Muller, Shaun

BORN JUNE 26TH 1972 in Perth Western Australia, he is the son of Sam and June, both of whom appear on the state association honour board. His mother, a Life Member of the state association, was heavily involved with the sport, working at the new Ice World rink at Mirrabooka in Perth's northern suburbs, home of the state's first ice hockey on an Olympic size rink. A 179 cm 93 kg defenseman, he started skating in March 1982 and began ice hockey later that year, eventually joining the Perth Panthers.

Noy Brown taught him to skate without laces, and still to this day he does not tie them up. In 1983, he won the Under-13 state tournament, and went on to compete in two Presidents Cups (U13), two Defris tournaments (U15), and one Tange (U18). He missed a second Tange tournament due to an airline strike and he might have played in more state teams except the cut-off date back then, born after 30th of June, meant he missed a year in each age band by 4 days.

"Larry Deghelli and Jimmy Bremner were two of the best coaches kids could get", he recalls. "They put more time into us kids and I owe a lot to them". He also considers himself fortunate to have played with the calibre of Becker, Craig Hutchinson and Bernhardsen, who arrived with a big influx of imports after the 1985 Goodall Cup hosted in Perth. "Some of the best imports I think that have played hockey in this country early on," he says "which has helped me become the player I am now".

His first Brown tournament (U21) was in 1987 in Perth when he was 16 years-old, and the last in Blacktown in 1993 when he was selected to the Australian All-Star team. He was assistant captain of the Goodall Cup team in Perth when the state association celebrated its 50th anniversary, and he played in the centenary celebration of the Goodall Cup in Adelaide in 2009. All up, he represented his state in 3 or 4 Goodall Cup series.

He was an on-ice offical when young and tried to return recently until time got the better of him. He was a coach of local teams, a state Tange team (U18), a Brown team (U21) and the state women's team. When he moved to Melbourne temporarily, he coached the Victorian women's team for about four years. He first represented Australia in the 1996 D-Pool World Championships, and again in 1997 against World Imports at Canterbury rink and the D-Pool World Championships. Two more followed in 1998 and 2000, producing Silver and Bronze respectively, for a total of four Worlds coached by Robert Spalenka and Kelly Lovering.

In a playing career that has now stretched over thirty years, he says "pulling on the green-and-gold jumper and listening to the Anthem at the end of a game were very special moments for me. Putting on the Yellow and Black state jumper was always special too". Playing with the Melbourne Ice in the early years of the Club and the AIHL was another highlight. "I met a lot of great friends there that I will never forget". In 2007, he played with the Bushrangers in the oldtimers league in Adelaide where, according to Mark Shone, he had a big influence.

Regarded as a fierce competitor, a workhorse, "We always looked up to Muller," said Tony Paolo, a WA team mate. "Outstanding game play and his ferocious slapshots... he was always and still is a Legend to us." He also played Soccer as a boy and still enjoys watching the English premier league. In late-2017, he was a glazier married to the "beautiful" Emma, with a 15 month-old daughter, Harper.