J.T. Miller Reveals How He Dealt With Major Controversy Early In His Career With The New York Rangers
Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
The New York Rangers selected forward J.T. Miller, 15th overall in the 2011 NHL Draft. And it wouldn't be more than two years before he'd make his NHL debut in February 2023. He'd call Madison Square Garden home until the 2017-18 season, where he'd be traded to Tampa Bay. Miller recalls what it was like to put up with the veterans as a rookie.
The New York Rangers selected forward J.T. Miller in 2011. He's known for his confidence with how he carries himself, and maybe that was part of the reason why the Rangers selected him.
Of course, no one is a stranger to a little bit of poking and prodding and having fun, taking the piss out of each other. For hockey players, it's a ritual, chirping their teammates and their opponents. He'd have to figure out how to handle it as a rookie in the NHL.
JT Miller's Blocked Shot & Mats Zuccarello
According to former Rangers forward Derek Stepan, the verbal jousting would continue in good fun, and Miller gave it as good as he got.
«If there was one young guy who handled taking sh** from the older guys, it was J.T,» Stepan explained on the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast. «And he was great at it. He came in and gave it back.»
Most rookies stayed humble and took the playful banter with a sense of humility. Miller wasn't typical.
Stepan would explain that this exercise was, in fact, in the name of team building.
«That was just the way it was. We had such a great group of guys. Like, when I was younger, I got it too,» Stepan said. «Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan, these guys, it was like a war walking into a practice morning. If we played great, we played horrible, you never knew what you were going to get walking into that locker room. You just hoped you weren't under the microscope.»
Miller would remain a confident player, with a cocky demeanor. While he'd only score 4 points (2-2) in 26 games with his first stint with the Rangers, he wouldn't escape a good ribbing by Mats Zuccarello.
«We are in New York and [Miller] blocks a shot and he's down on the ice and he's limping back to the bench,» Stepan shared. «And I'm sitting next to 'Zucc' because me and Zucc are linemates at the time. And the guy gets to the bench and he kind of needles himself into the bench and we're trying to shut the door behind him and all of a sudden I just hear Zuccy over my shoulder saying, 'Hey, did you block that one?!' And it's even funnier because the guy got so mad, the theatrics that he did.»
JT Miller, after a period of jumping between the AHL and NHL after the lockout-shortened season, would eventually find his home in New York.
Though he wouldn't escape Zuccarello's dry wit.
Previously on NYRangersInsider
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