Robbie Michel always approached hockey in stages. The important thing for him was that the transition from one level to the next was eased by a high level of fun.

High school hockey at West Genesee was great. He graduated from the dynastic program in 2013 without having thought much about taking the sport far beyond that.

But he decided to give juniors a shot, and moved from the Wildcats to two seasons of junior hockey in Ottawa.

Michel had a blast there, and initially hoped to turn that experience into a chance to play Division III hockey. Going D-1 was a pipe dream. However, It became apparent that he had a much higher ceiling and by the time he was done in Ottawa, powerhouse Maine was interested in him.

Michel was a lineup regular for the Black Bears for four seasons, and at the start of his time there he thought he’d find his personal hockey stop sign on that campus.

The pros? Ha. For most of Michel’s life, the thought of playing there was far more comedy sketch than dream.

“If you would have told me in high school I’d be playing professional hockey, I’d probably laugh at you,” Michel said.

But it was no joke. Now, Michel is setting the pace as a rookie for Reading of the ECHL, developing so quickly that Royals head coach Kirk MacDonald said Michel might be the team’s best defenseman. He’s filled the role of stay-at-home blueliner while at the same time dropping in two goals and nine assists in 33 games

The chance to turn a lifetime of hockey enjoyment into a few years of paychecks seems entirely reasonable at the moment. So, too, does a continued ascent toward steady AHL minutes in the near future.

“I’ve put in all this work. It’s not that crazy to achieve such a high level,” said Michel, 25. “I’m glad I’m going for it.”

Michel got his first inkling that he might be pro material during the summers between his seasons at Maine. He attended development camps with Pittsburgh, Chicago and Anaheim, keeping up with the players who, unlike him, were NHL draft picks.

“You go into those kinds of things a bit nervous. But once you get there, get on the ice, they are the same as you,” he said. “That was definitely a good measuring stick.”

When his Maine career ended last season, Lehigh Valley of the AHL was waiting for him with a tryout contract. He played in three games for the Phantoms last year, contributing one assist. That team also locked him up this year with a full AHL pact.

And that’s where Michel’s joyride got temporarily re-routed.

Michel couldn’t crack the Phantoms’ lineup this season and was sent down to Reading. He struggled early, sitting down as a healthy scratch four times in October.

“I think I was trying to make too much happen when it wasn’t there,” Michel said. “It’s definitely frustrating, experiencing something I haven’t been that used to. It’s natural to get down on yourself a bit. It was a big learning experience for me. I think my work ethic was always there. It was just the intention of what I was doing. I knew the opportunity would come eventually. I just had to stick with it.”

MacDonald said he stressed to Michel the importance of picking up his play even though he was competing at a lower level. Urgency remains important in the ECHL, which is loaded with prospects capable of jumping up to the AHL.

Once Michel brought that pace to his game, he got to pucks faster and created more time to make decisions. That led to the reduction of forced plays. He hasn’t been a healthy scratch since October.

“It’s a credit to Robbie that he really buckled down and worked hard to get more ice time,” MacDonald said. “He was probably over-complicating the game at times. As we watched more video, he started to understand, OK, I don’t need to make big plays every shift. That’s what it’s supposed to be about, right? Guys getting better every day.”

MacDonald sees Michel as having earned another look in Lehigh Valley, with the potential to be a full-time, top-4 blueliner in the AHL.

Michel’s pact with the Phantoms runs only through this season, although he’s optimistic Lehigh Valley or another AHL team might be interested in him as a depth player next season and beyond.

“There’s definitely a business aspect to the pro game that you don’t see at the college level. You try to build a resume for next year,” he said. “I’m focused on this year right now, trying to build my stock.”

That line of vision is never pulled too astray from the bigger prize.

Michel decided to live in Allentown this season, the home of the Phantoms. He makes the 50 minute commute to and from Reading’s practice and games.

His apartment is just a short walk from Lehigh Valley’s PPL Center, where Michel sampled the AHL life last spring and hopes to do so again very soon. On each drive to and from Allentown, Michel looks out his car window and sees the rink as he zips off to another world.

“I see it, but it doesn’t really register,” Michel said. “Subconsciously, it’s what you’re striving for. I definitely kind of look at it, give it a little nod. I know it’s there, I know I can be there someday.”

Lindsay Kramer is a reporter for the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com. Got a comment or idea for a story? He can be reached via email at LKramer@Syracuse.com.

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