Red Wings select Landon Miller 126th overall at the 2024 NHL Draft

The Detroit Red Wings have selected Soo Greyhounds goaltender Landon Miller with the 126th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

Per the Soo Greyhounds’ website’s Peter Ruicci:

Landon Miller grew up as a Barrie Colts fan, but on Saturday he took them down.

The 17-year-old (2006 birth year) netminder was exceptional from beginning to end as the Soo Greyhounds stopped the Colts 4-1 in front of 3,597 at GFL Memorial Gardens.

Agreeing it was his best OHL performance to date, Miller spoke of how defeating his hometown team was special.

“I was a Colts fan, so it’s pretty cool to beat them,” said the Barrie native, who flashed an impressive glove hand to help improve his personal record to 6-1-0-0. “I remember having a Colts jersey when I was younger so this feels cool.”

In his first full season with the Hounds, Miller, who spent last season with the NOJHL’s Soo Thunderbirds, said the start of Saturday’s game was like any other.

“It definitely didn’t feel any different until the puck dropped and I saw their jerseys,” said Miller, a six-foot-four, 193-pounder, taken by the Greyhounds in the second round (No. 42 overall) of the 2022 OHL Priority Selections draft. “I thought to myself: ‘This is pretty sweet man.’”

“Fantastic,” said winger Alex Kostov, when asked to rate Miller’s play on a night when the Soo held a 38-35 edge in shots. “Especially because he’s not playing as much as he wants to. But he capitalized tonight and showed why he should play more.”

From the Hockey News’s Joely Stockl, last October:

Landon Miller (Soo Greyhounds)

From the NOJHL to the OHL, Landon Miller also played a few games with the Greyhounds last season (5), but is still considered a rookie. Miller was a 2nd round pick in the 2022 Priority Selection, and will now get his shot to play a full season with the Soo.

The 2006 born goaltender is eligible for the NHL Draft, but will have to battle for starts with Charlie Schenkel. Schenkel is getting the majority of starts early on, and he is winning games but he is having trouble keeping the puck out of the net. Miller has played in seven games this season, but has only started three of them. He has been relieving Schenkel in many high scoring affairs. In one of his starts against the Frontenacs, he was able to earn his first career shutout, which puts one feather in his cap.

He may not have the best numbers early on, but the potential is certainly there for Miller. The Soo netminders have some thick defence in front of them, with Kirill Kudryavtsev, Artu Karki, and Andrew Gibson, to name a few. Even still, they have had trouble keeping the puck out of their net. As the season continues on, Miller should earn some more starts, and hopefully those numbers will get better as the Soo’s defence improves.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=23_EHwJNNPM%3Fsi%3DaH2jYQwRgf6NOYPh

Here’s more from Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen…

At 6-foot-4 and 183 pounds, Miller certainly has NHL size between the pipes.

“I think I’m a really smart goalie,” Miller said. “I try to out think the opponent. I like to use my size and my athleticism to my advantage.”

Goaltending is a position requiring plenty of patience. That being said, playing the waiting game wasn’t sitting well with Miller.

“I wouldn’t be lying to you if I said it was stressful,” Miller said. “You’re sitting up there thinking about it the whole time and when it finally happens, you don’t know how to react.

“My head went for a spin and my feet went numb. It felt like a movie. It was a dream come true, really.”

The Hockey News’s Sam Stockton weighed in…

Fourth round, 126th overall (acquired from DAL), Landon Miller, G, Soo Greyhounds

The Red Wings go with a goaltender in the fourth round, selecting Landon Miller out of the OHL.  In 30 games for the Soo Greyhounds this season (his first full year in majr junior), Miller played 30 games, posting a 2.79 goals against average, an .889 save percentage, and two shutouts. He also played behind defenseman Andrew Gibson, one of the OHL’s best shutdown defenders and a prospect the Red Wings traded to Nashville earlier this week.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!