Cool Hand Kieran

People say Kieran Millan exudes confidence, just in an uncommon way.

Millan doesn’t radiate the kind of glowing personality that puts him at home in any situation. Just the opposite, he, like many college freshmen last year, found himself occasionally homesick and discomfited by college life.

You’ll find no pretentiousness or haughty words from Boston University’s sophomore netminder. In fact, when you first meet him, you’re unlikely to hear many words at all.

The Edmonton, Alta. native was even shy within his own locker room at first. Granted, there might not have been much for Millan to say while teammates frequently reminded him that he’d shown up on campus out of shape ‘-‘- Millan quickly earned the nickname ‘The Fat Kid’ from some upperclassmen, according to junior captain Kevin Shattenkirk.

But watch Millan between the pipes, and you’ll understand what University of Massachusetts-Lowell coach Blaise McDonald meant when he referred to Millan as ‘Cool Hand Luke.’

Millan’s list of collegiate accomplishments could be a 1,000-word feature in itself, and he’s only just beginning his second season. His .897 winning percentage was the best in the country last season, and his 29 wins easily surpassed the single-season BU record (previously 25). His 1.94 goals-against average and .921 save percentage were the second and fourth best, respectively, in single-season Terrier hockey history.

Among the awards the netminder took home last season ‘-‘- America Hockey Coaches’ Association, Hockey East and New England Rookie of the Year; Hockey East Tournament MVP; Hockey East Second Team All-Star; NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team and various player of the week/month awards from different sources.

Most importantly, Millan joined his teammates in hoisting the NCAA men’s hockey national championship trophy in April.

Cool Hand Kieran was as important as any player for BU down the stretch and through the NCAA Tournament. Millan turned away 32 shots to shutout Lowell, 1-0, in the Hockey East Tournament finals, and followed it up by stopping 27-of-28 shots against the University of New Hampshire a week later in the national quarterfinals, assuring BU its first Frozen Four appearance since 1997.

‘In big game situations, some of our seniors would have nerves, and you’d look over at Kieran and he’s calm as anything,’ Shattenkirk said. ‘That’s one of his best aspects ‘-‘- he doesn’t let goals rattle him or get to his head. He just gets right back up and is making the next big save.’

BU coach Jack Parker said Millan’s exceptionally relaxed nature is rare in hockey players ‘-‘- so rare that the only player Parker could think to compare him to was U.S. Olympic hockey captain Chris Drury.

Once, during a BU-BC game, Drury was dragged down from behind on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot. Drury scored on the free chance, and two days later Parker asked him about the penalty shot:

‘I said to him, ‘Chris, were you a little nervous going into that penalty shot?’ And he looked at me, not bragging, just so matter-of-factly and he said, ‘Nervous? No, I never get nervous.”

Parker had a similar conversation with Millan in the middle of last season while riding Millan and a few other freshmen to their dorms after practice. Parker mentioned to Millan that another goaltender had looked jumpy in a previous game.

‘Yeah, I don’t understand that,’ Millan told Parker in the car. ‘Why would you be nervous playing in goal? You’re just supposed to go out and have fun. I don’t understand being nervous.’

‘Kieran Millan never gets nervous,’ Parker said. ‘And that’s the way he plays.’

Where does a 19-year-old from Alberta, Canada find the wherewithal to stifle his nerves in front of as many as 18,000 fans?

‘Back in juniors we had, I don’t know, 500 fans at the most for a game,’ Millan said. ‘So opening weekend for my first game here, I was more or less just excited. I had never played in an atmosphere like that before. Having a chance to play in front of that many people and proving you can play at this level was something I really wanted to do. I just started playing a lot more ‘-‘- playing big games ‘-‘- and I don’t know, it was just exciting.’

Those thinking Millan’s at risk for a sophomore slump have a tough case to build. ‘The Fat Kid’ has slimmed his 6-foot frame to a lean 185 pounds thanks to the work of BU’s heralded strength and conditioning coach, Mike Boyle. Additionally, his focus, according to those around him, is sharper than it was a year ago, and his offseason preparation far exceeds anything he did heading into his freshman season.

Perhaps most importantly, Millan has been here before.

Before coming to BU, Millan spent two seasons playing with the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The 17-year-old Millan dominated in his rookie season, earning a spot on the AJHL North All-Rookie Team and in the AJHL All-Star Game.

Additionally, his play was strong enough to attract the attention of then-BU assistant coach David Quinn, who convinced Millan to commit to BU before the start of his sophomore campaign with the Saints.

Millan returned for his second season as one of the most highly-touted goaltenders in the AJHL. Expectations for the netminder were high, and the team needed him to contribute ‘-‘- the Saints returned a notably weaker squad in 2007-08, according to Kieran’s mother Wendy Millan.

Millan faltered hard out of the gate, struggling to see the puck well while suffering from lapses in focus. Granted, he managed to turn himself around with a strong second half, but such a slow start this season could cost Millan valuable ice time to sophomore Grant Rollheiser or junior Adam Kraus, who are eagerly awaiting their shot at a starting role.

Kieran, for one, feels like he put his inconsistency issues behind him last season.

‘I felt I was a lot more consistent [last year], where as before, in the past, I wasn’t as consistent,’ Millan said. ‘I’d have big games and bad games. I only had a couple bad games last year, which was a big step for me, and I think if I keep working at it it’ll carry through to this year.’

Wendy echoed Kieran’s confidence, noting that her son hardly ever makes the same mistake twice.

‘I’m hoping he learned from his mistakes,’ Wendy said. ‘He’s usually very good at that. He’s a little more focused this year and knows what he wants and wants to do well with the team and the team to do well. He understands there’s a target on their back because they were national champions last year.’

For what it’s worth, Wendy’s foresight has some merit. It isn’t the first time she’s made a prediction about BU hockey –‘-‘- the most notable prophecy coming in the third period of April’s national championship game in Washington, D.C.

‘Once we got the second goal, when it was 3-2 against Miami [University], I knew the team was going to come back,’ Wendy said. ‘I just had that feeling and you could just see how focused everyone was and what they really wanted.’

‘And then going into overtime, I really just wasn’t worried.’

Of course, who would’ve expected a Millan to panic in a situation like that?