A confident Mirco Mueller is playing "unbelievable" at IIHF Worlds

When the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation reached out to Devils defenseman Mirco Mueller to invite him to represent his native country at the 2018 IIHF World Championship, it didn't take long for him to say yes. Not only was he honored to play for his country, but having missed two months of the NHL season with a broken collarbone, he still had a lot left in the tank and a lot he wanted to work on.

"I missed a lot of time with the injury that I had, but felt I came back pretty strong," the 23-year-old explained. "I tried to work as hard as I could, but it's hard when you're doing all that rehab work by yourself. I was happy to be able to help the team in that final push to the playoffs and make it in and then to get to experience the playoffs for the first time. It was amazing, even in losing, I learned a lot that I brought with me into this tournament and can take into next season and I'm really looking forward to it."
According to Patrick Fischer, head coach of the Swiss national team, Mueller has been a 'pleasant surprise.'
"We knew Mirco was good, but this is the first time he's playing at the world championship and he's playing like it's his tenth," the coach said of the 6-foot-3, 205 pound blueliner who was selected 18th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2013 and acquired via trade by the Devils last summer. "Mirco is playing unbelievable. He's a confident player, very smart with the puck. Defensively, he's very strong and blocks every shot. He gets used on defensive draws. He's a PK guy and he was playing on our top pair until [Roman] Josi came and now he's playing on our third pair to shut down the other lines, but wherever he plays, he plays great."
Mueller said he also feels like a leader on the ice, especially with such a young team.
"I'm obviously getting a lot of trust from the coaches and a lot of ice time and just want to continue to lead by example and show how it's done," he said. "This does feel a little bit like a higher level like in the playoffs, but I just want to play my game. For a guy like myself, I feel like when the team's playing well, that means I'm playing well, personally."
Fischer agrees.
"He plays with courage and plays the right way and that's what we need to start learning in Switzerland," the coach said. 'He learned how to play the right way in North America. If there's a right play to make, he does it, and, if not, you ring the puck out and he does that too. He's a leader. He's a strong character and very mature for his age. I'm really happy for him. He's having a tremendous tournament."
Mueller has a goal and five assists in eight games so far during the world championships and is averaging 20 minutes a game. He logged over 22 minutes in Switzerland's 3-2 win over Finalnd in the quarterfinal on Thursday. They will face Canada on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, NHL Network) in the semifinal and the chance to play for gold.
This will be only the second time Switzerland will play for a medal at the world championship in the past 65 years. The last time was in 2013 when they earned the silver medal.
"I remember watching that game on TV. We're never really a favorite to make it to these final games, so it's always sweet when we make it there," Mueller said. "This is a big deal for Swiss hockey, but I think we deserve to be in the semifinal with the way we played. We had a rough start to the tournament, but we stuck together as a group and tried to ride out those highs and lows and now we're going to play for a medal."
Switzerland was in Group A of the preliminary round which was held in Copenhagen. As the fourth seed they made the four hour trip to Herning to play the top seed in Group B in the quarterfinal. When asked if he was looking forward to heading back to Copenhagen for the semifinal against Canada, he gave an honest answer.
"I'm looking forward to sleeping," he said with a laugh. 'It's been a long couple days with the travel and a new facility and this was a tough game and now we're going back to Copenhagen again. I can't wait to go to bed!
He continued: "But having the chance to play in these games are why you come to these tournaments and try to end your season on a high note. We've been able to exceed expectations so far, but we're not finished yet. We're not satisfied. The actual fun is just getting started."