Player Discussion Kevan Miller - II

[DKH]

Miller has turned himself into a solid 4/5 IMO, but I don’t think there is anything new here. I didn’t like his play the first couple of games back, but hopefully it was just rust.

Love the physicality, he does a decent job of picking his spots to jump into the play, has a decent shot and he’s good on the PK.

On the flip side, the guy (like McQ) appears to be made of china. Given his style of play, that’s not a good thing. His skating has gotten better, but isn’t great. While I love his hits, too often he will take himself out of position to make them, or to pursue the play.

He’s like a lot of D in the league. Good player, has some warts, you hope he has more good nights than bad.

Got to disagree here

I think big short change

Bobby Beers is as good as any analyst I’ve followed and he raves about his compete and ability to make good decisions

He’s rarely ever caught out of position anymore

Disagree on his skating he’s plus here

We agree 90% of the time this is the 10%

 

[wintersej]

Who the heck do you sit when everyone is healthy.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Who the heck do you sit when everyone is healthy.

Won’t be an issue for awhile with Chara out.

UV, Lauzon, Clifton down.

Krug, Grizz, Moore, McAvoy, Carlo, Miller on the ice and Kampfer is the 7.

UV and Lauzon better than Kampfer, but they need to play. Give them minutes in PRO.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Got to disagree here

I think big short change

Bobby Beers is as good as any analyst I’ve followed and he raves about his compete and ability to make good decisions

He’s rarely ever caught out of position anymore

Disagree on his skating he’s plus here

We agree 90% of the time this is the 10%

I like Miller, but when I watch him, and he’s been asked to play Top 4 for extended periods, he struggles at times. He’s not better than McAvoy or Carlo imo, which means he’s a very good 3rd pair D when healthy.

What’s wrong with that? Not everyone is a superstar.

 

[Iceage]

Who the heck do you sit when everyone is healthy.

Shouldn’t be a problem, there’s always at least one injured

 

[DKH]

I like Miller, but when I watch him, and he’s been asked to play Top 4 for extended periods, he struggles at times. He’s not better than McAvoy or Carlo imo, which means he’s a very good 3rd pair D when healthy.

What’s wrong with that? Not everyone is a superstar.

Yes he’s a high end third pair and brings a lot of plus plus traits to the game.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Yes he’s a high end third pair and brings a lot of plus plus traits to the game.

Agreed.

He’s physical, which the B’s don’t have a lot of. Appears to be very well-liked and a leader. Seems to be a guy that busts his ass to improve also.

Lots to like, just thinks he slots in as the 3RD when everyone is healthy (not a bad thing for Boston).

 

[PlayMakers]

Yes he’s a high end third pair and brings a lot of plus plus traits to the game.

Kevan Miller is the most underrated player on the B's. I know you're a fan and being kind but I think calling him a high end 3rd pair guy is selling him short. I've said this in other threads but IMO he's a legit top4 defenseman. The only reason he plays 3rd pair here is because Carlo and McAvoy would be top pairing defensemen on most other teams, and even having said that and acknowledging how good they are, Kevan Miller has stretches where he is better.

I hated the McQuaid comparison. Both tough yes, but Miller is a much better skater and he has much better hands. He's not Krug, but he can carry it out of trouble if he has to.

He's come a log way, going from hated to underrated, hopefully this stretch will push him into the appreciated category.

 

[Tmac37]

Nice to have some meanness on the back end again.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Kevan Miller is the most underrated player on the B's. I know you're a fan and being kind but I think calling him a high end 3rd pair guy is selling him short. I've said this in other threads but IMO he's a legit top4 defenseman. The only reason he plays 3rd pair here is because Carlo and McAvoy would be top pairing defensemen on most other teams, and even having said that and acknowledging how good they are, Kevan Miller has stretches where he is better.

I hated the McQuaid comparison. Both tough yes, but Miller is a much better skater and he has much better hands. He's not Krug, but he can carry it out of trouble if he has to.

He's come a log way, going from hated to underrated, hopefully this stretch will push him into the appreciated category.

I think he’s the classic D tweener, not quite a Top 4, but too good to be considered a true third pair.

I’m open to change on this. If he continues to play 25-27 minutes a night and be passable vs the top lines, I reserve my right to flip-flop on this

My primary issues with him have always been:

1) Health (which is kind of out of his control).

2) In his zeal to pursue the puck and be physical (I think it’s who he is), he will take himself out of position.

That said, I think he has been able to make himself into a better player at an older age, which you don’t often see (JB55 was able to do it as well).

 

[missingchicklet]

Kevan Miller is the most underrated player on the B's. I know you're a fan and being kind but I think calling him a high end 3rd pair guy is selling him short. I've said this in other threads but IMO he's a legit top4 defenseman. The only reason he plays 3rd pair here is because Carlo and McAvoy would be top pairing defensemen on most other teams, and even having said that and acknowledging how good they are, Kevan Miller has stretches where he is better.

I hated the McQuaid comparison. Both tough yes, but Miller is a much better skater and he has much better hands. He's not Krug, but he can carry it out of trouble if he has to.

He's come a log way, going from hated to underrated, hopefully this stretch will push him into the appreciated category.

He is VERY underrated when it comes to skills in the other team's zone. He has obviously become more than solid in his own zone over the years, but he also passes well, handles the puck well, and can actually shoot pretty well. I wish he would show a bit more selfishness in the ozone. Just hope he can stay health going forward. His physical presence the past two games was a big contribution. I'm not sure who will sit when everyone is healthy, but I know that I feel comfortable when Killer is in the lineup.

