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Tag: patrick roy

  • Quentin Miller has huge shoes to fill as DU’s No. 1 goalie, but the freshman looks up to the task

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    There is tough news for the other top NCAA hockey programs that were happy to see Matt Davis exhaust his college eligibility: It appears the University of Denver has found another one.

    It was a winding journey for Quentin Miller to get here, but he looks quite at home in net for the Pioneers. He made 29 saves Friday night, outdueling Colorado College star netminder Kaidan Mbereko in a 2-1 overtime win in front of the largest crowd ever for a hockey game at Magness Arena (7,073).

    “He’s amazing. He’s the best person and kid too, so you just want to see him have success,” DU defenseman Boston Buckberger said. “I think what he’s done for our team, being kind of a brick and our foundation back there, we know we can rely on him. He’s bailed us out numerous times already. When we go the other way and get our chances, we’ve got to look back and give kudos and credit to him.

    “If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to come back (Friday) night. Huge credit to him. I just hope he keeps it rolling, because it’s awesome.”

    People toss around the term legend too loosely in sports, but Davis became one at DU after his incredible 2024 postseason run leading the Pioneers to an NCAA-record 10th national championship. He also helped the Pios back to the Frozen Four last year, and finished his career 6-1 in NCAA Tournament games with eight goals allowed.

    Those are massive skates to fill. Enter Miller, who played for three different Canadian junior teams and 10 months ago wasn’t playing at all because of an injury.

    A Montreal native, Miller was the backup goalie for the Patrick Roy-led Quebec Ramparts in 2022-23. That team won the Memorial Cup, and helped Roy return to the NHL with the New York Islanders. His work also made him a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL draft by his hometown Montreal Canadiens.

    Miller was traded in the middle of the next season to Rimouski. He needed shoulder surgery in September 2024, so Rimouski, which was hosting the Memorial Cup, traded for another goaltender. When he was getting close to returning from the surgery, there wasn’t going to be obvious playing time for him, so he went west to the BCHL and joined the Chilliwack Chiefs.

    That’s when the Pioneers got involved. Before players with CHL experience were granted NCAA eligibility, junior players often committed years in advance of college. The forthcoming rule change drastically altered the recruiting landscape last season.

    “(Assistant coach Tavis MacMillian) learned of a guy in Chilliwack that was coming out of injuries, so just connections and people that we know up there,” DU coach David Carle said. “We didn’t have a long time to watch him, because he came back from injury sometime in late January, early February. We made the decision to recruit him and fortunately for us, he was able to get (33) games in through the BCHL playoffs.

    “We have good connections in the Montreal organization as well, and they were supportive of him coming here. That all kind of factors into it.”

    Miller played 10 regular-season games for the Chiefs, then helped them to the BCHL championship series before losing to the Brooks Bandits. The Pios not only had to replace Davis, but his backup from the past two seasons, Freddie Halyk, also transferred to Brown.

    The three goalies on the roster are two freshmen — Miller and Johnny Hicks — plus junior Paxton Geisel, who had appeared in one game in two years.

    “I think that was the big question coming into this year. We didn’t really have a goalie,” junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp said. “But (Miller) has come in and he’s been fantastic. Even from game one against Air Force, he had a really good game, and he’s just embraced it. He’s super confident. He’s easy to play with. He’s getting better on his goalie breakouts and just keeps improving.”

    Miller improved to 6-2-1 with a .941 save percentage after the win Friday night. He helped DU go to Western Michigan, the defending NCAA champs, and sweep the Broncos last weekend with 76 saves on 80 shots.

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    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche Journal: Has Cale Makar passed Patrick Roy for final spot on Colorado’s Mount Rushmore?

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    Sometimes, just the reactions to a question confirm it is a good one.

    “You’re throwing yourself into the fire with that one, so have fun with that.”

    “You are making me think way too hard too early in the morning.” (For context, this was said at 11 a.m.)

