Next in the series of prospect profiles is our 27th-ranked prospect, defenseman K’Andre Miller.

K’Andre Miller
2017–18 Team: USA U-18 National Team Development Program (NTDP)
Date of Birth: January 21, 2000
Place of Birth: St. Paul, MN
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 206 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: D

NHL Central Scouting Final Ranking: 23
NHL Central Scouting Midterm Ranking: 31

NHL Comparable: Morgan Rielly

K’Andre Miller is among the more intriguing prospects of this year’s draft class. This season was just Miller’s third season playing defense after being a forward for the majority of his life. While the initial transition was rough for Miller, he has made huge strides since joining the NTDP.

Due to his upbringing as a forward, Miller excels offensively. He has good puck skills and offensive awareness. Passing is one of his biggest strengths, as he sees the ice very well. Miller has a good wrist shot with a quick release, but does not have a heavy enough slap shot to be a legitimate point threat. These attributes allow him to be very effective as a power play quarterback.

Miller is an excellent skater who is very strong on his feet. He uses his edges well and is agile as a result. Miller has top-notch acceleration, allowing him to get to his top speed quickly, often times allowing him to cause separation between him and an opponent. His balance and leg strength allow him to win board battles and establish good defensive positioning.

Defensively, Miller does not hesitate to use his size and strength to disrupt the opposition. He enjoys throwing his body around when appropriate. His lack of experience shows in his positioning at times, though he can sometimes make up for that with his skating ability. His defensive awareness still needs work, but has come a long way in his time with the NTDP because of his desire to learn and grow, which is encouraging.

Ultimately, Miller is a very athletic player with all the necessary tools to be successful at the next level if he can continue to develop defensively.

Implications for the Blackhawks
As a player projected to go late in the first round, it is very possible Miller could still be available when the Hawks pick at 27th. He needs a lot of work learning how to be an effective defender, but that will come with time and good coaching, which Joel Quenneville and his staff can certainly provide. Miller is the type of defenseman the Blackhawks generally like because of his good skating and ability to push the offense. While he may be a bit of a risk because of his current defensive deficiencies, he could prove to pay off and be a solid contributor for the Hawks in time.

Timeline
Because of his late start to playing defense, Miller will need time to continue learning the position. He will be attending the University of Wisconsin beginning in the fall, where he will likely need at least a couple of years before making the jump to professional hockey, with a year in the American Hockey League a possibility as well. Do not expect to see Miller on NHL ice until at least 2021–22.

Projection
All of the tools are there to be a solid two-way NHL defenseman in the future with the ability to be a power play quarterback. Coaching will be key in his development in order to reach his potential, which could be very high. He will take a relatively large amount of investment from the team selecting him to get him to where he needs to be defensively. He is a relatively risky pick as a result, but one that could reap huge dividends. It is difficult to pinpoint a projection due to his limited experience playing defense, though the learning curve he is on is increasing his ceiling and giving added hope he will be a special player.

What others are saying
“Miller’s skating ability is combined with good puck handling skills. It is easy to see why he was a forward for so long. He can skate the puck out of danger, and start the transition game by leading the rush. He also makes a good first pass to start the transition game. If there is a criticism it is that Miller plays a game that is almost too conservative at this point. He picks his spots for when to get involved in the offense but seems to wait for a near perfect opportunity. There are times he could push the play more and does not. However, this is an area that has really improved.”
— Ben Kerr/Last Word on Hockey

“Talented two-way defenseman with top-pairing upside who is committed to the University of Wisconsin. A strong skater with very good speed, Miller generates a lot of power into his stride and is starting to beat both opposing forwards and defenders to the outside. His stick and body positioning in the neutral zone are exceptional, and you can count on Miler to intercept more than a handful of cross-zone passes that he quickly transitions into rushes the other way. His ability to make clean passes on either his forehand or backhand, plus the manner in which he sharply pivots his way into bigger openings might explain how such a big and physical defenseman is only a few years removed from being a forward.”
— Steve Kournianos/The Draft Analyst

The post Draft Prospect Profile: K’Andre Miller appeared first on The Rink.

