Drew Miller

I can't tell you how good it was to see former Spartan captain Drew Miller in the lineup for the Anaheim Ducks in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals Monday night. Drew was always really good to me when I covered MSU hockey, not to mention a great college hockey player. When he signed with Anaheim to fore go his senior year of college eligibility, it came as a disappointment to me, but not as a big surprise. I wasn't questioning Drew's character or whether or not he did the right thing by any means, I just realized that it hurt MSU's chances to win the NCAA Title the next season. That's the risk you take at an elite hockey school like Michigan State. He won't be the last player to sign a pro deal and leave early, and things did happen to work out both for MSU and Anaheim hockey this season if I might add.

If Drew's play was an indication of how his career in the NHL is going to unfold, lookout. In only his second career NHL game (his first career game was earlier in the 2007 Playoffs in Game 4 of the Ducks' first-round series against Minnesota), he was great. He didn't get a shift until halfway through the first period, but came out hitting, was the unsung hero on Anaheim's first goal, and didn't back down to anyone. Picture yourself in Drew's skates. It's your second NHL game and you're playing in the Stanley Cup Finals. He must have been incredibly nervous. But he was great. He played 9:26 in ice time on a line with Teemu Seleanne and Andy McDonald and skated more minutes than Shawn Thornton (5:46), Ric Jackman (7:43) and Brad May (6:20). Good for Drew. He won't admit it, but I'm sure there's a part of him that wishes he was still at MSU so he could have been part of that National Championship. Here's Drew's chance for a championship. Like I said before, things worked out well for both parties. Here's a story from yahoo.com about Drew's Game 1 play: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=Al02ULvYct30lE6g64LbtUJ7vLYF?slug=ap-stanleycup-notebook&prov=ap&type=lgns

Speaking of the Millers, I think CBC really likes them. Drew was interviewed after the first period, Ron MacLean gave him some props in Coach's Corner with Don Cherry, and then Ryan Miller was interviewed after the first two periods.

On a final note, if you look back a couple of posts, I said my support was going to go to Ottawa in the finals. Ottawa is a hockey city and I think they would appreciate it more. But if Drew Miller is playing in the Finals for Anaheim (and he should earn a roster spot the rest of the series based on how well he played in Game 1), then I have no choice but to shift my support to the Ducks. Go Drew! Go Ducks!