Tips Select Defenseman Müller in Import Draft
EVERETT – The Everett Silvertips selected defenseman Mirco Müller of Switzerland with the 11th overall pick and forward Euvstathio Soumelidis of the Czech Republic with the 71st pick in the 2012 CHL Import Draft Wednesday morning. Müller is a 1995-born, 6-foot-3, 176 pound defender, while Soumelidis is a 6-2, 214-pound forward born in 1994.
Müller has played the past two seasons with the Kloten Flyers organization, splitting time between the Under-17, Under-20 and professional teams. In 26 games last season at the U20 level, he totaled three goals, three assists and eight penalty minutes. The left-handed rearguard scored one goal in seven games with Kloten’s pro team in the Swiss National League A and had four points (1g/3a) in four games with the U17 club. He also played 13 games with the Swiss U18 National Team last season, but missed the U18 World Championships due to injury.
In 2010-11, Müller scored at nearly a point-per-game pace with 31 points (12g/19a) in 32 games with Kloten’s U17 team. He has played a total of 25 games with the Swiss National Team over the past two years.
International Scouting Services’ report tabbed Müller as a player who “makes a great first pass”, “has good vision and showed some solid poise and confidence”, and “can quarterback the powerplay from the blueline when given the chance”. Silvertips General Manager Garry Davidson says Müller has also been recommended by Swiss National Junior Team Head Coach Manuele Celio.
Soumelidis, who goes by the first name “Stathis” for short, is a sizable forward entering his 18-year-old season in 2012-13. He has spent the past two junior seasons in Finland, where he had 19 points (9a/10a) and 127 penalty minutes in 35 games for Sport Vaasa’s U20 team last year. Soumelidis also played a total of 33 games with the Czech National Team in 2011-12, posting 15 points (5g/10a) and 79 penalty minutes. He scored once and added three assists in six games for the Czech Republic during the U18 World Championship tournament.
“We’ve heard that Stathis is a big, physical, power-forward type player,” Davidson said. “We’re hoping that means his game will translate well to the Western Hockey League and that he’ll be able to make an impact for us this season.”
Previous Silvertips’ Import Draft selections include players such as Ivan Baranka (Slovakia – 2003), Karel Hromas (Czech Republic – 2004), Ondrej Fiala (Czech Republic – 2005), Lukas Vartovnik (Slovakia – 2006), Vitali Karamnov (Russia – 2007), Radko Gudas (Czech Republic – 2009), Rasmus Rissanen (Finland – 2009) and Dominik Bittner (Germany – 2011).
Click Here for complete results of the 2012 CHL Import Draft.
