The winds of change blew through the Ohio State men's hockey coaching staff yet again this offseason. Steve Rohlik’s crew has experienced widespread turnover as assistant coaches Joe Exter and Mark Strobel jumped ship for conference rivals Michigan State and Wisconsin, respectively.
OSU has already brought former Buckeye JB Bittner and his reputation for intensity and work ethic back to the bench. Now the Bucks fill their final gap with associate head coach Steve Miller, a highly-respected veteran with his own impressive legacy.
Success has followed Miller throughout his career. As a player he assisted his St. Mary’s team to a school record 22 victories en route to the first MIAC championship for the program in 23 years. He returned to St. Mary’s to kick off his coaching career before heading to Miami University and the beginning of a beautiful friendship with George Gwozdecky. The pair coached the RedHawks to the program’s first CCHA title in 1993.
Miller shipped out to Denver with Gwozdecky in 1994. Under their leadership the program flourished. Over the course of the next 19 years Miller helped guide the Pioneers to three WCHA regular season crowns, four WCHA Final Five titles, and two NCAA tournament championships (2004, 2005).
Along the way Miller assisted in recruiting and coaching 55 All-Conference players, 41 NHL draft picks, 15 All-Americans, two Hobey Baker Award winners, and many regular NHLers such as Matt Carle, Paul Stastny, Beau Bennett, Tyler Bozak, Patrick Wiercioch, and Jason Zucker.
Now you may be wondering how much of that success was due to the not insignificant talents of George Gwozdecky. Some, no doubt. But Steve Miller’s success did not end when he left Gwozdecky and Denver behind.
In 2014-15 Miller moved on to an associate head coach position at Providence where he had a hand in steering the Friars to their first ever NCAA tournament title. For the past two seasons he has been the director of hockey for Air Force. Under his direction, the Falcons won last year's Atlantic Hockey Championship and advanced to the 2017 NCAA tournament quarterfinals before being narrowly eliminated by Harvard.
Miller has also been active in international competition. He served as an assistant coach for Team USA’s gold medal winning World Juniors team last year (a squad which included current Buckeye Tanner Laczynski) and will serve in the same capacity during this year’s WJC tournament as well.
Head coach Steve Rohlik is excited to add a proven winner like Miller to his staff, stating in Ohio State’s press release, “Steve is one of the most respected coaches in college hockey. He is outstanding at developing players and brings a great deal of championship experience to our team. We are thrilled to have him as a Buckeye. We can’t wait for the season to start.”
Miller echoed Rohlik’s enthusiasm, saying, “I am honored and humbled to join such a prestigious institution and build on what Coach Rohlik and the student-athletes have achieved. There are great things on the horizon for this program. I am excited to get going.”
Steve Miller is a recipient of the Terry Flanagan Award (presented by the AHCA for an assistant coach’s outstanding body of work) and a member of the Sun Prairie High School’s Wall of Success. He and his wife, Heidi, are the parents of three children, Alexis, Cole, and Connor.
