"There’s about 4,000 college hockey players in Division 1 and Division 3, and that’s not a huge number. So, if you make any level of college hockey, you’re a really good player,” Babson coach Jamie Rice emphasized.
Of course, he has a point. Also using Keith Aucoin (Chelmsford, Mass.) as a talking point, the coach reminded that there have been recent examples of Division 3 players finding success at the professional level. It seems that every year the gap between both divisions narrows just a little bit more.
Mike Völlmin soon might be another name to reference. Coming out of New Hampton School, Völlmin was trying to plot out his future in both school and hockey.
“I applied to Babson coming out of New Hampton … and I got straight-up rejected,” Völlmin playfully recalled. This setback helped push him to the junior ranks, with the Northern Cyclones. After Völlmin put together a strong year there, Rice (Newton, Mass.) had a little more leverage in arguing for the defenseman to join the college. While Völlmin did consider another year of juniors and making a push for a Division 1 program, he decided not to tempt fate too much. “If I broke my leg playing juniors, then I lose everything I’ve worked for. Babson is a really good school, has a pretty good business program. I felt like it was my type of people,” Völlmin said.
In a sense, Völlmin already had come farther than many would have expected. At a young age, his family moved from New Jersey, and some semblance of a hockey environment, to North Carolina, which had iced an NHL team for fewer years than Völlmin had been alive. Yet, somehow, despite a Swiss father whose sports devotion leaned toward soccer, he fell in love with hockey. It would make things difficult for him and his parents. Ice time and competition were hard to find. One season, he had to abandon the ice altogether. Thankfully, he was able to substitute the absence with roller hockey. Nonetheless, it was becoming clear that, if he wanted to truly pursue hockey, he would have to migrate back north.
“I randomly chose schools via Google maps,” Völlmin shared about his complex process of finding a prep school to play at. Among Google’s suggestions was New Hampton. After two seasons which, statistically, would imply that he had some difficulties adjusting to more consistent, high-level competition, Völlmin proved in his senior season that he belonged among some of the nation’s best high school players. Wanting to build off that success, he played the next season with the Northern Cyclones, growing ever more confident. “When I first got to New Hampton, I was really unsure,” Völlmin confessed. “I knew I had the skill because I was always working on my hands, and I was a good skater. It was more having the vision and keeping up with the play.”
It was that skill-set and potential that had drawn interest from the Babson brass. Völlmin wasted little time validating their belief. As a freshman, he received ample ice time and managed 10 points from the back end. It was an inspiring start, though both Völlmin and Rice admitted there was still plenty of room for growth. Völlmin recalled one instance where youthful negligence was met with sharp criticism. “I showed up five minutes late to a team meeting or something, and one of the seniors pulled me aside and said, ‘This isn’t going to fly.’ ”
It appears to be a minor blemish on a pretty sterling record. Rice lauded Völlmin’s effort and willingness to learn. “Certainly, he translated his natural competitiveness into a higher level of defending — not that he was not a good defender,” Rice observed. “He was able, as a defenseman, to play in every situation. He became, with his skating, competitiveness, character, (a) last minute of every period, pulled goalie either side, top penalty killer, top power-play guy. As dynamic as he was offensively, he became that same player defensively.”
Rice had challenged those strict seniors, who had called out Völlmin, to leave a legacy. They rallied behind that call, winning the ECAC East championship. Völlmin would help the Beavers repeat the feat in his sophomore season. They couldn’t keep the run going, but Völlmin still would play in the conference championship in each of his four seasons in Babson Park. It was the kind of winning tradition Rice had been encouraging his players to establish and maintain, and the commitment from guys like him was a key part of it.
While the bulk of Völlmin’s success ought to be credited to his own will, as many hockey players will acknowledge, a healthy dose of luck helps. Throughout the European leagues, there are various limits on the number of imports a team can carry. Rules vary, but, generally, an import is a player from another country. That label always gets attached to a North American player. So, not only do you have to prove you’re good enough to play in whichever league, but you have to prove you’re worthy of one of those four or seven (whatever number) spots more than someone else. However, as a dual Swiss/U.S. citizen, Völlmin avoided import status. He just had to perform better than the other Swiss guys on a roster.
First, he had to catch someone’s eye. Earlier comparisons aside, Division 3 games are not always a main attraction for scouts. So Völlmin compiled his own highlight reel to promote himself. “I had a lot of good breakout passes and me just wheeling on the ice,” he joked. Yet, Jason O’Leary saw something in them. The coach invited Völlmin over to practice with his team after his time at Babson had finished. Practice is not the correct word as, really, it was a tryout. Völlmin passed this first test, and Langenthal signed him for the next season. Still, Völlmin wasn’t sure how long it might last. “They had a lot of old guys, guys who had played in the Swiss A league. There’s also some younger guys who are really good junior players. I was thinking back to what Coach Rice always said at Babson: ‘Do all the little things right.’ ”
He did more than that. Völlmin contributed 19 regular-season points, and three more in the playoffs, as he played a big role in helping Langenthal win the Swiss B league championship. The team would get to participate in the relegation round. Normally, that would have given Langenthal a chance to move up to the A league, but unfortunately the organization couldn’t meet certain obligations and would have been forced to stay put, even if it had won.
That was little bother to Völlmin. What he originally planned as a sort of “gap year,” he was now willing to extend. He suited up for Langenthal, again, last season. He repeated his point total, but Langenthal was not able to double as champions. Nonetheless, Völlmin had shown he was a consistent and effective B league player. Instead of relying on homemade videos, Völlmin was showcasing his talents, live, to Swiss scouts. O’Leary had been assisting with Genève-Servette in the A league last season, and, before returning to the B, he recommended his former defenseman. Just two years removed from Division 3 hockey, Völlmin had climbed to one of the best leagues in Europe.
He admits, though, it hasn’t come without struggle. He got a nice “welcome to” moment when his team opened against KHL powerhouse CSKA in an exhibition. “The whole summer I was thinking about that game,” he relayed. “I remember a guy just burned me wide, and I took him down and they got a penalty shot.” Now playing with and against former NHL players, Völlmin really has been able to test his mettle. He has received plenty of praise from his seasoned peers, but he makes sure to heed their criticism, too. “It sucks when they say bad things to me. When they have bad things to say to me, I’m all ears. I hate to let them down. I don’t want them to be like, ‘this Division 3 guy.’ ”
They probably haven’t been thinking that, lately. Talking to him with four games left in the season, Völlmin had a mix of optimism and realism about Genève’s chances of making the playoffs. The team was a day away from playing the best team in the league, while sitting outside the playoff bubble. It would lose that game to Berne, but with games against Fribourg and Zürich upcoming (both teams just ahead of them in the standings), the Eagles still had some control over their fate. In Fribourg, Völlmin would score the eventual game-winner. That win closed the gap on Fribourg to two (regulation wins in the NLA are worth three points, OT/SO wins two, and OT/SO losses one). In the next game, Völlmin assisted on the game-winner. A Fribourg shootout loss the same night meant that Genève had total control of its fate hosting Zürich. A regulation win and it would be in. Völlmin was held scoreless, but he turned in an even rating as the Eagles won their third in a row and clinched a playoff spot.
It won’t be easy as Genève operates from the eighth seed, opening against perennial powerhouse Berne. Yet, no matter the outcome, Völlmin has shown that he belongs in the NLA. Already signed through next season, he knows where he will be next fall. This European experience is threatening to become a first career.
“As long as I’m continuing to progress and the contracts keep improving,” Völlmin said, “I’ll keep going.”
