Bad boy with a soft core: That's how Mike Halmo really ticks

Badboy is a widespread term in the ice hockey world. This is the name given to someone who offends their opponents. Someone who plays dirty. Someone who likes to set the checks outside the permitted limits. Mike Halmo has been repeatedly associated with this term in recent days.

After his check against Viennese Ali Wukovits, who then had to end his season, the HCB crack was taken out of action for four matches and is therefore only eligible to play again in game 4 of the final. The sports court has given the soon-to-be 30-year-old a nine-game-day ban this year, and Halmo is in second place in the ranking of bad boys with 101 penalty minutes.

"It's funny: I've been banned three times this year, but only once in my ten years as a professional." Mike Halmo Does he describe himself as a bad boy? “No,” said the former NHL player, “I play hard, I do. But that's my role in the team.” When talking to Halmo, these are the moments in which his expression becomes more serious and his statements sometimes become a little more gritty. The two faces of Mike Halmo The Canadian is not allowed to talk about the ban itself, but his frustration at not being able to play is still noticeable. “It’s funny: I’ve been banned three times this year, but only once in my ten years as a professional,” says Halmo when asked what he would say to critics of his tough game. “I was always successful with my style of play and that’s how I made it to the NHL. I had a good career. This year with the suspensions is frustrating, it annoys me not being able to play with the team.”

Mike Halmo has scored 34 points for the Foxes so far this year. © DLife

For Halmo, one thing is particularly important: what happens on the ice is one thing, what happens outside it is another. “Playing ice hockey is my job. And at work you have a different personality than in other life situations, such as with family or friends,” says the winger from Waterloo in southeastern Canada. The descriptions of some of his teammates and HCB confidants also fit in with this, characterizing him primarily as a kind-hearted person outside the field, but at the same time as the cabin clown par excellence. “That’s 100 percent true,” Halmo has to smile. “I have a very special sense of humor that not everyone understands, but many still find funny.” Watten, hiking and the South Tyrolean dialect While the North American likes to explore the limits on the ice, he takes it easy in his private life. This can also be seen in his great passion. “I love playing the guitar,” says Halmo, who loves playing songs like those of the Lumineers with his instrument. The 29-year-old is also a big football fan. “If I wasn't a professional hockey player, I would have tried to be a footballer. “I really like the Premier League,” says the HCB striker enthusiastically. In the English league he even follows the manager game known to us as “Fantacalcio” with passion.

“With Simon Pitschieler I am an unbeatable Watt duo.” Mike Halmo Another passion of Halmo is hiking and cycling. “South Tyrol is ideal for this. There are so many beautiful new places to discover here,” enthuses the Canadian. In general, the Trans-Etscher by choice has already become somewhat at home in this country. He already had a South Tyrolean girlfriend for some time, speaks a little bit of the dialect (“The boys in the cabin are learning it for me, but it's a bit tricky”) and has also mastered wading with flying colors. “With Simon Pitschieler I am an unbeatable duo in the team,” laughs the ice hockey professional. Alongside the stars in the NHL When Halmo raves about South Tyrol, that may mean something. Before he took the leap across the pond in the summer of 2017 and landed in the local Alpine country for the first time, he had already seen a number of ice hockey venues in North America in his career. The stint in New York in 2013/14 in particular left its mark: in the “Big Apple” he played 20 NHL games for the Islanders, scoring one goal.

Mike Halmo (right) wasn't afraid of a fist fight in the NHL either: Here he dueled with Blake Comeau. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / BRUCE BENNETT

In the best league in the world, Halmo also played with true ice hockey greats such as John Tavares, who is now considered one of the best centers in the NHL at Toronto. “The attitude of such players is simply impressive. Tavares, but also a Sidney Crosby, could have become chief physician somewhere in their lives - simply because they have this absolute will to be the best always and everywhere," says the Bolzano crack enthusiastically.

By the way, a very interesting description of Halmo was created at that time. “He plays a lively and gritty game and doesn’t hesitate to drop the gloves,” was how the Canadian was described on the “Elite Prospects” portal after his first NHL appearances. A bit of a “bad boy” has always been part of Mike Halmo - just like the soft core that characterizes him off the ice.

ICE Regular Season ICE	SP	TV	P
1. Klagenfurt	47	183:101	102
2. Fehervar	46	146:126	89
3. Salzburg	46	142:107	87
4. HCB South Tyrol	46	137:125	76
5. Linz	46	146:116	75
6. Villach	46	155:136	74
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Bad boy with a soft core: That's how Mike Halmo really ticks

No player divides opinion in the ICE Hockey League as much as HCB crack Mike Halmo. For some he is a ruthless roughneck, for others he is a brilliant striker whose tough game is worth its weight in gold for Bozen. But who is really behind the facade of ice hockey player Mike Halmo?

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