The Boston Bruins on Sunday parted ways with defenseman prospect Mitchell Miller, who they had signed to an entry-level contract Friday.
The 20-year-old was selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round (No. 111) of the 2020 NHL Draft on Oct. 7, but 22 days later, the Coyotes renounced his rights after the Arizona Republic reported Miller had been involved in multiple racial bullying incidents with a special needs student in Sylvania, Ohio, Isaiah Meyer-Crothers, in 2016 when he was 14. Miller, who was charged with assault and a violation of the Ohio Safe Schools Act, admitted to the incidents in court.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Friday that he had wrestled with the signing personally and had gone through lengthy discussions with his own family about it. Two days later, after members of the Bruins expressed reservations publicly and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Miller, who had been assigned to Providence of the American Hockey League, was not cleared to play in the NHL, the Bruins decided they had made a mistake.
“Today the Boston Bruins have decided to part ways with Mitchell Miller, effective immediately,” team president Cam Neely said in a statement. “The decision to sign this young man was made after careful consideration of the facts as we were aware of them: that at 14 years old he made a poor decision that led to a juvenile conviction. We understood this to be an isolated incident and that he had taken meaningful action to reform and was committed to ongoing personal development. Based on that understanding we offered him a contract.
“Based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins. We hope that he continues to work with professionals and programs to further his education and personal growth.
“We owe it to our fans, players, staff, partners and community to make sure that our practices and protocols are in keeping with the ethos that we demand from ourselves and as an organization. As such, we will be reevaluating our internal processes for vetting individuals who wish to earn the privilege of playing in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins.
“We are sorry that this decision has overshadowed the incredible work the members of our organization do to support diversity and inclusion efforts. We will continue to stand against bullying and racism in all of its forms.
“To Isaiah and his family, my deepest apologies if this signing made you and other victims feel unseen and unheard. We apologize for the deep hurt and impact we have caused.
“Finally, as a father, I think there is a lesson to be learned here for other young people. Be mindful of careless behaviors and going with the group mentality of hurting others. The repercussions can be felt for a lifetime.”
Bruins players were against the signing.
“I was asked by Don, close to a week ago, he asked for my opinion,” Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron told reporters in Toronto on Saturday. “I had my concerns. I shared my opinion. In a way, I think I was not necessarily agreeing with it — to be honest with you, I think the culture that we’ve built here goes against that type of behavior. I think we are a team built on character and with character individuals. What he did, obviously is unacceptable. We don’t stand by that.
“For me, I know for myself anyways, in this locker room, we’re all about inclusion, diversity, respect. Those are key words and core values we have. We expect guys to wear this jersey to be high-character people with integrity and respect. That’s how they should be acting.”
Bergeron wasn’t alone.
“We have a culture in this organization, in this room,” forward Brad Marchand said. “We obviously don’t condone what happened. That will never be part of our team and our organization.”
Nick Foligno said: “It’s tough. It’s a really hard topic. First and foremost, the organization is not going to do something that would jeopardize that. But in saying that, it’s not something anyone in this room stands for. The culture we’ve built and these guys have built before I got here is one of inclusion. I think it goes against that. I understand he was 14 when he made this mistake. But it’s hard for us to swallow. Because we take a lot of pride in here in the way we act, the way we carry ourselves, what it is to be a Bruin. So that was a tough thing to hear for our group.
“I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t think any guy was too happy because of how proud we are to say this is a group that cares a lot about ourselves, how we carry ourselves and how we treat people. So that was, for a lot of guys, especially the ones that have been here, a tough pill to swallow.”
While in Tampere, Finland, for the 2022 NHL Global Series games, Commissioner Bettman said the Bruins had not consulted the NHL before the signing and that Miller was ineligible to play in the NHL.
“What I understand and have heard through the media and anecdotally, what he did as a 14-year-old is reprehensible, unacceptable,” the Commissioner said. “Before the Bruins made the decision to sign him, we were not consulted. I happened to talk to Cam Neely since the time that he was signed. He’s not coming into the NHL. He’s not eligible at this point to come into the NHL. I can’t tell you that he’ll ever be eligible to come into the NHL.”
Commissioner Bettman added, “They were free to sign him to play somewhere else, that’s another league’s issue. But nobody should think, at this point he is, or may ever be, NHL eligible. And the Bruins understand that now.”
Photo: Tri-City Storm
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