New York Rangers: J.T. Miller is the Rangers’ new Ryan Callahan

After maturing over the last couple seasons, the 23-year-old Ohio native has become a fantastic two-way player who’s new style of play is reminiscent of a former Rangers captain.

When the New York Rangers traded their beloved former captain Ryan Callahan at the trade deadline in 2013-2014, many people wondered who would replace his rare playing style.

Callahan was a heart-on-his-sleeve type of player for the Rangers. If you needed a guy to go out and make a big hit, it would be Callahan. If you needed a guy to go out there on the penalty kill and block two or three shots, it would be Callahan. On top of all of this, Callahan also had the ability to put the puck in the net at important times. He was a complete player for his hometown team for 7 and a half seasons.

But the Rangers made the right move by trading him.

When they moved him and two first round picks for Marty St. Louis, the team never looked back. The team ensued to make two straight conference finals appearances, as well as a run to the Stanley Cup Finals after trading their often injured captain for the Tampa Bay Lightning’s captain.

But since the Callahan trade, the Rangers haven’t had a player with a skill set that even resembles the Rochester native’s.

Of course, times have changed in the NHL, and so has the Rangers’ system. The Rangers under Alain Vigneault have played a north-south, speed predicated game, a system where a player of Callahan’s mold wouldn’t fit well.

But at the same time, it’s always nice to know that in a key situation, you have a guy that is as versatile as a Swiss army knife at your disposal.

Miller has inadvertently taken that role

How many times have you heard Sam Rosen exclaim “what a block by J.T. Miller!” or “J.T. Miller is limping to the bench!” this season? The answer is a lot. It seems that every game J.T. Miller has been making his presence felt on the ice. Whether it be by making a big hit, blocking a huge shot, or of course, making a nice play on the offensive side of the puck, you can always tell when he is out there.

Miller seems to be filling the departed role of Callahan’s in a way that fits a 2016 north-south system.

What’s even more amazing is how the development of Miller has been in comparison to the former captain’s. For the sake of this argument, we will compare J.T. Miller’s age 22 season and on to Callahan’s age 23 season and on.

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It took both Callahan and Miller about two seasons to become a regular for the Rangers. Although Miller took a little bit more maturing than Callahan, who had great poise from the outset of his career, they were both on a very similar trajectory.

In Callahan’s age 23 season, he broke out offensively, tallying 22 goals and 40 points overall, with a plus 7 rating, 265 hits and 32 blocked shots. Miller broke out offensively in his age 23 season, as he notched 22 goals in his own right, along with 21 assists, a plus 10 rating, 174 hits and 48 blocked shots.

In Callahan’s very next season, his points total dipped by three, but his hit total rose by 20 and his blocked shots total rose exponentially, all the way  to 81 on the year. This year, Miller is on pace to reach 74 blocked shots, while his points total should rise and his hits total should decrease.

As far as puck possession is concerned, unfortunately, they are pretty similar as well. Miller’s 43.6 corsi for percentage on a bad puck possession team is just as bad as 46.8 corsi for percentage on a good puck possession team.

The bottom line…

With how much J.T. Miller has matured over the years, he is starting to turn into a disciplined, two-way forward. On top of that, he can play all three forward positions–although I do think he plays better on the wing–that is under a reasonable contract. The thing that Miller has that Callahan never had–besides better hands–is faster skates. This is the main reason that Callahan wasn’t super effective in Vigneault’s system and Miller is.

Hopefully, Miller can prove to be more durable than Callahan, a guy who seemed to sustain injury after injury in his New York Rangers tenure.

Next: 10 thoughts through the Rangers first 30 games

When Miller was drafted 15th overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, I’ll never forget the announcers on TSN saying that he is a player that they thought would play a style similar to that of Mason Raymond. Thankfully for the New York Rangers, they didn’t get an improved 2010’s version of Mason Raymond, they got an improved 2010’s version of Ryan Callahan.