James van Riemsdyk

James van Riemsdyk (born May 4, 1989), often known by his initials JVR, is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Van Riemsdyk was born on May 4, 1989, in Middletown, New Jersey, to parents Frans and Allison van Riemsdyk.

His family, particularly his father, were strong supporters of the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Van Riemsdyk began playing ice hockey around the age of five, practicing at a rink in Old Bridge, New Jersey.

From there, he spent three years playing minor ice hockey with the American Eagles of the Monmouth County Youth Hockey Association, followed by six years with the Brick Hockey Club in Brick Township, New Jersey.

During his tenure with the Brick Stars, both James and his brother Trevor took the club to a national championship.

His hockey career continued at Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) in Lincroft, New Jersey, where he made the varsity team as a freshman in high school.

He continued to play with Brick, serving as the team captain for the 2004–05 Midget AA season and leading the team to the Atlantic District Championship.

That same year, van Riemsdyk was part of the New Jersey Parochial championship-winning team at CBA.

Following the 2004–05 hockey season, van Riemsdyk left CBA to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In his two seasons with the NTDP, van Riemsdyk scored 65 goals and 124 points, tying for fifth- and seventh-highest in program history at the time, respectively.

While playing for Team USA, van Riemsdyk became friends with future Chicago Blackhawks star Patrick Kane.

There, he befriended Patrick Kane, and the pair would go on to be drafted first and second overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Rather than start playing with the Flyers at once, van Riemsdyk played college ice hockey for the University of New Hampshire for two seasons.

After leading the team in scoring as a sophomore, he forfeited his final two years of college hockey and signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers, including a tryout contract with the Philadelphia Phantoms.

Heading into the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked van Riemsdyk as the third-best North American skater out of all available prospects, behind Kane and Kyle Turris.

Kane was the first overall draft pick that year, taken by the Blackhawks, while the Philadelphia Flyers drafted van Riemsdyk second overall.

Rather than immediately enter the professional leagues, van Riemsdyk chose to honor his commitment to the University of New Hampshire, where he was roommates with Capitals draft pick Phil DeSimone.

As a freshman at New Hampshire during the 2007–08 NCAA season, van Riemsdyk was third on the team with 34 points – 11 goals and 23 assists – in 31 games.

He received two Hockey East Rookie of the Month selections, in January and March, and was a Hockey East All-Rookie Team selection.

New Hampshire was defeated that year in the NCAA tournament by Notre Dame in the regional semifinal round.

The following year, van Riemsdyk led New Hampshire in scoring, with 17 goals and 23 assists before he decided to pursue professional hockey.

Van Riemsdyk made his NHL debut in 2009, and turned a pair of strong playoff performances for the Flyers before a series of injuries kept him sidelined for most of the 2011–12 season.

On April 1, 2009, van Riemsdyk agreed to forfeit his final two years of collegiate play in order to sign an entry-level contract with the Flyers.

Although his contract did not go into effect until the 2009–10 season, meaning that van Riemsdyk was barred from participating in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was allowed to play with the Philadelphia Phantoms for the remainder of the American Hockey League (AHL) season under a tryout contract.

He played in seven regular-season games for the Phantoms, scoring one goal and one assist, but went scoreless during the Calder Cup playoffs.

Between 2012 and 2018, he played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and played with the Philadelphia Flyers until 2023.

Van Riemsdyk was born in Middletown, New Jersey, and played minor ice hockey with local clubs through his childhood.

As an adolescent, he left Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan and play with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

During the 2012 offseason, the Flyers traded van Riemsdyk to the Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Luke Schenn.

In 2013, the Ocean Ice Palace in New Jersey, where van Riemsdyk had skated throughout his childhood, retired his No. 21 jersey.

He was called up to the top line that fall to replace an injured Joffrey Lupul, but remained there alongside Tyler Bozak and Phil Kessel through the 2014–15 NHL season.

When Mike Babcock took over as head coach, he paired van Riemsdyk with two-way forwards Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov, and van Riemsdyk was on track for a career season when a foot fracture shut him down in January.

The next two seasons, van Riemsdyk set a personal record first in single-season point totals and then in single-season goals.

He also reached a number of milestones, including his 200th career NHL goal and the 20,000th goal in Maple Leafs history.

In addition to his NHL career, van Riemsdyk has represented the United States at a number of international tournaments, including the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Van Riemsdyk became a free agent after the 2017–18 season, and he signed a five-year contract with the Flyers that July.

In his first season back, van Riemsdyk was sidelined for 16 games with a lower-body injury, but he returned for 27 goals, including a pair of hat-tricks.

The following two seasons were a series of goal droughts followed by hot streaks.

In February 2021, van Riemsdyk scored his 500th career NHL point.