"He was smacking stick up his head": Rangers teammate lifts lid on J. T. Miller's fiery attitude in minor hockey days

J. T. Miller's New York Rangers teammate Vincent Trochek shed light on Miller's attitude during his minor hockey days.

Miller and the Rangers won 3-2 against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, Miller's second win with the team. He has scored four points, including two goals, since rejoining the Rangers.

Before the game against the Bruins, J. T. Miller's roommate Trocheck, on NHL on TNT with Paul Bissonnette, talked about Miller's attitude during his minor hockey days.

"He's actually calmed down a lot,” Trocheck said. “He's definitely calmer now. There were some times before junior when we nine-ten year olds that our dads had to settle him down. He was smacking sticks up his head. So things have changed a little bit there."

The Rangers acquired J.T. Miller for Filip Chytil, Victor Mancini, and a top-13 protected 2025 first-round pick. They also received Erik Brannstrom and Jackson Dorrington in the deal.

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Vincent Trocheck and J. T. Miller are childhood friends and teammates

Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller have been close friends since childhood, playing for the Pittsburgh Hornets at the start of the century.

Early Saturday morning, after Miller's trade was finalized, Trocheck posted an old photo on Instagram. It showed a young No. 88 Trocheck and No. 10 Miller on the same team. Trocheck captioned it:

“Let’s go @nyrangers.”

“He’s my best friend in the world,” Trocheck said. “We’ve talked about this for years. It means a lot. It’s just a cool experience to be able to play with your best friend in the NHL.”

Miller made an immediate impact in New York, scoring twice in his debut against Boston. The game ended in a 6-3 loss, but the Rangers have since bounced back.

“It’s kind of like a numb feeling,” Miller said, via NHL.com. “Very excited, very happy. It was a big game today for the team. I’m starting to realize that when I got here. A hard-fought game. But definitely been a long 24 hours.”

Now reunited, J. T. Miller and Trocheck get to share the ice again as teammates in New York.

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