Prospect Info: K'Andre Miller (D) - Part IV

[Mac n Gs]

Nah, he needs to go the AHL because....reasons?

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

The goal was great, but he's mostly been good this year on a team that has been a bit of a cluster f*** so far.

Nah, he needs to go the AHL because....reasons?

Phantom repetitive positional mistakes that never happened (they happen, but not nearly as often as some would like to suggest), he isn't killing people despite being 6'5 or because Nils actually needs to be sent down but we need to draw attention away from that.

Not to say that he's been flawless, but I don't get why his mistakes start an eruption on this board while others go unscathed. Forget the bottom pair which has been a revolving door of the ghosts of latter day Girardi and Staal (the ghosts would probably be an upgrade) but Lindgren has been way worse than Miller (really, hes been low key bad) this year yet it barely gets mentioned.

 

[Raspewtin]

yeah Lindgren has had a bad year. he looks better with the puck but he loses his position much easier than before, kinda like he hasn't skated in months.

 

[nyr2k2]

Yeah Lindgren has had a rough go of it. That pair, even Fox--Fox has had some bad moments where he has lost his man or been unaware that his man has slipped behind him. Of course we can give Fox a pass because he scores at a PPG clip, but the point is every single player on defense has had a number of glaring miscues throughout the season.

 

[AlaBlueShirt]

6”5 211 pounds and can move like that. Kid is only 21, imo our best pick during the rebuild.

 

[jay from jersey]

yeah Lindgren has had a bad year. he looks better with the puck but he loses his position much easier than before, kinda like he hasn't skated in months.

I kind of expect an adjustment period. New head coach new system. They basically have to change a lot of the stuff they did under Quinn.
So I’d expect some bumps in the road in the first 20 games or so. It’s after that point that if it continues I’d be worried.
Our top 4 as a whole has weathered the storm pretty well considering on some nights the fwd help has been non-existent.
I hope nils and Nemeth can get better as time goes on too. We need them to be better

 

[RagFinMet]

Yeah Lindgren has had a rough go of it. That pair, even Fox--Fox has had some bad moments where he has lost his man or been unaware that his man has slipped behind him. Of course we can give Fox a pass because he scores at a PPG clip, but the point is every single player on defense has had a number of glaring miscues throughout the season.

Which tells me it's the coaching
Martin should have been retained

 

[Rempe73]

6”5 211 pounds and can move like that. Kid is only 21, imo our best pick during the rebuild.

Certainly looks that way. Already looking like a steal.

 

[Miamipuck]

Yeah Lindgren has had a rough go of it. That pair, even Fox--Fox has had some bad moments where he has lost his man or been unaware that his man has slipped behind him. Of course we can give Fox a pass because he scores at a PPG clip, but the point is every single player on defense has had a number of glaring miscues throughout the season.

Look the defense has been worse than last year but I don't think it's on them. Well the blame is much more on the forwards, the defense does have some responsibility. The forwards to me look mostly like a disjointed mess. I think GG should start tinkering and finding some line combo's that work. It's like the Rangers are still in preseason mode and the rest of the league has started. There really is no other way I can describe it. The team has the skill and the grit to play so much better but they're getting caved in almost every game.

I don't know what's happening, when AV came in, the team had some growing pains. They did look horrid more than one game but I don't think it was as prolonged as this. Plus that teams metrics got better and better as the season wore on. It's the opposite here, so far.

 

[jay from jersey]

Certainly looks that way. Already looking like a steal.

He’s using his body more as well. That should continue the more he matures.
The overall size/skillset/speed is what makes people Drool. Now he’s just got to polish his game.
Playing with Trouba has helped him a ton.
Miller still makes his young kid mistakes, but he looks more comfortable on the ice this year already as opposed to last season. That is plain as day to me.

 

[The Mouth]

I think he is fine. I get a lot of grief for sticking up for him. A lot of people are motivated by wanting Zac Jones on the team at any expense along with Lundkvist. which isn't prudent.

 

[Brief Candle]

There's hardly a player people seem to be more bipolar about on these forums than Miller. One minute he's a step under Fox, the next he's pure trash. The kid is 21! He's a baby! He's still learning, he's going to make mistakes, but for such a young kid, he's fantastic. He's only getting more experience, and that goal the other day? I expect we'll see more of that over time along with him being defensively responsible. Hell, Nemeth could use with some AHL time before this kid.

 

[Gr8CornHolio]

I think he is fine. I get a lot of grief for sticking up for him. A lot of people are motivated by wanting Zac Jones on the team at any expense along with Lundkvist. which isn't prudent.

well put people will be up in arms when one of the two are traded. Not enough room

 

[jay from jersey]

I think he is fine. I get a lot of grief for sticking up for him. A lot of people are motivated by wanting Zac Jones on the team at any expense along with Lundkvist. which isn't prudent.

