Toggle sidebar

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

  • Xenforo Cloud has upgraded us to version 2.3.6. Please report any issues you experience.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Ola said:
According to Bobby Mac some had him in their top 10.

I think some scouting services had him wrong, but I think a big reason for that was due to him having all these good Ds infront of him. Hughes, Samuelsson and so forth. Wilde.

A defensemen is not going to play super confident small margin defense on a 3rd pairing, it’s not happening. The pts won’t pile up.

I had him 10th in April because I really liked how well the kid played overall. Good defense, good offense, very good physically. A lot of potential in him. Leave him a few years in college. Has No 1 potential.
Click to expand...


Ola, I'm giving you props on this one. You were on this kid for a while.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mats Zuccarelli, belford222, Irishguy42 and 1 other person
Pavel Buchnevich said:
I'm all for upside. I had Boqvist 3rd, most had him outside the top 5. I had Wilde 7th, most had him 15-25, and he fell out of the first round.

I think there's often an issue with figuring out who just isn't very good and who has upside that they haven't yet come close to reaching. Its no exact science, so its really just a guessing game. In this case, I've not really been very convinced.

I actually made the first post in his thread on the prospect board during this season. He's had a thread since Dec. 2014, but there was almost a year gap between my post and the previous one in the thread. On July 10th, I said.



Going into the season, I think my opinion was almost exactly what I think the Rangers current opinion is. But I saw a lot of Miller's play this year, and I didn't see much of any improvement. I thought he might've even started to regress from what I saw in his U17 season. The offense is pretty similar to last season. He gets his points in transition, carrying the puck. He has a pretty good shot. Not much of an offensive guy, besides that. Defensively, the defense really has not improved. Its almost exactly the same as what I saw last year. There are a lot of positioning errors, turns the puck over in the wrong areas, he's physical but doesn't really use it to his advantage yet.

I posted a video in the Draft thread I think on Wednesday that someone made about a lot of little subtle fundamental problems in Bouchard's game that add up to what that person thought was a low IQ hockey player. I see a lot of the same things in Miller's game. Nothing that terrible, but it adds up throughout a game.

So I'm really not very convinced. I don't particularly see anything overly creative or skillful offensively. Offensively, best case scenario is probably Skjei. Thats not bad, but I currently don't see him as anything close to Seth Jones offensively. And then defensively, I've watched him play for two years, and I've yet to see any improvement. He's a below-average defensive player right now, in my opinion. I think what the video about Bouchard shows is that sometimes there's a good reason that a player struggles with subtle fundamental areas of defense. Some of these things may not be corrected.

I would've not suggested to pick this kid prior to the draft, so I shouldn't lie and say I thought it was an excellent pick. I think this pick reminds me a lot of a high character Sean Day or maybe even a John Moore type of player. Something of that sort. I didn't watch that much of Day in his draft season, but I see a lot of the same things in pre-draft Miller in what I see of post draft Day. I've always thought Day's talent was overrated. And I think part of why he's not really maximized his ability up to this point is work ethic and character.

The good thing about this pick is that Miller is that the reports have him with a very good work ethic and character, not something you could say about day. And as I mentioned earlier, he received awful coaching this year. I don't think that helps. It is possible he is capable of improving, and the issue was completely the coaching, and not at all about Miller. Appert is that bad of a coach, and I think he's hurt the development of many of the kids he coached this year.
Click to expand...
As an avid RPI fan for almost the last decade...preach, brother.

Love the man's passion for the game (and his hair), but his head coaching ability is really not great.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pavel Buchnevich
I agree that it seems the Rangers in the past have always tried to "get cute" and not listen to any of the "rankings". That was in the past with the old regime. I believe Gorton and c9mpany are different, they have MUCH MORE INFO than any of "our" so called experts. So if the chose this kid over Wahlstrom or the likes, I am sure they have their reasons. In a draft with so much talent, right now there IS NO bad pick, just a matter of who pans out. I like who we've picked, like the size especially, along with the talent.
 
