By Tom Mitsos –
TRAVERSE CITY — After being signed by the Detroit Red Wings in July, Andy Miele was going to provide depth for the Grand Rapids Griffins.
However, Miele’s contributions will have to wait a bit, as he had surgery to treat a sports hernia in early September and is missing valuable ice time during Red Wings training camp at Centre ICE Arena.
Despite being unable to skate with the rest of his teammates, Miele is using every resource he has available to him during training camp.
“It’s tough,” the Grosse Pointe Woods native said of missing camp. “This is a fun time of the year, because you finally get to start competing again. Unfortunately, I have to watch that, but I get to learn a lot from that too.
“It’s important for me to be out here watching the practices and games and being in all the meetings.”
Miele split last season with the Phoenix Coyotes and Portland Pirates of the AHL. In seven games with Phoenix, he had two assists and a plus-4 rating. With Portland, he had 27 goals, 45 assists and a minus-18 rating in 70 games.
Miele won the 2011 Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey after recording 24 goals and 47 assists in 39 games with the Miami RedHawks.
This return to Michigan is extra sweet for Miele, as he attended a Red Wings development camp previously before playing for Phoenix.
“The full circle has been completed, and like I said, it’s real exciting,” he said. “You see some familiar faces from several years back, and it’s fun to be back together with them, and it’s a great group of guys here. So it’s just exciting.”
Miele knows his road toward playing for his childhood team won’t be easy or even guaranteed. However, he said he is excited to reconnect with Grand Rapids Griffins coach Jeff Blashill, who was an assistant at Miami and recruited Miele to play for the RedHawks in 2007.
“It’s obviously very exciting,” the 26-year-old said. “I’ve grown up watching the Red Wings and now to be a part of this has been a great experience and a privilege. So, I’m just excited to get out there and help out anyway I can.”
“(Blashill) does a great job developing guys. It’s a winning team, and that’s what I wanted. I’ll play a huge role in Grand Rapids and do whatever I can to help the team win down there, and hopefully, that’s good enough to give me an opportunity (with Detroit).”