Whether Vancouver Canucks starter Ryan Milsler stays or goes at the end of the season, every day he spends with the team carries a high value for the club’s rebuild.
Ryan Miller will turn 37 in June, shortly after the conclusion of his third season with the Vancouver Canucks. The club never gave him another shot at the Stanley Cup, like the St. Louis Blues did in 2014, yet Miller goes all-in all day every day.
An overhauled roster with aging veterans and young newcomers was never enough to win many games, especially not in the past two seasons. So, seeing half-efforts from a goalie who probably won’t be around much longer wouldn’t be surprising.
But Miller is not like that. Which is why the Canucks should do everything in their power to keep him around for another year.
Mentoring the Youngsters
Iain MacIntyre (Vancouver Sun) — Ryan Miller is most likely leaving the Canucks
"Instead of wins, what the Canucks are getting out of these final starts from Miller is professionalism — lessons for the many young players in the room about preparation and dedication and focus.“I don’t think it’s a conscious thing,” he said of setting an example. “I think it’s more I want to conduct myself the same way, and not be a fair-weather-type player. You want to be a winter soldier. You want to play when things are good, and you want to play when things aren’t as good. That’s hockey."
There are many factors that determine the future of an NHL prospect. Talent and skill are certainly part of it, but more important than anything else is work ethic. Being a professional hockey player has become a 24/7 job; you don’t just go out and play for a bit and go back home, you have to live hockey.
This season, Canucks prospect Jake Virtanen got to feel the pain that comes along with not working hard enough. The 2014 first-round pick showed up to training camp slightly overweight — overweight obviously has a different definition in pro sports — and has been called out for not taking his job seriously enough.
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That does not mean Virtanen doesn’t work hard, though. It just means it wasn’t quite enough.
The road to the NHL is a rocky one, which makes the presence of veterans like Ryan Miller absolutely essential.
Miller is not the kind of player who goes to the rink, plays some hockey and heads home. Instead, he shows everyone what hard work really means, and it shows on his resume with 699 games played.
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Players like Virtanen, Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi see Miller as a great example, which is exactly what he is.
For that reason, however realistic this may be, the Canucks should do everything they can to keep Miller in Vancouver for at least another year. Because the veteran plays a vital role in the club’s ‘transition period’.