The other thing that I think is worth noting is that the Rangers US scouting operation has an excellent track record with this kind of player. Specifically, big guys with tons of physical ability who are excellent skaters and have room for development.

The Skjei and Kreider draft picks have worked out very well and I would assume the same scouts were involved in the McDonagh trade too.

It seems like this pick is right in our sweet spot and the fact that our US scouts track record with players who fit this profile is so good makes me like the pick even more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Buchnevich89, belford222 and Brooklyn Rangers Fan
I wont pretend that I've seen his live games, but from the video I have seen, his skating ability and the way he uses his reach and timing to break up plays looks absolutely top notch. I was not stoked about trading 48 to move only 4 spots, but if this kid pans out, it was absolutely worth it.
 
Inferno said:
Miller is my favorite pick in the first round of ours...was a fantastic get, and learning at least 2 teams in front of us at 26 had him on their radar makes trading up for him totally fine. Didn't like trading up for him at first but that info made it cool. A fantastic pick.
Click to expand...
I had the same reaction regarding the trade. Thought it was a expensive when it happened, especially when you then see the Blues move up the same distance (albeit three picks later in the round) for only a third. But the moment @bobbop appeared to say Minny would've taken him, I was good with it.

LOVE what I'm reading about him in the article that was shared. Based on his stats, I'm amazed he wasn't ranked ahead of Bouchard and Dobson.
 
Clark made a comment that he doesn't see Miller as a player who will be on a PP unit in the NHL. That's kind of odd isn't it? Does he see him as only a defensive dman?

His mobility is outstanding, passing is good, he is on the PP sometimes but I wouldn't say he is a PP guy for the NHL but he is going to be a top-four defenseman."
Click to expand...
 
The Crypto Guy said:
Clark made a comment that he doesn't see Miller as a player who will be on a PP unit in the NHL. That's kind of odd isn't it? Does he see him as only a defensive dman?
Click to expand...
Miller said his game is a defensive dman.

I feel like he’s similar to Skjei at the time of his draft.
 
Dactyl said:
Miller said his game is a defensive dman.

I feel like he’s similar to Skjei at the time of his draft.
Click to expand...

Hmm..I just find that odd. He played forward growing up so you have to assume he has some decent offensive skills. And he only just started playing defense 2 years ago so you would expect him to still be learning the defensive game so i'm surprised he sees himself has a defensive expert already.

Wasn't Skjei looked at as a good 2 way defenseman in his draft year?
 
The Crypto Guy said:
Hmm..I just find that odd. He played forward growing up so you have to assume he has some decent offensive skills. And he only just started playing defense 2 years ago so you would expect him to still be learning the defensive game so i'm surprised he sees himself has a defensive expert already.

Wasn't Skjei looked at as a good 2 way defenseman in his draft year?
Click to expand...
I remember Skjei being fast and mobile, but having limited offensive upside. I feel like I remember McDonagh was similar as well, the offense developed later.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mrhockey193195
I don't know about Minny wanting him. But I was told that Toronto was prepared to take him if available; and I assume his unavailability is part of the reason they traded out of their pick. Don't get me wrong, we paid a hefty price to move up, but it was a good play by Ottawa leveraging us. That said, we had 7 picks in the top 100, 5 in the top 50 - we went and got our guy. No qualms with that.

The main concern coming into this draft by the skeptics was that the Rangers would leave talent on the table in lieu of taking intangibles and grit, and that is not what happened in this 1st round at all. We took huge upside guys with real quality raw talent. I would have preferred Wahlstrom and Bokk, but I am content with the strategy nonetheless and trust our scouting department.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jas, Brooklyn Rangers Fan and Bozle
Vinny DeAngelo said:
lol i did see someone say big buff
Click to expand...

Which could also be more legitimate, considering Buff is a huge converted forward.

Let's see how Miller's offense develops in college before we make that comparison. I do think worst case scenario he could be a nice bottom 6 NHL forward if the whole D thing doesnt pan out.
 
i wish he was righty like buff and jones...what are we gonna do with 900 LHD? lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Top Bottom