Brooke Woodrum, Feature Writer for Her Campus at the University of Michigan, sat down with Michigan hockey goalie, Erik Portillo (UMich Ross School of Business ’24), on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 for an exclusive interview on his experiences playing hockey and attending the University of Michigan.
Brooke Woodrum: Hi, Erik. Do you mind telling me a little bit about yourself?
Erik Portillo: I’m from Sweden originally, I grew up in Gothenburg, where I spent most of my lifetime. I lived there until I was about 17 or 18 until I decided to move to Dubuque, Iowa and play for the Fighting Saints for about a year. Finally, I came to Michigan, and I’ve been here for the past two years.
BW: How did you first become interested in playing hockey? What was playing hockey during your childhood like?
EP: It actually started out with my younger brother, he’s two years younger than me, but he started (playing hockey) before me. I think he was about four years old, so I was six. I still have the memory of going down to our local rink at home and seeing it all. I thought it looked fun, so I tried it out, and it all happened from there.
BW: Who is your hero or biggest role model?
EP: My parents have been a big part of helping me and guiding me through tough times in life. My grandfather has also been a big figure, helping me with school, that’s a big part of why I ended up here (at the University of Michigan). He has always been very keen about keeping two paths open. They all have helped in their own ways and have been super important for the journey.
BW: So, how did you decide to play hockey at Michigan?
EP: I honestly had a really tough time making a decision. I played for Frölunda, which is pretty much the best team in Sweden. Frölunda was centered in Gothenburg, which is where I lived, so I lived twenty minutes from there; I was super fortunate to live at home. For me, being a goalie, it means there is really just one guy who can play and there was a lot of competition within the club to play up and play with the older guys, so I had a really tough year there competing with two really great goalies—one plays in the Blackhawks organization and the other is also in college here. During that year, I was kind of struggling, but by accident, my dad actually met my current agent, though at that time he was just a parent for a guy on my brother’s team. He was the former coach of the Canadian National team, so he talked my dad through college being a great opportunity for me. I was kind of deciding between if I should continue with hockey when I was doing well in school. He talked us through it, and I thought it (college) sounded really interesting to me and it was a great opportunity; it really helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel. I started working from there and figured out my commitment to Michigan, then the Buffalo (Sabres) NHL Draft came, and it all kind of fell into place after that.
BW: What do you like about playing hockey specifically at Michigan?
EP: I really love the American school spirit being here, I don’t think you can get that anywhere else. Especially here at Michigan, sports is such a big thing, just the brand name of it all. I think that part is amazing: It’s so fun playing in front of a huge crowd at Yost with so many people that really love the athletics here. It makes you proud as an athlete to represent that and you feel appreciated; you really appreciate the people coming and supporting you every day.
BW: Do you have a favorite memory so far from playing hockey at Michigan?
EP: I think recently, when we won the Big Ten, that was a huge thing for us. That was our first really big win. We got to put our banner up in the roof and I think that was very special to make a mark in the history of the hockey program, and hopefully we can do that with winning a National Championship here as well. Winning the Big Ten was a big thing, it was fun to achieve something with my teammates.
BW: There is no doubt that this year’s Michigan hockey team is something special – you mentioned you just recently won the Big Ten Championship, in which you were awarded Most Valuable Player, and the team is seeded No. 1 for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Describe how these recent successes have felt and what they mean for you and your team.
EP: Starting from the beginning of the year, and even last year, since the team is pretty much the same with a lot of players choosing to stay, we have so much fun together. We compete so hard against each other on the ice, so it’s fun to see the result of all the blood, sweat, and tears you put onto the rink and at practice every day. It’s not hard at all to do that when you have teammates who always challenge you and want to be there. It’s so much fun to be around them and it’s such an awesome time. It’s crazy how fast this year has gone by.
BW: How has playing hockey shaped or changed your college experience?
EP: First of all, I would probably be home in Sweden doing college if I didn’t have this connection. With how it would have changed it, just being here at Michigan, the resources here for athletes are incredible. Also, the network you build from meeting people around the rink or who have connections to hockey somehow create so many fun coincidences just running into people. I think sports in general here really gives you an extra amount of opportunities, which is amazing.
BW: What is next for you in the future, hockey related, or otherwise?
EP: Now we (the Michigan Hockey team) are all focused on winning the National Championship. We do have a good chance, we know that, but every team whose playing in this tournament is great, and I think anything can happen in a one-game series, so that’s all we’re focusing on here. We’re actually leaving tomorrow (March 23rd, 2022) to Allentown, Pennsylvania so we have AIC for the first game there (on March 25th, 2022), and that’s all we are preparing for.
BW: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
EP: I have had an awesome experience at Ross (University of Michigan’s School of Business), I think this has been almost the best experience outside of hockey. The amount of people you meet here is awesome, especially the professors. I’ve had so many great professors here that have really inspired me. I am so impressed with how they have worked at big companies in top-tier positions and yet they come back here to give back to the students. They’re always engaged in their work and they make it really fun to go to school.
From all of us at Her Campus at the University of Michigan, we wish Erik and the Michigan Hockey team the best of luck as they continue their 2022 National Championship run in the Frozen Four. Go Blue!
-Brooke Woodrum