Robert Müller (25 June 1980 – 21 May 2009) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. He played in the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...

from 1998 to 2009.

Career

Müller made his professional debut with

EHC Klostersee EHC Klostersee is an ice hockey team in Grafing, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous mem ...

of the 2nd Bundesliga in the 1997-98 season, before playing in the

(DEL) from 1998 to 2009. He won the league championship with the Krefeld Pinguine in 2002–03, repeating the feat with the

Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern pa ...

in 2006–07. The

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) selected Müller as their ninth-round pick in the

2001 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2001 NHL Entry Draft was the 39th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 23 and 24, 2001 at the National Car Rental Center in Sunrise, Florida. As of 2022, the only remaining active players in the NHL from the 2001 draft class are M ...

, 275th overall, but he never played for the team.

Illness and death

In November 2006, Müller was diagnosed with a malignant

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

, known as

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

. Part of the tumor was surgically removed, followed by

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

and radiation treatment later in the year. It appeared impossible for Müller to play professional ice hockey any longer, but he recovered and made his comeback on 3 February 2007 at the DEL All-Star Game 2007. In 2008, Müller was named again to the national team at the Skoda Cup in Switzerland. In August of that same year, while playing for the Kölner Haie, 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 the anticipated average life, as only 3% of the people having the same cancer live over five years. On 18 December 2008 Müller's doctor declared him no longer fit to play, as his condition grew worse. He died of brain cancer on 21 May 2009; he is survived by his two children. After Müller's death it was announced that the Kölner Haie, Adler Mannheim, and

would all retire his number 80.

EHC Red Bull München Eishockeyclub Red Bull München (or EHC Red Bull München; English: ''Munich Red Bulls Ice Hockey Club'') is a professional ice hockey team based in Munich, Germany. The club is a member of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest level of pl ...

also retired his number 80, even though Müller had never played for München. The DEL also announced that starting with the 2009/10 season, the number 80 would never be used in the league again. In 2017 Müller's silhouette was used for the logo of the

2017 IIHF World Championship The 2017 IIHF World Championship, the 2017 edition of the annual Ice Hockey World Championships, was held from 5 to 21 May 2017 in Cologne, Germany and Paris, France. The official tournament mascots were Asterix and Obelix, the main characters f ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Robert 1980 births 2009 deaths Adler Mannheim players Deaths from cancer in Germany Deaths from brain tumor EHC Basel players Füchse Duisburg players German expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland German ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics EHC Klostersee players Kölner Haie players Krefeld Pinguine players Neurological disease deaths in Germany Olympic ice hockey players for Germany Sportspeople from Rosenheim Ice hockey people from Upper Bavaria Starbulls Rosenheim players Washington Capitals draft picks