James van Riemsdyk

James van Riemsdyk
van Riemsdyk with the Flyers in 2011
Born (1989-05-04) May 4, 1989
Middletown, New Jersey, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Philadelphia Flyers
Toronto Maple Leafs
National team  United States
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2007
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2009–present

James Frederick van Riemsdyk[1] (born May 4, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Van Riemsdyk began his NHL career with the Flyers, the organization that originally selected him second overall at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012. He later rejoined the Flyers as a free agent during the 2018 off-season. Additionally, he has represented the United States in numerous tournaments.

His younger brother, Trevor, is also a professional hockey player in the NHL, currently with the Carolina Hurricanes. His youngest brother, Brendan, has followed in his brothers' footsteps and is playing for the University of New Hampshire.

Playing career

Amateur

Van Riemsdyk attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey, before moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan for his junior year to play for the USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP). Prior to that, he played from Mite to his first year of Midgets for the Brick Hockey Club in Brick. Van Riemsdyk also played for the Eagles in Wall, New Jersey.

Van Riemsdyk was drafted second overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, following fellow American Patrick Kane, marking the first time in NHL history that Americans were chosen first and second overall in the same draft. Following his draft, van Riemsdyk played the 2007–08 season at the collegiate level in the NCAA with the University of New Hampshire, where he scored 74 points in two seasons under Head Coach Dick Umile.

Professional

Philadelphia Flyers

On April 2, 2009, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that van Riemsdyk would forgo his final two years of college eligibility at the University of New Hampshire to sign an entry-level contract for the 2009–10 season; he had previously spent the remainder of the 2008–09 season playing for the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, on an amateur tryout contract.[2]

It was during the 2009–10 pre-season that van Riemsdyk began making an impact for the Flyers. Initially expected to spend his first year of professional hockey in the AHL or, at best, earn a spot midway through the season, van Riemsdyk seized the attention in the Flyers' annual rookie game against the Washington Capitals with four goals and an assist in the team's 7–3 rout of the Capitals' rookies.[3] As he moved into the pre-season, van Riemsdyk established himself as one of the most consistent members of the Flyers outfit, once again seizing attention with two goals against the Detroit Red Wings in a 5–2 Flyers victory.

Van Riemsdyk was included in the Flyers' starting 2009–10 roster to play on a third line with prolific sophomore Claude Giroux. Van Riemsdyk scored his first career NHL point in his NHL debut, recording an assist on a powerplay goal by Mike Richards in a 2–0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.[4] His next game saw a return to his home state of New Jersey, where he contributed two more assists against the New Jersey Devils. He suffered a minor concussion shortly after that due to a hit by Washington defenseman Milan Jurčina in the Flyers' home opener and subsequently missed two games. Van Riemsdyk then scored his first goal on October 24 against Tomáš Vokoun of the Florida Panthers.[5]

Van Riemsdyk had an impressive month of November for a rookie, scoring four goals—three of which were game-winners—and five assists. For his performances, he was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for November.[6]

2012 playoffs

During the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Philadelphia (who finished in seventh place in the Eastern Conference during the regular season) found themselves down three games to none against the sixth-seeded Boston Bruins. The Flyers mounted a comeback, however, defeating the Bruins in Game 7, marking just the third time in NHL history a team has won a series after being down by three games. With 2:50 left in the first period, van Riemsdyk scored his first career playoff goal, shifting the game's momentum to the Flyers.[7] Philadelphia went on to win the game 4–3 and the playoff series, four games to three. Not since the New York Islanders came back from a 3–0 deficit against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1975 had a team won four games in a row to win an NHL playoff series.[7] For van Riemsdyk's momentum-changing goal, he was named the impact player of the game. The Flyers went on to defeat the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference finals, but lost the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks, in van Riemsdyk's first Finals appearance.

On February 15, 2011, in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, van Riemsdyk recorded his first Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, an assist and a fight in the Flyers' first victory over the Lightning in the season series.[8] On March 26, in a game against the New York Islanders, van Riemsdyk recorded his first career NHL hat-trick in the Flyers' 4–1 victory.[9] Two of the three goals were scored in even-strength play, while the third came on the power play.[9]

In the opening round of the 2011 playoffs, van Riemsdyk had a very strong series and was a key to the Flyers' 4–3 series win over the Buffalo Sabres—he tallied four goals in the series, including the eventual game-winner in Game 7 to help the Flyers advance to the next round. He then followed the Buffalo series with three goals in four games against Boston as the Flyers were ultimately swept in four-straight by the Bruins. Despite only playing in 11 games, van Riemsdyk finished third in the entire post-season in total shots with 70—behind only Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks—and led the post-season in shots per game.

In the subsequent off-season, the Flyers re-signed forward James van Riemsdyk to a six-year, $25.5 million contract extension.[10] Van Riemsdyk, who was entering his third season in Philadelphia, provided the length of the extension on his Twitter. He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2011–12 campaign, a season in which he finished with then-career highs in points (40), goals (21) and plus-minus rating (+15).

In the 2012 season, van Riemsdyk broke his foot, requiring surgery.[11]

Toronto Maple Leafs

On June 23, 2012, van Riemsdyk was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Luke Schenn.[12] During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season with Toronto, van Riemsdyk scored 18 goals and 32 points while playing in all 48 regular season games. The Maple Leafs would make the playoffs for the first time since the 2003–04 season, but fell in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup finalist Boston Bruins in seven games. Van Riemsdyk finished the playoffs with a team-leading seven points in seven games.

van Riemsdyk with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On March 28, 2014, van Riemsdyk tied an NHL record for fastest goal to start off a period, scoring four seconds into the frame. He accomplished the feat against his former team, the Philadelphia Flyers.[13] He currently shares the record with both Claude Provost and Denis Savard. By season's end, he set career-highs in goals (30) and points (61).

Despite a disappointing 2014–15 season for the Maple Leafs, van Riemsdyk led the team in goals (27) while tallying 56 points in all 82 regular season games played. On November 4, 2014, van Riemsdyk recorded an assist on a goal by Cody Franson for his 200th career point.

During the 2015-16 season with the Maple Leafs, van Riemsdyk fractured his left foot on January 11. Up to that point he was leading the team in points (29), and was second in goals (14), and shots (129) after 40 games. It was announced on February 25, 2016 that he was going to be out for the remainder of the season.[14]

At the beginning of the 2016–17 season, van Riemsdyk was announced as one of the one hundred greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all time, placing 100 on the list.[15] On October 15, 2016, the Maple Leafs retired Borje Salming's No. 21, causing van Riemsdyk to change his number from 21 to 25.[16] At the end of the 2016–17 season, he finished with 29 goals and career highs in assists and points with 33 assists and 62 points. The Leafs qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, in which they lost in the first round in six games to the Washington Capitals. Van Riemsdyk recorded 2 goals and 1 assists for a total of 3 points.

During the 2017–18 season van Riemsdyk recorded his third career hat trick in a 6–5 win over the Dallas Stars on March 14, 2018.[17] By scoring three goals, van Riemsdyk took over the lead in team scoring for the season with 29.[17] The following day, van Riemsdyk recorded two goals and one assist in a 5–2 win over the Buffalo Sabres, setting a new career high in goals.[18] van Riemsdyk played in his 600th regular season NHL game on March 20, in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.[19][20] He recorded his 200th career NHL goal on March 28, 2018, in a 4–3 win over the Florida Panthers.[21] With his goal, he helped the Leafs set a new franchise record of 27 wins on home ice.[21] The Leafs qualified for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs but lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games.

