USHL

The United States Hockey League (USHL) and Tri-City Storm announced Tuesday Mitchell Miller was named the League’s Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year for the 2021-22 season. 

League awards are voted on by each Member Club’s General Manager after each Club nominates their players for awards. 

Miller, a native of Sylvania, Ohio, finished third in league scoring and first among defensemen with 83 points (39-44-83) in 60 games this season. His 83 points was 26 more than the next defenseman while his 39 goals was tied for the most among all skaters in the USHL and was 13 more than the next defenseman. Miller’s 44 assists finished tied for 10th in league scoring and was second among blueliners this season. 

Miller also finished among league leaders with 21 powerplay goals (1st), 37 powerplay points (1st), a +43 plus-minus rating (1st) and 10 game-winning goals (T-2nd). Miller’s season set new single-season, Tier I USHL records for a defenseman with 39 goals and 83 points. His 44 assists was tied for fifth in a single season. 

Miller was named USHL Defenseman of the Week three times this season, all in the final eight weeks of the regular season. Entering this season, Miller had 50 career points (12-38-50) in 94 career games over three seasons with the Storm (2019-20) and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (2017-19). Including this season, Miller finished his USHL career with 133 points (51-82-133) in 154 regular season games with another five points (2-3-5) in 11 Clark Cup Playoff appearances. 

Miller is just the second Storm defenseman to win either Player or Defenseman of the Year, joining current Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ronnie Attard, who won both awards in the 2018-19 season. Attard was Drafted by the Flyers the following summer (Round 3, #72 Overall) and made his NHL debut this season after three seasons at Western Michigan University. 

The USHL will continue its schedule of award announcements in the coming days, including Forward of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year, General Manager of the Year, All-USHL First, Second and Third Teams, USHL All-Rookie First and Second Teams, Curt Hammer Award, USHL Student-Athlete of the Year Award, All-Academic Team, Off-Ice Official Crews of the Year and Billet Families of the Year.