New Canucks winger J.T. Miller has come as advertised in training-camp scrimmages

VICTORIA — Bo Horvat called J.T. Miller “undercover speedy.”

Not sure that term would pop up in a hockey thesaurus, but what the Vancouver Canucks centre was trying to say about his potential new winger is that he gets to crucial areas quicker than you think. Is he a burner? No. Will his pace and game complement Horvat? Absolutely.

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In two training-camp scrimmages, Miller came as advertised. He was hard on pucks and the opposition. He set up a goal Sunday by digging hard and feathering a pass to Guillaume Brisebois in the slot. He even gave Alex Edler a whack on the shin pads during one testy shift.

“I’m fast for being 215 pounds,” reasoned the 6-foot-1 Miller. “It’s not upper-echelon with smaller and fast guys. I don’t know how I adequately skate, but I don’t think I’m slow and can get up and down the ice quickly. And when I have a feel for the game, I think I’m playing fast. I’m in on the forecheck, beat the defence to the puck and take them wide and pull up — that’s when I’m at my best for speed.”

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Monday | Split squad games

Calgary Flames vs. Vancouver Canucks

6 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome,Calgary, TV: None

7 p.m., Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, Victoria, TV: SNP; Radio: SNET 650 AM

There’s way more to Miller than pace. It’s the way he willingly plays in traffic, gets to the dirty areas to display some soft hands and an underrated shot. And for Horvat, who had a dozen different wingers last year and three-dozen line combinations, having possible stable linemates in Miller and Tanner Pearson would work on several levels.

Miller is also good in the faceoff circle and could alleviate some of that pressure because Horvat led the NHL in total draws in 2018-19.

“I knew he was tough to play against,” said Horvat. “He’s hard in the faceoff circle and hard in the corners and really smart and undercover speedy. I even noticed it in one drill down low where he, me and Goldy (Nikolay Goldobin) were just dominating. We’re going to complement each other if we stick.

“And he’s somebody you can rely on shift in and shift out because he protects pucks along the wall, is great in his own end and at the same time, can put up numbers.”

Photo by Gerry Kahrmann / PNG

It’s not a stretch to suggest that Miller should surpass his career-high 22-goal seasons with the New York Rangers in 2015-16 and 2016-17, in which he played on a line with Derek Stepan and Mats Zuccarello. And if he becomes a first power play fixture in the bumper position and gets to the net, the goals and points should pile up. So, how about 25 goals?

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“That’s a good number,” he said. “I shoot the puck hard enough to get more than that, but I’m not going to put pressure on myself. I need to get my shot volume up.”

In his career-goal seasons, he managed 135 and 132 shots respectively and dipped to 102 last season. The 26-year-old East Palestine, Ohio native also dropped to 13 goals last season in a more limited role with the Tampa Bay Lightning in which he was often a third-line, right-wing staple with Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn.

Despite three less minutes per outing at an average of 14:40, he had a career-high 20 power play points and his 34 assists matched a career high, while his 47 points were second highest of his career.

Miller became expendable in a Lightning salary-cap crunch. With four more seasons at an annual US$5.25 million hit — and Tampa Bay needing space to sign 92-point restricted free-agent winger Brayden Point — he was a traded to the Canucks on June 22.

For the Bolts, it was about dollars and sense because they finished the season just US$1.7 million under the cap ceiling. For Miller, it was about incentive.

“I knew there was a (trade) possibility and with how tight the cap was I had to look at it pretty realistically,” he said. “I wasn’t surprised but when you sign long term, you get the assumption that you’re going to be there a long time. But when a deal came along that made sense for both teams, I could be the guy.”

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Miller was selected 11th overall by the Rangers in the 2011 draft. He would eventually endure tough Ranger camps under John Tortorella and Alain Vigneault. Tortorella had a crazy long Day 1 testing run and Vigneault had two tough bike tests and on-ice testing before camp commenced. But Miller has sensed something in Travis Green practices that set them apart.

“As far as tempo, this is probably the hardest I’ve had in my career,” stressed Miller. “I can tell that he wants to beat into our heads that we’re going to be a fast-paced team and be hard to play against.”

Which, of course, is music to the ears of the Canucks coach.

“I like him,” Green said of Miller. “He’s got skill, he can shoot the puck and has a got some tenacity in his game. He gets in and wins puck battles and fights to get to the net. He has a lot of good qualities and you can see why he’s a good player.”

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