Evaluation:
I’m fairly certain I’m going to end up giving Colin Miller a great grade by the time the season ends. He’s been one of the most encouraging signs on a defense that has been both shaky and rotating in cast. He has been that good at getting things going for Boston.
While principally playing in Boston’s depth, Chiller has been a bit of a revelation at both ends of the ice. Able to force players charging up the wing to the outside to avoid high-danger shots, getting the puck out under his own power, and passing generally crisp and low-danger passes to his forwards. And the opponent’s end? Right now there is no player on the team that excels at keeping the puck inside the zone from the blue line more than Chiller does. His shot’s a rather underrated level of tricky and powerful that tends to create faceoffs for Boston, if not goals, more than often.
He’s been one of the more productive scorers at the blueline as well, scoring infrequently, but they’ve always been fun goals to witness. He sits tied for 3rd in goals scored by defenseman on Boston with Zdeno Chara.
His grade was likely to be high in general for being quite the revelation and one of the more promising players that can drag players like Kevan Miller or Adam McQuaid to respectable performances, but lately? His absence has made it abundantly clear that Boston desperately needs him. Whether they think they do or not.
Grade: B+
Chiller has been rock solid for Boston. He’s been one of the brighter spots on a defense that has been otherwise very precarious, he’s been a big part of keeping scoring chances and offensive zone time alive...not much other to say than he’s been extremely effective and it’d be REALLY nice to have him back ASAP.
Stats:
Games Played: 34
Goals: 3
Assists: 3
Points: 6
Shooting-%: 5.49%
Season CF% as of 1/23/17: 59.66%
OwnThePuck Visual: