A fanfare by the Canucks, family and friends made Ty Mueller's first taste of the NHL special.
The 22-year-old centre, who got his start in Cochrane Minor Hockey, was called up from the Abbotsford Canucks to centre one of Vancouver's top scoring lines against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.
Mueller played 15 shifts, totalling 10 minutes and 56 seconds of ice time between Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk.
“Honestly, we didn’t really help him too much as a line, me and Brock,” said DeBrusk in a post-game media scrum. “But I thought he was pretty good in terms of details and the defensive zone, and he’s a crafty player.”
“He’s a pretty good player. Nice to have another Albertan on the line. I wish I could have done more for him in terms of generating chances. You know, I think that would have been pretty cool.”
Word spread quickly of Mueller being called up to fill in for Max Sasson, who was out of the lineup due to illness. Mueller said he was expecting 10 to 15 family members and friends, including his parents, at the game. In Cochrane teammates, coaches and friends were cheering him on and wishing him the best.
Since signing his three-year entry-level deal with the Canucks last March, Mueller has been assigned to the Abbotsford Canucks, who are currently second in the Pacific Division with three regular-season games remaining. In 62 games, he has recorded 12 goals, 26 assists and a plus-13 rating.
Drafted 105th overall in 2023, Mueller became the fourth prospect to make his debut with the Canucks this season, joining Sasson, defenceman Elias Pettersson and Jonathan Lekkerimäki. That same night, Pettersson scored his first goal as a Canuck.
With so many fresh faces being called up to help fill out the Canucks roster and test the waters for next season, Mueller said there were plenty of familiar faces in the room from his time in Abbotsford.
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“I knew a lot of the guys, so it made it pretty easy just seeing them all again. That was nice.”
Mueller played three seasons with the University of Nebraska–Omaha in NCAA Division I hockey, and two seasons with the AJHL’s Sherwood Park Crusaders before joining the Canucks organization.
“It’s been a lot of fun. Personally, I always want to get better and do better, so there’s still a long way to go, but so far, I’m pretty happy.”