Mitchell Miller20, is a promising defenseman and a talented hockey player, but he still has a giant school bully mark on his forehead, possibly blocking his career in the NHL for good.
Six years ago, Miller ended up in Ohio juvenile court for violent incidents when he was 14 years old at the time. He regularly bullied a dark-skinned and intellectually disabled boy who attended the same school. According to Tuhti’s police report, it was an exceptionally humiliating bullying that he fell into with another bully boy. The bullying was both physical and mental.
The victim of a hockey player Isaiah Meyer–Crothers including the bullying lasted for years before the trial and verdict. As evidenced by surveillance cameras, Miller had used violence in the assault and often called the victim racist expletives.
Meyer-Crothers’ mother says her son was traumatized by Miller’s actions. According to the mother, Miller only apologized for his actions a few days ago. Before that, the hockey player had never regretted his actions – unlike another boy convicted of bullying.
Last week, Miller sent Meyer-Crothers a private message on social media, in which he apologized for the events for the first time and stated at the same time that the bullying had nothing to do with hockey.
The Boston Bruins shook up hockey circles when they announced on Friday that they had signed a three-year rookie contract with Miller. The defender’s NHL contract only lasted a few days, as Boston announced on Monday morning Finnish time that they had canceled the player’s contract.
– We understood that it was an individual case, he had taken significant steps and committed himself to personal development. Based on these things, we offered him a contract, club boss Cam Neely comment on the Bruins’ bulletin (you will switch to another service).
According to Neely, the club has received new information on the matter. Because of that information, the Boston Bruins say it’s best to revoke Miller’s “opportunity to represent the Boston Bruins.”
Many expressed their dissatisfaction
The agreement, published on November 4, was met with mixed reactions and immediately divided opinion. The Bruins received numerous letters, e-mails and comments, especially from their own supporters, who expressed dissatisfaction with the player acquisition.
Although in the NHL club’s press release, the hockey player said that he fell into an immature act at the age of 14, that he was sorry for it and that he apologized to the victim, the storm in the water glass was ready.
Chief Commissioner of the NHL Gary Bettman took a stand on the heated puck issue, for example, on Saturday at his media conference in Tampere.
– We cannot accept what he (Miller) did at a young age. Miller can’t play in the NHL until we give it our approval, there is none at this point. I can’t say he’ll ever be eligible for the NHL.
– If Boston sends him to play somewhere else, that’s a problem for that league, Bettman added.
Before terminating the contract, the NHL boss stated that the league should get a lot more information about the player and his improved behavior before the player’s license expires.
– Boston also didn’t consult us in any way about the matter before they made a contract with him, criticized Bettman.
Miller was previously favored by the Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes booked Miller in the NHL in 2020 in the fourth round, but after the puck player’s dark past became public a couple of years ago, the NHL club gave up its rights to the player.
After receiving waivers from both the Arizona organization and the University of North Dakota team, Miller was forced to take a gap year from hockey in the 2020-2021 season.
The Tri-City Storm, the US junior hockey major league club, where Miller also spent the 2019-20 season before the storm raised by the bullying scandal, made a player contract with the scandal defender for the 2021-22 season and at the same time announced their full support for Miller.
– The USHL has evaluated Miller’s situation very carefully. We believe he deserves a second chance, declared the series boss at the time Bill Robertson.
The 178-centimeter, 86-kilogram, right-shooting defenseman had a great season in the USHL, being the league’s most effective defenseman with 83 power points in the 60 games he played. During the season, Miller scored 39 goals, gave 44 assists and collected a handsome +43 in the power statistics. Miller was chosen as USHL player of the year and defenseman of the year for his playing merits.
So it’s no wonder in itself that Boston saw great potential as a hockey player in the defender.
You don’t want brats in the Boston locker room
The contract was not viewed well among the team. The Boston Bruins’ NHL stars criticized their employer for signing a contract with a hockey player convicted of racist school bullying.
Boston Captain Patrice Bergeron announced (you will switch to another service) on Saturday that Miller’s past actions are unacceptable.
– I already heard last week that we are about to sign a contract with Miller and I immediately told you about my doubts about it. If he acts like a 14-year-old, he’s not welcome in our locker room. What he did is unacceptable. We have high standards in the team and our values are against this type of behavior, emphasized Bergeron.
Also Boston’s other key forward Brad Marchand wondered (you switch to another service), that the club acquired Miller. Marchand underlined that a culture of high morale has been built in the Bruins for a long time.
Age-old Boston striker Nick Foligno your star (you will switch to another service)that the Bruins crew did not look favorably on Miller’s recruitment.
– It’s hard to digest that. The organization should not do anything that jeopardizes the functioning of the team. We have an absolute zero tolerance when it comes to Miller’s behavior, Foligno snarled.