Top 100 Goalies: No. 53 — Ryan Miller
In a world marked by constant chicken-and-pasta dinners and banal nicknames, Ryan Miller has truly been a renaissance man in hockey. He has used his love of photography to shoot fellow NHL stars for Vanity Fair. He turned his love of clothing into a retail store called The Refinery in East Lansing, Mich. He also created the Steadfast Foundation to benefit those afflicted by cancer, inspired by a cousin who fell to the disease.
Through all of this, Miller has also been a Vezina Trophy winner and Olympic silver medallist for Team USA, not to mention one of the most dominant goalies in NCAA history.
Miller burst onto the scene at Michigan State, where he amassed an NCAA-record 26 shutouts in just 106 games over three seasons. He also set a U.S. college hockey mark with a .950 save percentage in 2000-01, the same year he became just the second goaltender ever (along with Robb Stauber) to win the Hobey Baker Award.
Upon his arrival in Buffalo, Miller had a similar impact. Lanky and passionate, he was a vocal member of the Sabres while driving the franchise to the Eastern Conference final in 2006, his first year as a starter. He took home the Vezina Trophy in 2010 while Buffalo tried to push for playoff glory, though team success just didn’t come.
A fervent advocate for player safety, Miller was a member of the NHL’s competition committee and the fate of his health – and the Sabres’ chances of winning – took a hit when he was run over by Boston power forward Milan Lucic in November 2011.
Miller’s play tailed off after the collision, but he has still shown flashes of his brilliant self as a veteran, playing important minutes for the Anaheim Ducks in 2017-18 behind starter John Gibson. Miller is still quick, and he’s still agile – and he’s still a pretty sharp dresser.
Born: July 17, 1980, East Lansing, Mich.
NHL Career: 2002-present
Teams: Buf, StL, Van, Ana
Stats: 370-268-80, 2.60 GAA, .915 SP, 43 SO
All-Star: 1 (First-1)
Trophies: 1 (Vezina-1)
DID YOU KNOW?
Miller is married to actress Noureen DeWulf, who has appeared in a variety of movies and TV shows. One such role came on the show Happy Endings, which starred Elisha Cuthbert – wife of Dion Phaneuf.
