherapy and radiation treatment later in the year. It appeared impossible for Müller to play professional ice hockey any longer, but he recovered and made his comeback on 3 February 2007 at the DEL All-Star Game 2007.

In 2008, Müller was named again to the national team at the Skoda Cup in Switzerland. 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 the anticipated average life, as only 3% of the people having the same cancer live over five years.

On 18 December 2008 Müller's doctor declared him no longer fit to play, as his condition grew worse. He died of brain cancer on 21 May 2009; he is survived by his two children.

After Müller's death it was announced that the Kölner Haie, Adler Mannheim, and EHC Klostersee would all retire his number 80. EHC Red Bull München also retired his number 80, even though Müller had never played for München. The DEL also announced that starting with the 2009/10 season, the number 80 would never be used in the league again.

In 2017 Müller's silhouette was used for the logo of the 2017 IIHF World Championship.

Career statistics

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLTMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1997–98EHC Klostersee2nd Bundesliga452817258115113.55----------------
1998–99Star Bulls RosenheimDEL32186310513.380.881----------------
1999–00Star Bulls RosenheimDEL50222813113.500.879----------------
2000–01Adler MannheimDEL6012995112.360.91221031.16.966
2001–02Adler MannheimDEL156382612.450.88712
2002–03Krefeld PinguineDEL50276310752.320.912141.99.918
2003–04Krefeld PinguineDEL49289213162.720.914----------------
2004–05Krefeld PinguineDEL47276913612.950.914----------------
2005–06Krefeld PinguineDEL51300315413.080.88854.24.864
2006–07Adler MannheimDEL232.610.915100000.001.000
2007–08Adler MannheimDEL50202321102.84.917----------------
2007–08Füchse DuisburgDEL125606973703.18.902----------------
2007–08Kölner HaieDEL24134014616512.67.91614
2008–09Kölner HaieDEL200012000.001.000----------------

References

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article on 22 Jul 2024. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.