For the first time in a while, the Chicago Blackhawks were sellers at the trade deadline.  They sent forward Ryan Hartman to the Nashville Predators and received a 2018 1st and 4th round pick as well as Swedish prospect Victor Ejdsell.  After a disappointing season, the Blackhawks realize that age has suddenly caught up with them and that they need to get back to building their team through the draft.

The 2018 NHL draft is considered to be very deep with good prospects including generational defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.  It’s possible the Hawks could land a lottery pick to select him, Russian winger Andrei Svechnikov, or Czech winger Filip Zadia.  But if the season ended today, the Hawks would be selecting 8th and 29th overall, probably putting them out of reach of the top three players mentioned and Boston University’s Brady Tkachuk.

There are however a few college hockey or college hockey-bound players Blackhawks fans should be aware of.  Let’s take a look and preview some of the names you should be familiar with.

Photo courtesy of The Athletic.com

Quinn Hughes – LD – 5’9 170lbs – Michigan

The Blackhawks drafted two defenseman last year in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the 2017 draft when they took Henri Jokiharju and Ian Mitchell, but you can never have enough defenseen.  Quinn Hughes is an Orlando Florida native that played his junior hockey with the US National Development Team under 17 & 18 teams.  He currently plays for the University of Michigan Wolverines.

Hughes is a smaller defenseman at 5’9 but his strengths in skating and vision make up for his size.  He has the ability to create his own rush and make space for forwards to cut to the net.  In his highlights, you see flashes of Duncan Keith in his own end.  By that I mean that he is patient with the puck and finds openings in the opposing defense to weave through on the rush.  This is a player that is very active on the back-end and could help on the power play unit where the Blackhawks are ranked near the bottom of the league.

Hughes is projected to be drafted around pick six so the Blackhawks would be fortune if he fell to them at eight.  Although this player isn’t intimidating in his own end, he is the kind of puck-moving defensemen the Blackhawks coaching staff dreams about having.

Oliver Wahlstrom – C/RW – 6’1 200lbs – Harvard

Similar to how Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin or ‘D-Boss’ would like to not be known anymore for his famous YouTube videos he made as a kid, Oliver Wahlstrom is going through something similar.  As a kid, Wahlstrom became internet-famous when he performed a trick-shot at a Boston Bruins game when he was 9 years old.  Since then, he has become one of the best US-born prospects in the country.

Wahlsrom is playing for the US development program and currently has 17 goals and 11 assists in 17 games.  He is described as a pure goal-scorer that is extremely strong on his skates.  His ability to find seams from anywhere on the ice and score creatively makes him a player anybody would want on their team.  Wahlstrom has committed to play for Harvard University next season.

K’Andre Miller – LD – 6’3 195lbs – Wisconsin

Miller is the kind of defenseman the Blackhawks don’t have too much of.  He’s a big, physical defenseman who can skate very well.  Miller switched from forward to defense a couple seasons ago but has adjusted well.  He isn’t known for his offense but he can put a lot of power behind one-timer shots from the point.  He currently has four goals and nine assists with the US Development team and has committed to the University of Wisconsin for next season.

To be brutally honest, this has the St. Louis Blues or Nashville Predators pick all over it, but maybe he could fit into the Blackhawks system.  If he can form his game into something similar to Brent Seabrook’s, he could find a niche.  Especially if he’s responsible in his own end.  In an article from USAhockey.com, Miller talks about how he loves playing defense because of how he can start and get into rushes.  He would get a lot of those opportunities in this system in Chicago.

Mattias Samuelsson – LD – 6’3 205lbs – Western Michigan

Samuelsson is another big defenseman not known for his scoring but for his defensive responsibility.  He is committed to Western Michigan University that is in the NCHC, one of the most competitive conferences in college hockey.  Samuelsson has the potential to be a top four NHL player but could use improvement with his skating.  This season he has two goals and six assists in 14 games with the US Developement program.

In his stats this year, you notice a positive +/- of 12 but a large number of penalty minutes with 48.  The Blackhawks get frustrated with young players who commit penalties that make their team short-handed, but if Samuelsson can walk the line between playing hard and foolish, he’d make a great addition to the Hawks prospect pool.

Thanks for checking out our early draft preview.  The-Rink.com will have plenty more analysis on the Draft as it gets closer.

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