James van Riemsdyk could not have scripted his first National Hockey League goal any better.
With time winding down in the Philadelphia Flyers’ 5-1 victory October 24 over the visiting Florida Panthers, the 20-year-old rookie from Middletown streaked down the middle of the ice and tucked a backhander between the legs of the opposing goaltender.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” van Riemsdyk says. “I was on a breakaway and I went to my go-to move and I was able to slide it in. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”
The only ones missing were his parents. His father, Frans van Riemsdyk, was on his way home from watching James’s brother Trevor, 18, play hockey when James put the puck in the net.
“My BlackBerry was buzzing like crazy,” says Frans, who was getting updates from friends. His wife, Allison, was in Lake Placid with their youngest son, 13-year-old Brendan.
Life as an NHL rookie has been good to the 6-foot-3, 208-pound van Riemsdyk. He recently moved from a hotel room into his own apartment near the Flyers’ practice rink in Voorhees and received his first NHL paycheck under a three-year, $2.625 million contract he signed last spring.
Van Riemsdyk began skating at age 3 and started playing for the Brick Hockey Club as a 9-year-old, leading his team to a 42-0 record over two seasons. He went on to play at Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, where he led the Colts to the 2005 New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Non-Public A championship, scoring the game-winning overtime goal at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford.
Taken by the Flyers with the second pick of the 2007 NHL draft, he elected to spend two years at the University of New Hampshire prior to his Flyers’ debut this fall. The Flyers tried to convince van Riemsdyk to turn pro after his freshman year, but he chose to commit at least one more year to UNH.
“I’m happy with the decision,” says van Riemsdyk. “It gave me a chance to experience college life, and I think it helped me mature a little more.”
It’s been worth the wait. Van Riemsdyk had three assists after his first two NHL games—the second and third against the Devils in Newark’s Prudential Center in front of more than 100 family members. At press time, he had eight assists.
“I had some serious butterflies, and I made a few bonehead plays I need to eliminate,” says van Riemsdyk, “but it felt great to play in front of all those people.” His next chance to play close to home will be December 30, when the Flyers face the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden.