RD Mitchell Miller - Tri-City Storm, USHL (2020, 111th, ARI, rights renounced)

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Brendan Leipsic is the face of misogynistic hockey players.

Mitchell Miller is going to be the face of why jocks shouldn't be bullies in the first place.

Future draft picks should and hopefully learn from these idiots' mistakes. But what both have in common is they thought they were invisible hotshots.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

In an argument where one kid went to Juvy for bullying a mentally challenged person of colour and has never formally apologized to the victim and the victim, you chose to take the side of the bully.

Bold stance.

He is pointing out the family denies that. I believe the court representative that met with him the most did in fact call him remorseful on record at the time. For those saying he never formally apologized, a court mandated letter is a formal apology. For all we know with him moving away and whatever else the court might have seen fit, do some of you even know if these two kids would be allowed in the same room? Frankly I wouldn't do it, I would put restraints on their ability to see each other moving forward and honestly I would be stunned if that wasn't involved in the punishments handed down and the settlement agreement.

I don't really know what happened on the back-end here. We know what happened was awful, but they didn't put the kid in jail for the rest of his life. How many guys do you think we can link to the CHL bullying case with time frames of the defendants just by running the rosters that are still active players?

Phoenix can live with the heat of this pick. But I really don't know the extenuating circumstances around this case, I have read accounts that are different and seem spun by both families. But he was mandated to write a letter to the family, they can look at that as disingenuous but had it not been accomplished, he would have been held legally for not fulfilling his obligation to the court system. That isn't mentioned in this story anywhere I can find that he hasn't fulfilled his obligation of community service, court fees and a formal written apology. Now the kind of apology some are demanding seems unlikely to ever happen and that is certainly a reason to dislike him along with his actions. But I really don't understand the he apologized to the teams and not the kid, the state of Ohio seems to recognize that he did formally apologize otherwise he would be in breach of some more serious legal scenarios for violating the terms of his juvenile sentencing. Which is probably another part of this story, those should be sealed given the age of everyone involved so outside of the courts having no remaining issues it is hard to say what side did what given the both spin a different story on this. But the State's office has to have a full accounting on this.

 

[rt]

He is pointing out the family denies that. I believe the court representative that met with him the most did in fact call him remorseful on record at the time. For those saying he never formally apologized, a court mandated letter is a formal apology. For all we know with him moving away and whatever else the court might have seen fit, do some of you even know if these two kids would be allowed in the same room? Frankly I wouldn't do it, I would put restraints on their ability to see each other moving forward and honestly I would be stunned if that wasn't involved in the punishments handed down and the settlement agreement.

I don't really know what happened on the back-end here. We know what happened was awful, but they didn't put the kid in jail for the rest of his life. How many guys do you think we can link to the CHL bullying case with time frames of the defendants just by running the rosters that are still active players?

Phoenix can live with the heat of this pick. But I really don't know the extenuating circumstances around this case, I have read accounts that are different and seem spun by both families. But he was mandated to write a letter to the family, they can look at that as disingenuous but had it not been accomplished, he would have been held legally for not fulfilling his obligation to the court system. That isn't mentioned in this story anywhere I can find that he hasn't fulfilled his obligation of community service, court fees and a formal written apology. Now the kind of apology some are demanding seems unlikely to ever happen and that is certainly a reason to dislike him along with his actions. But I really don't understand the he apologized to the teams and not the kid, the state of Ohio seems to recognize that he did formally apologize otherwise he would be in breach of some more serious legal scenarios for violating the terms of his juvenile sentencing. Which is probably another part of this story, those should be sealed given the age of everyone involved so outside of the courts having no remaining issues it is hard to say what side did what given the both spin a different story on this. But the State's office has to have a full accounting on this.

Sensible post. Thank you.

 

[JackFr]

This guy had four years to actually properly really make things right. To own up and apologize to the family for tormenting that kid for what sounds like seven years or so before the courts finally had to step in. To take actual practical steps towards making things right.

If he did that, then we could have had the nuanced and complex conversation about forgiveness and second chances.

