Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Colin Miller has been fined $2000 for diving/embellishment.
Miller was given a warning by the NHL Hockey Operations after a game against the Calgary Flames on November 23. He was not penalized during the game, but did draw a hooking penalty on Calgary’s James Neal late in the third period.
Miller was hit with the fine after his second incident which came on March 30 against the San Jose Sharks. Miller was penalized for embellishment on the play by referee Tom Chmielewski, with Sharks forward Marcus Sorensen going off for interference.
As a reminder, here’s the scale of fines issues to those found guilty of diving/embellishment.
The league reviews all possible embellishment situations and may consider additional dives that were not penalized during the game. They may also rescind dives called in a game that were later reviewed and determined not to be embellishments.
Here’s Rule 64, which covers diving:
64.1 Diving / Embellishment – Any player who blatantly dives, embellishes a fall or a reaction, or who feigns an injury shall be penalized with a minor penalty under this rule.
A goalkeeper who deliberately initiates contact with an attacking player other than to establish position in the crease, or who otherwise acts to create the appearance of other than incidental contact with an attacking player, is subject to the assessment of a minor penalty for diving / embellishment.
The Diving/Embellishment Review Process
The NHL’s Hockey Operations department tracks every diving or embellishment penalty called on the ice. They also review each game to identify possible dives that were missed by the on-ice officials. (In some cases, they even rescind those diving penalties that may have been called during a game. Boston’s Brad Marchand was the beneficiary of such a modification.)
Once the Hockey Ops team agrees that a dive has taken place, they issue a citation. Sportsnet’s Damien Cox reported that there are nine individuals who participate in the review of each incident. If six decide that a dive has taken place, the player is cited.
