Prospect Info: 2018 NHL Draft / Pick #22 - K'Andre Miller (D)

[GeorgeKaplan]

Is he #19? Why was he so deep on the PP?

He is, I think he plays along the side wall on the PP and if I’m remembering what you’re talking about I think he was just sneaking in looking to maybe pick up a rebound

 

[SnowblindNYR]

He is, I think he plays along the side wall on the PP and if I’m remembering what you’re talking about I think he was just sneaking in looking to maybe pick up a rebound

He lined up on the side wall on the faceoff.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Bad move from Miller there to try to pinch and switch spots with a forward on the PP and kind of bumped his team mate and gave up the puck for a 2 on 1 the other way. Then a little later got caught with a forward behind him, almost got back to break it up before the forward could shoot but no quick enough.

Overall, not playing as well as he did in either game against BC last weekend, he seems to be trying to do too much today, but he hasn’t been terrible either

Edit: Wisconsin in general isn’t playing all that great honestly

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Nice burst of speed to get past one player and then a little move to cut to the inside around another defender and get a shot off the rush on the PP

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Wisconsin on a 5 minute PP, Miller with 2 not-super-hard one timers on an unscreened goalie, some other nice plays to keep possession/get it to his team mates, he’s pretty sneaky for such a big guy. Wisconsin’s PPQB seems to like passing back and forth with the player on the other side of their set up.

 

[Harbour Dog]

Wisconsin on a 5 minute PP, Miller with 2 not-super-hard one timers on an unscreened goalie, some other nice plays to keep possession/get it to his team mates, he’s pretty sneaky for such a big guy. Wisconsin’s PPQB seems to like passing back and forth with the player on the other side of their set up.

What's the book on his shot in general?

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

What's the book on his shot in general?

I’d say it’s good, his wrist shot is probably his best weapon I’ve seen shot-wise. I haven’t seen any cannon-like slap shots from him in the almost 3 games of this season so far, and I think with the 2 one timers he took, he didn’t really get either of them clean, and he probably would’ve been better served settling the pass down and taking the space to move up or wait for some traffic in front of the net. He very clearly wants the puck and wants to shoot a lot though

 

[Edge]

I’d say it’s good, his wrist shot is probably his best weapon I’ve seen shot-wise. I haven’t seen any cannon-like slap shots from him in the almost 3 games of this season so far, and I think with the 2 one timers he took, he didn’t really get either of them clean, and he probably would’ve been better served settling the pass down and taking the space to move up or wait for some traffic in front of the net. He very clearly wants the puck and wants to shoot a lot though

Truth be told, he tends to shoot like a forward —which is understandable.

He’s more comfortable joining the rush and getting off a wrist shot than he is firing from the point.

Since converting to defense, I’d have a hard time recalling him focusing on shoots from the point

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Truth be told, he tends to shoot like a forward —which is understandable.

He’s more comfortable joining the rush and getting off a wrist shot than he is firing from the point.

Since converting to defense, I’d have a hard time recalling him focusing on shoots from the point

This is what I’m seeing too, though he has attempted 3-4 shots from the point tonight. I’ve noticed he really likes to cheat down to the top or middle of the circles when the play is on the other side of the ice and there’s sustained pressure, and on the rush of he’s not one of the 2 leading it, he’s always the d-man who follows up deeper into the o-zone

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Truth be told, he tends to shoot like a forward —which is understandable.

He’s more comfortable joining the rush and getting off a wrist shot than he is firing from the point.

Since converting to defense, I’d have a hard time recalling him focusing on shoots from the point

Is that something to be concerned about or can he learn how to shoot like D-man?

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Just took a roughing penalty with 5:20 left in the 3rd down by one

Edit: rewound it and watched it again, seems the call was for him bouncing a forechecker off the boards a few times, was definitely being rough but it’s really apparent just how strong he is when battling along the boards.

Clarkson scores on the power play from it while I’m typing this too

Edit 2: Granato threw him right back out there which is nice

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Blocked a weak empty net bid at the end, but Wisconsin lost 4-2. Miller had an alright game, his skating and strength are very apparent but it’s also apparent that he’s very raw, which we all knew. His main problem, as far as I’ve seen, is his inconsistency with his reads of plays (mostly in the offensive zone) and he needs to get better at not letting passes get through him. The good news is that it’s all stuff that should get ironed out the more he plays

 

[Fitzy]

Clarkson has an old building. The opposing benches are on opposite sides of the ice. The penalty boxes are near the Clarkson bench. The visiting team penalty box is really a runway with a folding chair.

It's like watching a game from the 1970's/1980's.

Wait till you see Appleton. We've kept the whole thing completely hockey barn style since the 50's. No Jumbotron, the old Canton fire alarm blares with goals and period starts. Same story with the benches on opposite sides.

The Dolans have donated millions to build a full complex and workout center around the arena, but I know they plan to keep the old style theme inside the arena.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Playing in about 30 against St Lawerence, game’s on ESPN+

Looks like Miller is on the third pairing with Emberson tonight

 

[Trxjw]

Wait till you see Appleton. We've kept the whole thing completely hockey barn style since the 50's. No Jumbotron, the old Canton fire alarm blares with goals and period starts. Same story with the benches on opposite sides.

The Dolans have donated millions to build a full complex and workout center around the arena, but I know they plan to keep the old style theme inside the arena.

Definitely a cool arena. Wish SLU and Tech were better teams when I was at Clarkson for a few years, but was still a good rivalry.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

The camera angle is pretty weird (the camera’s also not level), but not even halfway through the first period and Miller already has 2-3 pretty good scoring chances

 

[Trxjw]

The camera angle is pretty weird (the camera’s also not level), but not even halfway through the first period and Miller already has 2-3 pretty good scoring chances

SLU's arena is basically still a barn. Not many good angles there but a great atmosphere.

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

First period over, Miller looking much better than yesterday so far

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

As a pair Miller and Emberson are playing either side pretty fluidly

 

[Alluckks]

For better or worse, he’s pretty aggressive at either blue line

I'd rather my high skill prospect be aggressive now and learn how to tame it when necessary later rather than play conservative now and try to learn when to be aggressive later

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Miller on for a Wisconsin goal scored 3 seconds after a penalty expired, did some good board work to win a battle and start the play (won’t get an assist though)

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

I'd rather my high skill prospect be aggressive now and learn how to tame it when necessary later rather than play conservative now and try to learn when to be aggressive later

I definitely don’t disagree. Before the season I was hoping he would go the juniors route just because he’d be playing a larger number of games and get more reps that way, but he’s fit in pretty well on a good team so far

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Miller uses his speed to create a 2 on 1 while on the PK, elected to shoot and got a rebound chance as well, didn’t score but a nice sequence for him

 

[GeorgeKaplan]

Got a secondary assist on the power play, passed from his own zone to start the rush, got it back inside the blue line and passed to a forward who set someone else up for a tap in

Will post a video if/when I can find one

 

[Oscar Lindberg]

As a pair Miller and Emberson are playing either side pretty fluidly

I wanted Emberson so bad at the draft

Yotes got a good one with him