Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – Former Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller was in town on Wednesday to be introduced with the Class of 2022 for the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. The winningest American-born goaltender in NHL history played 11 seasons with the Sabres and 18 years overall in the league.
The 2010 Vezina Trophy winner brought his two children to Buffalo for the first time.
“This is a great honor," Miller told WGRZ’s Adam Benigni. "The City of Buffalo has meant a lot to me, and when I got the call for this, it was very emotional. I haven’t been back here in a while, and I took it as a chance to get back here with the family and show my son Bodhi where Noureen and I spent a lot of time and where I felt like I grew up a little bit.”
Miller is the all-time winningest goalie for the Sabres with 284 wins. That’s 50 more wins than Dominik Hasek in 49 more games. Miller’s .916 save percentage was second to Hasek’s .926.
Miller was a first-team All-Star the same year he won the Vezina, and was on a Sabres team that went to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals. Miller played in 47 playoff games in Buffalo.
“We were close, and that’s the part you look back on as a group, because it’s not just something that happens. It takes some time, it takes the right mix, it takes a feeling and looking back. It was definitely a special group,” Miller told Adam.
Miller wasn’t a high draft pick, as Buffalo selected him in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL Draft. He went on to play three seasons at Michigan State University before coming to Buffalo.
Miller was the backbone of Team USA in the 2010 Olympic Games. He won his first five games, leading the Americans to the gold medal game against Canada. In those six games, Miller was pretty much unbeatable, posting a .946 save percentage. However, Miller and Team USA had to settle for silver, as Sidney Crosby scored in overtime to win gold for Canada.
The rest of the 2022 Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame class are Bob Kauffman, Jim Nowicky, Tim Winn, John Murphy, Jeff Anastasia, Gordie Bukaty, the Cott Family, Jim Hanley, Cora Livingston, Doc McMahon, Emily Regan, Susan Schoellkopf and Sweet Home Volleyball.
The induction ceremony will be this fall.
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