Impressive
Forward Going to Find Success With OSU
Photo Credit: ajhl.ca |
Kevin
Miller – Forward, Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL)
Stony
Plain, AB
5'11
/ 182 lbs
DOB:
July 27, 1994
Shoots:
Left
After
the termination of Mark Osiecki following the 2012-2013 season, Steve
Rohlik was left with the arduous task of bringing in recruits after
several of Osiecki's top recruits decommitted.
Don't
forget that selling an oversized college hockey arena and having to
travel down the street for practice isn't an easy thing to do either.
Due
to the departure of OSU's top two offensive players from last season
(Ryan Dzingel and Max McCormick), a few more players were brought
into the mix for the upcoming season as well.
Nevertheless,
here we are.
Not
only has the Buckeye hockey program survived, but it has thrived in
arguably the toughest conference in the country.
Thus,
we have reached the final men's player of this summer's “Buckeye
Newcomer Spotlight” series.
Miller was fourth on Fort McMurray with 21 goals last season
Photo Credit: meridianbooster.com
|
Rounding
things out is the pride of Stony Plain, Alberta, Kevin Miller.
He,
along with freshman classmate Nick Jones, will be the fifth and sixth
Buckeyes on the roster to represent Alberta as well as the AJHL next
season.
The
other four representatives are sophomores Josh Healey and Matt
Tomkins, junior Sam Jardine, and recently named captain, senior
Tanner Fritz.
Miller had a tremendous season last year for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Miller had a tremendous season last year for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
The
star forward racked up 21 goals along with 33 assists in 56 games
this past season. His 54 points placed him third on the team.
Fort
McMurray came within one win of reaching the Gas Cup Drive Final
series and Miller had a lot to do with it. Kevin led the team in
scoring with 10 goals and seven assists in 17 playoff games.
His
coach with the Oil Barons, Gord Thibodeau, had fantastic remarks
about his Buckeye-bound forward.
“He's
a very skilled hockey player. Offensively he does a lot of things
with his vision skill that guys just can't do at this level. Ohio
State sees him as a top-six contributor at some point in their
program. He's been an all-around player for us this year but the
thing that stands out is his ability to create offense. I think he's
seventh in the league in scoring (as of Dec. 3) which is quite an
accomplishment for a 19-year-old.” (Spruce Grove Examiner)
One
thing that's important to note is that Miller chose Ohio State
despite offers from other schools.
Rohlik
and co. stepped up to the plate to give him an offer too good to
refuse.
Miller
stated, “Ohio State was the most prestigious of the three. I've
heard great things about their school, it's world-class and their
hockey program is excellent from what I've heard and it already has
some players from Alberta on it.” (Spruce Grove Examiner)
The
young forward may need some time to find his role on this team, or he
may emerge as Nick Schilkey did in his freshman year. Only time will
tell.
Steve
Rohlik and his staff did an impressive job given some of the
circumstances in the past year and a half.
New
recruits and a new season await the promising OSU hockey program.
Without
a doubt, it's going to be a fun team to watch.
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