You not really going to be able to keep both just because.
If Jones continues his solid play in Hartford and has another great camp, you can’t just stash him in the AHL again. Schneider either for that matter. They would likely asked for a trade if that’s the situation.
I think we have a full season and a half for Robertson in the A.
But if he has a great offseason and a lights out camp, you’re playing with fire keeping him there too long as well.
If their progression/ play dictates them moving up to the big club to continue their progression, you don’t want to torpedo that.
Over the next year to year and a half, like it or not, we’re probably moving 1-2 kids on the blueline.
There’s not a shot in hell that all of Robertson/Jones/Lundkvist are with the NYR organization by the start of next season

 

[WojtekWolski86]

There's hardly a player people seem to be more bipolar about on these forums than Miller. One minute he's a step under Fox, the next he's pure trash. The kid is 21! He's a baby! He's still learning, he's going to make mistakes, but for such a young kid, he's fantastic. He's only getting more experience, and that goal the other day? I expect we'll see more of that over time along with him being defensively responsible. Hell, Nemeth could use with some AHL time before this kid.

Why is the AHL some sort of banishment? To your point he is 21, a late dman conversion, he should have been given a few years to develop.

I get that pulling him away from college was probably best for multiple different reasons. Sure you want to reward a good camp last year. But there was zero need to rush him.

 

[Raspewtin]

i'd love for miller to shoot the puck more and stop deferring to trouba. that's not to say trouba has been bad, quite the opposite, but miller's shot is outstanding especially since he's good at catching dead areas and coverage with his freakish skating. way more than trouba could ever do

 

[TheDirtyH]

i'd love for miller to shoot the puck more and stop deferring to trouba. that's not to say trouba has been bad, quite the opposite, but miller's shot is outstanding especially since he's good at catching dead areas and coverage with his freakish skating. way more than trouba could ever do

Yeah, if he skated it out more and put more pucks on net Dom from the athletic would call him a 1D

 

[The Crypto Guy]

i'd love for miller to shoot the puck more and stop deferring to trouba. that's not to say trouba has been bad, quite the opposite, but miller's shot is outstanding especially since he's good at catching dead areas and coverage with his freakish skating. way more than trouba could ever do

He has a strong shot, but it's pretty inaccurate and misses the net a lot. He isn't very good at getting it through players but hopefully that improves over time. That might be why he is hesitant to shoot sometimes.

 

[Rempe73]

My prediction: Miller is gonna go off the rest of the season. The Toronto game was a turning point. I saw real development in front of my eyes. I may be wrong and it could just be a hot streak, but I’m feeling good about this.

 

[Brief Candle]

Why is the AHL some sort of banishment? To your point he is 21, a late dman conversion, he should have been given a few years to develop.

I get that pulling him away from college was probably best for multiple different reasons. Sure you want to reward a good camp last year. But there was zero need to rush him.

I don't see the AHL as any sort of banishment. It's an amazing tool to develop players. However, there are players who are beyond that (barring return from an injury to get back into shape). Miller is one of those people. Lundkvist? He should be down there. Miller? Not a chance. The kid belongs with the big club.

 

[ThirdEye]

My prediction: Miller is gonna go off the rest of the season. The Toronto game was a turning point. I saw real development in front of my eyes. I may be wrong and it could just be a hot streak, but I’m feeling good about this.

Hopefully he doesn't start second guessing himself like a lot of younger players do. I think that's partially what happened last season (in addition to general fatigue)

 

[Sockosensei]

My prediction: Miller is gonna go off the rest of the season. The Toronto game was a turning point. I saw real development in front of my eyes. I may be wrong and it could just be a hot streak, but I’m feeling good about this.

I agree there's been real progress recently.
Don't be surprised when he takes temporary steps back in a few weeks. It's the natural path of defensemen not named Fox. He's still making net forward progress.

 

[Raspewtin]

he looks like old Hedman the other day. it was a sight to behold. this is a kid that very noticbaly "gets it" more every game imo.

Him and Trouba have been outstanding together this year and have helped uplift a very poor start from Lindgren and the bottom pair, well, existing.

Why is the AHL some sort of banishment? To your point he is 21, a late dman conversion, he should have been given a few years to develop.

I get that pulling him away from college was probably best for multiple different reasons. Sure you want to reward a good camp last year. But there was zero need to rush him.

I don't believe he's been rushed. He wasn't great the second half of his season last year but just because someone isn't playing well doesn't mean going to the AHL is the right move. KAM's skillset probably works more at the NHL level where there's lots of pushing the play and attempts at dynamic offense anyway.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

The AHL was only a real option for Miller before the start of the covid season.

He had an up and down year last year, but his ups were straight up dominant. When you see that, you work with it and try to figure out how to draw it out on a more consistent basis (in game reps are needed for that.) If he were struggling with the most basic of fundamentals from day 1 and showed no improvement over time then yeah, that calls for a demotion. He 100% hit a wall last year and was probably called on to do way more than he was ready for, but those reps were important.

He hasn't had any real sustained dips this year. He hasn't been mistake free, but neither has Fox.

Agree with @Raspewtin that his game works better at the NHL level than it would at the AHL level. Same with a guy like Zac Jones, who would be more productive in the NHL playing with guys who can do something with the puck when he gives it to them.

KAM has the highest upside of anyone on our roster, which is insane considering that we have arguably the best defenseman in the league who has already won the Norris.

 

[egelband]

I wonder if KAM ends up as the PMD of the pairing and Trouba the triggerman.