Former MSU goalie stars on and off ice

*Correction*: The opening paragraph should have said Buffalo Sabres

Ryan Miller

The State News caught up with former MSU and current NHL goaltender Ryan Miller on Wednesday. The East Lansing native has starred between the pipes for the Buffalo Sabres for the past four seasons. While at MSU, Miller set the NCAA record for career shutouts and was the recipient of the Hobey Baker Award, given to the nations best collegiate hockey player, in 2001. Off the ice, Miller also is starring in a new commercial for PepsiCo Inc.‘s Amp energy drink.

The State News What are your plans for the summer?

Ryan Miller I’ll be here in Michigan quite a bit. I’ve got a couple trips planned out already. I’m going to head up north for a little while and I’m going to be in Europe for 10 days. I’ve got some spring cleaning to do around my family’s house in East Lansing also. Everybody thinks that it’s the rock-star lifestyle but hockey players are pretty normal guys.

SN Are you on the ice every day in the off-season?

RM I probably won’t touch the ice until July. Most guys take some time off from skating but it’s important to stay in shape. I still workout every day.

SN What’s the biggest difference between the NHL and the CCHA?

RM The schedule is much more grueling and you are normally playing at least four games a week. You think you had a fair amount of pressure in college but that actually seems to be laid back compared to the NHL.

SN What do you miss most about MSU?

RM I miss the energy. Everybody is so excited about everything that’s going on. There are no real responsibilities and as you move out of college you have a lot more commitments, even though I really don’t have a lot going on in the summer.

SN What is your favorite rink to play in, other than your home rink in Buffalo?

RM Montreal is my favorite because there is so much history there. All of the fans really understand the game and they respect the players that make good plays.

SN How do you think the MSU hockey team is going to do this season?

RM I was hoping they could bring another title home last season but they fell a little bit short. I know they lost a few guys and it might be more (of) a learning year. I don’t know a lot of the younger guys on the team because I’m not around as much, but hopefully they do well.

SN What do you think of goaltender Jeff Lerg being named the captain?

RM I think that it’s pretty cool because not many leagues allow that to happen anymore. It should be good though because Jeff definitely does things the right way on and off the ice.

SN How did the shooting of your commercial go?

RM Amp approached my agent with the story line and we decided we were going to do it. We filmed it while we were on a road trip in California, and during the filming process, I was really unsure about how it was going to turn out. We were saying a bunch of corny jokes back and forth and I really didn’t have any idea how they were going to edit it. I thought it turned out really well though.