Buffalo Sabres Draft Steal #5

It's time to look at the Sabres current roster once again as we near closer to the number one pick.  There are plenty of Sabres fans that hope this next player is still a member of the team after next season as well.  I'll have much more on that topic throughout the summer.

Ryan Miller- 1999 (5th round, #138 overall)

It's amazing to think about what Miller has accomplished in his career as only a fifth round pick in 1999.  I have been extremely critical of Miller this past season but that is because of the standard that he had set before.  After being drafted in 1999 Miller went on to play three full seasons with the Michigna St. Spartans in the NCAA.  He was the Hobey Baker Award winner in 2001-2002 and he joined the Sabres the following season.

The Sabres moved really slowly with the progress of Ryan Miller allowing him to play three seasons in the AHL before he beat out Marty Biron and Mika Noronen as the starting goalie in 2005.  Miller did not disappoint as the Sabres starter although a hand injury forced him to miss some games.  Since that injury in the 2005-2006 season Miller has been healthy and he played a career high 76 games last season.

Miller has put up good numbers throughout his career although some wuld say that last season was a disappointment.  He has a career save percentage of .908 but in his best two seasons he was well over that, .914 in 2005-2006 and .911 in 2006-2007.  Last season his save percentage was only .906, a season where he played in all but six of the Sabres games.  I look  for Miller to bounce back big this season because of it being a contract season and because he knows that he has to play within himself and not try to do too much.