Andy Miele on the Frozen Four, the Hobey Baker, and His Future in the NHL

 photo by Cathy White/WCPO.com

It's been a while since I blogged about Andy Miele. With the awarding of the Hobey Baker coming up during the Frozen Four in just a few weeks, I set up an interview to chat with Miele, who is first in the nation in college hockey scoring (65 points) this season.

Saturday night, the Miami RedHawks completed their CCHA two-game quarterfinal sweep of University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and move on to the semifinals in Detroit, facing Notre Dame on Friday. In Saturday's game, Miele had a goal and two assists to lift the RedHawks to a 4-1 final. 

The team has high hopes for this year's Frozen Four in the Twin Cities, after a disappointing 7-1 semifinal exit last year to eventual champions Boston College.

I spoke to Miele on Tuesday, three days after the last win over Alaska.

Rink Rebel: Congratulations on your season so far and on the quarterfinal wins over Alaska. What's the team's mentality heading into Friday's semifinal against Notre Dame?

Andy Miele: We know it's going to be a tough battle, it always is against Notre Dame. They're a good, skilled team that works hard, but they're young, and we're pretty experienced, so we're hoping that we can get the outcome that we want.

RR: Obviously last year's outcome at the Frozen Four was disappointing for you, but are you guys using that as motivation to make it even farther this year?

AM: Yeah, definitely. Everything that happens in the past you learn from, you move on from, and you get better from. Last year was obviously very disappointing, and so was the year before that, but it's something that we have in the back of our minds and will definitely motivate us come Frozen Four time.

RR: You've consistently improved each year with Miami, so looking at this season in particular, in what areas do you think you've improved the most?

AM: I'd say I'm more consistent, I'm bringing it every shift, instead of maybe one or two periods a game. I'm trying to go a full 60 minutes and staying focused, and that starts in practice. The consistency in practice is much better this year, and the time is showing in my statistics.

RR: How important was your time with the Capitals during the summer's development camp for your own development this past year?

AM: It was huge. Going there and doing pretty well definitely boosted my confidence. I had a great time there, I met a lot of guys. But the biggest thing was going there and succeeding, and that instilled so much confidence for me this year, on and off the ice.

RR: What does it mean for you to have your name floating around the top of the list for the Hobey Baker?

AM: You know, it's still hard to believe. I'd never really thought of myself as being a top contender for the Hobey Baker, so it hasn't really hit me how big of a deal it is. It's hard for me to still believe. I'm excited about it, and I look forward to what comes with it.

RR: Are you just looking to beat out [Carter] Camper (Ed. Note: Camper, Miami's Captain, is also a nominee) for it?

AM: No, no, my main goal this year is to win a national championship so that's my main focus, and if I can win a Hobey Baker, that would be awesome too.

RR: You've been getting a lot of attention with all the Hobey Baker talk, are you glad now that you weren't drafted? Because now after you graduate you're pretty much going to have your pick of teams.

AM: Absolutely. When you've had a successful season like I have, being a free agent is huge. You're not stuck in a place where you maybe don't want to be, I get to choose. Hopefully I'll have enough good options where I'll be happy with my decision.

RR: I've seen some New York Rangers blogs lobbying for [Glen] Sather to sign you. Do you think that the smaller, feisty players like [Mats] Zuccarello with the Rangers are helping your case to play in the NHL?

AM: Absolutely. Any little feisty guy that can succeed will open up scouts' eyes toward other players like that. It's just more recently that they've been looking at smaller players like myself. I think me and Carter [Camper] (Ed. Note: Camper is listed at 5'9", Miele at 5'8") are very excited about that, and hopefully our dream to play in the NHL someday will come true.

RR: After your experience with the Capitals organization this summer, all the fans want to know if you would sign with the Caps if they offered you a contract. 

AM: [laughs] I'll answer that question when it comes my way. It's a great organization there, it's a great city, great coaching staff, the guys seem great, so that'll be a question to answer when it comes my way.

Focus on Prospects: Andy Miele

 photo by me

The last scrimmage of the Washington Capitals' development camp drew approximately 4,000 fans to Kettler Capitals Iceplex on a Saturday morning in July. One of the standouts of the scrimmage game, with the game-winning shootout goal, was Andy Miele, a camp invitee. So who is he? The Rink Rebel decided to find out.

 photo by Associated Press (Miele in white)

Name: Andy Miele

Position: LW
Shoots: Left
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 175 lbs
Birthdate: 1988-04-15

Hometown: Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan

Andy Miele started early in the last development camp scrimmage - he scored the first goal with a pretty move to send the puck past goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Later on, in the shootout, he scored the game winner with a stutter-step move to beat Braden Holtby.

Small (his listed roster height may be a tad generous) but speedy, the undrafted Miele began his hockey career in the USHL in 2005 with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. He blossomed after a 2006 midseason trade to the Chicago Steel, becoming a strong scorer and the star of the team. He was selected to the USHL All-Star roster in 2007, and was the team's top scorer. However, becoming college-eligible in January 2008, Miele announced his intention to attend Miami University (OH) and departed Chicago midseason. But not before breaking the Chicago Steel's all-time scoring record with 43 goals in his time on the Chicago roster.

When Miele got to Miami, he kept up his energetic scoring pace, scoring the game-winning goal against Lake Superior State in his first game as a RedHawk, just over a week after departing Chicago. In his next season in 2008-09, he improved still, becoming a reliable member of the power play unit (4 of his 15 goals in the season came on the power play). He was selected as the CCHA Offensive Player of the Week in October for his performance in a double-header against Notre Dame. Though he wasn't racking up the scoring numbers he'd seen in Chicago, he was earning the respect of the Miami coaching staff and his fellow players. According to Miami Assistant Coach Chris Bergeron, Miele came in to Miami "with his mouth shut and his ears open" and while he isn't a vocal leader in the locker room, he leads by example on the ice. 

2009-10 was an even better year for Miele. He was selected to the All-CCHA second team and was second on the RedHawks in points with 44. Miele's outstanding ability to see the ice and his puck control were benefits for both him and his linemates - he recorded a team-high 29 assists and was +22 for the season, which was also second on the team. He proved a defensive prowess as well and became a valuable guy in front of his own net and on the penalty kill, blocking 34 shots. The RedHawks went to the Frozen Four in 2010, besting Michigan in overtime to get to the tournament. However, Miami was knocked out of the tournament in a rout courtesy of Boston College, who won 7-1.

 

But Miele has high hopes for next year, especially as the rising senior has been awarded an "A" on his sweater. Miele hopes for a national championship for the RedHawks, but whatever the outcome, Bruce Boudreau may have a job for him after the season - Miele was one of the players the coach singled out at the conclusion of this week's development camp. Boudreau's "all-camp" team consisted of Miele and his former Steel teammate Eric Alexander, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Marcus Johansson, Cody Eakin, Dustin Stevenson and Joe Finley. Boudreau was obviously impressed with the diminutive forward:

"I really liked that Andy Miele, I thought he had a great camp... How can you not like the little guys? He was shifty, made great plays, and had a beautiful first goal. When you get little guys and they compete, it’s hard not to be pulling for them... His skating is tremendous, there's little things he has to do, but we've got three weeks in training camp with the best players we have, and I think you'll see a marked difference... I like what I saw and I know he's going to improve."

The folks over at Rock the Red were able to sit down and have a chat with Miele during the week - it's worth a read.

Note: Miele was one of two current Miami RedHawks to be invited to camp - his teammate Steve Spinell (So.) also attended. Teammate Pat Cannone (Sr.) attended last year's Capitals camp.