When Kyle Schoppel ’08 stepped onto an ice skating rink for the first time, he did not aspire to be the ice hockey player that he is today. Rather, the Cambridge, Ontario native began speed skating at the age of five. “[Ice] hockey is big on my mom’s side of the family,” Schoppel said, “but they didn’t want to push it.”
So Schoppel was content skating laps on long blades for two years until his grandfather took him to watch his cousin play ice hockey. Then Schoppel made his own decision to switch. “I was really bad at first,” he recalled about adjusting to ice hockey skates. “I couldn’t stand up. It was pretty funny.”
But after a few weeks Schoppel got used to his skates, and he has been playing ice hockey ever since. He grew up playing on travel teams, since competing in school teams is not as prevalent in Canada as it is in the U.S.
At the age of 16, when he was in 11th grade, Schoppel began a four-year career in Junior Hockey. The teams in Junior Hockey are individually owned and organized according to each city, and players can get traded. Schoppel played for his hometown team, Cambridge Junior B, for a year and a half and then was traded to Kitchener Junior B. “It was kind of weird to be traded but it was OK,” he said. “I could still live at home because I was playing in a neighboring city.”
Though he was traded from his hometown team, Schoppel made the most of the trade. “[Playing for Kitchener] was a better hockey experience,” he said. “In the playoffs, we beat [Cambridge] twice.”
He played for Kitchener for two and a half years while attending the University of Waterloo part time. Schoppel was drafted to the Ontario Hockey League Junior A level. He tried out and could have played in that league, but would have lost his eligibility to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Amherst was on the horizon.
The age limit at the Junior B level is 21 years old, and Schoppel matriculated at Amherst when he was 20. “Right from the first day it was awesome,” Schoppel said of his Amherst experience. “When I got on campus, within an hour, guys [on the ice hockey team] were greeting me to see if I needed help.”
Even at three years older than most members of the Class of 2008, Schoppel found a niche. “I hung out with older guys and a lot of the hockey freshmen were older,” he explained.
Of course Schoppel also found a place on the ice. He was second on Amherst’s team and led all NESCAC rookies with 34 points on 16 goals and 18 assists. He was named the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. “I got to step into a big role from the start, mostly because of the teammates I played with,” he said. “It was challenging and exciting. I had no idea what to expect. It was nice to get to jump right into it.”
Schoppel maintained the momentum he gained as a first-year, and has consistently been a key player for Amherst. Now as a senior co-captain, Schoppel and the Jeffs are having one of their best seasons yet. Schoppel is leading the team in goals with 14 at the end of the regular season.
The Jeffs have found success against some of the nation’s top teams. They defeated the defending Div. III National Champion, SUNY-Oswego, early in the season. Recently, Amherst handed then-11th-ranked Bowdoin College its first loss of the season at the Bowdoin rink. Amherst’s win was significant since the Polar Bears have knocked the Jeffs out of the playoffs in that rink each of the last three years.
This past weekend, Amherst posted a 6-2 win over Williams College, beating the Ephs for the first time since the 2002-03 season. The Amherst seniors have now earned the right to host a playoff game for the first time in their careers.
“All of the seniors are pretty close,” Schoppel said of his five classmates. “It’s a great group of guys to have as leaders. They work hard and are team players.”
In addition to his classmates, Schoppel’s family members have been with him throughout his college career. His mom, dad and younger sisters—Ainsley and Ellesse—have made the eight-hour trip to Amherst from Southern Ontario for the majority of home games and even some away contests.
A psychology major and pre-med student, next year for the first time since he was seven years old, Schoppel will not play organized ice hockey.After graduation he has a job doing genetics research at the Children’s Hospital in Boston, Mass. He plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2009.
In the meantime, Schoppel is busy working on his thesis, which is an autobiographical memory study. It’s also playoff time, and Schoppel and the Jeffs are anxious to host Connecticut College in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament this weekend. “It’s a great atmosphere,” he said of Amherst. “It’s been an awesome four years.”