    “So anyway … good luck with that. It does seem like an impossible question.”

    Here is the question: A proverbial Mount Rushmore for the Colorado Avalanche includes Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Nathan MacKinnon and …?

    Here are the choices: One of the two greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, who backstopped the Avs to a pair of Stanley Cup championships? Or the best defenseman on the planet right now, who might spend his entire career with the franchise and end up as one of the best to ever do it at his position as well?

    Patrick Roy? Or Cale Makar? This is intended to be a lighthearted, fun debate.

    But also, choose your fighter.

    “Anytime you’re trying to pick four guys from a historic franchise with some really historic teams, it’s going to be difficult,” Avs defenseman Devon Toews said. “Nobody’s going to be happy, no matter what you write. Cale is a name that should obviously be in consideration. By the end of his career, he is probably one of the first names on that list.

    “There’s great players that you’re able to put on, and 10 others that probably deserve to be.”

    Sakic and Forsberg are obvious as icons who came with the franchise from Quebec City, and two of the most popular players in league history. MacKinnon has already surpassed Forsberg — at least in the latter’s eyes — and cemented his place with league MVP honors in 2024.

    Makar, predictably, quickly deferred to Roy. MacKinnon, full transparency here, wasn’t even asked to chime in. Both of those guys are humble about their legacies and accomplishments, almost to a fault.

    “I don’t think I compare to (Roy) at all,” Makar said. “In terms of achievements and stuff, he’s on a completely different level. I appreciate your confidence in me, but I don’t know if I’m quite there yet.”

    Both MacKinnon and Makar often reject the idea of being compared to past Avs greats because of one number: Two. As in, those guys won two titles, and they only have one to this point.

    Makar may also be comparing his career to the totality of Roy’s, but that is where the case for the future Hall of Famer begins.

    Roy won the Stanley Cup four times. He is the only three-time Conn Smythe Trophy winner in league history. He won the Vezina Trophy three times. Those accomplishments do dwarf what Makar has done so far.

    But Roy entered the NHL in 1985. Nearly 54 percent of his regular-season games came with Montreal. All three of his Vezina wins and two of the three Conn Smythe honors came with the Canadiens, in 1986 and 1993.

    The trade, from Montreal to Colorado, is one of the most important moments in franchise history. His addition helped Sakic, Forsberg and Co. win the Stanley Cup in the first season in Denver. It made the Avs a Cup contender for all of his eight seasons with the club, until his retirement in 2003.

    Two championships, six trips to the conference finals, every career franchise record of note for goalies that exists, just an icon of the sport —it’s a good argument. Hard to knock it.

    “I am always partial to … like, who is on Mount Rushmore right now?” NHL Network analyst Brian Boyle said. “They’re all dead. All former Presidents. We did this at NHL Network for the whole league, and for me, it’s Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. This is Founding Fathers type of stuff.

    “So to me, it’s Joe Sakic. It’s Peter Forsberg, who was my favorite player to watch. It’s Patty Roy. He was that guy. And Nate, well, he’s a different animal. Cale is right there, too. I think it’s close. I think they might be carving out some stone soon, but I think it’s Patty Roy right now.”

    Boyle makes a strong point about the essence of what a Mount Rushmore could or should be. Maybe every team’s “Mount Rushmore” should be older players who established the franchise’s footing.

    But … that’s not really how people look at this sometimes silly, always engaging idea. And further to Boyle’s thoughts, this isn’t really a debate about Roy vs. Makar.

    It’s really a debate about time. It’s about when, not if. Has Makar accomplished enough in his career to nudge Roy from this fictional mountain?

    “I’m very biased, but I’m spoiled to watch Cale and his entire career,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “Every shift, every practice, every game, therefore I’m picking Cale because of the way he can impact both sides of the puck.

    “It’s a pretty good problem to have, to be picking between the two of those guys.”

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    Corey Masisak

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