Ryan Miller | U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2022

As the general manager for the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team in 2010, Brian Burke had compiled a strong roster for the Vancouver Games. Included in that group were goaltenders Ryan Miller and Jonathan Quick.

In Vancouver, Miller quickly showed why there wasn’t much discussion among his coaches. His .946 save percentage and 1.35 goals-against average set new American Olympic records, and he led the U.S. all the way to the gold medal game. While the team fell short of its goal and went home with silver, Miller was named MVP of the 2010 Olympics.

Now Miller, an East Lansing, Michigan, native, is part of a five-person class set to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Nov. 30 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Miller is joined in the Hall’s 50th class by Steve Cash, Jim Johannson, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando.

At 6-foot-2, Miller had the size and athleticism to be an imposing force between the pipes. But Burke said it was the intangibles that gave Miller an edge.

After a standout college career at his hometown Michigan State that saw him win the 2001 Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s best player, Miller went on to play 18 years in the NHL, most prominently with the Buffalo Sabres, before stops in St. Louis, Vancouver, and Anaheim.

Miller set numerous franchise goaltending records in his time with the Sabres, including the most games played (540), most career wins (284), most wins in a season (41) in in 2009-10), and most shutouts by an American-born goaltender (28).

The 2010 Vezina Trophy winner retired from the NHL in 2021 as the winningest American goalie with 391 victories, a 2.64 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. A two-time NHL All-Star, his 44 shutouts rank second among American-born goalies.

Along with the Hobey Baker, Vezina, and Olympic Games MVP honors, Miller also earned the AHL’s Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s top netminder – making him the only goalie to receive the honor at the NCAA, AHL, Olympics and NHL levels combined.

With the national team, Miller may be best remembered for what he did in Vancouver in 2010, when he served as the backbone of a U.S. team that posted a 5-1 record before being defeated by host Canada in the infamous gold-medal game.

Burke was clear to point out that Miller didn’t just go off about things. His play first put him in a position to be able to be a terrific leader, and because of that, his words carried more weight. Any opinion Miller did express was usually a quick response to whatever the situation was.

From college through the pros, Miller certainly made his mark, and was proud of his accomplishments along the way. And although the goalie ended his career without hoisting Lord Stanley, Burke said that doesn’t take away from what Miller accomplished.

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