Mattias Sholl was sitting in his temporary bedroom in Youngstown, Ohio when he got a text from Bemidji State associate head coach Travis Winter.
“He said, ‘You’re going to get a FaceTime call in about 10 minutes,” Sholl recalled.
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As his third and final season of junior hockey was winding down, Sholl had yet to receive an offer to play for a Division I program.
So when Winter shot him that text, it was immediately met with skepticism and internal pandemonium.
“I kind of panicked a little bit,” Sholl said. “I remember going to the bathroom to fix my hair. I ended up just putting a hat on. I was nervous, to say the least.”
Sholl pressed the small green button on the bottom-right corner of his phone screen and was introduced to Tom Serratore. The longtime BSU head coach uttered the words the Hermosa Beach native waited his whole life to hear.
“Do you want to be a Beaver? Because we want to take a chance on the California kid.”
Little did Serratore and Winter know that the flyer they took on the undersized, under-recruited and underappreciated goaltender would pay off like it did.
Sholl moved to Bemidji six months later, then became the Beavers’ backbone. Four years after receiving the euphoric call, Sholl is in line to play his 100th game for Bemidji State against Minnesota Duluth on New Year's Eve.
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However, there was a time when Sholl questioned if he’d even get to play one.
“As far as I know, there wasn’t another offer out there for me to play college hockey other than Bemidji State,” Sholl said. “I’m glad they took a chance on me. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I repay them for taking that chance.”
Not the size of the dog
Eighty-two goalies have started at least one Division I game this season. Most of them clear 6 feet tall.
Three are tied for the shortest listed height, according to College Hockey News. Yale’s Jack Stark, Sacred Heart’s Cullen DeYoung and Sholl are each rostered at 5-foot-10, making Sholl one of the smallest goaltenders in the country.
It’s a generous 5-foot-10, too.
“There’s nothing you can do about genetics,” Sholl quipped. “Obviously, there are a lot of guys who are taller than me. But you can have a 6-foot-5 guy be sloppy down low, and that exposes him in different ways. Just for me, the biggest thing is the mindset. Some people could view being shorter as a hindrance. But you play with what you got, and your heart takes over.”
Sholl has always been on the smaller end of the spectrum, which has made him earn his opportunities to climb the ladder in hockey.
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After playing five seasons of AAA hockey for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings, Sholl got a shot to play for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the NAHL.
He posted gaudy numbers his first season, totaling a .934 save percentage, a 1.69 goals-against average and six shutouts in 25 regular-season games.
He won 17 of them.
However, Sholl had to wait for an opportunity to play in the USHL.
He followed his first year in Fairbanks with another head-turning campaign. After two years, Sholl had a record of 56-13-4-3, a 1.89 GAA and a .926 SV%.
Still, he was waiting for his collegiate offer.
“I’ve dealt with being undersized my entire career,” Sholl said. “It comes with the mindset. You know that you’re shorter, but you have to find ways to make up for that. Whether it’s in quickness, controlling rebounds to limit second chances or making the big, timely saves, those are the crucial pieces to being a smaller goalie.”
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While his wait persisted, Sholl got his shot to play in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms. His numbers took a hit playing for a team that finished 12-30-0-7. Sholl had a team-best .888 SV% and a 3.68 GAA.
Despite a forgettable season, Sholl was relieved to get an offer from Bemidji State after three grueling years of junior hockey.
“I never doubted that I’d get an offer, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t playing harder because I wanted to make a commitment so badly,” Sholl said. “When I made that jump from the NAHL to the USHL, I had to show that I was capable of succeeding at that high-pace, high-skill level of hockey.”
Seizing the moment
Sholl went through the typical freshman goalie experience at BSU in 2021. He joined the program as a third-stringer, sitting behind then-sophomore Gavin Enright and then-junior Michael Carr.
He quickly adjusted to the speed it takes to be successful at the D-I level in an exhibition at the Ralph Engelstad Arena against North Dakota. Sholl played one period and let in his first shot off the stick of Riese Gaber.
“I think it went in high-blocker, and the horn went off,” Sholl recalled. “All 12,000 or so fans they had in there were just going nuts. I think that’s my welcome-to-college-hockey moment. But honestly, my game got to a higher level when I got to college. My game was better here than it ever was in juniors. I actually felt more confident with the speed than I ever did in juniors.”
For many in-state, nonconference road trips, Bemidji State will bring more players on its travel roster, including a third goalie. For CCHA road trips, however, a select number of scratches and only one reserve goaltender make the trip beyond the players in the lineup.
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Sholl didn’t expect to be on the bus to Marquette, Mich., in 2021 for the Beavers’ first series league play.
“Right before we were supposed to go on the road trip to Northern Michigan, Gavin went down with an injury,” Sholl said. “I was prepared to backup that weekend. Carr had a few games under his belt that season, and it was his net. I was just fired up to go on the road.”
Carr played the first 30 minutes and let in four goals on nine shots. With nothing to lose, the Beavers threw the freshman in the net.
