Claimed:Rudolph Schmeckeldorf Biography

[Corco 1,280]

Rudolph Schmeckeldorf Biography

 

 

Childhood - Rudolph Schmeckeldorf was born to former Olympian parents in Zurich, Switzerland; his father being a silver medal-winning alpine skiier, and his mother being a gold medalist in figure skating. Wanting to follow in his parent's footsteps, Rudolph learned to skate before he learned to walk. Growing up, he consistently played with and better than peers nearly twice his age in his native Zurich. By the age of 10, there was nothing more for Rudolph to gain by continuing to play in his hometown, so he left home and crossed the Atlantic Ocean in order to play against better competition in North America. At first, the transition wasn't easy for Rudolph; he missed his parents and dog dearly, as well as his friends from home. There were many instances where he wanted to simply pack up all of his things and return home, but his parents refused to let him just give up, they continuously pushed him to stick it out and do his best. 

 

High School - The perseverance of Schmeckeldorf's parents would eventually bear fruit, as Schmeckeldorf committed to play ice hockey at Shattuck St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minnesota; the same school that NHL superstar Sidney Crosby and many other current NHL players attended before making the jump to the next level of hockey. At first, Schmeckeldorf was extremely excited about the prospect of playing for such an esteemed academy, although that initial excitement would soon wear off. In his first year, Rudolph was relegated to duty on the team's checking line, a role that he absolutely abhorred. His play style did not mesh well at all with his role, which was a major contributing factor to his stat-line of  2 goals and 6 assists in 30 games. Once again, Rudolph wanted to quit, but he ultimately decided to stick it out again after consulting his parents regarding his situation. After airing out his grievances to his coaches after his first year, Schmeckeldorf shifted his attitude into a more hard-working and driven approach; if he wanted something he would go out and get it, rather than mope and grope like he had done previously. In the off-season, he bulked up significantly and spent a large amount of time away from hockey, which he credited as helping him to be able to clear his mind and focus solely on hockey when he had to. His second year at the school saw him receive a promotion to the second line, and his point production greatly increased due to this, going from 2G6A in the previous season to 7 goals and 13 assists in 30 games. While his sophomore season was strong, his junior season was even stronger. Rudolph's hard work on AND off the ice inspired his coaches to name him as a team captain, as well as promoting him to the first line. He became a vocal leader on and off the ice, as well as assuming the role of mentor for the first year players on the team. He led the team in points, scoring 13 goals and 27 assists in 30 games, which was good enough for him to receive the team MVP award. His grades also skyrocketed during that year, so much so that he was able to graduate from Shattuck St. Mary's a year early.

 

Schmeckeldorf during his junior year with the Michigan State Spartans

 

College - After scoring nearly perfect on his SAT and ACT, Schmeckeldorf had his pick of whatever college he wished to attend in the United States. After fielding offers from various Division I teams, he managed to narrow it down to four schools: Penn State University, Michigan State University, the University of Maine, and Arizona State University. The first school that Schmeckeldorf eliminated was Arizona State, due to the abundance of mad crazy thotties. Next to be eliminated was the University of Maine, since the school hasn't done dick compared to it's conference counterparts. And last to be eliminated were the Nittany Lions, due to them only being a D1 ice hockey program for a few years, compared to the longer history of the Michigan State Spartans. Schmeckeldorf's freshman year was not without controversy, as he began the season on the injured reserve after a horrific penile fracture injury that occurred during rookie night initiations. After a large amount of reconstructive surgery and extensive rehabilitation therapy, Schmeckeldorf was able to get back onto the ice for the second half of the Spartans season, however due to his time missed he was not able to get completely up to speed with the rest of the team, only scoring 2 goals and 5 assists in 15 games as the Spartans missed the post season. Thankfully though, his sophomore year was an improvement (thanks in part to no penile fractures during the pre-season), as he would rack up 10 goals and 22 assists in 30 games. The Spartans would finish the season with a 20-9-1 record, which was good enough for 3rd in their conference, behind only the University of Michigan and Notre Dame. Having such a record allowed the Spartans to head to the Frozen Four, where they would lose to their rivals, the University of Michigan, in the semi final game 3-0. The tournament was not a pretty one for Schmeckeldorf, as he was only able register a single assist over the course of the entire tournament, much to the disdain of his fans and coaches. Despite this lackluster performance in the post season, Schmeckeldorf's coaches saw that he was simply going through a slump towards the end of the season and awarded him the captaincy for his junior year. This year would turn out to be his final year with the Spartans, as he announced before the season began that he would forgo his senior year of eligibility and enter the VHLM draft following the conclusion of the college hockey season. Any doubts that such an announcement would negatively affect his play that season were quickly dispelled as he set a Michigan State hockey record for most assists in a season, with 42 (to go along with 8 goals). What followed the regular season for Schmeckeldorf and the Spartans was a miracle run to the NCAA championship game; a run that saw the Spartans defeat their hated rivals, the University of Michigan Wolverines, in a quadruple-overtime thriller in the semi-final game. However the dream of a National Title would fall short in the championship game against the Cornell Big Red, as the Big Red proved to be too much for the Spartans, defeating them handily 5-1.

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Claimed