Ryan Miller has had a long, illustrious career going all the way back to his days in East Lansing. As the Spartan backstop, he became the only goalie to win the prestigious Hobey Baker award.
His stats at Michigan State speak for themselves. He’s arguably the greatest netminder in the history of college hockey. He still holds Michigan State records for career shutouts (26), save percentage (.941), and goals-against average (1.30). Those are outrageous career numbers for a college goalie. His .950 save percentage as a sophomore is still an NCAA single-season record as are his 26 career shutouts.
He brought home a boatload of hardware over his career at Michigan State as well. All three seasons he played, he was the CCHA Goalie of the Year. In two of his three seasons, he was league MVP. In 2001, he was the Big Ten-Jesse Owens Men’s Athlete of the Year. He was also a first-team All-American twice. Not only is he one of the most accomplished players in college hockey history, he is one of the most decorated student athletes of all sports.
Overall, TEN members of the Miller family have played hockey for Michigan State. His cousin Kip Miller won the Hobey Baker in 1990. It might be the most accomplished family in all of collegiate athletics. That’s gotta be quite the gathering at Thanksgiving.
International Career
The Olympic Games only come around once ever four years. In the midst of his 2010 Vezina campaign in which Miller would be recognized as the National Hockey League’s best goalie, he backstopped the United States in the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The Americans were long shots to even medal at the 2010 games. On the 30th Anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, the Americans in 2010 channeled some magic of their own.
Preliminary play had the United States in group A, which they would win with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record which included a monumental upset of host-nation Canada. In three games, the U.S. allowed only 5 goals.
The Americans rode the unbelievable play of Miller all the way to the gold medal game in a rematch with the Canadians. This is where emotional trauma blocks me out.
I remember Patrick Kane tying the game late, and I remember Sidney Crosby squeaking a shot through Ryan Miller in OT. I’d never had my heart broken by sports like that before. It’s a loss that still hurts to think about. It was the first time I’d really fallen in love with a team. Years of being a Leafs fan has gotten me used to this by now, but Chad in 2010 was not emotionally prepared to see us come up short.
Back to Ryan Miller, he was selected as tournament MVP. This still seems like nothing more than a somber consolation prize to me. He’s also the all-time leader in international goals-against average for the United States.
His tournament save percentage of .946 is still a record for American netminders as was his 1.35 GAA.
Professional Career
Ryan Miller won the Vezina in 2010 as the NHL’s best goalie. He was the face of the Buffalo Sabres franchise until he was traded to the St Louis Blues. His numbers across his career haven’t always been great. He’ll be remembered as a steady presence in net who had some really magical moments.
Legacy
His professional career never really ended up being what it could have been. He spent quite a few seasons of his prime on some bad Sabres teams. Say what you will about Ryan Miller, but he is the winningest American goalie of all time. Although that record won’t hold for very long (Johnny Quick is up there in wins too), it is still a tremendous accomplishment.
I’ll remember Ryan Miller as the goalie who stood on his head and almost willed the United States to an improbable gold medal after legendary American netminder Jimmy Craig did the same thing thirty years earlier.
He’ll always be one of the most celebrated and important goalies in USA Hockey history. It’ll be an emotional day when he finally decides to call it a career.
No other narrative on Ryan Miller can exist in my mind.