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Miami hockey alum finds appreciation for his professional career despite short stint in the NHL

<p>Miele&#x27;s jersey with the Phoenix Coyotes is displayed at Goggin</p><p></p>

Miele's jersey with the Phoenix Coyotes is displayed at Goggin

Even though the Miami University hockey team is struggling now, it wasn’t long ago they were a perennial top program in the nation.

Those teams were led by a few players who were and are currently making an impact at the National Hockey League (NHL) level, such as Blake Coleman, Alec Martinez, and Chris Wideman, and other players who couldn’t quite stick around for as long at that level.

One of the players who falls into the latter category is Andy Miele, one of the most impactful and unique players in the history of Miami hockey in terms of on-ice performance, accolades and leadership.

Originally from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, Miele currently plays in Germany with the Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the highest league in the country. Before going to Europe, he bounced around NHL organizations and the American Hockey League (AHL) after a four-year stint at Miami.

Miele’s claim to fame as a RedHawk is winning the Hobey Baker in 2010-11, an annual award given to the top men’s college hockey player across the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) landscape.

Miele is the only player in Miami history to win the award. 

Standing at 5-foot-9, Miele was a unicorn on the ice, using his speed, agility and unmatched vision on the ice to create scoring chances for himself and his teammates.

A quick glance at his accolades might lead you to believe that Miele was expected to win the award or was highly touted in a way that many universities were looking to bring him into the fold, but that was not the case.

“I wasn’t highly recruited at the college level,” Miele said. “It was just Miami University and Ferris State at the time, and my dad, uncle, brother and sister all went to Ferris State. When Miami was recruiting me, they were a little bit lower in the standings, but once I got to campus, I loved it.”

It’s hard to believe that a player who would go on to win the highest award in all of college hockey wasn’t at the top of scouting lists across the country. However, two people were involved in bringing Miele to Miami, and one of them is a familiar face to many fans of the current hockey regime.

“Jeff Blashill and Chris Bergeron were the ones that recruited me at the time,” Miele said. “They were the assistant coaches, and I got along with them really well. I loved what they were saying. The class they were bringing in the year that I was coming in had a lot of great players, so it was a no-brainer for me.”

Miele won the Hobey Baker in his senior season after scoring 71 points in 39 games. He was the highest scorer in the nation with 11 more points in five fewer games than the next highest player.

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That year, Miele played on a line with Trent Vogelhuber, his roommate for all four years at Miami, and Reilly Smith, a sophomore at the time of Miele’s dominance, a Stanley Cup champion with the Vegas Golden Knights, and current forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Skating with talented players will help boost an individual’s point total, but Miele also attributes the success of his senior season to other factors, including special teams.

“My linemates and I just had such good chemistry,” Miele said. “When you start getting points, you get the confidence, and it just keeps going and going. Things clicked, and we never really got into a slump. Our lines had chemistry, and the power play was really good, and when the power play is clicking at 30%, you’re going to get a lot of points.”

After his senior season, Miele tried his hand in the NHL. After going undrafted, he was signed by the Arizona Coyotes for two years out of college and a year following the expiration of his initial contract, but he only played 15 total NHL games, which many might surmise was due to his stature.

However, Miele doesn’t attribute his short stint in the NHL to his frame.

“I don’t think it was a height thing,” Miele said. “I couldn’t find a role in the top two lines, and obviously, I wasn’t going to be a guy they’re throwing out to run around and hit people or be the defensive guy to stop their top two lines … It was either you are ready to play and help us win, or you’re not, and I just wasn’t ready yet.”

Because Miele couldn’t find a consistent spot with the Coyotes, he was not brought back to the organization, making it even harder to find a place on an NHL squad.

“After being there for three years, you’re not ‘written off’ as an NHL prospect, but it’s much harder after that,” Miele said. “I still enjoyed my career and always wish I had more time up in the NHL, but it wasn’t in the cards for me.”

Miele went on to find a solid career in the AHL, playing for Arizona, Detroit and Philadelphia’s teams before heading over to Europe. There, he played in the Swedish Hockey League , the Kontinental Hockey League , which is Russia’s highest league, and the DEL, where he is today.

Not only has Miele taken his chance to play across Europe, but he also participated in the 2020 Olympics for the U.S., where he scored four points in four games and was named captain of the squad.

“The Olympics were amazing,” Miele said. “You come over to Europe, and you give up on the NHL career, [and] you think for sure the Olympics are out of the question, so to get that second chance at that was pretty amazing and something I’ll be carrying in my heart for my whole life. It’s always hard for me to put my feelings into words when explaining that experience. It was one of the top highlights of my career for sure.”

While the Olympics and his time in Europe are still impressive feats for anyone in the hockey universe, many on the outside might view a career like that with a form of disappointment. Miele felt that way himself at one point, but he has learned to love his career for what it is and what it has brought him outside of the rink.

“For a while, it was hard for me to see the blessings in the everyday stuff,” Miele said. “Once I could get out of that little young, immature bubble and recognize all the blessings that I had in life and what hockey has done for me, it’s much easier to accept my career and be proud of it and continue to work on the things I need to do to have this career.”

@jjmid04

middleje@miamioh.edu


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