He played four years in top ice hockey country Sweden, an adventure he is proud of. Max Hermens (28) returned to the Netherlands eight years ago, where he got the opportunity at Tilburg Trappers. He is still active at that club and hopes to finally play in the final of the play-offs again this year. “There are feelings of revenge within the group because it didn’t work out last year.”
Hermens fell in love with ice hockey at the age of 6 through his cousin. “My mother and her sister had agreed that I could participate sometime. I then stuck around, I really enjoyed the sport.”
From Zoetermeer, where he grew up, he emigrated to Sweden at the age of 15. “I played there for four years, a dream come true. In Sweden, a top country in ice hockey, I experienced so many great moments as a youth player.”
It stayed for four years, because a new foreign adventure was not an option. “In an A-country like Sweden, it is very difficult as a professional, because clubs are allowed to have a limited number of foreign players. When Tilburg Trappers registered in 2017, I saw that as the best option. I could play in the Oberliga (the third level in Germany) and also study.”
“I have had the foreign dream.”
Now in 2026, Hermens is still with Tilburg Trappers, now as captain. He has no ambitions to leave the club in the short term. “Years ago I had a new dream abroad. Discussions were held, but the answer was ‘no’. Not that it bothered me for long, because I always had a good time in Tilburg.”
In his first season he won the play-offs for the overall Oberliga title with the club. A year later, the Tilburg team lost the final, but after that the team did not get that far. “The competition has become a lot stronger, although we have been moving closer to the absolute top teams in the last two years.”
After two convincing victories in a row in the play-offs, Deggendorfer SC, the champions of Oberliga Süd, now awaits in the semi-finals. According to Hermens, his team (second in the Oberliga Nord) has a realistic chance. “We can be a worthy opponent against such a strong team. Last year we were unable to reach the final, this year we want to show something different.”
Quite a few kilometers
The semi-final schedule is tough, as the first four games are played in one week. Two of these are away matches, a distance of more than 750 kilometers one way.
If the Tilburg team reaches the final and wins, they will also play in the Oberliga next year. A foreign team is not allowed to be promoted to the second level in Germany.
Hermens did not choose a life as a full professional. He combines ice hockey with a commercial job at a car company. “Why should I only start working after my career? Then I have wasted about ten years of my social career. A lot of guys do that with us. One has his own company and dabbles with his hands, I work in the office. A job where I can learn a lot.”
After more than eight years in Tilburg, he feels quite comfortable. “Although you wouldn’t say that if you heard me talk,” he says, laughing. “I know the city of Tilburg by heart, I have a relationship with a Brabant woman, we bought a house in Goirle and I celebrate carnival. Then I think integration has been fairly successful.”
Max Hermens, captain of Tilburg Trappers (photo: Romy Mullens).
