Mitchell Miller, a prospect whose drafting rights were abandoned after it was publicly revealed that he and a classmate were convicted of assaulting and bullying a developmentally disabled classmate, signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins on Friday.
The 20-year-old defenseman was a 2020 fourth-round pick for the Arizona Coyotes. Shortly after his draft, however, an Arizona Republic report detailed how Miller and another middle school classmate were convicted in a 2016 juvenile court of racism and bullying by Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, who is black.
In the report, Meyer-Crothers’ mother claimed Miller began abusing her son in the second grade, while he also repeatedly used racial epithets.
“When I was in the eighth grade, I made an extremely bad decision and acted very immaturely,” Miller said in a statement released by the Bruins on Friday. “I bullied one of my classmates. I deeply regret the incident and have apologized to the person. Since the incident, I have a better understanding of the far-reaching consequences of my actions that I failed to recognize and understand almost seven years ago. “
“…To be clear, what I did when I was 14 was wrong and unacceptable. There is no place in this world for being disrespectful to others and I promise to take this opportunity to speak out against the abuse of others.”
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In his statement, Miller said he will continue to participate in community programs to educate himself and “to share my mistakes with others to show the negative impact those actions can have on others.”
Bruins president Cam Neely said the team’s hockey department and community relations group have spent time with Miller over the past few weeks to “better understand” who he is as an individual and “learn more about a significant mistake.” , which he did in middle school.”
“During this evaluation period, Mitchell held himself accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to advance his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others,” Neely said in the statement. “He is expected to continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization.”
NHL Central Scouting ranked Miller as the No. 49 North American skater in their final pre-draft rankings, but slipped to the fourth round because teams knew of his past.
Days after the Coyotes drafted Miller, the team said in a statement that “it would have been easy” to fire him like other teams, but “we felt it was our responsibility to really be a part of the solution — not just ourselves.” saying and doing the right thing, but making others do the same.”
The Coyotes have the NHL’s first Latino owner in Alex Meruelo and the league’s first Latino CEO and president in Xavier Gutierrez.
Miller had relinquished his drafting rights from the Coyotes less than a month later. He was also released from his scholarship to the University of North Dakota, where Miller was enrolled as a freshman.
He sat out the 2020-21 season before returning in 2021-22 to play with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. Miller was named USHL Defenseman of the Year and Player of the Year after leveling the league lead with 39 goals and 83 points – both league records for a defenseman – in 60 games.