Ithaca’s Miller signs 2-year deal with Knighthawks

Over the past few years, Nick Miller took the Division III lacrosse scene by storm at St. John Fisher University, becoming the program’s all-time leader in points and leading the Cardinals to a pair of Empire 8 titles. The Ithaca native is back in Rochester and is one step closer to competing against the best players in the continent.

On August 23, Miller signed a two-year contract with the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Miller was grateful to the organization for giving him a shot at playing professionally again.

“It could have been for a year for five dollars, and I honestly probably would have taken it because I love the game so much,” Miller said. “It was a dream come true to actually get another phone call and to get another chance to go back and pursue my dream.”

This isn’t the first time that Miller has signed a contract with an NLL franchise. Last year, Miller reached a two-year deal with the Buffalo Bandits, the team that originally drafted him in 2021. While he participated in training camp, he didn’t end up making the final roster. It was an eye-opening experience for Miller, one that motivated him over this past year to keep improving.

“I took a day and I probably sulked a little bit and I shouldn’t have,” Miller said. “But then the next day I was like, ‘What are you going to do now? You’re still young. You got chances. You think you’re gonna hang ‘em up now just because someone said ‘no’ one time, or are you going to get back to it and try and live out your dream?’ That’s what it was for me. I just got right back on the horse and took all the information I learned and really learned from it.”

Since Miller was released from the Bandits, he took part in two box lacrosse leagues in-state. The first was with the Elmira Renegades of the Professional Box Lacrosse Association (PBLA), then with the Tuscarora Tomahawks in the Can-Am Lacrosse League over the summer. With both teams, he worked on becoming a more well-rounded player.

“I played a lot of offense, and for that league you had to play some defense,” Miller said. “I came to find out that if I stay healthy and fresh, I can kind of hold my own if I get tired. Defense definitely wasn’t my strong suit. I’m not going to say I’m the best defenseman out there, but it definitely helped my game to try and get back to my end goal of going to the NLL… It was fast-paced, and that’s kind of what you look for in trying to develop your game.”

Box lacrosse is vastly different from the field lacrosse that’s the standard in high school college. Miller compares it to ice hockey because it’s typically played in the same arena but on turf, the goalies wear similar-sized pads, and there’s more striking and checking. Miller hopes that box lacrosse becomes bigger in Ithaca, especially to help the local players improve their own game.

“It’s made them better at field lacrosse because box [lacrosse] is so tight-spaced and yet makes you think quicker,” Miller said. “When you go onto a field, you see it bigger and with more space, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I can go here, here and here.’ It gives you more options and you just get different views for yourself and you become a better player that way.”

With Miller having such an outstanding collegiate career, it might be easy to forget how excellent he was at Ithaca High. During his senior season in 2017, Miller helped the Little Red win the Section IV Class A title while being named as an All-State Third Team selection and a US Lacrosse All-American. Miller has had time to reflect on what makes the lacrosse community in the city so special.

“What’s awesome about Ithaca is the fact that you’ve got a great high school program and great leadership from their coaches,” Miller said. “Then you also have a top-five Division I school (Cornell) playing lacrosse right up the street. And then you also got a really good Division III program (Ithaca College) where you can watch some good lacrosse, too.”

Training camp begins at the end of October for Miller as he hopes to make an NLL final roster on his second attempt. If he manages to do so, he’ll do whatever he can to help the Knighthawks win a championship, just like he did in high school and college.

“I’m going to give them my all every time I’m out there, and I’m not going to hesitate on anything,” Miller said. “I’m going to try and bring not only my offensive skills and passing and shooting, but also if I do get stuck out there in defense, I can hold my ground a little bit and be an all-around team guy.”