[Signing] Bruins sign Mitchell Miller UPDATE: Rescinded

[PaperBagger'14]

Edmonton media in shambles they didn't land Miller, Ken Holland believes Miller embodies everything an Edmontonian should.

[cannon7]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Quality contribution.
Clearly I care about the situation and the ramifications of it, not him as a human being.
But again, great contribution to the discussion. top drawer.

See? I knew you cared.

Remember when forgiveness was a virtue? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

[Poe969]

Unfortunately, everyone swing he doesn't deserve an NHL contract is wrong. The NHL is a business and winning games is the bottom line to some. If this kid turns into a difference maker, winning will be all that matters to the people making the decisions.

I dont agree with it but we see professional athletes do horrible things all the time. I mea the NFL has a standard fine and suspension they give for domestic violence.

[TheoFleury]

Originally Posted by Poe969

Unfortunately, everyone swing he doesn't deserve an NHL contract is wrong. The NHL is a business and winning games is the bottom line to some. If this kid turns into a difference maker, winning will be all that matters to the people making the decisions.

I dont agree with it but we see professional athletes do horrible things all the time. I mea the NFL has a standard fine and suspension they give for domestic violence.

Yep. It's hard to be a fan of any professional sport these days. So much scum

[cannon7]

From 2021:

Miller knows that anything he says will be viewed as nothing more than an attempt to resurrect his hockey career, which was put on ice when the Coyotes renounced his draft rights on Oct. 29, and the University of North Dakota kicked him off of its team a day later.

He won’t argue with any of those opinions.

“I totally understand why people are mad at me,” Miller said in his first public comments since the 2020 NHL Draft in early October. “It obviously was wrong, what I did, and I said what I said to Isaiah. I’ll own up to everything I did. I’m not going to try to defend myself. I was definitely wrong. I don’t want it to define my life or my hockey career, but I take all ownership of what I did.

“This isn’t about saving my career. Obviously, I want to play hockey. It’s my dream, but I want to let everyone know that I made a mistake and how sincere and sorry I am that I affected their family and their lives. I got dropped by Arizona and North Dakota, but it’s not about saving my career. It’s letting people know what I did was wrong. Again, I take all ownership of what I did and I’m not going to defend myself on all of that stuff. I’ve just got to take it, but I have matured since eighth grade.”

The central question surrounding Miller is this: Is he a bad kid whose reprehensible behavior got him caught, or is he a kid who learned a really hard lesson when he was 14; one that will make him a better person? Nobody can answer that question better than Miller. If he wants to find a path forward, it’s up to him to prove he is not that kid from five years ago.

He said he knows what he needs to do to prove it to a chorus of doubters.

“At this point, I think the debt-to-society part is like 10 times more important than my hockey career,” he said. “Hockey would be a reward if I could ever have a second chance to have that back in my life, but I want to give back to the community.”

Miller believes that he has taken several steps toward repaying his debt, beginning with when he apologized to Meyer-Crothers in the immediate aftermath of the incident. The apology was court-mandated, but it was a personal apology, and public records of Miller’s expulsion hearing and recommendation, obtained by azcoyotesinsider.com, show that the apology was read both to Meyer-Crothers, and to school officials and the school board. The apology was also sent to the Meyer-Crothers family.

...

The court ruling prohibited Miller from having any further contact with Meyer-Crothers, and he said he abided by that ruling. More recently, when the new reports surfaced, he said he tried to add Isaiah as a friend on Snapchat, but “but I doubt he wants to add me back.

...

If he were to speak to Isaiah Meyer-Crothers again, here is what Miller said he would like to say.

“I would definitely apologize again; just tell him how sincere I am and how sorry I am that it affected his life,” he said.

https://azcoyotesinsider.substack.co...esses-his-past

[dustygoon]

What is going on with Sweeney and Neely? Pretty dysfunctional sounding.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

An ELC is a fairly substantial commitment. Miller wasn't a high pick to begin with, and hasn't played much in the last few years, missing some key developmental time.

An ECHL/AHL deal maybe would have been a more cautious route.

Unless it's a different Mitchell Miller, HockeyDB has him playing in the USHL on the same team as Sergeev and Nikolaev. His stats show him finishing second on team scoring with 83 points in 60 games as a defenseman. He started the season as a 19 year old.

I am not sure if gaudy numbers like that mean anything in that league and given his age.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by cannon7

From 2021:
https://azcoyotesinsider.substack.co...esses-his-past

This part stuck out to me:

Miller believes that he has taken several steps toward repaying his debt, beginning with when he apologized to Meyer-Crothers in the immediate aftermath of the incident. The apology was court-mandated, but it was a personal apology, and public records of Miller’s expulsion hearing and recommendation, obtained by azcoyotesinsider.com, show that the apology was read both to Meyer-Crothers, and to school officials and the school board. The apology was also sent to the Meyer-Crothers family.

Wouldn't 'immediate aftermath' be like.......the next day? There was no apology until it was court-mandated? I hope there is more to the story than that.

[neo45]

I never did anything as bad as Omar Khadr did when I was a kid either. Doesn’t mean I want him punished for life

This “punishment over rehabilitation and zero second chances” mindset I see on here is pretty troubling.

