Brad Miller has made an unanticipated and highly successful move to defense for North Dakota this season (photo: Kory Wallen \/ UND athletics).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hakstol moved Miller back to his traditional position of right wing for UND’s Jan. 2-3 series against Bemidji State.<\/p>\n

“That weekend solidified for us that the spot where he could have the biggest impact on our team was back on the blue line,” Hakstol said. “His challenge is to continue to improve and prove how much of an impact he can have over the next two months.”<\/p>\n

Born in Canada, Miller moved to Georgia with his family when he was eight years old. Getting ice time for hockey was difficult until the father of his friend Tom Bardis, who now plays for Wisconsin, built a rink nearby. He played ice hockey in the winter and roller hockey in the summer.<\/p>\n

After his bantam year, he attended Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Faribault, Minn., where he played with future UND players Jonathan Toews, Taylor Chorney, Ryan Duncan and Chay Genoway. Having familiar faces on the team influenced his decision to attend UND.<\/p>\n

Miller, who plays the piano to relax and sometimes entertain his teammates, couldn’t have scripted his senior season if he’d tried. Not only did he make the unexpected switch from forward to defenseman, he’s also become host of his own weekly YouTube video show, “Brad Miller Time” (see sidebar).<\/p>\n

Hakstol noted that Miller was selected to replace Finley because he was a veteran, a good skater and a playmaker. What made the switch work and the move to defense permanent was Miller’s attitude and confidence.<\/p>\n

“The key reason it was successful was not just Brad’s willingness to give it a try, but also him buying into it,” Hakstol said. “He’s done a good job working hard on it.<\/p>\n

“We really felt that because of his high level of confidence, he wouldn’t be rattled by this kind of a move,” he continued. “He expects to be successful. He’s not intimidated by anything. That was one of the key things we saw that gave this a chance.”<\/p>\n

If the Sioux continue the late-season success that’s become a hallmark of Hakstol’s teams, Miller’s readiness to switch roles could be a significant part of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When injury struck North Dakota’s blue line, forward Brad Miller might have seemed an unlikely candidate to shore up the D. But the senior has made himself at home at his new position — and on YouTube, Patrick C. Miller finds. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n