Vancouver Canucks’ veteran goaltender Ryan Miller has taken the last year to rediscover his top-flight form.

Miller, an Olympic hero for the silver-medal-winning Americans in 2010, endured one of the worst statistical seasons of his career during the 2012-13 campaign with the Buffalo Sabres.

Miller knew he needed to play better than 17 wins and a career-worst 2.81 goals-against average to score another spot on the U.S. Olympic Men’s Team in 2014. The East Lansing, Michigan, native answered the call, posting a .926 save percentage and 10 wins before Jan. 1, enough to earn a trip to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Games.

“I was excited to be back on the team,” the 34-year-old Miller said at a recent practice. “It was something I put in my mind. It was a great honor the first time and something I wanted to accomplish again. I wanted to put myself in that position by playing good, strong hockey, and I was able to get back on the team and contribute.”

Miller put up the stellar numbers on a struggling Sabres team that didn’t offer much help around him. He also did it in the midst of fierce league-wide competition for the U.S. Olympic goaltending spots.

“Maybe even making [the 2014 team] felt even better,” Miller said. “In 2014, it wasn’t as easily identified because some guys stepped up over the last few years. It was really about six or seven guys, maybe even more, that could’ve been in the mix, so you had to be on top of your game.”

Miller, a Vezina Trophy winner during the 2009-10 season, finished as the MVP of the 2010 Winter Games after posting a .946 save percentage. He became a household name during the historic run that saw Team USA come within an overtime goal of the country’s first Olympic gold medal since the legendary 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team.

“Growing up, I watched a lot of the Olympics, and I guess you don’t realize that you could be part of something like that,” said Miller, who won his only appearance in the 2014 Games, posting a .944 save percentage.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out, but we were still part of some great hockey games that could’ve gone either way.”

Following the 2014 Winter Games, Miller was traded from Buffalo, where he spent the previous 10 seasons, to St. Louis, a Stanley Cup contender.

“It was a whirlwind, especially the Olympics to the trade deadline,” Miller said. “It was exciting in a way to try something new, but it was something where you’ve done something one way for so long… stepping out of it is a little uncomfortable.”

The Blues still had Stanley Cup aspirations, finishing with the third-best record in the Western Conference, but came up short of the ultimate goal, falling in six games during the first round of the playoffs to the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks.

“I think initially in St. Louis there was a lot of excitement, and it felt pretty good,” Miller said. “It was disappointing not to get the job done. It was a great group of guys, and I enjoyed my time there.”

Miller started over in the summer as an unrestricted free agent, signing a three-year, $18 million contract with Vancouver, an important city where he experienced one of the standout moments of his career during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

“It’s kind of surreal because you don’t think of anything like this panning out,” Miller said. “Vancouver was a place where I had a special moment. It’s kind of funny to have it all come together.”

Miller is at it again among the league leaders in wins as the Canucks boast one of the best records in the Western Conference.

“It offers me a fresh chance to start fresh and build with the group,” Miller said. “It has been a good transition, just getting through the first quarter of the season, getting comfortable and getting your game together.”

It will all be worth it for Miller if he and the Canucks are able to hoist the Stanley Cup at the end of the season.

“We’re going to get some big tests as we move along, but the idea is to keep growing as a group,” Miller said. “That’s something that was important to me when I was trying to find a team. I think that’s how you achieve the end goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.