Toronto — There he is in the slot, decked out in a Toronto Maple Leafs warm-up gear and Leafs cap, working the give-and-go with a queue of awestruck Timbits. Feeling healthy, the freshest member of the Leafs’ cast takes a break from hunting for his first Canadian home to serve as a guest instructor at his new team’s minor hockey school at the MasterCard Centre for Hockey Excellence in Etobicoke on Wednesday.
While he might not be able to tower over NHL goaltenders the way he does a seven-year-old Atom, James van Riemsdyk’s 6’3″, 211-pound frame — described by Leafs GM Brian Burke as “not a big banger but… a big body with skill” — could find itself in the middle of the ice all season, depending on how he performs at camp and what other up-front dealings Burke pulls off this summer.
Despite only playing the wing as a pro, JVR’s new club is trying him out at centre.
“I’m really looking forward to next year. It seems like we’ve got a great group here and a lot of great players here, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting started,” van Riemsdyk told a thick Toronto media scrum, the New Jersey native’s welcome to a city obsessed with the game he loves.
Leaf Nation, meet JVR Reemer.
1. He’s no stranger to centre.
True, the 23-year-old van Riemsdyk didn’t play a shift of centre during his three seasons with the Flyers. In fact, he’s taken a grand total of just 10 face-offs in his NHL year. He won two of those.
But prior to turning pro in 2009, that was his niche.
“My full two years, I played it in college. And in Philly we had an abundance of centres there, so we didn’t really need me to do that ever. Obviously this is a great opportunity for me, and it’ll be a great thing for me to try,” van Riemsdyk says. “To be a little more versatile as a player is a plus, so I’m definitely looking forward to the opportunity.”
A look at van Riemsdyk’s stats might suggest that he’s too shoot-first to become a playmaking pivot. Combine his playoff and regular season totals, and he has more goals (58) than assists (56). But when he did skate the middle for New Hampshire, van Riemsdyk was more likely to set others up. Better than a point-per-game centreman in college, van Riemsdyk scored 28 goals and 46 assists in his two seasons with the Wildcats.
Eager to get a jump on meeting head coach Randy Carlyle’s expectations come training camp in August, van Riemsdyk requested some centre-based video to study. He wants to learn Carlyle’s system and acquaint himself with the terminology early.
“I asked him for some stuff that he’d like to see out of his centreman just so it’ll be a bit of an easier transition when I get here for camp,” van Riemsdyk says, sounding unconcerned about the switch. “When you’re used to something, it becomes second nature, and when you’re out there just playing and not thinking, that’s when you’re at your best. It’ll just be a matter of getting some reps and I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
2. He met his position competition years ago.
Van Riemsdyk met Toronto’s current first-line centre Tyler Bozak, 26, at an Upper Deck trading card event when both forwards were in their rookie seasons. Now van Riemsdyk will be vying for that coveted spot, playing middleman to two of the best wingers in the game, Joffrey Lupul and Phil Kessel.
After getting lost in a rich crop of forwards in Philadelphia — though injured, van Riemsdyk finished just eighth in scoring among Philly wingers in 2011-12 – part of JVR’s excitement over the one-for-one trade that sent defencemen Luke Schenn to Philly is a shot at climbing a depth chart, potentially all the way to the top.
“You want to be in those key moments when the game’s on the line, the game’s on your stick,” he says. “Those are kinds of moments I love being out there for, so if I get that opportunity, it’ll be great.”
3. He’s already familiar with the Leafs’ all-stars.
Lupul was still playing his last year in Philly, before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks, when Riemsdyk signed with the club and met him briefly: “It’ll be good to have some familiarity there.”
And he has nothing but respect for Kessel.
“Phil’s a special player. Being another guy playing in the U.S., I got to watch him a little bit when he was younger. He definitely wowed me from then on. Great speed, great offensive abilities,” van Riemsdyk says. “Those two guys are great players. They had a great year last year as well, so it would be pretty fun to be with those two guys.”
4. Young defenceman Jake Gardiner was the first new teammate to reach out.
“Gards,” van Riemsdyk says, was the first Leaf to send him a greeting message. “Welcome to the team and happy to have you,” the fellow American texted.
5. The Winter Classic will be familiar territory, in more ways than one.
Yes, JVR’s Flyers lost to the New York Rangers in 2012’s New Year’s extravaganza, so the 2013 edition of the Winter Classic will be old toque for van Riemsdyk. But not just because he attended the outdoor game; he’s also spent time in the Big House, the Michigan site for the Leafs’ Jan. 1 match versus the Detroit Red Wings.
“I played a couple years in Ann Arbour for the U.S. program and went to a couple football games there,” van Riemsdyk says. “So playing there will be extra special for me. I have some great memories there. It’s gonna be awesome.”
6. The Schenns’ brotherly reunion interrupted the van Riemsdyks’ brotherly reunion.
While the storyline of the JVR-Schenn deal focused on the irresistible union of siblings Brayden and Luke, in the City of Brotherly Love no less, van Riemsdyk came thisclose to wearing the same logo as his younger brother, Trevor. The two shared a laugh that James was traded mere days before defenceman Trevor laced them up for Philly’s development camp Monday.
“I don’t feel it’s awkward,” Trevor told this press this week. “Anyone can get traded. Obviously, (Flyers GM Paul Holmgren has) done some pretty big moves these last few years. I’m a different person. I guess some can see it as a little bit awkward, but I really don’t feel that way.”
Says James: “He’s worked really hard as a player to earn all his opportunities, and he’s got a bright future ahead of him, so I’m excited for his new beginnings there.”
7. He believes hockey moms (and dads) need to dial it back a notch.
Having just stepped off an ice pad buzzing with hockey minors, van Riemsdyk stresses that the most important skill a young hockey player must learn is to simply have fun with the game.
“Too often you see parents getting a little crazy with their kids, treating them like they’re in the NHL when they’re seven years old. There’s a lot more to life at that age,” he says. “When you get on the ice with kids like that, it brings back some of that joy you had when you were a kid.”
8. JVR is not his real nickname.
Contrary to popular belief, the guys in the dressing room don’t address van Riemsdyk by his acronym.
“Usually ‘Reemer.’ JVR — that’s something the Philly media started calling me,” he explains. “but the guys usually call me Reemer.”