Mitchell Miller officially is an NHL free agent after being renounced by the Coyotes and dropped by the Univ. of North Dakota, and Miller, who admitted to bullying a Black classmate with developmental disabilities, now "seems much farther from an NHL career than he was as a fourth-round draft pick," according to Ryan Clark of THE ATHLETIC. Clark asked, "Is there a way back to hockey for Miller?" One anonymous college coach, asked if he could see Miller finding another program, said, "I don't. I don't at all. It would be a nonstarter for us" (THEATHLETIC.com, 10/31).
COYOTES MADE A MESS: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont wrote by renouncing Miller, the Coyotes "only made a bad situation worse." Dupont: "Did they need the trouble? Absolutely not. But by kicking him out the door, they betrayed their initial instinct, which they framed as an opportunity to give a kid a second chance." In turn, they "perpetuated and added to the price he paid." The Coyotes "could have stood by the kid, helped him craft a public apology." Instead, they "essentially chose to apologize to their fans for selecting Miller, did a quick bleaching of their hands, and presto, now have every reason to think the stink will disappear faster than ice shavings under a Zamboni’s warm rinse" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/1).
FAILURE ALL AROUND: THE HOCKEY NEWS' Ken Campbell wrote there have been a "whole lot of people in the hockey world who failed Mitch Miller, the two most prominent being" the Coyotes and UND, with USA Hockey "running a close third." Campbell: "Almost nothing good has come out of this situation. There are no winners. Not one. And as ugly as it was, there are parts of the hockey establishment that somehow managed to make it work. It turns out that recruiting and drafting Mitch Miller was a mistake. The Coyotes and North Dakota not having a plan of action, then turning their backs on him, was even worse" (SI.com, 10/30).
