By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
The career accolades are seemingly endless for Ryan Miller.
Vezina Trophy winner in 2010. First-team NHL All-Star in 2010. Second winningest American-born goalie in NHL history. Olympic silver medalist in 2010. Olympic MVP the same year. Hobey Baker Award winner as college hockey’s best player in 2001. Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2023. Sabres sweater No. 30 retired in 2023.
But 23 years after first walking into Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial, he hasn’t forgotten his pro roots with the Rochester Americans.
“For me, it’s where it started,” Miller said on Friday night, when he was inducted into the Amerks Hall of Fame. “I feel lucky my career started here.”
Miller arrived for the 2002-2003 season with great expectations, what with the brilliance he displayed during his three seasons at Michigan State University, and he exceeded them during his time wearing the red, white and blue.
He compiled a 92-61-16 record with a 2.34 goals-against average and .922 save percentage. His 15 career shutouts are second-most in franchise history.
But Miller said he cherishes far more than just the on-ice memories. The city was his home away from home for three years, and his first time on his own away from his hometown of East Lansing, Mich.
“I signed my first contract to be a pro and my first real experience with the people in Western New York was Rochester and it was a great introduction,” Miller said. “I’m very thankful we had a stable and safe and nice environment for all of us to focus on hockey and grow as hockey players, but there also was plenty of opportunity in the organization to grow as a person.”
He made sure the 8,920 fans in attendance on Friday understood how much Rochester means to him.
“Hello again, Rochester,” Miller said as he opened his induction speech during pre-game, on-ice ceremonies. Then, as he wrapped up his speech, he said, “I love you, Rochester. Thank you very much.”
When he first arrived, he, like most highly touted prospects, believed his apprenticeship would be short. He realized the time spent here was integral in his development.
“Looking back, I’m really glad I had a lab to experiment in, but it was a high-pressure lab with high expectations and rich history in Rochester of winning.”
Miller was part of a group of Sabres prospects that grew together as teammates and as friends and then became the core of Sabres teams that reached the conference finals in 2006 and 2007.
During the NHL lockout of 2004-05, an Amerks team that included Miller, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy and Paul Gaustad finished with the best record in the AHL, setting the stage for their graduation to the NHL the following year. Miller was 41-17-4 that year with a league-leading eight shutouts.
“We all understood what we had put before us,” Miller said. “The Sabres were going to use the lockout period to get ahead of the league. They had an idea of what would be taking place with the rules (the crackdown on obstruction) and I think they did a great job of getting ahead of it.
“We hit the ground running with those new rules and the rest of the league was playing catch-up.”
Miller becomes the seventh goalie to enter the Amerks Hall, joining former Sabres teammate Marty Biron (Class of 2018).
