On July 1, the Boston Bruins signed Middletown, New Jersey native and University of New Hampshire alumni James van Riemsdyk to a one-year deal valued at $1 million. As a veteran of 14 seasons, this will be his third team and should be very familiar to Bruins fans since he’s played with rivals the Philadelphia Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Furthermore, anyone can look up van Riemsdyk’s statistics and see that he recently scored his 300th goal and sits nine points away from 600. However, anyone interested in learning more about the Bruins’ new winger must search various publications. So, we put together a list of unknown things to give further insight to a player just 60 games shy of the 1,000-game mark.
1. One of 3 van Riemsdyk Brothers to Play at the University of New Hampshire
Although the van Riemsdyk family is from New Jersey, they have strong connections to New England, especially New Hampshire, where all three brothers, James, Trevor, and Brendan, played for the Wildcats. Statistically, the trio combined to skate in 280 games and score 193 points.
Interestingly, James may have been the first member of his family to skate at the Whittmore Center in 2007. However, his younger brothers bypassed his numbers in games played and points.
2. Best Friends With Patrick Kane
Before the Flyers drafted van Riemsdyk as the second overall pick in the 2007 Entry Draft, he played with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. During this time, he became close friends with Patrick Kane, who would eventually go as the first overall pick in the same draft class. Ultimately, the duo found chemistry together, allowing van Riemsdyk to leave the program as the seventh-highest scorer in 2007.
3. Shares an NHL Record With Claude Provost and Denis Savard
On March 28, 2014, van Riemsdyk, then with the Maple Leafs, entered the NHL record book when he scored four seconds into the second period against his former team, the Flyers. As of today, no player has scored a goal in less time in any period, a record first established by Claude Provost in 1957 and tied by Denis Savard in 1986.
4. Second-Highest Scoring Player From New Jersey
According to statistics obtained from NHL.com, 24 players from New Jersey have played in the league, and right now, van Riemsdyk ranks as the second-highest scorer (591) behind Johnny Gaudreau (683). Furthermore, only three players have collected over 500 points, with Bobby Ryan as the third member on the list. Surprisingly, only five players have a positive plus/minus rating, with van Riemsdyk ranking second to last at minus-73.
5. Active in Charity Hockey Events
Unless you live in Edina, Minnesota, or follow the everyday lives of NHL players in the offseason, most fans are unaware of the Da Beauty League. Ultimately, a handful of NHL former and current stars like John Scott, Jason Zucker, Jake Oettinger, and Eric Staal get together to play hockey for charity and to grow the game in Minnesota. Although statistics are hard to find before 2021, van Riemsdyk has actively participated in recent years.
Additionally, in 2012, he was active in Operation Hat Trick, an effort to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, and in 2020 assisted in raising funds for the Flyers’ COVID-19 program to help those at high risk. While playing in Toronto, he served as the ambassador for the You Can Play program aimed at reducing homophobia in sports.
6. Scored Against 111 Different NHL Goalies
As the skater with the most games played from his home state, it is unsurprising to learn that thus far in his career van Riemsdyk has scored on 111 different goalies. However, the interesting takeaway from that statistic is he has tallied the most goals against Montreal Canadiens Carey Price (14) and former Bruin Tuukka Rask (10). Surprisingly, through 300 goals, he’s scored only three empty-netters in his career.
7. Favorite Opponent is the Boston Bruins
For 14 seasons, van Riemsdyk has played in the Eastern Conference, so he has had his fair share of encounters against his new team, the Bruins. Interestingly, after 49 games, he’s tallied 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points, the most against any opponent in the league. Considering he’s about to make TD Garden his home, fans should expect him to expand on the 14 points he’s already accumulated on Causeway Street.
Further Perspective
This fall, van Riemsdyk will return to New England with something to prove. As one of the top prospects from his draft class, he has yet to win a Stanley Cup when so many other second-overall picks since 2007 have achieved that goal. Considering the Bruins just had the best regular season of all time, the team will be on a mission to right previous wrongs and is banking on this seven-time 20-goal scorer to be a major contributor in 2023-24.
