
SAN JOSE – Mirco Mueller’s father and grandfather, along with two family friends, had their trip from Switzerland all planned out. They would meet the Sharks in the New York area and get a chance to attend three games in quick succession against the Devils, Islanders and Rangers.
If you happened to be at any of those three Sharks road games last weekend, you may have spotted a group of older gentlemen all wearing their teal and white number 41 sweaters. The only problem was that number 41 himself was back in California. A late cut in training camp, Mueller was reassigned to the AHL Barracuda on Oct. 5, two days before the season opener.
He was recalled on Wednesday as Paul Martin remains out with a lower body injury.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
[KURZ: Top 5 takeaways from Sharks' 2-2-0 road trip]
“Obviously you’re disappointed not making the team when you did last year or the year before,” said Mueller, who had four points, 10 penalty minutes and a -8 rating in 39 games for the Sharks last season. “Once a couple hours went by, I knew I could be back up any day.”
He understood the move. In three games with the Barracuda, Mueller had one assist and a +1 rating while getting plenty of ice time at even strength and on special teams.
“There are some good players there too in the AHL. It’s been the right call for me long term getting some game time in, and now I’m ready for tomorrow.”
San Jose Sharks
Find the latest San Jose Sharks news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.
Mueller switches places with Dylan DeMelo, a right-handed shot that didn’t look all that comfortable in his first two NHL games playing the left side. In practice on Wednesday Mueller was paired with Matt Tennyson, and it’s likely those two will start out together on Thursday against the Kings.
Sharks coach Pete DeBoer considers Mueller’s skating as his biggest strength. He’d like to see the six-foot-three, 210-pound blueliner get involved by utilizing that asset in particular.
“He’s such a good skater to be more aggressive on the ice, because he has the ability to recover,” DeBoer said. “That’s one of the things we sent him back to work on. Hopefully we see some of that.”
[RELATED: Sharks shuffle roster, lines ahead of Kings rematch]
It also helps that Mueller is a lefty, while Tennyson is a right-hander.
DeBoer said: “In a perfect world you love left-right setups on all three units. I’m a big believer in it helps you move pucks that way.”
Mueller won’t be the only lineup change. Micheal Haley, a tough, 29-year-old veteran and the Barracuda’s leading scorer with six points (4g, 2a), will likely slot in on the fourth line. Haley centered Mike Brown and Joonas Donskoi for Wednesday’s hour-long practice.
In four games with the Sharks last season, Haley was scoreless with 11 penalty minutes. He has three points and 174 penalty minutes in 56 career NHL games, and will bring that gritty element against what will surely be a cantankerous Kings team on Thursday after they were humiliated at home to San Jose in the season opener on Oct. 7, 5-1.
“Obviously playing against a Western Conference team you know it’s going to be a rough game,” Haley said. “That’s fine with me. … That’s how I play, always have. I’d like to keep their [defense] honest and try and get some turnovers.”
DeBoer said: “Hales brings us an element and a dimension against a big, heavy team that you need.”
* * *
Although Donskoi participated in practice, he said he was “not sure” if he would be able to play on Thursday after missing the last three games with a lower body injury. DeBoer said that the Sharks will make a decision on the rookie after Thursday’s morning skate.
Martin and Ben Smith (facial cuts) were all but ruled out by DeBoer for the Kings game.
“We’ll see tomorrow morning, but typically if you’re not at practice we usually don’t play you the next day,” DeBoer said.
On a more positive note, Melker Karlsson is expected to play for the Barracuda on Wednesday at home against San Diego. The Sharks’ 2014-15 rookie of the year has been struggling to return from an unspecified lower body injury that prevented him from taking part in training camp.