Steve: Kelly, this is going to be your first interview for the Bucs, so could you tell me a little bit about your background, where you grew up, and where you call home?

Kelly: Well, I am from Toledo, Ohio. I was 20 years old on Saturday, the night we won the Anderson Cup. Toledo is a pretty small town. It is not much bigger than Des Moines. I played for the midget team, the Toledo Junior Storm. It is a midget AA team. Then I went off to Waterloo and I played one season, well, half a season in Waterloo. They told me that I wasn’t going to be playing that much more, so they sent me back home. Then the following year I went to the North American League and played for the Chicago Freeze. Half way through the season everybody was saying that Des Moines wanted to trade, and I asked to please be traded - I want to go to Des Moines. And they wouldn’t do it. So I waited until the end of the season, then I finally talked to Owens and he got me out here.

Steve: How did you make the jump from playing in Toledo to Waterloo?

Kelly: Well, it was a little frustrating. I was only 15 years old and the guys were a lot older. We had a pretty veteran team. I think there were like four rookies. I played with, most of the fans are familiar with Andrew Tortorella and Doug Schmidt. They took me in pretty well and they showed me the ropes for part of the time. I just couldn’t hold on there.

Steve: So then you had to go back and that was probably pretty discouraging for you at that point.

Kelly: Yeah, it was a little frustrating going from, you know, playing in the USHL and scoring my first goal in Des Moines during the Buc Bowl against Rochester. The next night I get sent home and go back to midget AA. It was a little, you know, tight for me but I fought through it. I didn’t ever think I would ever have an opportunity to play in the USHL again, but there is always an opportunity.

Steve: When you had the opportunity to move from the NAHL, did you want to come to play for the Bucs? I mean, was that a goal that you had?

Kelly: Yeah, I wanted to come to Des Moines. It was probably in January and there was controversy, and our coach didn’t want to let me go cause he wanted me to stay. I kind of wanted to come to the Bucs cause I knew, you know, there was a chance to win the Triple Crown and then in the future, you know. But it just didn’t work out that season. I talked to him over the summer, and it came up to August and he asked me how I liked it, and I said I love it. Now I am here.

Steve: Toledo, Ohio is where you grew up. What kind of hockey programs do they have there? Is hockey pretty big in Toledo?

Kelly: Well, we start out with your mighty mites and your paperweights and the squirt. Then the peewee, then the bantam, and then the midget. They have a Junior B team in the Central State Hockey League, the Toledo Cherokees. And then they have a Toledo Storm team. It’s an East Coast team. It’s a minor league pro team. And there are two local rinks. One kind of fits right here in the Metro Ice Sports Arena, and the other one is kind of a local rink with three sheets of ice on it.

Steve: So hockey is pretty big out there. You said you’ve got a Junior B team. Do they have high school hockey too?

Kelly: Oh, yeah, they have high school hockey. They have the intermediate high school, which I think is JV. Then they have the varsity games on Friday nights. It gets pretty interesting, but nothing like Minnesota hockey or Wisconsin High School. Nothing like that. Most of the talented players play travel hockey.

Steve: I see. So they make that jump right away?

Kelly: Right.

Steve: So when did you first realize that you wanted to make hockey something that you were pursuing? It sounds like pretty early, because at 15 you left.

Kelly: Yeah. I was about 13 years old when I started talking to Waterloo. I was talking to the coaches there. They said, you know, you have been playing in Toledo and not a lot of scouts have been able to see your talent and we would like you to come out. I went out when I was 14 years old, and tried out. As a 14-year-old, I got banged around and hit and sore and was wearing ice bags all weekend. When I went back, I was a little more comfortable cause I got my feet wet. I think when I was about 15, I really decided that I wanted to play hockey.

Steve: So what was your tie to Waterloo then that you were talking to them so early?

Kelly: It is because the owner, Barry Smith, was the owner of the Waterloo Black Hawks and he was the owner of the Toledo Storm, the East Coast team, and I was the stick boy for the Toledo Storm. I was skating before and after the pro games and Barry saw me and thought I should go and get a try out in Waterloo. It was basically the town’s decision where I went because, you know, they own both teams.

Steve: Now does anybody else in your family play hockey then?

