Who the heck is Drew Miller?
It appears that a kid named Drew Miller (or Miller Lite, as Sleek calls him) will spend time on the top line with Selanne and McDonald tonight. Somebody has to play with those guys, as it won't be Getzlaf anymore, as he is clicking well with Penner and Perry. I'm not sure why Randy Carlyle didn't like Todd Marchant with those 2.
So, to give you a bit of a heads up on this Miller kid:
- the 23-year-old was selected by the Ducks in the 6th round (183rd overall) in 2003.
- born in Dover, New Jersey.
- the brother of Ryan Miller.
- tall and skinny: 6'2" 170 pounds.
- played his first full season with the Portland Pirates this year, playing 79 games, scoring 16 goals, 20 assists. In 3 seasons with the NCAA with Michigan State he played 125 games, scored 39 goals, 47 assists, and 86 points.
- has played 1 game with the Ducks, ever, and that was in Round 1 of this year's playoffs on April 19 in a 4-1 win over Minnesota to clinch that series. He was only on the ice for 2:19 of that game.
- the initial scouting report on him was:
Has decent hands and will play the rough stuff. Sees the ice well and works very hard. Has good size, but he needs to get stronger. He's more then willing to drive to the net and do whatever it takes to win.- it will be interesting to see how long he plays on the top line.
Labels: Ducks
4 Comments:
my words exactly
This is late, but I'll let you in anyways.
Drew Miller is basically the replacement for Chris Kunitz. Drew Miller has the same style, he's a grinder and his hitting will fit perfectly with Selanne and McDonald, as Kunitz's hitting did.
Now, Drew Miller will be making the safe plays for most of the time, which is good. He's a smart hockey player and he always makes good decisions. My proof would be what he did in Game 1. If he didn't apply that pressure onto Wade Redden, and finish the hit, no way would Redden had turned over the puck to Selanne, who eventually passed it to McDonald who scored the Ducks' first goal. I think it was a really smart move by Carlyle, and obviously this kid must be doing something good in practice to be getting the nod over Motzko and Carter, who both were good physical prescences. Drew Miller can also skate.
It's a shame Miller didn't get an official assist on that play, but he'll definitely get another chance.
As for why Todd Marchant isn't on the top line with the Selanne and McDonald, it's basically because Carlyle wants to start rolling all four lines. Game 1 you saw how effective that was. Brad May, Shawn Thornton and Todd Marchant were doing an excellent job of continuously cycling the puck and they were really hitting bodies well, especially May.
I know it's late, but I certainly hope I answered your question. I have been watching Drew Miller since he was with the Spartans, so I've been waiting for him to get his chance at the big time. Of course, he had a chance when they played the Wild, but he only got about 2+ minutes then.
Tonight he did some smart things. His first shift he took a retarded penatly, but it wasn't a really intentional interference. Anyway, after that, he sure made up for it. I believe he had a great opporunity to score, and he was also battling with whatever he could along the boards and everything. I like this kid, and I think he's filling in nicely for Kunitz.
Thanks for that, Maverik. Very informative.
Unfortunately, Miller didn't get a lot more time on the top line in Game 2 and I think Marchant rejoined them...
Too bad. I liked Miller with Selanne and McD.
miller is bush
chez-ron
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