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Still seeking ‘the coach’s trust,’ Mueller sent back to AHL

Mirco Mueller, Joe Vitale

Mirco Mueller, Joe Vitale

AP

Mirco Mueller is headed back to the AHL. The San Jose Sharks assigned him to the Barracuda today.

Mueller, the 18th overall pick in the 2013 draft, is still seeking the trust of coach Pete DeBoer.

Only natural for a 20-year-old defenseman.

“Until you establish yourself, until you get the coach’s trust, it’s hard to get the benefit of the doubt. That’s what all young players battle,” DeBoer told CSN Bay Area. “In order to get that benefit of the doubt you’ve got to string together eight or 10 really good games. That’s just the reality of it. That’s what all these guys have done at some point in their career in order to get themselves established.”

Mueller is still young, so there’s no need to panic that he may not pan out. Not yet, anyway.

“Whether he becomes a full-time valuable NHL player at Christmas or whether it’s next year at Christmas, this is all part of it,” DeBoer told the Mercury News.

Still, DeBoer is hopeful that somebody beyond the top five of Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Justin Braun, Paul Martin, Brent Burns, and Brenden Dillon can step up and be trusted in that sixth spot.

If neither Mueller nor Matt Tennyson can do that, and assuming the Sharks are in or around a playoff spot by the trade deadline, don’t be surprised if Doug Wilson is among the many GMs that tries to add a depth blue-liner sometime before March.