Miller Ready for New Stage of Career to Begin

Saying that last season was a tough one to swallow for Rob Miller would be an understatement.

After the New Hampshire Freeze, the team Miller was supposed to coach, folded, the 30-year-old came out of retirement to play defense for the Brooklyn Aces. Just when things looked to be going his way, Miller suffered a broken hand after a vicious slash by Hudson Valley Bears forward Tom Westfall.

Over the next two and a half months, Miller served as the Aces assistant coach, before coming back to the team for their playoff push. In spite of playing some of the best hockey of his pro career during that stretch and earned player of the week honors for the last week of the season. The team couldn’t hold off the surging Jersey Rockhoppers in spite of having their hard-nosed captain back however and lost an EPHL championship that many felt they owned since the first week of the season.

“Overall, I think it was a decent season,” he said. “On a personal level, it was rough for me. I thought it was good to play again though and help out the young guys, but we didn’t win. They [Jersey] got great goaltending and the chips didn’t fall our way. Our powerplay didn’t work out as well as we wanted it to. In game three, I had eight shots on goal myself and we couldn’t get it going. It was rough. Anytime, you lose, it’s rough, regardless of what year you’re in or if you’re coming out of retirement. I’m playing in a Men’s League tonight and I want to win. That’s just how I am.”

These developments alone would be enough drama for an entire career in pro hockey, but they haven’t deterred Miller.

Instead, they have played a part in him deciding that coaching is what he wants to focus on from now on.

“I’m definitely not playing again,” Miller said. “That’s pretty much 99 percent certain. I got asked to go play in Holland with a bunch of my buddies and I’ve decided it’s time for me to get back into coaching.”

Make no mistake about it however, in spite of playing in just 22 games this season with Brooklyn, Miller made an impact. Scoring 23 points and providing the leadership the young team needed, Miller was everything a captain could be.

“I think I played pretty well down the stretch,” he said.

Stoic and reserved off the ice, Miller never vented his frustration during the season and was seemingly ambivalent, choosing to let his actions on the bench and on the ice do the talking.

His teammates, however, had no problems saying how important he was.

“He was the biggest piece of the puzzle,” said teammate B.J. Kuper. “It didn’t matter if it was on the ice or on the bench.”

Reading to get back into the coaching realm, Miller doesn’t know what the future holds for him, but is ready to make coaching his number one concern.

“It’s definitely the coaching route from here on for me,” he said.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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