Ryan Miller Talks Joining Sharks, Overvalued/Undervalued Goalie Trends

Ryan Miller, the winningest American goaltender ever and the newest addition to the San Jose Sharks goaltending staff, joins the podcast this week!

But before we get to Miller (39:57), Sheng and Keegan discuss all the recent moves and cuts from the Sharks roster, as well as the players who have surprised during training camp.

Oskar Lindblom, Jacob Peterson, and Ryan Carpenter were put on waivers, and we discuss how this sets the table for the opening night lineup (1:20).

We discuss how this means that Thomas Bordeleau (seemingly) is making the team with Couture being injured, and what that means for his development (2:00).

We talk the futures of Carpenter (4:15), Lindblom (8:32), and Peterson (9:46).

We recap who is left for the Sharks forwards on opening night (14:55) before heading into the defense (19:40), and predict who the San Jose Sharks keep to start the season (23:35).

We talk about Thrun’s future if he starts on the Barracuda instead of the Sharks, and why this might be the case to start the year. (24:30)

Sheng and Keegan discuss a few players that have surprised this training camp: Granlund (30:50), Hoffman (32:35), Zadina (33:20), Bordeleau (34:50), Emberson (35:46), and Blackwood/Kahkonen (36:52).

And now the Miller interview (39:57)!

Ryan Miller talks about his childhood, growing up for a couple years and playing hockey in Santa Clara (40:30) and how this actually began his journey as a goaltender. Ryan talks about how his dad was his coach and didn’t want him to play goalie originally (41:45), but Ryan convinced him that goalie was the right decision.

Ryan also talks about how he and his brother were actually some of the early petitioners for getting an NHL team in San Jose (42:38), heading door-to-door with pamphlets in the Bay Area.

Ryan talks about his playing time with Buffalo, his time with Mike Grier as a player (43:25), as well as the rebuilding years in Buffalo when he first came into the league, and how it’s similar to what’s happening in San Jose (44:25).

We ask Ryan who he thinks is the best American goaltender not named Ryan Miller (48:22)? Ryan talks about what is interesting about goalie development and what drew him to the job (49:35).

Ryan talks about why he joined the San Jose Sharks specifically, and Grier’s influence on that (52:25).

We ask Ryan what he thinks Grier meant when he called Ryan ‘analytical’ regarding the goaltending position (54:25).

What does Ryan think are the undervalued and overvalued aspects of scouting goaltending? (56:27)

What would Ryan’s style be if he were playing in today’s NHL? (57:40)

Finally, we ask Ryan what his scope is regarding his scouting and development is going to be (1:00:05) and any impressions from training camp (1:00:58).

Lastly Ryan talks about the Steadfast Foundation (1:01:30) (more info at thesteadfastfoundation.org), an organization dedicated to providing recreational opportunities for children with disabilities in Buffalo.

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