Sholl stopped 14 shots and led BSU to a 5-4 comeback victory.
“I felt prepared, but it’s one of those moments where you’re not even able to comprehend what’s happening,” Sholl said. “It’s kind of like, ‘Oh, crap, this isn’t the way you want to start your college career.’ But it’s a moment you prepare for, and I was ready for it.”
It was a performance that bought him his first collegiate start the following night, which resulted in his second win.
“I was a little more nervous for that one because I had more time to think about it,” Sholl said. “At the same time, I felt confident in my game because of how I practiced and prepared for that moment. That preparation takes over when you’re in the game.”
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With a pair of wins in his back pocket, Sholl entered the next week of practice aiming to prove why the net should be his going forward.
“We knew Gavin was going to miss at least another week, just with his timeline for his recovery,” Sholl said. “But, honestly, I didn’t really change anything. I just continued doing the things I was doing that put me in that situation to get that opportunity. I knew I was one of two goalies who could get the net, and I felt confident I could take it after that first weekend.”
Sholl started three of the next seven games, with Enright starting the other four. Midway through December, Sholl was given the net full-time as a freshman, starting 26 games and leading the Beavers to a Mason Cup runner-up finish.
By that point, the BSU brass learned that if they gave Sholl an opportunity, he would make the most of it.
“It’s the mindset you have to have, regardless of the situation,” Sholl said. “Whether you’re a returning player knowing you’re going to start or you’re a freshman coming in, when you have success, it’s not something you become complacent about. At least for me, I have the mindset of ‘I want more, I want to keep playing and keep proving myself.’”
Connecting to his roots
Over the last four years, Sholl has been a constant puzzle opposing teams have been tasked with solving. He’s earned the reputation of being a gritty goaltender capable of making the highlight-reel saves, just as the Sholls who stood in the crease before him did.
Tomas, Mattias’ older brother, has logged cumulative days between the pipes in collegiate and professional hockey. He played for Bowling Green from 2013-17 before entering his journeyman pro career in the SPHL, ECHA, AHL, HockeyAllsvenskan, ICEHL and Slovakia. Tomas is currently a player/coach for the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL.
Brad, Mattias’ father, was also a goalie, as was his grandfather, Daniel.
“I even had a cousin who was a goalie in roller hockey,” Sholl said. “I mean, it’s just a line of goalies. Being around the rink every day and having goaltending stuff engrained in you, it was kind of second nature that I’d become a goalie.”
Sholl had no shortage of guidance to look up to while playing youth hockey in the Bay Area.
“Any little bother kind of wants to be like their big brother,” he continued. “You want to strive to be as successful as them, maybe even beat them in the competition, at least that’s how I viewed it. (Tomas) has been pretty monumental for my growth as a goalie and a person. It’s been special watching his journey.”
Sholl strengthened his family ties even further in the last year. His mother, Britt, was born in Denmark. With the help of his sister and extended family overseas, Sholl went through the process of becoming a dual citizen.
Sholl has a Danish flag painted on the back of his helmet.
“Any hockey kid can speak on the sacrifices their parents had to make to get to where you are,” Sholl said. “It’s early-morning practices, it’s late nights getting picked up from the rink. They worked so hard for us, and they were so patient. It’s all of the little things they do, the sacrifices they make, the money they spend. I’m just so fortunate. It’s hard to put into words how much they did for me.”
Unfinished business
Sholl’s collegiate career is winding down.
He’s started every game this season for BSU and has 15 more on the schedule before the Mason Cup playoffs.
It’s a career that includes a bevy of CCHA and nationwide honors. Sholl is a seven-time CCHA Goaltender of the Week winner, a two-time Goaltender of the Month winner, an All-Rookie Team member his freshman year, a 2023 Mike Richter Award “Watch List” member his sophomore year and the CCHA Goaltender of the Year award recipient his junior year.
Sholl has also played in two Mason Cup title games, both resulting in losses. His goal hasn’t changed — he wants to play in the NCAA Tournament.
“When you commit to a school you’re all in,” Sholl said. “For me, not having another option, knowing that Bemidji State took a chance on me, it made me that much more driven to have success here and not just be a guy here that never plays. The second I committed here I was fully committed. That hasn’t changed. I’m committed to make the tournament.”
College hockey has also allowed Sholl to grow as a person off the ice. He’s learned to appreciate the growing moments and the difficult path he took to earn his success.
“I learned how to overcome adversity here,” Sholl said. “If you have a bad game as a freshman, don’t lose faith, keep putting the work in. You’ll always get out what you put in.”
Sholl also has to learn how to make hockey enjoyable, even in the moments when it’s hard to find salvation in the sport.
“You have no idea how fast it goes in college,” Sholl continued. “Now that I’m here as a senior, you just learn to appreciate the little things. Being around the guys is just the most special thing. I enjoy being at the rink with them every day. I’m so thankful I was given the chance to be Beaver.”
