B’s Mueller: This is for real
Peter Mueller is giving hockey in North America another try. And this time, he said he’s in it for the long haul.
The once-promising forward, signed to a tryout deal by the Bruins a couple of weeks ago, has played the past three seasons in Europe. Mueller had one false reboot before, in 2014, when, after his first season in the Swiss league, he signed a two-way deal with the St. Louis Blues. When he didn’t make the NHL roster, Mueller balked at going to the AHL and eventually was let out of his contract to go back to Switzerland. He played last season in Sweden but now is out to prove to himself that he’s willing and able to play back in his homeland, whatever it takes.
Mueller got the word out he wanted to come back, and the B’s decided to take a flyer on the 28-year-old, who will report to training camp with the rest of the players tomorrow.
“I thought it was a good chance for me to come in and prove my worth and take it step by step to prove that I’m ready for this,” Mueller said after yesterday’s captain’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena.
The eighth overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft, Mueller had 22 goals and 32 assists in 81 games as a rookie with the Phoenix Coyotes. But that was the highwater mark for the Minnesota native. His numbers dipped the next two seasons, and he was traded in March 2010 to Colorado, where concussion problems limited him to just 32 games the next two seasons with the Avalanche. His most recent NHL season was the lockout-shortened 2013-14 campaign, when he had 17 points (eight goals) in 43 games with the Florida Panthers.
Mueller regrets not sticking it out with the Blues.
“It was a good experience, but at the end of the day, it didn’t work out in my favor,” he said. “I could have been a little immature or a little, on my behalf, not fully committed to the organization, which was tough for me. A lot of things have happened. (Two) years have gone by, and I’ve matured, I’ve got a family. It’s a amazing what a child will do to your life and how committed you are. It was a tough situation for me in that point in time, and it’s all behind me, and I’m hoping to prove to everyone in North America that this is no joke. This is for real this time.”
Mueller admitted to being a little homesick while in Europe.
“To be honest, being over there for three years, it really opens your eyes,” he said. “Not to say that it’s not great hockey over there, but you really do miss the things that you have over here in North America. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing, you’re close to home, you’re close to the people you grew up with, and your friends and family are all over here. So it was a tough situation, but it definitely gives me a fresh perspective to come back into North American hockey and trying to make it in the NHL.”
The B’s have more than enough bottom-six forwards right now, so you would think that in a perfect-case scenario, the right-shooting Mueller could fill one of the two open top-six winger spots if he impresses enough to earn a contract. And this time, Mueller said he’d be willing to work his way back up from the AHL.
“Whatever Boston has in store with me, I’m ready to accept,” he said.
Bruins notes
Zach Senyshyn, who missed the rookie tournament in Buffalo because of a Sept. 4 appendectomy, was cleared to skate with the veterans yesterday. However, the 19-year-old winger was unsure about getting full clearance for camp.
It’s been a rough offseason for Senyshyn, the 15th overall pick in 2015. He also missed development camp in July because of mononucleosis.
“Definitely a disappointing summer, before development camp having that spell of mono and then two days before I was supposed to come to Boston having to go through an appendectomy was a little bit rough,” Senyshyn said. “But again, a little bit of adversity for a player is always good to get that out of the way before the season even starts.”