NHL Stars From….New Jersey? Part 2 – James Van Riemsdyk

In addition to Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks, there is another young, up-and-coming player from the Northeast in the NHL starting to make a name for himself.  He is James van Riemsdyk of the Philadelphia Flyers and he hails from Middletown, NJ.

Like Ryan, van Riemsdyk started playing hockey as a kid in New Jersey, playing for various youth hockey leagues and ultimately for the Christian Brothers Academy, a private, all boys College Preparatory school, before transferring out after his sophomore year.  During the 2004-05 hockey season, van Riemsdyk would score 36 goals and 60 points in 30 games for Christian Brothers as well as the Brick Township Hockey Club.  However, it wasn’t until he attended a USA Hockey Summer Camp that he would become widely recognized.  Van Riemsdyk, who already knew he wanted to play hockey for a living had decided it would better prepare him for the future if he played for the U.S. National Team Development Program “(NTDP”).  He wouldn’t leave quietly, however.  In his last game for the Christian Brothers Academy, van Riemsdyk, or JVR for short, would score the game winning goal in overtime to win the 2005 Parochial State Championship.

Van Riemsdyk would play two seasons with the NTDP.  In his first season, 2005-06, he would play 55 games for the Under-17 program scoring 26 goals and 42 points.  He would finish of f that season playing 14 games for the Under-18 program, adding 1 goal and 4 points.   He was a member of the U-18 Team USA squad that won the gold at the Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championships.  He was also an instrumental piece of the U-17 Team USA squad that won the silver medal at the 2006 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge where in seven games he notched nine points (five goals, four assists), and was subsequently named to the All-Tournament Team. 

The following season would show him adjusting to playing in the U-18 program, using his increasing size to his advantage, where he would score 33 goals and 63 points and lead the NTDP in goals, points, points-per-game and game winning goals.  He finished second overall on the NTDP in assists and PIM.  He also skated for Team USA at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Sweden.  Heading into the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, van Riemsdyk was ranked third among NA skaters by NHL Central Scouting.

While van Riemsdyk was making a name for himself in the hockey world, the Philadelphia Flyers were struggling through their worst season in franchise history in 2006-07.  Expecting too much from second year players Mike Richards, R.J. Umberger and Jeff Carter, and with captain and best player Peter Forsberg suffering through injuries, the season was a disaster.  The Flyers finished 22-48 and ultimately ended up with the 2nd pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Leading up to the draft, there didn’t seem to be a consensus #1 pick of the top three prospects Patrick Kane, Kyle Turris and van Riemsdyk.  When Chicago chose Patrick Kane with the #1 pick, the Flyers decided to go with van Riemsdyk, the hometown kid, whose size and talent reminded some of former Flyer LW John LeClair.

While Kane would jump immediately to the NHL, van Riemsdyk decided to attend the University of New Hampshire (“UNH”) to continue his hockey development.  His two years would not be easy.  The hockey media didn’t waste time, criticizing vanRiemsdyk for attending college rather than playing Canadian Major Junior Hockey.  He was also criticized again when he decided to return to the college for a second year.  Some even labeled him a bust before he even had a chance to play professional hockey and was mentioned in many ridiculous trade rumors, all the while Flyers GM Paul Holmgren kept insisting he was not being shopped.  Comments from the Flyers organization were taken out of context, and many wrote that the Flyers had soured on their top prospect.

While all this was going on, van Riemsdyk just kept playing hockey.  He started off slow in his first season with UNH, however, he finished strong and was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team while leading all UNH rookies in scoring with 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points.  VanRiemsdyk was invited to play for Team USA in the World Junior Championships and led the entire tournament in scoring with 5 goals and 11 points in 6 games, however, Team USA would fail to win a medal falling to Canada in the semi-finals and Russia in the Bronze medal game.

Van Riemsdyk improved slightly for his second year with UNH, scoring 17 goals and 40 points in 36 games, but not enough to quiet those calling him a bust.  He would also return to Team USAA for the 2009 World Junior Championships, putting in another outstanding performance with 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points in 6 games.  Even though he only scored 1 less point from the year before, he was criticized for Team USA not making it to the medal games.  He would then make his debut for the Phantoms, playing in 11 games and only scoring 1 goal and 1 assist.  This would not help silence his critics.

Van Riemsdyk decided to fore go his 2 finals seasons of college to turn pro for the 2009-10 hockey season and came to Flyers camp on a mission to make the NHL team and make the team is exactly what he did. Beginning the season on the team’s 3rd line with another young future star Claude Giroux and and Darrel Powe, it wasn’t long before he was moved up to the top line with Carter and Briere. Van Riemsdyk hasn’t wasted any time making an impact in the NHL and is being touted as an early favorite for the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year, something no Flyer has ever won.  Through 17 games, he has looked more than comfortable in the NHL with 6 goals and 18 points, also adding some solid play in his own end and some grittiness in front of the net. 

As with Bobby Ryan, this New Jersey native appears to have a bright future in the NHL.

Who will be the next future star from New Jersey? Not sure, but these days the US Development Programs are strong and I am sure we will see another one soon. 

For JVR’s stats refer to TSN

Posted by Michael DiFranco on Nov 22 2009. Filed under Atlantic, Eastern Conference, Philadelphia Flyers, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.