Kevin Miller to Receive Distinguished Alumni Award
2/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
Feb. 28, 2006
East Lansing, Mich. - Kevin Miller, a member of the Michigan State 1986 NCAA Champion Hockey Team, a six-time member of US National Teams, and a 14-year NHL veteran, has been selected to receive the Spartan Hockey 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Miller will be honored at the Hockey Awards Banquet on Monday, March 7 at the Holiday Inn South in Lansing.
A native of Lansing, Mich., Miller was a three-year letterwinner and two-time assistant captain who helped MSU to a 105-25-4 record during his three full years in Green and White, including a pair of CCHA regular-season titles (1985, 1986), two CCHA Tournament crowns (1985, 1987), and three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, where the Spartans would capture the 1986 National Championship and finish as runners-up in 1987.
In 1987-88, Miller was a member of the US National Team, and represented the United States in the Winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Alberta, where the US finished seventh. Miller returned to East Lansing at the conclusion of the Games and skated in nine contests for the Spartans, helping the squad to a third-place finish in the CCHA Tournament and advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals that season.
"Kevin Miller was a feisty, aggressive player who brought such emotion to his game," remembers Ron Mason, longtime MSU hockey coach and the current Spartan Director of Athletics. "He was physical for his size, and he had such speed and quickness. What probably impressed me most was his demeanor when he came back to play with our team after he represented the United States in the Olympics - he gave us great leadership and a renewed enthusiasm in a pretty critical time of the year."
In his three-plus years in a Spartan uniform, Miller skated in 143 career games, compiling 61 goals and 140 assists for 201 points. Miller was named the MSU Hockey Freshman of the Year during his rookie campaign (1984-85), compiling 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points and shared the team lead in penalties (42). As a sophomore, he led the team in assists (52, which still stands as 10th all-time for a single season), and added 19 goals for 71 points. He helped the Spartans to Great Lakes Invitational Championships in both of those seasons, and recorded five assists in a 6-5 MSU victory over Boston College in the NCAA regionals in 1986 en route to one of the great moments in Spartan hockey history, a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Harvard in the 1986 NCAA Championship game.
Miller's best collegiate statistical season came in 1986-87, when he helped lead the Spartans back to the National Championship game and capture the CCHA Tournament title. The winger earned CCHA Honorable Mention accolades, led the team in assists (56, good for third all-time), and was third on the team in goals (25).
Upon the completion of his collegiate career, Miller - a tenth-round selection (202nd pick overall) of the New York Rangers in the 1984 entry draft, signed his first professional contract and split his two seasons between the parent club in New York and with its IHL affiliate in Denver. He spent four seasons (1988-91) in the Rangers organization, then joined the hometown Red Wings for two seasons (1990-92), where he recorded his first 20-goal season in the NHL in 1991-92. He began the 1992-93 campaign in Washington, but after 10 games Miller was traded to St. Louis, where he played parts of the next three seasons, recording back-to-back 20-goal seasons in 1993 and 1994. His career then brought him to San Jose (1995-96), where he had his fourth 20-goal NHL campaign, then on to Pittsburgh, Chicago, New York (Islanders), and Ottawa. His season in the Senators' organization had him playing close to home for portions of the season spent in the Sens then-AHL affiliate Grand Rapids, where he had 54 points in 63 games.
Miller's career then took an international route, as he played for Davos in the Swiss Elite League from 2000-03, appearing in 123 games (67g, 69a) and helping Davos to the League championship in 2002. He returned stateside in 2003-04, closing out his NHL career with a final season in the Red Wings organization, much of which was spent in the AHL in Grand Rapids (which had switched affiliations). Miller skated in five professional games in 2004-05, playing for the nearby Flint Generals of the United Hockey League.
All told, Miller appeared in 620 NHL games, scoring 150 goals and adding 185 assists and 429 penalty minutes. He skated in more than 1,000 games during his 15-year professional career, potting 335 goals and 414 assists.
Miller currently resides in Williamston with his wife, Cheryl, and their four daughters: nine-year old Hannah, seven-year-old Neysa, and five-year-old twins Braedyn and Giselle. He is the head of the Private Placement Division of Institutional Bond Sales at Cambridge Group Investments, is a co-owner of Live Wire Games, and is the president of the Board of Directors for Sherman Biotech. He was one of the driving foces behind last year's "Hockey for Hope" charity fundraiser, which benefited both the Sparrow Foundation Ron Mason Fund and Ingham Regional Medical Center cancer and cardiology programs. "Hockey for Hope", staged at MSU's Munn Ice Arena, was held during the NHL lockout, and featured both prominent Michigan State alumni as well as several "big-name" NHL players which included Nicklas Lidstrom, Derian Hatcher, and Manny Legace.
Kevin Miller At a Glance:
• Three-Year MSU letterman
• Two-time MSU Assistant Captain
• 1987 Honorable Mention All-CCHA
• Two-Time Great Lakes Invitational Champion (1984, 1985)
• Two-time CCHA Regular-Season Champion (1985, 1986)
• Two-time CCHA Tournament Champion (1985, 1987)
• Four-time NCAA Tournament Participant (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988)
• 1987 NCAA Tournament Finalist
• 1986 NCAA Champion
• Career Statistics: 143 Games Played; 61 goals, 140 assists
• Owns two of MSU's top-ten single-season assist performances: 52 (10th) in 1986; 56 (third) in 1987
• Tenth-round selection (202nd overall) in 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers
• 14-year professional hockey career
• 620 NHL games, 150 goals, 185 assists, 429 penalty minutes
• 2002 Swiss Elite League Champion (Davos)
• 1,014 professional hockey games played; 335 goals, 414 assists
• Currently head of the Private Placement Division of Institutional Bond Sales at Cambridge Group Investments; co-owner of Live Wire Games; president of the Board of Directors for Sherman Biotech.
• Resides in Williamston with wife, Cheryl, and four daughters: Hannah (9), Neysa (7), and twins Braedyn and Giselle (5).