Van Riemsdyk brothers chase each other’s successes
Even with an injury limiting his mobility in his right leg, James van Riemsdyk had a mile-wide smile on his face Thursday morning.
An injury couldn’t dampen the fact his parents were in town to visit and watch the Leafs play the Carolina Hurricanes, which feature younger brother Trevor on defence.
“They’re here,” van Riemsdyk said of his parents, who came up from the family home in New Jersey.
“They’ve been here this week, they came up last weekend. They watched my younger brother (Brendan) at the University of New Hampshire on the weekend, then they made their way here. Our schedule (with the Leafs) kinda worked out, we have three home games, so it all came together, that our parents could come up here, see some games and see Carolina here tonight (Thursday).”
With the Leafs off to a solid start to the season, and van Riemsdyk second on the Leafs with five goals, times are buoyant for him and his family. The oldest of the three brothers, James van Riemsdyk put on his chef’s hat Wednesday, hosting his parents and brother for a family dinner at his downtown residence.
Van Riemsdyk, 28, always keeps close contact with his younger brother, Trevor, 26, who went unnoticed, and undrafted, in the NHL despite NCAA East all-rookie and allstar nods at the University of New Hampshire.
Like big brother James, Trevor played for the Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, N.J., but their paths split dramatically from there. James went on to become the second overall selection (Philadelphia) in the 2007 NHL draft, while Trevor left the academy in his senior year to play for the New Hampshire Junior Monarchs in the Eastern Junior Hockey League.
That earned him a scholarship with the University of New Hampshire, his older brother’s alma mater. After being overlooked in the NHL draft, Trevor signed a two year entry level deal with Chicago in March 2014 and made his NHL debut that October.
Naturally, the brothers continue with all the hockey fun they had as kids, when they “messed around” in street hockey, roller hockey, and in the basement of their home, from the age of five on.
While friendly rivalries were a part of growing up together, Trevor van Riemsdyk has the upper hand now, winning a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2014-15.
“I’d like to say I’m two of three against (Trevor in NHL games), but he has a Cup, so that may be the ultimate trump card,” James van Riemsdyk said. “He (Trevor) just kept adapting to everything, to what his coaches were trying to get him to do. He has a good hockey brain and he has the skill set to be an NHLer.”
Trevor van Riemsdyk arrived with Carolina this off season, having been exposed in the NHL expansion draft and picked up by Las Vegas. He was then traded for draft picks to Carolina, where he seems to be a great fit with a young and promising defence corps.
The third brother, Brendan, who is 21, is following in the family hockey footsteps, now playing for the University of New Hampshire. The older brothers train with their youngest sibling and have a simmering interest in his development, since he is taller than his older brethren.
“We train together in the summer, and with our youngest brother, it’s always good being around your brothers, especially for our younger brother, he gets to see us work out and what it takes to be at the NHL level,” James van Riemsdyk said.
James van Riemsdyk acknowledges that his defenceman brother, Trevor, is tough to play against, since he “has very good stick checking” skills, and can break up plays consistently. There’s also that Stanley Cup ring. “I’ve never seen him (Trevor) wear it,” James van Riemsdyk said.
“The Blackhawks made replicas for the family, so my mother has one . . . They didn’t make one for me (laughing), I’ll have to earn one myself.”