Jiri must love the US prison system and be disgusted with what’s going on in Europe. Lower re-offense rates be damned

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by neo45

Jiri must love the US prison system and be disgusted with what’s going on in Europe. Lower re-offense rates be damned

Jiri is more than capable for sticking up from himself, but I have no idea how this quote is helping any discussion at all. Did he say something similar somewhere that I missed? I think he just said he shouldn't play in the NHL.

[neo45]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Jiri is more than capable for sticking up from himself, but I have no idea how this quote is helping any discussion at all. Did he say something similar somewhere that I missed? I think he just said he shouldn't play in the NHL.

He said pro hockey lifetime ban one strike no second chance for something someone did as a child


Pretty destructive mindset imo. “Eff him” is quite the tell that he’s 100 percent interested in punishment and doesn’t care at all about whether he improves as a person

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by neo45

He said pro hockey lifetime ban one strike no second chance for something someone did as a child


Pretty destructive mindset imo. “Eff him” is quite the tell that he’s 100 percent interested in punishment and doesn’t care at all about whether he improves as a person

Calling him a 'child' is pretty misleading. He was in the 8th grade. He knew what he was doing.

For the bullying, assaulting and racist language I have no problem with giving him no second chances when it comes to an NHL career. There are plenty of other careers he can chase, what he did was disturbing and awful.

[Superflyer]

Bruins fans are really upset over this. I am one, and have been reading on forums and such about this and they are flooding the teams PR team with phone calls and emails telling them how bad of a move this is. Lots of calls for Neelys and Sweeneys heads (more than usual anyways)

[neo45]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Calling him a 'child' is pretty misleading. He was in the 8th grade. He knew what he was doing.

For the bullying, assaulting and racist language I have no problem with giving him no second chances when it comes to an NHL career. There are plenty of other careers he can chase, what he did was disturbing and awful.

No issue with someone thinking this is premature or that the opportunity hasn’t been earned.

It’s the “one strike”, “no second chances”, “lifetime ban” crowd that I take issue with.

[traptor]

People make mistakes and shouldn't have their lives ruined especially when they are trying to make amends and grow from it.

However, not being able to make it into the NHL is a far cry from having your life ruined. Being a millionaire athlete in the NHL should require a high standard, as you become a role model and a public representation of the league and your team.

This wasn't a minor case of bullying. The bullying allegedly spanned years, he was found guilty of assault and he hasn't showed any genuine remorse beyond when it was required to promote his career and even then he has done the absolute minimum. In his recent responses he shows little emphasis on the individual he assaulted and focuses on himself.

This was a short sighted hockey decision focused on winning future hockey games and not on growing the game, the league, or the bruins. Unfortunately it is another blemish on the league and the game that can't really afford it at this point in time.

I don't think he deserves to be in the league and I don't think it's good for the league or the game for him to play. He can still go play in Russia or Europe. He could still get a full scholarship to university. That is not a ruined life and that is much more opportunity then many better people have been given.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

So what then? He should end his life and society doesn't have to deal with him?

People deserve second chances for poor decisions made in their youth.

However, social media is now judge, jury and executioner.

One strike and you are out, done, finished, never to be heard from again.

What he did was reprehensible, disgusting and inexcusable. Nobody is saying any different. But does that act mean he forfeits the rest of his life and ability to make a living?

I think no.

Well said. People can disgust what he did all they want - I certainly do. But the reprehensible actions of an adolescent should not ruin their lives indefinitely. Especially if there are clear indications that the person has taken steps to learn and improve. The fact is that nobody here can claim to know the lengths the player has gone to in order to make actual improvements. Claiming to know based off of cherry picking a few articles online is nothing but pathetic virtue signaling.

There's no way that the NHL and Bruins haven't gone to great lengths to dig on this player, a lot more than the fly by online analyst for sure. You certainly don't have to like it, but people can certainly can give the Bruins and all involved the benefit of the doubt that after 4 years some major growth and learning has taken place.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

That last bit is the important one.
I never did anything as a kid remotely close to this:

"Miller and a classmate were found guilty of forcing a developmentally disabled black classmate to eat a piece of candy that had been wiped inside a urinal, repeatedly bullied the victim, including kicking and punching him, and repeatedly calling the victim the N-word."

So eff him. Being a pro hockey player is a million to 1 shot. Being an NHL player even slimmer.

I don't see why he should be one of the lucky few to get that shot.
Eff him. Ban him from pro hockey for the rest of his life.

For something he did when he was a child?? Can't play pro hockey because as a 10 year old he used words he likely didn't know the meanings, consequences and origins of? He punched a kid that he didn't understand or comprehend he was different than?

So you want him to work at McDonalds? Can he get promoted to drive through supervisor or is he stuck wiping tables and mopping the bathroom for eternity? He can go to school to be accountant but does he have to work at H&R Block in the Wal Mart kiosk for all time or can he become a partner at MNP? I'd like to see where you determine he is allowed to peak.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by cannon7

See? I knew you cared.

Remember when forgiveness was a virtue? Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Sorry for being racist? How do you forgive someone for racism? Don Cherry is that you?

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Why are we so worried about what happens to him?
Eff him.

People like you declared me a permanent waste of space when I was 14. I was suicidal for years, and was prevented from getting the high-school education I was supposedly legally entitled to receive, because I kicked a garbage can in response to being bullied. But hey, one strike and you're out.

Eff you.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Sorry for being racist? How do you forgive someone for racism? Don Cherry is that you?

Apparently no one can ever be forgiven for anything. So hey, let him just die, right?