From everything that we've heard from the family, the judge, and NHL teams who interviewed him, that didn't happen. The 14-year argument goes out the window at that point.

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

All i know is that i wouldn't want to be his teammate

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Even wilder this kid found a taker in AZ, given they were literally punished for cheating to get more reconnaissance on draft picks before the draft.

What a trash org right now.

 

[Breakers]

I hope ND gets out in front of this.

kid sounds like a clown.

 

[Brobust]

Forget the Coyotes decision to draft him.

It's the fact that his hockey path seemingly saw no hurdles and that his coaches and family defend him despite there being rumours that he hasn't changed at all.

Just a despicable culture from the bottom up.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I hope ND gets out in front of this.

kid sounds like a clown.

They signed him to scholarship agreements with this well known at the time... You have been able to google this since 2016. This isn't something that should have caught anybody by surprise, see the statements they released on it. North Dakota knew about this and everything involved in it, probably on a level none of the people posting on the forum really know.

 

[MardyBum]

I hope ND gets out in front of this.

kid sounds like a clown.

In what way? They were well aware of this beforehand.

 

[Mach85]

Either the Miller camp is lying or they aren’t. If their narrative is the truth, then of course a person shouldn’t be condemned for the rest of their lives for what they did as a 14 year old. That should go without saying.

If the Miller camp is just saying what they have to say and they don’t mean any of it, than we’re talking about a deeply disturbing group of people. Nightmare stuff.

Who knows? The Tri-City Storm, The University of North Dakota, and The Arizona Coyotes all seem to believe that that Miller camp is being genuine. I have to suspect they have more access to contextual details of the situation than we do.

Having said that, they also have something to gain. So may be biased. It’s not as though they have nothing to lose, however. Is is the willingness of these three organizations to take a chance on Miller, indicative of the veracity of his claims to have grown and changed and become an agent of progress?

I guess we’ll most likely never know.

It could very well be that the Coyotes are willing to overlook things and take this risk because they had draft picks taken away. Getting a draft "slider" would go a long way to mitigating those losses. I'd be more inclined to attribute this to that than to knowing contextual details no one else knows (especially given their lack of consideration in making this decision, as they didn't even reach out to the family but rather issued a PR release only after they've gotten questioned for the pick).

 

[rt]

It could very well be that the Coyotes are willing to overlook things and take this risk because they had draft picks taken away. Getting a draft "slider" would go a long way to mitigating those losses. I'd be more inclined to attribute this to that than to knowing contextual details no one else knows (especially given their lack of consideration in making this decision, as they didn't even reach out to the family but rather issued a PR release only after they've gotten questioned for the pick).

It’s as likely as anything else. And not a terrible strategy. This will be forgotten by the time he’s ready for a contract. It’s NoDak’s problem for now. I wouldn’t support it. But it’s not unlikely.

 

[Incognito]

The sad, honest truth in sports is that a club will always be interested in a guy that can play or coach, regardless of his character

His conviction, coupled with his violent, hateful behaviour and complete lack of remorse should hopefully make him inadmissible to Canada. He would then have to sit out for ~15% of every season, plus he would be untradeable to ~22% of the teams in the league. That would hurt his value substantially.

 

[Dog]

Time to cause a ruckus again must be nothing going on.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Time to cause a ruckus again must be nothing going on.

Yeah how dare people not like someone abusing a handicapped kid for a decade. The absolute scenes.

 

[LeafChief]

Yeah how dare people not like someone abusing a handicapped kid for a decade. The absolute scenes.

The audacity!

 

[Yog S'loth]

I continue to find the moral grandstanding here pretty confusing

We're just a bunch of schlubs on the Internet

Maybe this kid is an amoral reprobate that's beyond salvation... in which case, it'll be impossible to hide when he gets on a bigger stage with a more intense spotlight, and he'll wash out

Maybe he's turned a corner and he'll be an upstanding citizen from here forward

I don't know and neither does anybody else here

 

[The Beyonder]

This guy is like a bully out of a Stephen King novel. Talk about a POS. The fact that he sent apology letters to each NHL team but not a single personal apology to the victim and his family speaks volumes about his character today. I'd be ashamed if I was Arizona's GM and head scout.

