NEWYORK | “Wow wow wow. K’Andre Miller mutters the same word as he enters the Rangers locker room in the lofty Madison Square Garden.
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He’s still in the adrenaline rush of an equalizer with just 0.9 seconds left on the scoreboard.
“I heard applause, I wasn’t sure, but I looked up and looked at the board,” Miller said. There was less than a second left. It’s pretty crazy. »
Miller scored his fifth goal of the season against the Dallas Stars’ Jake Oettinger to cheer on the raucous Manhattan crowd. Rangers finally won that defensive game 2-1 on Thursday night after an Adam Fox goal in overtime.
In the Rangers dressing room, Miller was the talk of the town even before he entered.
“He has an undeniable talent,” said Fox, the 2021 Norris Trophy winner. When he plays with confidence, it becomes dangerous. He’s big, tall and fast. I love watching him play. He’s already a big piece of the puzzle for us. This is nothing new for us. It has unlimited potential. »
“K’Andre is young at 22 but he already plays with a lot of confidence,” added center Vincent Trocheck. He has great skills and great talent. In our team he is probably the fastest skater with Chris Kreider. I played against him with the Hurricanes last year and I didn’t like it. I could see he was going to be a special defender in the NHL. »
more offensive
At 6ft 5 and 215 pounds, Miller is pretty much the definition of a big fat defender. But it’s not just physical. The 2018 Rangers first-round pick (22nd overall) also has the talent to establish himself as one of the NHL’s most dominant guards.
“K’Andre is amazing,” remarked Gerard Gallant, head coach. He played very well for us last year but he took another step in his development. He’s a good defender but also a good young man. He plays well, he plays with heart. »
The step more is felt on the offensive level. In his second full season with Rangers last year, the American had 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists) in 82 games. He also had 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in 20 playoff games.
Miller has even more impressive numbers this season with 23 points (5 goals, 18 assists) in 43 games.
After the New York colleagues left, he explained his offensive rise to the Journal representative.
“I knew I could do it, but I had to believe in it every day,” he replied. I wanted to improve in all facets of my game, including offensively. I also wanted to gain even more trust from my teammates. I needed to know that they could also count on me as an offensive weapon. I’m lucky to play for a very good team. There are good players here that I take advantage of. »
Trouba’s help
In New York, Rangers are being criticized for developing big draft picks like Alexis Lafrenière (1st place 2020), Kaapo Kakko (2nd place 2019) and Vitali Kravtsov (9th place 2018). The three forwards have yet to take off in the NHL, although Kakko has shown some interesting signs in recent weeks.
On the blue line, however, Miller represents good development. He didn’t make the jump to the NHL right away and stayed with the Wisconsin Badgers in the NCAA for two seasons after being drafted in 2018.
Once in the Big Apple, Miller received help from a blue line teammate, Jacob Trouba.
“I don’t have a single player, but my biggest role model remains Troubs (Jacob Trouba),” Miller explained. He took me under his wing from my early days in New York. He is always there to guide and advise me. It’s not for nothing that he’s our captain. »
- The Rangers play their next game Sunday against the Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.