Vegas Golden Knights Defenseman Colin Miller Showing Signs of Major Improvement
The Vegas Golden Knights may have something special with Colin Miller.
There have been many players on the Vegas Golden Knights roster that have made crucial contributions to the team. It just seems like there’s a new hero every night for this team, which makes it so special. It’s one of the biggest reasons why this team is off to the best start seven-game start to an inaugural season in NHL history.
Offensively, the Golden Knights have been middle of the pack which is about what I expected. However, Vegas has only let up 17 goals in seven games which is good for third in the NHL. A lot of that has to do with Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban, but there are no slouches on the Golden Knights defense.
Nate Schmidt continues to average more than 20 minutes a night and does a terrific job on the back end. Deryk Engelland proves to be a solid number three defenseman on this hockey club. And even Luca Sbisa and Brad Hunt have shown they’re more than just outcasts. But one defenseman that’s starting to come into his own is Colin Miller.
Miller had terrible luck when he was with the Boston Bruins. Due to the number of defensemen that Boston had at their disposal, the 24-year old didn’t get a ton of playing time. But when it came time for the expansion draft, General Manager George McPhee didn’t hesitate to take a chance on the promising young defenseman.
The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native had a tough start to his Golden Knights career. Passes that barely missed his teammates, shots going off the post, you name it. But his fortune started to change over the last few games. He scored a beauty of a goal on the power play on Saturday night and added an assist on the overtime game-winning goal by William Karlsson.
Miller has a cannon of a slapshot which topped out at 105.5 MPH at the 2015 AHL Skills competition. He uses that shot a ton on the power play and has slick puck moving ability. He’s also one of two defensemen on the club that’s right-handed which makes him an essential part of the Golden Knights defensive corps.
He obviously must continue to work on his play without the puck as that is his number one flaw. Miller still hasn’t put it all together offensively, but hopefully, by the end of the year, he puts up respectable numbers which he’s capable of especially being on the Vegas Golden Knights number one power play unit.
Next: Malcolm Subban Out For An Extended Period of Time.
All in all, Miller has all the tools to be solid middle pair offensive defenseman in today’s NHL. If he continues making steps in the right direction, the sky is the limit. Afterall, he was a top prospect in the Los Angeles Kings organization. The fans have to be happy with the play of Miller, but no one is happier than our General Manager.