Alina Muller in action for Switzerland at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship.
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Chatting hockey with Alina Muller, the “unbelievable” crops up a lot. After more than a decade at the top of the international game, the Swiss star is still excited by how far women’s hockey has travelled in that time.
Now 27, the Winterthur native made history as the first European player drafted into the PWHL and is a respected leader on her national team.
It’s a long way from playing on boys’ teams in her hometown – but the journey isn’t over yet for the Boston Fleet forward.
“It’s unbelievable to see how much the game grew in the past few years,” Muller said. “Playing in the PWHL, there’s no limits.
“It’s beautiful that people want to watch the games, to see our product on the ice. We can inspire the fans who travelled along the way with us. Whenever we meet them, we can see how emotional they get – especially older women who see how far women’s sports have come.”
Conscious that the buoyant state of women’s hockey in 2025 rests on a legacy of hard work that came in the preceding 20-30 years, Muller recognises a responsibility to keep driving that progress.
“I’m trying to do my job, to keep growing the product and make other dreams happen,” she said. “And when you look at the Worlds this year, Czechia is doing an unbelievable job putting the tournament together. There are fans everywhere wearing jerseys in the streets. It certainly feels different.”
With a record-breaking Olympic medal from Sochi at the age of 15 – nobody at the Games has collected hockey hardware at a younger age – Muller enjoyed an outstanding debut in senior international play. And she was no passenger on that team, scoring the game-winner to clinch bronze against Sweden.
Yet, back in 2014 the bulk of her hockey experience came from playing with boys. She started out fascinated by the kids practicing at her local rink in Winterthur, Switzerland, asked to join the team and worked her way up through all of the boys’ teams at her hometown club. She also jokes that she started in hockey before her older brother Mirco, 30, a fellow Olympian who played six seasons in the NHL with the Sharks and the Devils.
And playing with the boys for so long was a huge influence.
“I’m pretty thankful for the boys’ teams I played with at home,” she said. “Not everybody can play at such a high level with the boys, not everybody allows it. I’m super happy that I made such big steps there.”
The next huge step was to go to the NCAA where she played five years with Northeastern in Boston another unbelievable opportunity.
“It’s given me everything I ever dreamed of,” Muller said of her move across the Atlantic. “I met so many great people that still help me today as I’m becoming the woman I want to become. And I found a home in Boston through college and now being pro there. It’s something I never thought would be possible and it’s something I just want to enjoy and make the most of every day.
“I wouldn’t be the player I am today without either of those experiences.”
Although Muller acknowledges that playing with boys through to U17 level was a big part of forging her talents, she’s also excited about the rise of Swiss women’s hockey. What was once something of a novelty is now more firmly established, with knock-out effects for the national championship and the national team.
“It’s definitely growing,” she said. “There are a lot more girls playing hockey. Our league is getting stronger every year. We have a lot of good imports coming into our league and if you look at [Switzerland’s] roster, a lot of our players are from the Swiss League.
“They get a lot of big roles [with their clubs] and a lot of confidence playing with the puck. It definitely helps the national team too.”
In the last couple of games in Ceske Budejovice, Muller has worn the ‘C’ in the absence of long-time captain Lara Stalder. It’s not how she wanted to inherit the role, but it’s a natural fit for a player with a keen sense of responsibility for the next wave of women’s talent.
“My role changed a bit within the team over the years,” she said. “I’m not only doing what I can on the ice but also helping off the ice, helping the new players. It’s about being aware that I’m a role model for a lot of new players and a lot of the kids who are hopefully starting to play in Switzerland.”
Now the immediate task is to crash the Czech party with a quarter-final win over the host nation. Despite failing to win in the group stage, including an opening-night 0-3 reverse against Czechia, Muller feels that the tournament format helps the team adapt to World Championship play. “Because of the bracket, we can experiment with things in the first few games because we know we’ll make the quarter-final no matter what,” she said. “So we’re building that confidence. It’s not easy, but it’s something to focus on.”
