The San Jose Sharks have agreed to let Swiss defender Mirco Mueller head to the WJHC to represent his country. That shouldn't surprise anyone because Mueller has only appeared in half of the Sharks games in the last month, spending the majority of his time watching from the booth.

Doug Wilson and Todd McLellan have terribly mishandled the young defenseman from day one and they should be disgusted with themselves.

Mueller was doomed from the start when he entered the season in a significantly unfavorable situation. The brilliant coaching staff thought it to be a wise decision to pair a 19 year old rookie with a player trying to transition from forward to defense.

They realized that was a bad idea after around twenty games – when the season was flying off the rails at an uncontrollable rate – and they acquired Brenden Dillon. Now they’re left with Mueller to play third pairing – or are they? Since Dillon has arrived and stabilized the Sharks defense they’ve bounced Mueller from the ice to the booth.

When you’re a kid on an entry-level contract it’s a pretty simple situation. You’re either good enough to play in the NHL or you aren’t. There’s no in-between; it’s yes or no.

What the Sharks have done is waste a year of Mueller’s ELC as well as chip away at his confidence while they force him to watch Scott Hannan and Matt Irwin play hockey ahead of him.

I think it’s safe to say that, with Dillon in the picture, Mueller’s hopes and dreams live and die with the third pairing. Now, with the Sharks current group, if he can’t crack San Jose’s third pairing on a nightly basis then he clearly isn't NHL ready, because it’s a sad pairing.

Doug Wilson needs to send Mueller back to junior after the World Junior Hockey Championships. Let the kid go and play some hockey, be a leader and get his confidence back. Staying in San Jose to be benched over half of the time isn't going to do anything for his development.

The first year of his ELC is gone regardless of if he plays hockey in junior or watches from the press box. Which do you think is more beneficial to his future? They can still salvage some development for him this year by sending him back to the WHL.

They’ve already started to admit they screwed up without actually saying it. They've acquired his replacement on the second pairing, relegated him to the booth/third pairing and have now released him for the WJHC. The only thing left to do is send him back to junior. Just do it, Doug. Admit you and Todd screwed up and send him back to the WHL.

Teams don’t release players to the WJHC if they actually make a difference in their lineup. In my opinion if a team releases a player to the WJHC they probably shouldn't have him in the NHL to begin with because they clearly aren't that valuable to the current team.

The Sharks aren't rebuilding, nor are they planning on missing the playoffs so the odds of Mueller having an impact role on this team at any point this year are slim to none. He’s looking, at best, at third pairing duties with a non-desirable partner.

Taylor Fedun is toiling in the AHL just waiting for his shot. Matt Tennyson has played well when he’s been inserted into the lineup. Mirco Mueller isn't making or breaking this defensive group so there is no need to mess with his future any more than they already have. There are other defenders capable of being paid to watch games from the stands and appearing every couple of nights. Don’t ruin the kid.

What say you? Should the Sharks send Mueller back to junior after the WJHC?

Thanks for reading.

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