Bruins’ James van Riemsdyk Looks To Instill Veteran Leadership

James van Riemsdyk signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Bruins on Saturday and is excited to bring his veteran experience to Boston.

He reflected on how important veteran leadership was for him as a young player, and entering his 15th year in the NHL, he can carry those skills to Boston.

“I got a chance to learn a lot from a lot of great people and players over the course of my career,” van Riemsdyk told reporters Saturday. “Speaking to some of the earlier years, guys like Chris Pronger, Jody Shelley, Brian Boucher, Scotty Hartnell, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, I mean, there’s probably someone I’m forgetting in there that were so great.

“And then going on to Toronto, guys like Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, guys like that you pick up the little things along the way to really kind of be a sponge as far as learning what it takes to be successful and have success over a long period of time. I think that’s something now that I try to live by every single day.”

The University of New Hampshire product brings with him an interesting skill set along with 14 years of NHL experience. The 34-year-old forward touched on how he pays strong attention to the details of his game and how he can lead by example.

“I’m someone who loves the game and loves all the nitty gritty stuff that goes into preparing and getting yourself better and improving and expanding your game,” van Riemsdyk continued. “That’s something that I’ll always love to be working on and things like that and that’s never going to change.

“For me anyway, I know as a younger guy, it was always good to see guys that were veterans that had played awhile and just their approach and how they approach the game and approach their craft. I think that’s kind of my style in just trying to do the right thing day in and day out.”