Robert Müller
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
.
Draft
Müller was drafted by the Washington CapitalsWashington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
as their ninth-round pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft
2001 NHL Entry Draft
The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 23–24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida.-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:...
, 275th overall, but never played for the team.
Career
He won the German championship with the Krefeld PinguineKrefeld Pinguine
The Krefeld Pinguine are an ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play in Krefeld, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the KönigPALAST. Founded first in 1936, the pro team became a limited liability company in 1994 and joined the top tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga...
in 2002–03, repeating the feat with the Mannheim Eagles
Adler Mannheim
Adler Mannheim are an ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest ice hockey league in Germany. The team is from Mannheim, a city in the north of Baden-Wurttemberg...
in 2006–07. It seemed to be impossible for him to play professional ice hockey any longer but Müller recovered and had his comeback on February 3, 2007, at the DEL All-Star Game 2007.
Illness & Death
In November 2006, Müller was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, known as glioblastoma multiformeGlioblastoma multiforme
Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans, involving glial cells and accounting for 52% of all functional tissue brain tumor cases and 20% of all intracranial tumors. Despite being the most prevalent form of primary brain tumor, GBMs...
. Part of the tumor was surgically removed, followed by chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
and radiation treatment later in the year.
In 2008, he was reappointed to the national team at the Skoda Cup in Switzerland. In August of that same year, while playing for the Kölner Haie
Kölner Haie
The Kölner Haie are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.The team colours are red and white....
, 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 anticipated average life, as only 3% of the people having the same cancer live over five years.
On December 18, 2008, his doctor decided Müller was no longer cleared to play, as his condition grew worse.
He died of brain cancer on May 21, 2009; he is survived by his two children.
After his death it was announced that the Kölner Haie, Adler Mannheim and the EHC Klostersee will all retire his number 80. EHC München also retired his number 80, even though Robert had never played for München. The DEL also announced that starting with the season 2009/10 the number 80 would never be used in the league again.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1998–99 | Star Bulls Rosenheim | DEL | 32 | 1 | 3.38 | .880 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||
| 1999–00 | Star Bulls Rosenheim | DEL | 50 | 1 | 3.50 | .879 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||
| 2000–01 | Adler Mannheim Adler Mannheim Adler Mannheim are an ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest ice hockey league in Germany. The team is from Mannheim, a city in the north of Baden-Wurttemberg... |
DEL | 60 | 1 | 2.46 | .912 | 12 | 1.16 | .966 | ||||||||||||
| 2001–02 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 15 | 638 | 26 | 1 | 2.45 | .887 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 2002–03 | Krefeld Pinguine Krefeld Pinguine The Krefeld Pinguine are an ice hockey team in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. They play in Krefeld, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany at the KönigPALAST. Founded first in 1936, the pro team became a limited liability company in 1994 and joined the top tier Deutsche Eishockey Liga... |
DEL | 50 | 2763 | 107 | 5 | 2.32 | .912 | 14 | 1.99 | .918 | ||||||||||
| 2003–04 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 49 | 2892 | 131 | 6 | 2.72 | .901 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||
| 2004–05 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 47 | 2769 | 136 | 1 | 2.95 | .901 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||||
| 2005–06 | Krefeld Pinguine | DEL | 51 | 3003 | 154 | 1 | 3.08 | .888 | 5 | 4.24 | .864 | ||||||||||
| 2006–07 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 23 | 2.61 | .915 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | |||||||||
| 2007–08 | Adler Mannheim | DEL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 232 | 11 | 0 | 2.84 | .917 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007–08 | Füchse Duisburg EV Duisburg Die Füchse The Füchse Duisburg are a German ice hockey team formerly a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga and currently plays in the Regionalliga.-History:Known in English as the "Duisburg Foxes," the team was founded in 1971.... |
DEL | 12 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 697 | 37 | 0 | 3.18 | .902 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2007–08 | Kölner Haie Kölner Haie The Kölner Haie are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.The team colours are red and white.... |
DEL | 24 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 1461 | 65 | 1 | 2.67 | .916 | 14 | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | Kölner Haie | DEL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||