Former Arizona Coyotes draft pick Mitchell Miller no longer on North Dakota hockey team
Mitchell Miller, the Arizona Coyotes fourth-round pick in this year's NHL draft whom the team cut ties with on Thursday, is no longer part of the University of North Dakota hockey team.
The school released a statement from president Andrew Armacost Friday announcing a mutual decision between the school, the team and Miller's family to have Miller leave the team, which is traditionally one of the most successful college hockey programs in the nation with a history of developing future NHL players.
The announcement by North Dakota on Friday and the Coyotes on Thursday come following Monday's Arizona Republic examination into Miller's harassment of a developmentally disabled African-American classmate four years ago in Sylvania, Ohio when Miller's was 14.
Miller is a freshman at North Dakota and it appears his scholarship will be honored.
MORE: Arizona Coyotes make correct move by moving on from Mitchell Miller
Message from President Armacost concerning UND Student-Athlete pic.twitter.com/LHnE3Or2RM
— U of North Dakota (@UofNorthDakota) October 30, 2020
Miller issued a court-mandated apology after proof was provided of his behavior in police reports, but showed a lack of remorse toward the family of the victim, according to the Republic report.
Four years later, the Coyotes selected him in this year's NHL Draft despite knowledge of his past and other teams' avoidance of Miller. His selection was widely criticized by many in the hockey community — especially after Miller's offenses came to light.
OPINION: Coyotes Created another problem for themselves by drafting Miller
Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ex-Coyotes pick Mitchell Miller no longer on North Dakota hockey team
