Tune in to NESN at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday night for the latest episode of “My Story,” featuring Bruins winger James van Riemsdyk.
The NHL season is about a month old, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better offseason bargain than James van Riemsdyk at this point in the campaign.
The Bruins signed the veteran winger to a one-year, $1 million deal July 1 when free agency opened. The hope was that the 2007 No. 2 pick could give a transitioning Bruins team much-needed forward depth and veteran leadership. Through the team’s first 12 games, van Riemsdyk did that and more.
Only David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand have more points than van Riemsdyk to start the season. The University of New Hampshire product has taken on a familiar role. Few players in the league have mastered the art of getting to the front of the net the way van Riemsdyk has. He has a knack for getting to the crease and creating traffic in front that either takes away the goalie’s eyes and/or puts him in position for tips or to clean up the garbage.
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It should come as no surprise to anyone who’s seen van Riemsdyk play in prior stints with Philadelphia and Toronto that most of his production has come within a 10-foot circle of the cage.
“The game happens so fast, so if you can (make) a point shot a little more dangerous by being there and getting a stick on it, that’s a huge thing,” van Riemsdyk told reporters in Detroit over the weekend. “There are some different things as far as timing, chemistry-wise when you want to be there. You don’t want to be someone who’s just planted there the whole time. There’s lot of other aspects to the game and offensively keeping plays alive, so there are some things like that you focus on, and some of those things come with chemistry with your linemates and figuring out where you need to be on the ice to be successful.”
The chemistry angle hasn’t been a problem yet, either. Bruins coach Jim Montgomery went into the season with van Riemsdyk penciled in on a line with Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand. Now, van Riemsdyk is an honorary Czech, skating alongside Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha on Boston’s top line.
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“The more you get to play with those guys and practice with those guys, you pick up on those things more and help things out with chemistry on the ice,” van Riemsdyk explained. “Obviously, having a chance to play with two players like that is exciting.”
The trio wasted little time making an impact, with van Riemsdyk scoring just five minutes into Saturday night’s eventual loss to the Red Wings, with Pastrnak and Zacha both picking up assists. It’s easy to see why that line could have success, too. Zacha is a gifted playmaker, who will be able to get the puck to his wingers in spots they can excel, and van Riemsdyk’s net-front presence benefits a sniper like Pastrnak. We’ve seen the trio also have success as 60% of the Bruins’ top power-play unit, too.
It’s a testament to van Riemsdyk’s professionalism at this point in his career that he’s able to skate alongside new linemates on a new team and have success early on.
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“I think that’s the part of any good team is depending on different matchups and things like that, you need to have some flexibility and versatility in the lineup,” he said Saturday in Detroit. “So, obviously there’s been some shuffling, but it makes us a harder team to match up with when we can have different looks that work with the team.”
If van Riemsdyk can sustain his early success — he’s on a 55-point pace — he’d be in line for his best season in at least five years. In some ways, it’s similar to how Nick Foligno had a bit of a resurgence last season in his first campaign in Montgomery’s system, although van Riemsdyk is an even more talented player.
And if he is able to keep up this pace for the entire season, he’ll be an even more valuable asset when he brings his 51 games of career playoff experience to the postseason.
Featured image via Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports Images
