Miller, a defenseman with a big shot, is another player who blossomed after getting a chance to play with the Vegas Golden Knights, who selected him from the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.
Given a bigger role than he'd had with the Bruins or Los Angeles Kings, Miller was tops among Golden Knights defensemen with 41 points (10 goals, 31 points). That included five goals and 17 points on the power play.
Miller, a defenseman with a big shot, is another player who blossomed after getting a chance to play with the Vegas Golden Knights, who selected him from the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.
Given a bigger role than he'd had with the Bruins or Los Angeles Kings, Miller was tops among Golden Knights defensemen with 41 points (10 goals, 31 points). That included five goals and 17 points on the power play.
Miller played three seasons of junior hockey for his hometown team, Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League, from 2010-13. In his final season, he finished with 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) and received the Mickey Renaud Captain's Trophy, given to the OHL captain that best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice. It's named for the former captain of Windsor of the OHL, a Calgary Flames draft pick who died in 2008.
Prior to his final junior season, Miller was selected by the Kings in the fifth round (No. 151) in the 2012 NHL Draft.
Miller played two seasons with Manchester of the American Hockey League. He was named a Second-Team AHL All-Star in 2014-15, when he had 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) in 70 games. At the 2015 AHL All-Star Skills Competition, Miller won the fastest skater competition and set an event record for hardest shot, 105.5 miles per hour. He stepped up his game in the playoffs, anchoring a defense that helped Manchester defeat Portland, Wilkes-Barre Scranton, Hartford and Utica to win the 2015 Calder Cup.
But with the Kings set on defense, Miller was traded to the Bruins on June 26, 2015. He split the 2015-16 season between Boston and Providence of the AHL, then stayed in the NHL for all of the 2016-17 season, finishing with 13 points (six goals, seven assists) before being taken by Vegas in the expansion draft.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- AHL Second All-Star Team (2015)
- Traded to Boston by Los Angeles with Martin Jones and Los Angeles' 1st round pick (Jakub Zboril) in 2015 NHL Draft for Milan Lucic, June 26, 2015.
- Claimed by Vegas from Boston in Expansion Draft, June 21, 2017.
- Traded to Buffalo by Vegas for a 2nd-round pick in 2021 NHL Draft and 5th-round pick in 2022 NHL Draft, June 29, 2019.
