TORONTO — When he was in Philadelphia, James van Riemsdyk was surrounded by several talented centres.
Playing on a line with Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr, van Riemsdyk was cast as a big part of the future. He was a reason the Flyers felt comfortable trading away Jeff Carter and Mike Richards last summer.
But the 2011-12 season brought new challenges. A recurring hip injury and a concussion limited him to just 24 points in 43 games.
“Those kinds of things are just out of your control” said van Riemsdyk, who was in town as a guest instructor for the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey School. “Those kind of things happen. It’s all good now, that’s what the summer time is for, to get things straightened out. The first few weeks after the end of the year was good for me to start feeling better and I’m feeling good right now. It’s no different than what most hockey players have to go through.”
At last week’s Leafs development camp, head coach Randy Carlyle said he has every intention of using van Riemsdyk down the middle. The newly-acquired Leaf has been studying some tape in anticipation of returning to a role he played in during his time at the University of New Hampshire.
“I kind of asked for some stuff that they’d like to see out of his centremen just so it’s an easier transition for when I get here” van Riemsdyk explained.
All things considered, it’s a pretty safe bet to slot van Riemsdyk in as the top centre that would get the first shot at playing alongside Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel. The American forward is hoping the wingers’ past season success can rub off on him.
“Phil’s a special player,” he said. “Being in the U.S. program I got to watch him a bit, even when I was younger and he definitely wowed me from then on, he’s got great speed, great offensive ability so he’d be a fun guy to play with.”
The Leafs new forward got to know Lupul a little bit when he was playing with the Phantoms although they never spent time as teammates despite being in the same city.
Should the Leafs roster stay intact, it’s going to mean a lot of time on the ice for van Riemsdyk. A larger role than he’s used to, but one he is looking to embrace.
“As a player you want to be in those situations” van Riemsdyk explained. “You want to be on the ice in those key moments when the game is on the line and the game is on your stick. Those are kinds of moments I love being a part of and I love being out there for. So if I can be in that kind of opportunity I think it would be great.”
Winter Classic Veteran
With the Maple Leafs getting ready to take part in their first Winter Classic, they’ve already acquired a player who had the rare opportunity in taking part in two of them (2010 and 2012).
This will be just the second time for van Riemsdyk to be in front of the cameras of HBO’s 24/7, which follows both teams in the weeks leading up to the outdoor game.
“The whole experience was pretty cool, seeing the behind the scenes things and all of that stuff, seeing how they translated all of the footage they took to the finished product.”
His third Winter Classic would take place at ‘The Big House’ the Michigan Wolverines home field for football and it’s a place that holds a lot of memories for van Riemsdyk.
“I played a couple of years in Ann Arbor for the U.S. National program and went to a couple of football games at ‘The Big House’ so being able to play there will be extra special for me to back to that place where I had some great memories.”