Return to the Philadelphia Flyers

On July 1, 2018, van Riemsdyk and the Flyers agreed to terms on a 5-year, $35 million contract that would reunite him with the team that drafted him in 2007.[22]

International play

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing United States United States
World Junior Championships
2007 Sweden
IIHF U18 Championships
2007 Finland
2006 Sweden

Junior

Van Riemsdyk's first international experience came when he played in the 2007 World Under-18 Championships (U18), in which the United States won the gold medal. In 2006–07, he scored 33 goals and 30 assists for the U.S. Under-18 National Team, and represented the United States at the 2007 World Junior Championships (WJC) in Sweden. He followed up his inaugural WJC by winning the scoring title at the 2007 U18 with five goals and seven assists.[23] He was named to the tournament all-star team, named the top forward and garnered MVP honors as the United States won silver, only losing against the Russians in the final.

Van Riemsdyk had a great showing at the 2008 WJC, where he led the entire tournament in scoring with five goals and six assists.[24] Despite his efforts, however, the U.S. did not medal, finishing fourth. Nonetheless, he was named to the WJC All-Star Team in 2008. He continued his strong international play with six goals and four assists at the 2009 WJC as the Americans finished in fifth.

Senior

Van Riemsdyk made his debut in senior international competition when he played for the United States at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia, where Team USA finished eighth.[24] Van Riemsdyk scored one goal in the two games he played.[25]

On January 1, 2014, after van Riemsdyk had played in the 2014 NHL Winter Classic for Toronto against the Detroit Red Wings, he was announced as a member of the U.S. Olympic team for participation at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The Americans, however, finished fourth at the tournament, though in the six games van Riemsdyk played in, he had one goal and a tournament-leading six assists, also leading the tournament in plus-minus.[24][25]

Personal life

Van Riemsdyk has two younger brothers who are also hockey players, Trevor, who is a defenseman for the Carolina Hurricanes; and Brendan, who plays for the University of New Hampshire.[26][27] Both James and Trevor are You Can Play ambassadors for their teams.[28]

In 2012, van Riemsdyk appeared in the movie This is 40 alongside Scott Hartnell, Ian Laperrière and Matt Carle.[29]

On November 24, 2012, van Riemsdyk participated in Operation Hat Trick, a charity hockey game held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to raise money for Hurricane Sandy victims.[30][31]

He is of Dutch descent as his father was born in the Netherlands.[32]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2005–06 Christian Brothers Academy HS 30 36 24 60 — — — — — —
2006–07 US NTDP NAHL 37 18 11 29 26 — — — — —
2007–08 University of New Hampshire HE 31 11 23 34 36 — — — — —
2008–09 University of New Hampshire HE 36 17 23 40 47 — — — — —
2008–09 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 7 1 1 2 2 4 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 15 20 35 30 21 3 3 6 4
2010–11 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 21 19 40 35 11 7 0 7 4
2011–12 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 43 11 13 24 24 7 1 1 2 4
2012–13 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 48 18 14 32 26 7 2 5 7 4
2013–14 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 30 31 61 50 — — — — —
2014–15 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 27 29 56 43 — — — — —
2015–16 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 14 15 29 6 — — — — —
2016–17 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 29 33 62 37 6 2 1 3 0
2017–18 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 81 36 18 54 30 7 3 1 4 4
NHL totals 609 201 192 393 281 59 18 11 29 20

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2006 United States U18 1st, gold medalist(s) 6 0 1 1 2
2007 United States WJC 3rd, bronze medalist(s) 7 1 0 1 2
2007 United States U18 2nd, silver medalist(s) 7 5 7 12 4
2008 United States WJC 4th 6 5 6 11 2
2009 United States WJC 5th 6 6 4 10 4
2011 United States WC 8th 2 1 0 1 2
2014 United States Oly 4th 6 1 6 7 2
2016 United States WCH 7th 3 0 1 1 0
Junior totals 32 17 18 35 14
Senior totals 11 2 7 9 4

Awards and honors

Award Year
College
Hockey East All-Rookie Team 2007–08
Hockey East Second All-Star Team 2008–09
International
WJC18 All-Star Team 2007 [33]
WJC18 Top Forward 2007
WJC18 MVP 2007
WJC All-Star Team 2008

