Spotlight: David Miller settled in and ready for the long haul
David Miller came into 2015-16 looking forward to soaking up the perks of calling the Aud home for a full OHL regular season.
The 5’9, 185 pound centre from Burlington, Ontario began the season with a team other than the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the first time in his major junior career. Miller, who turned 19 on the season opener, September 25th, was acquired by the Rangers at last year’s trade deadline, and immediately felt like he was where he belonged.
“Coming here after the trade last year, I felt really welcomed by all the players and coaches. They were really good to me, especially our former captain Liam Maaskant. The fans were really great, too. I remember my first home game here when they announced my name, the fans were just cheering so loud. I thought that was so cool.”
As this year’s trade deadline has come and gone, it marks a calendar year since Miller was acquired by the Blueshirts, and the veteran says it’s been great over the past year being able to have his biggest supporters – his family – watching him in person, night in and night out.
“My family comes to every home game now, which is pretty cool,” beams Miller. “Burlington to Kitchener is less than an hour away, so tons of family all come out to my games now. It’s really nice. It’s definitely a lot better being closer to home, as opposed to when I was way more north.”
Miller was sidelined for 16 games from mid-October to mid-November after sustaining an injury while taking on the Owen Sound Attack on October 16th at the Aud. The time away from in-game action was frustrating at times, but once back in the lineup he gave his family plenty to cheer for, helping solidify a strong first half for the Rangers and maintaining their status among the CHL’s top-10 ranked teams.
“We’re an older team, not only in age, but in experience,” he said earlier this season. “We’re more experienced because of all the ice time and growth we went through last year. With the guys we’ve added since then, they’re all guys who have tons of experience of their own, and only help us be a more well-rounded team.
“Since the start of the season we’ve had our up’s and down’s, but it’s been more good than bad. We work hard, and we work for each other, so we’re always motivated to do the best we possibly can out there.”
