1 hockey player’s journey to Miami comes through championship pedigree and a leap of faith

Christophe Fillion came to the United States from Canada to achieve one goal: earn a contract playing professional hockey.

After spending four years at Quinnipiac University and being part of a national championship-winning team, he’s looking to continue pursuing that goal with the Miami University RedHawks.

Early in his career, Fillion played in several junior leagues, including the North American Hockey League and the British Columbia Hockey League in Canada. He eventually settled down with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL).

Anthony Noreen, then the head coach of the Tri-City Americans, remembered Fillion as a highly-skilled offensive player with some room for improvement defensively. Fillion knew he needed to improve in that area as well.

“I wasn’t the best defensive player when I came to the U.S.,” Fillion said. “I became more of a two-way player. [The U.S.] has been good. There are things that are different back home just in how coaches coach, and I like it more here. They want players to be good defensively and offensively, not like back home where it’s just focused on offense.”

Fillion played 54 career games with Muskegon before moving to the Quinnipiac Bobcats in 2020-21. He registered 11 points in 25 games as a first year, beginning what would become a successful four years with the team.

His junior year with the Bobcats proved historical for the program and a rebound for Fillion. After a sophomore slump (four points in 19 games), he rediscovered his scoring stride, hitting a career-high 20 points in 41 games to finish 10th on the team in that department.

He was a key member in winning the national championship after an impressive 34-4-3 regular season. Fillion logged three points in four tournament games: a goal and an assist against the Ohio State University Buckeyes and an assist in a victory over the University of Michigan Wolverines in the semifinal.

The Bobcats triumphed over the powerhouse University of Minnesota Gophers 10 seconds into overtime, giving them their first championship in program history.

“It was special,” Fillion said. “It really took me like two weeks to realize that we won the national championship. It was something that the guys would talk about in the basement of our house, but when it happens, it doesn’t kick in for a week or two. It was a special opportunity that I got to be there.”

Fillion separated his shoulder during the game and needed pain injections, but that didn’t stop him from celebrating and showing some emotion with his teammates.

“When the goal was scored, I jumped off the bench and landed on my shoulder, and I didn’t feel a thing,” Fillion said. “I just started celebrating. I couldn’t feel a thing, so it was great, but I also remember grabbing one of my teammates and just started crying.”

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That championship experience and his play on the biggest stage intrigued the new Miami hockey head coach.

On Sunday, March 31, Noreen accepted the head coaching job. The first player he called to start building his team was Fillion, who entered the transfer portal when it opened on April 1.

“There’s just certain players that right from the first time you talk, you speak the same language,” Noreen said. “Right from the beginning, we were on the same page.”

After Noreen called Chris Lowe, president of hockey operations for Fillion’s old team in Muskegon, and Jeff Boston, Fillion’s family advisor, he called Fillion himself to pitch his vision for the program.

A cloud of hesitation initially plagued Fillion’s decision-making, but he knew what to do after speaking with Miami alumni Kiefer Sherwood and Kevyn Adams. He committed to Miami on April 3, just two days after entering the transfer portal.

“[Sherwood and Adams] were like, ‘This spot is special, and the program needs to get back to what it was.’” Fillion said. “Noreen and those two guys thought I could be a part of that. I felt special when those guys were telling me that.”

With one phone call, the new era of RedHawks hockey placed its first building block.

Noreen, who was at the U16 and U18 national tournaments in Las Vegas, Nevada, remembers hearing the news of Fillion’s decision.

“I could not have had a bigger smile on my face,” Noreen said. “I told him it’s something I’ll never forget. He was the first guy to take the leap and believe in what we were doing, and that meant a lot.”

Now, having fully immersed himself in the team and his online graduate program, Fillion is looking to help as a leader with the other veteran players like Boston College transfer Colby Ambrosio and Ryan Sullivan, another national champion on the RedHawks roster.

“It’s been great,” Sullivan said. “Both those guys have a lot of experience and knowledge, so they can chip in anywhere and bring a lot of good energy. They’ve been helpful in the room for sure.”

While there is always a learning curve, Fillion came in ready to compete for a principal role on the team.

“If a puck dropped tomorrow, he has earned a role in every facet of our program,” Noreen said.

No promises were made about his position in the lineup, but Fillion took the jump regardless. He is a key piece to leading a young team in one of the toughest conferences in the NCAA and, more importantly, re-establishing what made the Miami hockey program great all those years ago.

@jjmid04

middleje@miamioh.edu