Leading PWHL scorer Hannah Miller has had plenty of reasons to smile this year, but there may yet be one more coming.
Miller’s breakout season has seen the native of North Vancouver, B.C. flourish on the Toronto Sceptres power play. Her heavy shot and pinpoint accuracy have moved the team’s play onto a level none of its opponents have come close to matching, leaving multiple images of Miller happily celebrating with her teammates.
But that next celebration could be even bigger.
Miller, 29, who accepted an invitation to play for China at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, was thought to have closed the door on suiting up for her native Canada.
But according to women’s national team head coach Troy Ryan — who also happens to be Miller’s coach with the Sceptres — a petition has been submitted to the IIHF to allow Miller to represent Canada again as she did at the 2012 and 2013 Under-18 World Championships.
It’s by no means a lock, but Ryan remains very optimistic the request will be granted.
“There’s definitely a possibility,’ Ryan said. “I know that now it’s — I don’t know what the right term would be — but the request or the proposal is in the IIHF’s hands and from what I understand I think it would be highly possible that it would be approved, that she could compete for Canada and then today, tonight, tomorrow we’ll be discussing whether she fits into that mix if she were to be eligible for this (upcoming) world championships.
“If she is not eligible for this or if we don’t feel she fits, but was made available, I think we would always consider her for a mini-centralization heading into the next phase,” he said. “I think she deserves to be in that conversation and if the IIHF makes her available we will take that next step.”
Canada’s National Women’s Team roster for the worlds in Czechia is expected to be announced in the next couple of days. Time is of the essence but the ball right now is in the IIHF’s hands.
Ryan believes one of three scenarios will likely play out.
“One, we just don’t name her and wait,” Ryan said. “Another is we name her because it’s been approved and I think yet another scenario is we name her even though she’s not approved and then we wait and when she’s approved or not approved we decide to add someone else. Those are the three scenarios we are juggling right now.”
Through 22 games this season, Miller has 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. She is tied for the league lead with Georgetown native and New York Sirens rookie Sarah Fillier.
“There has been some growth from last year and she deserves all the credit for that,” Ryan said. “She just seems to be in a comfortable place. She’s confident within her role on this team. She’s comfortable in the league. This league is good for her where it’s a good mix of offence and defence.
“She’s a strong, powerful presence that can play the middle or the wing so she’s versatile,” Ryan continued. “I think she’s found a comfortable place on the power play that plays right into her strengths.”
Not bad for someone who was a 13th round pick in the inaugural PWHL draft, though Ryan said her place in that draft had very little to do with her actual skill level.
“I think the late pick is more out of sight, out of mind,” Ryan said of Miller who was still playing in China at the time. “It was like, does she want to come back? She had an option. She could stay in China so there was some risk there. I don’t think (based on) talent and the person she is, I don’t think she was a 13th round pick. She ended up there because of her scenario.”
Toronto, though, benefitted from some knowledge the other five teams in the league didn’t necessarily have. Both Ryan and GM Gina Kingsbury, who holds the same role with the women’s national team, had previously seen her at Hockey Canada camps leading up to her appearance at the Under-18 World Championships. Ryan believes Kingsbury even coached Miller before that at a prep school. So while they may have been in the dark as the rest of the league about her willingness to return to Canada, they were very comfortable gambling a 13th round pick to find out.
And now they may be spending even more time with her as Hockey Canada works to get her back into the colours of her native country.