Building Blue: Ty Mueller Wants to Finish Rookie Season Strong after AHL All-Star Weekend

Vancouver Canucks’ prospect Ty Mueller is coming back to his home in Abbotsford after a weekend of fun in the sun at the AHL All-Star weekend.

The 21-year-old centre was selected to replace Elias Pettersson (D-Petey) as the Abbotsford representative for the all-star weekend in Coachella Valley.

“It was a really cool experience," said Mueller. “Honestly, one of my favourite parts was just meeting everyone and getting to put a face to the names that you play against every weekend, meeting some of them, and then also just seeing how much talent and skill there is in this league, and see some of the different things guys can do with the puck.”

Mueller has contributed to the Abbotsford Canucks’ power play and penalty kill while being a reliable two-way centre at even-strength. The 2023 fourth-round pick has seven goals and 27 assists through 39 games in his first AHL season and has been pleased with how his debut year is going.

“I've been pretty happy with how the year has gone so far. I'd like to win a few more games, that's for sure, but also, I just always want to keep getting better and progressing every day,” said Mueller. “I can't ever get too satisfied with where my game is at because I know there's still other places I want to be.”

In terms of what Mueller has been proud of this season, his consistency was the first thing he listed. Consistency has been a focus for Mueller, and he feels that he can fit into multiple roles to help the Abbotsford Canucks pick up wins.

Mueller likes the way Abbotsford has evolved throughout the season. He believes that the players are now comfortable with the system that head coach Manny Malhotra introduced with his new staff.

“The relationship we've had since the start has been awesome,” said Mueller of his coaching staff. “It is a little tough when everyone's got to learn new systems at the start of the year. Now, we’ve got the hang of it, and it has become something that you do subconsciously instead of having to think about it. That takes a little bit, but it seems like it's coming into place, and we've been playing really well lately.”

The 21-year-old knows that there is a lot of development to come to him in the AHL and he is focused on being a player who can be used in any situation on the ice and has the trust from his coaches that he can do the job that is asked of him.

Mueller is returning from Coachella Valley with a nice reset after having some fun on the ice and is now focused on the upcoming playoff push for his squad.

As for individual expectations for the remainder of the season, Mueller is just trying to stay consistent with his improvements and take in all that he can from Malhotra and the rest of the coaching staff.

“I just want to finish the season as strong or even better than I started the year,” said Mueller. “I always want to keep getting better and I think continuing to learn and improve is the huge focus for me.”

The Abbotsford Canucks are in Colorado to face the Eagles this weekend before returning to Abbotsford for four games in a week.

If you haven’t been out to Abbotsford for a game, next week is a wonderful time to check them out as the NHL is on their 4 Nations Face-off break. There are games at the Abbotsford Centre on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Monday, and you can find tickets HERE.