 

[Guttersniped]

His conviction, coupled with his violent, hateful behaviour and complete lack of remorse should hopefully make him inadmissible to Canada. He would then have to sit out for ~15% of every season, plus he would be untradeable to ~22% of the teams in the league. That would hurt his value substantially.

He was found guilty of some misdemeanors as a 14 year old, he’s going to be able to enter Canada as an adult.

Nothing particularly bad has happened to Miller other than than the public criticism. He got lectured by the judge, did some community service and maybe or maybe not a sent a not very heartfelt apology letter to the victim.

Miller then took part in a USA juniors program and including tournaments (Hlinka-Gretzky, WJAC). He was drafted by an NHL team and is going to North Dakota. Despite his defenders claims, I don’t want his adult life ruined but I do think it’s pathetic that he’s not denied any of these amazing opportunities as a teenager simply because he’s talented at hockey.

I don’t believe this behavior is something you grow out of in a few years, particularly if it’s enabled by continued success in sports. I’m skeptical that he’s had some radical heartfelt change and think it’s more likely he simply found coaches and scouts who are less picky about this sort of thing.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

I continue to find the moral grandstanding here pretty confusing

We're just a bunch of schlubs on the Internet

Maybe this kid is an amoral reprobate that's beyond salvation... in which case, it'll be impossible to hide when he gets on a bigger stage with a more intense spotlight, and he'll wash out

Maybe he's turned a corner and he'll be an upstanding citizen from here forward

I don't know and neither does anybody else here

yeah it’s especially tough having never met him. I wish he would’ve done a podcast interview about it or something like that. I don’t like that he’s trying to hide it if he actually wants to be a leader in the anti-bullying/racism community. He could’ve won over a lot of people if he actually was more honest and apologetic about it

 

[Albatros]

yeah it’s especially tough having never met him. I wish he would’ve done a podcast interview about it or something like that. I don’t like that he’s trying to hide it if he actually wants to be a leader in the anti-bullying/racism community. He could’ve won over a lot of people if he actually was more honest and apologetic about it

He's already had four years to do something, and the only thing he has done beyond what was ordered by the court was to send a letter to each NHL team apologizing for his controversy. It's already sufficiently clear that anything else he may suddenly do now is of completely self-serving nature to save his NHL career. Therefore the expectations have to be very high and take significant career-long commitment from him both socially and financially.

 

[SCampo98]

To reiterate what I said here weeks ago, this guy's pure scum. I hope he winds up in Siberia somewhere where we never have to hear his filthy name again. A pure disgrace to hockey and decent human beings, this guy is human garbage.

 

[Halla]

He was found guilty of some misdemeanors as a 14 year old, he’s going to be able to enter Canada as an adult.

Nothing particularly bad has happened to Miller other than than the public criticism. He got lectured by the judge, did some community service and maybe or maybe not a sent a not very heartfelt apology letter to the victim.

Miller then took part in a USA juniors program and including tournaments (Hlinka-Gretzky, WJAC). He was drafted by an NHL team and is going to North Dakota. Despite his defenders claims, I don’t want his adult life ruined but I do think it’s pathetic that he’s not denied any of these amazing opportunities as a teenager simply because he’s talented at hockey.

I don’t believe this behavior is something you grow out of in a few years, particularly if it’s enabled by continued success in sports. I’m skeptical that he’s had some radical heartfelt change and think it’s more likely he simply found coaches and scouts who are less picky about this sort of thing.

Yeah lets see how they handle it. wouldnt be shocked to see him not on the team

 

[Leaf Fans]

If the person he is now is different than the person he was before. Give him a chance at atonement, make amends and give him his life back.

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Came to read about Mitchel Miller and his hockey skills but left disappointed.

There is no larger group of perfect human beings than here @ HF.