Mitchell van der Heijden didn’t play hockey until he was 11. “Hockey has never been a huge sport in the Netherlands. So, of course, I started with football.” He was a star football player as a youngster in his hometown of Alkmaar, where he also excelled at field hockey. “Field hockey was great for me. It helped me become a leader, and stick handling in the game is extremely tough. That’s why I think my hands are as good as they are.” He picked up skating at the age of 9, at a local rink in his hometown, before finally lacing up the skates at 11 (as previously mentioned). “It was a struggle at first, cause I didn’t really enjoy the physical side of the game. Playing with a bunch of kids who knew I was more of a skill player and wanted to throw me off my game made me realize that I needed to bulk up. I wasn’t going to get pushed around much longer.” He says that playing on the Netherlands was fun, but not the challenge he needed. “It was too easy. The Dutch don’t prioritize hockey, hence why I moved to Switzerland to try it as a pro. I moved to Zurich and made it with ZSC, and played with them for a couple seasons. I loved my time in Switzerland. It helped me truly fall in love with the sport and made me realize that I could make it.”