When Brian White and Tyler Miller stepped off the ice after a tough quarter-final loss at the 2006 all-Ontario boys’ hockey championship held in Fort Frances and Emo, it was unknown what uniform the pair would wear the following season.
The lifelong friends spent three seasons wearing the Muskie black-and-gold, dazzling fans with nifty plays and big goals.

And in each of those years, the duo played at the all-Ontarios: in London (2004), Windsor (2005), and locally in 2006, twice helping the Muskies reach the final eight in the 20-team showdown.
Fast forward to the 2007-08 season, where White and Miller continue to light the goal lamps albeit some 2,000 km apart.
After spending a year with Miller in Port Hope, Ont. (a short drive east of Toronto), White moved closer to home and now suits up for the Winnipeg South Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
The MJHL is an 11-team league comprised of teams in and around Winnipeg.
The perennially-strong Blues—celebrating their 25th year of play—currently sit tied for third in the five-team Addison Division with 31 wins and 15 losses, along with five overtime losses and two shootout losses to their credit.
White has had a solid season thus far, contributing nine goals (including two on the power play and two shorthanded), 14 assists, and 25 penalty minutes through 52 league games.
The 19-year-old, who is the son of Randy and Diane White of Fort Frances, is one of only four players on the squad who don’t hail from Winnipeg or the surrounding area.
The lightning quick, but thin-as-a-rail, young man of yesteryear also has matured into a solid 5’10”, 175-pound centre, who has a year of junior eligibility remaining.
Miller also has seen a remarkable physical transformation as the 19-year-old, once very small in stature, has stretched up to six feet tall and now weighs a robust 187 pounds.
The weight Miller carries most, however, is that of the team.
Port Hope’s leading scorer and only all-star game participant, Miller had a phenomenal month of January, earning East Division Player-of-the-Month honours.
In the span of nine games, Miller netted five goals and assisted on 18 others as the Preds leapt from fourth place into a tie for second with Kingston.
On the season, Miller has 22 goals and 40 assists for 62 points. Of note, six goals and 14 assists have come on the power play, with Miller also chipping in four short-handed markers.
Coming off an impressive rookie campaign where he scored 35 points in 48 games, Miller (barring injury) will more than double his 2006/07 points total and lead the Predators, who currently sit at 28 wins, 13 losses, and six overtime losses, into a top four playoff seed in the eight-team Eastern Division.
Playing in the 36-team Ontario Provincial Junior ‘A’ League, Port Hope has a recent history of securing Northwestern Ontario players.
Besides Miller and White, the Preds also had Tyler Barker of Devlin and Dan MacIntyre of Fort Frances in the lineup last year.
And this season, Brooks Mejia (Kenora) and Sean Bassingthwaite (Red Lake) have suited up, although Bassingthwaite recently was dealt to the Fort William North Stars of the SIJHL.
For Miller, the son of Debbie George and Brad Miller of Fort Frances, hockey always has been his passion, and the recently-turned 19-year-old still has one season of junior remaining.