References

  1. ↑ "The @BrookePashley Minute With JVR". Youtube.com. October 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ "LW Van Riemsdyk signs with Flyers". NHL.com. April 2, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ Kurz, Kevin (September 23, 2009). "Is van Riemsdyk Ready?". NHL.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  4. ↑ McGourty, John (October 5, 2009). "Van Riemsdyk answering critics with fast start". NHL.com. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Briere, van Riemsdyk pace Flyers 5-1 over Panthers". NHL.com. October 24, 2009. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Van Riemsdyk Named NHL Rookie of the Month". NHL.com. January 14, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Ulman, Howard (May 14, 2010). "Flyers complete shocking comeback against Bruins". The Toronto Star. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ Carchidi, Sam. "Flyers beat Lightning in shoot-out". Tampa, Fl: The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Flyers top Islanders 4-1". NHL.com. March 26, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Philadelphia Flyers sign James van Riemsdyk to multi-year extension". NHL.com. August 30, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Flyers' van Riemsdyk to miss 4-6 weeks". NHL.com. March 2, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Leafs deal Schenn to Flyers for van Riemsdyk". NHL.com. June 23, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ "James van Riemsdyk of Toronto Maple Leafs ties record for fastest goal to start period | NHL.com - News". NHL.com. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  14. ↑ Nelson, Dustin L. (February 25, 2016). "Joffrey Lupul, James van Riemsdyk Done for Season: Report". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Maple Leafs name greatest players in their history". NHL.com. October 14, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  16. ↑ Johnston, Chris (October 16, 2017). "James Van Riemsdyk gets fresh start with new threads". sportsnet.ca. Toronto. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  17. 1 2 "Van Riemsdyk stars as Leafs beat Stars, Andersen leaves game early". sportsnet.ca. March 14, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  18. ↑ Yerdon, Joe (March 15, 2018). "Maple Leafs top Sabres, advance in Atlantic Division". NHL.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  19. ↑ Erlendsson, Erik (March 20, 2018). "Lightning score four unanswered goals to rally past Maple Leafs". Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 27, 2018. It was the 600th career game for van Riemsdyk
  20. ↑ @LeafsPR (March 20, 2018). "James van Riemsdyk will skate in the 600th regular season game of his NHL career tonight. #TMLtalk" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. 1 2 "Leafs set franchise record in win over Panthers". sportsnet.ca. March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  22. ↑ "James van Riemsdyk signs five-year contract with Flyers". NHL.com. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  23. ↑ "2007 IIHF U18 Scoring Leaders" (PDF). iihf.com. January 14, 2010.
  24. 1 2 3 "James van Riemsdyk". teamusa.usahockey.com. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
  25. 1 2 "James van Riemsdyk". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Youngest van Riemsdyk following family's footsteps | Prospects". Nhl.com. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
  27. ↑ Kennedy, Ryan. "Prospect Watch: Brendan van Riemsdyk making a name for himself". Thehockeynews.com/. The Hockey News. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  28. ↑ Hedger, Brian (February 18, 2017). "You Can Play meaningful to Trevor van Riemsdyk". NHL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  29. ↑ Fox, Luke (December 20, 2012). "Watch: Maple Leaf, Flyers cameo in 'This Is 40'". sportsnet.ca. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  30. ↑ "The Star-Ledger. section 5 pg. 2. November 25, 2012".
  31. ↑ Miller, Randy (November 18, 2012). "NHL lockout: Leaf James van Riemsdyk pitches in for Hurricane Sandy fundraiser". The Toronto Star. Retrieved March 14, 2018.
  32. ↑ Gormley, Chuck (November 30, 2009). "Flyers' van Riemsdyk was born to play". NHL.com. Retrieved July 1, 2018. his father, Frans, who was born in the Netherlands, moved to Montreal as a child, and grew up in Madison, N.J.
  33. ↑ "Hockey Awards". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 2015-11-21.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Claude Giroux		 Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick
2007		 Succeeded by
Luca Sbisa
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