By BUTCH HARMON
When it comes to anything regarding skating in the mid-Michigan area, you can be sure a Miller is involved.
This year’s Olympic games in Sochi, Russia, featured former Michigan State Spartan and East Lansing native Ryan Miller. Miller, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate hockey player in 2001, played goalie for the United States Olympic men’s hockey team. He also played on the 2010 United States Olympic hockey team and won a silver medal.
Miller was almost joined in Sochi by his cousin, Hannah Miller.
Hannah Miller, a junior at Williamston High School, is one of the top figure skaters in the country. She was in contention for a berth on the United States Olympic team but finished in ninth place at the nationals that took place in January in Boston. The U.S. Olympic team took the first, second, and fourth-place finishers from the national team to be part of the Olympic team.
While Hannah Miller fell short of making the Olympic team in 2014, the 17-year-old skater has her sights set on the next Olympics.
“That is definitely a goal,” said her coach and aunt, Kirsten Miller. “She was in contention to make it this year. She was probably not at her peak this year, because she had ankle surgery the end of June and did not return to the ice until mid-August.”
Hannah began skating at age three and rose through the ranks to become one of the top amateur figure skaters in the United States. In 2011, she was the U.S. Novice Ladies champion. In 2012, she was the U.S. Junior Ladies bronze medalist, and in 2013, she was the ISU Junior Grand Prix silver medalist.
Hannah, who carries a 4.0 grade point average, has plenty of international figure skating experience. She has competed as a member of Team USA at two Junior Grand Prix events and won silver medals at both. She has competed in Milan, Italy; Croatia; Estonia; and Sochi, Russia.
She is the daughter of Kevin and Cheryl Miller. Kevin Miller is a former Michigan State hockey player who played with a number of NHL teams during his career and who also played for the United States in the 1988 Olympics. Kevin’s brothers, Kelly and Kip, were also Michigan State hockey players. And Ryan Miller and his brother Drew, who currently plays for the Detroit Red Wings, are cousins.
The Miller family legacy began some 50 years ago.
“My uncle, Butch Miller, came down from Canada to play hockey at Michigan State in the 1960s,” Kirsten explained. “My dad, Lyle, followed him. Hockey has always been in our blood, and my mom was also a figure skater.”
Kirsten Miller was a competitive figure skater and began her coaching career while attending Michigan State University. She has been Hannah’s coach for her entire career.
Hannah has three sisters, and all three also lace on skates. Twin sisters Braedyn and Gisell are 13-years-old and in the midst of their own figure skating careers.
The fourth Miller sister, Neysa, a sophomore at Williamston High School, has taken to the sport of her father and is a hockey player. Neysa plays for the Lansing Spartans, a Tier 1 under-16 girls’ travel hockey team that is coached by her father. The team is an elite-level team that plays against teams from across the Midwest. Like her older sister, Neysa is also a 4.0 student. Her goal is to play college hockey and to someday become a member of the U.S. Womens Hockey Team and compete in the Olympics.
Together, the four Miller sisters are continuing the Miller family legacy on ice.