 

[Bumper]

so... he plays a specific role. he dominates lower-quality competition instead of playing down to them. he is used for his huge-plus defense situationally, but easily handles first-pairing duties when called upon. he punishes other players for putting on nonBruins uniforms. Kevan Miller's career with the Bruins defines being underrated, but the team knows the deal they got. I do overall player ratings and have for years using mostly relative plus/minus, quality of competition, zone progress/loss. Kevan Miller is the. he just is. from day one he was trending plus and that is still the player he is. fans that only see points don't get it. (your team only wins if they are plus.) Kevan Miller defines plus play. and factoring in relativity to the stars he plays with doesn't denegrate his output, be it Chara, Krug, Grzelcyk....top forwards or Acciari -- his relative plus/minus has shown me for consistent years that he makes the team better by being on the ice. casual fans and blowhard armchair coaches call themselves out with every "but" clause they try to hang on the dude.

 

[Mainehockey33]

I like Miller a lot more these last couple of seasons, he’s improved a lot. I still don’t want him in the top 4 at all, he got eaten alive against Tampa last spring playing in Carlo’s spot.

He’s the ideal bottom pairing anchor that brings a physical element that the team needs.

 

[The Hockey Tonk Man]

Last few games he's laid some huge hits, lovin' it

 

[Alan Ryan]

I was way off on this guy


Destroyed two punks in two nights

Hornqvist got knocked out of fans and Drouin got rocked and just maybe he was trying to get some type of revenge when he high sticked Backes

Hornqvist is now out with a concussion from that big hit—a clean hit that hurt.

 

[Colt.45Orr]

He's been so great the last w games because he is playing with anger which is leading to actually really effective body contact. I've complained about him at times in the past because he goes stretches without playing with any real snarl --so it's really appreciated when he plays like he can. Yes McQuaid got hurt often but he also played every game the same. That's something that we need to see develop in Miller's game -- he needs to understand how much our defense needs the role of a guy who focuses on punishing opposing forwards and not trying to be the next great puck rusher.

 

[neelynugs]

He's been so great the last w games because he is playing with anger which is leading to actually really effective body contact. I've complained about him at times in the past because he goes stretches without playing with any real snarl --so it's really appreciated when he plays like he can. Yes McQuaid got hurt often but he also played every game the same. That's something that we need to see develop in Miller's game -- he needs to understand how much our defense needs the role of a guy who focuses on punishing opposing forwards and not trying to be the next great puck rusher.

interesting points, but i would also say that it's pretty tough throughout a full season to play that way "all the time".
i'm ok if he picks his spots and ramps it up when needed. especially since i found him to be fantastic in the toronto
series last year - played really strong D, was in the face of every leafs player on every shift, and was able to move the
puck and help transition. nobody really played well against tampa - miller included - but i'd like to think he's more
of the guy vs the leafs.

 

[JOKER 192]

The only thing that frustrates me about Kevan Miller is that he has a least one long term injury per season. Other than that, I love everything he brings to the table.

 

[DarrenBanks56]

hes been great.
when everyone is healthy though. hes on 3rd pair d with either grizz or krug.

love when he plays all fired up. he will get injured again if he keeps it up though.

 

[bruins repeat time]

Well I don't think we have to give him a number on where he stands on the bruin defense , lets face it we need this guy with mcquaid being gone . We have reached a time now where the habs have more fighters and hitters than us . I know fighting isn't near as important but it still has a small part in the game and I really don't want to see us go any further down in that area , you can call me dinosaur etc but I would feel a lot better for pasta , marchy etc if we were tougher , at least with miller and chara we still have something . We don't have much left in the forward category who can scrap at all

Maybe I am crazy but I really believe our stars are getting far more abused with this line up especially when miller and chara were out together . The bruins as a team I think stick together pretty well. Marchy , krug etc fly in there whenever a line mate is getting roughed up. I think they are taught that as a team and that is HUGE despite the fact we are getting really short on fighters. Give me one forward who could fight and I would be happy . I love the talent and skill of this team and wouldn't want to compromise it but man one good forward scrapper sure would be nice .

 

[mjhfb]

Neely talked about being too "one-dimensional". Miller certainly adds a dimension that the others do not, so when/if other D are healthy, depending on the opponent, that dimension may or may not be used. We'll see. Personally, I think that dimension is needed and appreciated.

 

[Kalus]

He's been so great the last w games because he is playing with anger which is leading to actually really effective body contact. I've complained about him at times in the past because he goes stretches without playing with any real snarl --so it's really appreciated when he plays like he can. Yes McQuaid got hurt often but he also played every game the same. That's something that we need to see develop in Miller's game -- he needs to understand how much our defense needs the role of a guy who focuses on punishing opposing forwards and not trying to be the next great puck rusher.

The Montreal game was frustrating as they seemed to be targeting the Bs' stars without much pushback.

Then Miller answers with a clean out of Drouin. One he could have peeled away from since Drouin was out of the play at that moment. Thing of beauty. Message sent.

Also a smart play in the context of today's suspension-happy NHL. It looked like he could have done some serious damage if he didn't ease up a little before contact.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

per NESN, out 5 weeks with an injury to the cartilage in his throat.....wonder who the hex gets next

Bruins’ Kevan Miller To Miss At Least Five Weeks With Painful-Sounding Throat Injury

 

[JRull86]

Poor guy can't catch a break this year.

 

[Seidenbergy]

If on Jan 1, the B's don't lead the league in "man games lost" due to injury.......I'd be absolutely shocked.