James van Riemsdyk Biography

Do you think James van Riemsdyk is a special hockey player? Flyers captain Mike Richards doesn't hold back with his opinion. While discussing the game seven victory over the Bruins in the 2010 NHL playoffs Richards had this to say, "We rode the shoulders of a twenty-year-old rookie for two periods before our game kicked in and we took over from there.  We are lucky to have him." 

The Philadelphia Flyers have a deep pool of talented young hockey players and van Riemsdyk leads them all. James was born in 1989 in Middleton, New Jersey where in 2004-2005 he captained the Brick, NJ Midget AA team to a Championship. He excelled at every level of junior hockey and was scouted (being so big and fast it was an easy grab for the scouts) for the US National program. The scouts continued to be impressed by the strapping youngster with the smooth hands. He was very high on mosts teams scouting charts and was quickly grabbed by The Philadelphia Flyers right after Chicago's first pick Patrick Kane.

In 2007 James opted to play for the University of New Hampshire and was named to Hockey East's All Rookie Team. The following season van Riemsdyk chose to return to University Hockey, a move that was criticized by Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren. James felt that he was still growing and could use one more year of seasoning. The following year, with more International Team experience and one more year of development he was ready to make the big jump. Some hockey people were saying that while there was no doubt he would be an impact player he most likely would not be on the opening day roster. An all rookie pre-season game against the Capitals had these writers quickly changing their stories; James scored four times and added an assist. When the actual starting roster was announced van Riemsdyk's name was penciled in on the third line.

As I write this the Flyers are dominating the cinderella Montreal Canadiens, leading the Eastern Conference finals two games to none. The Flyers' group of very talented young guns look poised to be a contender for the next few years. James van Riemsdyk will certainly have his named engraved on the Stanley Cup before too long.