Kelly: No. My brother kind of got jealous and he quit after his Junior B. I moved away and he stayed home and played one year, and then he decided not to play. Yeah, my dad did play minor league for the Toledo Blades and the Toledo Hornets.

Steve: So he probably got you started into hockey then?

Kelly: Yeah. Dirk Graham, coach of the Chicago Black Hawks who just got fired, made my first hockey net in Toledo when he was playing for the Gold Diggers in my back yard out of blankets and plywood.

Steve: He did?

Kelly: Yeah, my dad talked to him a couple days ago and he’s still with the organization.

Steve: Let’s talk about some of your other interests besides hockey. Now you will go home in the summer then back to Toledo?

Kelly: Right.

Steve: And what are some of your other interests that you have? Any hobbies or things you like to do?

Kelly: Yeah, I like to work outside and this year I’m going to start lifting weights a lot more and focus on, you know, getting my body in shape for the next season. I am on a golf course once every week. I’m going to work on the golf course, and I’ll probably be on the golf course every day out of the week. I don’t mind fishing. I can fish but sometimes it gets a little boring. Playing with kids out in the neighborhood, you know, they come knocking on the door wanting to play street hockey or something. You always have to give the kids the time. And just spending time with my family cause it’s kind of hard when you go back home and everybody is working, you know, and you try to go to a movie or go downtown or something like that.

Steve: Have your parents seen you play yet as a Buc?

Kelly: Oh, yeah. They love it out here. They came out once for the Buc Bowl but we lost to Rochester in the final game. They still loved the town and loved the fans, and a lot of people talk to my dad when he’s here. It wasn’t like that in Chicago last year. My dad would go to Chicago and no one really talked to him. He comes here and he comes up in the lounge and it seems like every person that walks in there knows that it’s Kelly Miller’s dad. It’s just comfortable to him to know that he can come out here and see this place and hear these people go crazy for you.

Steve: So what are some of the differences? It was the Chicago Freeze you played for, right?

Kelly: Yeah. Last year was their first year, their inaugural season. We had a pretty nice rink. It sat 3,500 and had 14 sky boxes. I think people are just a little tied up with themselves there and weren’t looking forward to putting a player where he needed to be. I talked to Mr. Owens and now I am here. I moved down from Chicago.

Steve: What are your future plans as far as hockey?

Kelly: Well, I would like to spend one more season in Des Moines and hopefully do it all over again. I mean, we’ve got one out of the three now. I would like to play hockey over in Europe.

Steve: End up there for your final career?

Kelly: No.

Steve: Just to move on?

Kelly: Yeah, just to move on and to get my feet wet with the pro leagues. I want to get a couple try outs this summer.

Steve: In Europe?

Kelly: In Europe or on the West Coast or the East Coast.

Steve: Will they come to recruit then?

Kelly: Right, yes.

Steve: Tell me about the European hockey leagues. Is it structured similar to ours?

Kelly: Yeah, it’s a little faster. What you do is you go over there and you are probably one of the youngest guys on the team if you do make it. I have talked to a couple guys over there and I have talked to two coaches, and they really have highly doubts on not this year coming up, but next year after one more season here with the Bucs. It is a faster game; it is not very physical. There is probably maybe one fight in a season out of the team. I think it’s just a lot faster.

Steve: Well, it seems like you’ve been in your share of fights this season.

Kelly: Yeah!

Steve: So do you like to fight or does it just happen?

Kelly: Something happens and I think I tend to, you know, get too restless with other guys and they just want to drop their gloves, and I will be more than willing to drop my gloves with anybody in the league. Sometimes you have to think about your team first and put your team before your fights. Just like in Waterloo, you know, a guy drops his gloves and wants to fight you. He sets in the penalty box for ten minutes and you get two points while he’s in there and you feel pretty good about yourself. But other than that, yeah, if we are down by a goal and something needs to happen and get our team going, I will be more than willing to throw them down.

Steve: Okay. Well, complete this question. The fans would be surprised to know this about me.

Kelly: I am a good cook. I love to cook pasta. I can grill. I like to do steaks and pork and chicken on the grill and BBQ ribs and stuff like that.

Steve: Is there anything else you would like to tell the fans here for the end of our interview?

Kelly: Well, I would like to thank them for all their support. Since I have came to Des Moines, it has been a real pleasure, you know, playing in front of all these people. Just thank you and keep up the good work and let’s go get it.