ST. PAUL – K’ Andre Miller will be on the Xcel Energy Center ice for the second time Tuesday night.
The first time was when the now-New York Rangers defenseman was nine years old, and his mom surprised him with a birthday ride on the Zamboni. Prior to that, the five-year-old Minnesota Wild fan had participated in a “Skate with the Wild” event.
His mom is 1988 Fairmont High School graduate Amy Sokoloski.
On Tuesday night, the surging Rangers will face the Wild. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
Miller is in his second season in the NHL. In his rookie season in 2020-21 the schedule was shortened to 56 games and the Rangers only played within the Metropolitan Division, so he didn’t get an opportunity to play in Minnesota.
“It’s been a little bit,” Miller said with a laugh to the New York Post after the Rangers practice on Monday. “But I’m very excited, I have a lot of family and friends coming out. So, it should be a really fun experience.”
He played high school hockey at Minnetonka before joining the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and spent two seasons in the United States Hockey League and in international tournaments like the 2016 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and the 2018 IIHF World U18 Championships.
After the time in the development program, Miller spent two seasons with Wisconsin and also played in two straight IIHF World Junior Championships.
Miller left Wisconsin after two seasons to sign a contract with the Rangers, who had selected him with the No. 22 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time per game last season and earned all-Rookie Team honors.
In 56 games this season Miller has 11 points on four goals and seven assists. He has a plus-minus of +8, 20 penalty minutes and one game-winning goal.
The Rangers have won three in a row and five of their last seven games. New York has given up one goal in six of its past nine games and two or less in nine of the past 11.
New York is tied with Pittsburgh for fourth place in the Eastern Conference playoff standings with a 36-15-5 record. The Rangers have played one fewer game than the Penguins.