And the aim, as always, is a return to the podium. “That bronze at the Olympics is probably my biggest memory,” she said. “Since then, I’m waiting for another medal and we’re trying very hard to make it happen this year.”
Now 27, the Winterthur native made history as the first European player drafted into the PWHL and is a respected leader on her national team.
It’s a long way from playing on boys’ teams in her hometown – but the journey isn’t over yet for the Boston Fleet forward.
“It’s unbelievable to see how much the game grew in the past few years,” Muller said. “Playing in the PWHL, there’s no limits.
“It’s beautiful that people want to watch the games, to see our product on the ice. We can inspire the fans who travelled along the way with us. Whenever we meet them, we can see how emotional they get – especially older women who see how far women’s sports have come.”
Conscious that the buoyant state of women’s hockey in 2025 rests on a legacy of hard work that came in the preceding 20-30 years, Muller recognises a responsibility to keep driving that progress.
“I’m trying to do my job, to keep growing the product and make other dreams happen,” she said. “And when you look at the Worlds this year, Czechia is doing an unbelievable job putting the tournament together. There are fans everywhere wearing jerseys in the streets. It certainly feels different.”
With a record-breaking Olympic medal from Sochi at the age of 15 – nobody at the Games has collected hockey hardware at a younger age – Muller enjoyed an outstanding debut in senior international play. And she was no passenger on that team, scoring the game-winner to clinch bronze against Sweden.
Yet, back in 2014 the bulk of her hockey experience came from playing with boys. She started out fascinated by the kids practicing at her local rink in Winterthur, Switzerland, asked to join the team and worked her way up through all of the boys’ teams at her hometown club. She also jokes that she started in hockey before her older brother Mirco, 30, a fellow Olympian who played six seasons in the NHL with the Sharks and the Devils.
And playing with the boys for so long was a huge influence.
“I’m pretty thankful for the boys’ teams I played with at home,” she said. “Not everybody can play at such a high level with the boys, not everybody allows it. I’m super happy that I made such big steps there.”
The next huge step was to go to the NCAA where she played five years with Northeastern in Boston another unbelievable opportunity.
“It’s given me everything I ever dreamed of,” Muller said of her move across the Atlantic. “I met so many great people that still help me today as I’m becoming the woman I want to become. And I found a home in Boston through college and now being pro there. It’s something I never thought would be possible and it’s something I just want to enjoy and make the most of every day.
“I wouldn’t be the player I am today without either of those experiences.”
Although Muller acknowledges that playing with boys through to U17 level was a big part of forging her talents, she’s also excited about the rise of Swiss women’s hockey. What was once something of a novelty is now more firmly established, with knock-out effects for the national championship and the national team.
“It’s definitely growing,” she said. “There are a lot more girls playing hockey. Our league is getting stronger every year. We have a lot of good imports coming into our league and if you look at [Switzerland’s] roster, a lot of our players are from the Swiss League.
“They get a lot of big roles [with their clubs] and a lot of confidence playing with the puck. It definitely helps the national team too.”
In the last couple of games in Ceske Budejovice, Muller has worn the ‘C’ in the absence of long-time captain Lara Stalder. It’s not how she wanted to inherit the role, but it’s a natural fit for a player with a keen sense of responsibility for the next wave of women’s talent.
“My role changed a bit within the team over the years,” she said. “I’m not only doing what I can on the ice but also helping off the ice, helping the new players. It’s about being aware that I’m a role model for a lot of new players and a lot of the kids who are hopefully starting to play in Switzerland.”
Now the immediate task is to crash the Czech party with a quarter-final win over the host nation. Despite failing to win in the group stage, including an opening-night 0-3 reverse against Czechia, Muller feels that the tournament format helps the team adapt to World Championship play. “Because of the bracket, we can experiment with things in the first few games because we know we’ll make the quarter-final no matter what,” she said. “So we’re building that confidence. It’s not easy, but it’s something to focus on.”
And the aim, as always, is a return to the podium. “That bronze at the Olympics is probably my biggest memory,” she said. “Since then, I’m waiting for another medal and we’re trying very hard to make it happen this year.”