Ryan Miller inducted into the Amerks' Hall of Fame
- Brayden Peters
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By: Brayden Peters / Assistant Sports Director
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Rochester Americans fanbase filled Blue Cross Arena Friday night to welcome the return of former Amerks and Sabres goalie Ryan Miller. The 2010 Vezina Trophy winner, 2004 Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award winner and two-time AHL All-Star (2003, 2004) was inducted into the Amerks' Hall of Fame. Last time Miller set foot in Rochester was during the 2005-2006 season.
"For me it's where it started," Miller said. "I signed to be a pro, coming to Western New York. Obviously you know where you're going but don't know a whole lot about it. My first real experience with the people is Rochester, and it was a great introduction. It ended up being a place where I felt really comfortable and I look back on my time and I'm really thankful that we had a stable, safe and nice enviornment for all of us to focus on hockey and grow as a hockey player. There's plenty of opportunity with this organization to grow as a player too, and that was pretty cool."
Before Miller made his way to the professional level, he spent his collegiate career at Michigan State from 1999-2002. His best season was the 2001-2002 season, where in 40 games played, he posted a .936 save percentage and a 1.77 goals against average. Miller was awarded with the Hobey Baker Award for his efforts. He also set the NCAA record for shutouts in a career with 26.
With his collegiate success, it was enough to get Miller drafted in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. Moving to the professional level from the collegiate level was an adjustment for him.
"The college game is a little different," Miller said. "You got to get used to it...a lot of those lessons are not going to be easy...I remember looking back, coming up on moments where my consistency wasn't good...in hindsight, it's all part of it. You're not just going to be excellent in something the first time you do it...the idea was to master the skills we needed as a group and come out focused and ready."
In his four seasons with the Amerks from 2002-2006 before sticking with the Sabres, Miller posted a .922 save percentage, 2.34 goals-against average and a 92-61-16 record. His goals-against average is 10th all-time in franchise history and his 92 wins is fourth most. He also finished with 15 career shutouts, which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Miller also helped Rochester reach the postseason in his first three seasons with the team. He finished his AHL career with a .916 save percentage, a 2.37 goals-against average, a 13-13 record and two shutouts in the postseason. Getting towards the postseason was something Miller looked back fondly upon in his time with the Amerks.
"Just ramping up to the playoffs and being with the boys in the spring time," Miller said. "There's something about when the season starts to change in Western New York and you're still playing hockey and everyone's excited. There's not a whole lot that's better than that...The excitement in places like this come spring time, the energy was something we really really thrived on and it was a lot of fun."
He was also integral in the 2004-2005 season, as the Amerks boasted an AHL-best 51-19-4-6 record to claim the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. Miller was named Amerks MVP for the season.
Miller would go on to play with the Sabres from 2006-2014 before getting traded to the St. Louis Blues. He would spend 2014-2017 with the Vancouver Canucks before playing in the next four seasons with the Anaheim Ducks to end his NHL career. Miller finished it with a .914 save percentage, 2.64 goals-against average and a 391-289-1-87 record.
Since the 2023-2024 season, he has been the San Jose Sharks' goaltending scout and development coach. Miller has been able to find a balance between his job, being a husband to actor and comedian Noureen DeWulf and a father to his kids Bodhi and Kaia.
"Mike Grier is the GM there, teammate from Buffalo," Miller said. "He's been great about allowing me to have a schedule that keeps me connected to my family. That was kind of the condition of the job. I wanted to do the job, but I also wanted to be there for my kids. So, I'm kind of still there in 'dad mode.' Being able to see the other side of things, attribute to conversations and learning how things work on the other side of things has been great. Just trying to increase my knowledge in all those areas, be a contributor to the Sharks...it's been fun."
The Amerks may have found the future franchise goalie for the Sabres that fans have hoped for in Devon Levi. He has a .917 save percentage, 2.23 goals-against average and a 24-12-7 record. Miller has high hopes for him as well.
Miller shares his thoughts on Levi on Friday, April 11, 2025. (Malik Kelly/89.1 the Point)
Although the Amerks were unable to gift Miller a win as they fell 4-2 against the Laval Rocket, he was honored with an award. The fans consistently roared for Miller during his speech as he got to enjoy his time in front of his old fanbase one more time.
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