TORONTO – Red or blue?
How do Frans and Allison van Riemsdyk dress for nights like these?
“Usually they’re wearing both colours,” says James van Riemsdyk, 28, the eldest of the family’s three hockey-playing sons.
The two-thirds of the van Riemsdyk boys who have already realized their NHL dreams are set to face off against each other Thursday night at Air Canada Centre, as James’ Toronto Maple Leafs take on Trevor’s Carolina Hurricanes.
Frans and Allison have been in town since Monday anticipating tonight’s sibling showdown — the first since Trevor was traded to the Eastern Conference – and will stick around for James’ match Saturday versus his former club, the Philadelphia Flyers.
It’s all part of Mom and Dad’s carefully planned winter to watch as many of their sons’ hockey games as possible, a map, a calendar and three team schedules their tools to track their talented offspring.
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“They’ve got our schedules perfectly mapped out to optimize their travel,” the Leafs winger says. “We’ve had battles like this growing up for a long time. Maybe not on this stage.”
Last weekend, the proud parents drove from their home in Middletown, N.J., to catch youngest son Brendan’s two-game series at the University of New Hampshire. After crashing at a hotel in Kingston, Ont., Sunday, they continued west to Toronto in time to cheer James set up a goal against Los Angeles and gasp as their eldest tweaked his leg in a cringe-inducing entanglement with Kings forward Trevor Lewis.
“A little bit of that shock. I wasn’t expecting to fall like that,” van Riemsdyk explains. “We just got tangled up. I was trying to push one way and fell awkwardly. It probably could’ve been a lot worse. I feel pretty good today.”
Van Riemsdyk, who returned to Monday’s game after walking it off but skipped Wednesday’s practice, will take the warmup skate Thursday night and determine if he’s healthy enough to play. If not, extra winger Josh Leivo will make his 2017-18 debut.
JVR ranks second among all Leafs in goals (five) and points (nine) and has etched his name on the scoresheet in seven of the club’s nine contests. No doubt, his desire to stick in the lineup goes up a tick with a brood of family and friends in town. The older brother holds a 2-1 lead in head-to-head match-ups, but…
“He won a Cup,” James smiles, “so that might be the trump card.”
James and Trevor enjoyed a big family dinner Wednesday night, one of those rare midseason moments where hectic schedules align.
“We both love what we do,” says James. The power forward missed half of 2015-16 with a broken left foot and is in the midst of a contract season. “You never like to miss games.
“It’s a fine line. If you think you can go out there and help the team and not be a liability, you go. I want to do everything in my power to play every single game.”
Despite battling on skates (roller and ice) since childhood, the brothers travelled very different paths from the driveway to the Original Six spotlight.
James was an NCAA star and a second-overall pick in 2007. Defenceman Trevor, 26, was never drafted and had to scratch and claw his way onto a stacked Blackhawks roster.
Still, watching Trevor’s freshman season at UNH, it occurred to James that his brother could follow in his footsteps.
“He always had the brains and the skills, but it all came together for him,” James says. “He’s like a sponge. He just got better and better every year. He’s made tremendous strides as a player over the last five, 10 years.”
During Trevor’s first game in Toronto as a member of the Blackhawks, a Chicago defenceman went down injured, and TVR matched up against JVR’s line for second half of game.
“It’s one thing to play against each other; it’s another to go up against each other every single shift,” James says.
“The way he plays, he’s really smart with his stick. You never get close enough for him to hit you; he just knocks the puck away.”
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Trevor frequently breaks up James’ forays into the offensive zone as they train together in the summer, and the brothers talk a lot of hockey, a forward and a defenceman trying to help each other out by understanding how their counterpart thinks.
Those off-season sessions are of the most benefit to Brendan, who’s been training with pros since high school.
The 21-year-old forward is off to a booming start as a UNH sophomore, putting up five points and a plus-4 rating through six games. On Frans and Allison’s eight-hour trek home, they’ll likely detour to see Brendan skate again.
“He’s got good skill, good brains. Physically, he’s still growing into his body. He was a later bloomer. He’s the tallest of the three of us, so it’ll be interesting to see how the next three years go for him,” James says.
“He gets to train around other NHL guys and see what it takes to get to that level. It’s fun for all three of us to spend that time together and train together.”
As for Trevor, James drove through three hours of pouring rain to arrive at United Center with eight minutes remaining in Chicago’s stormy 2015 Cup-clinching game — just in time to swell with pride as he watched his little brother hoist the Cup.
Trevor has never worn his Cup ring in front of James.
“I live with him in the summer,” Trevor says. “I don’t want to get kicked out of the house.”
The Blackhawks gave the van Riemsdyks a second ring, for the family. Allison is the one who wears it.
“Not me,” James laughs. “I don’t want that.”
