Calder Profiles: James van Riemsdyk
NHLHS writer Dave Strehle takes a look at Philadelphia Flyers rookie forward James van Riemsdyk.
The 2006-07 season was the worst in the history of the Philadelphia Flyers’ franchise as they finished last overall, and for their troubles they received the #2 overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft via the Draft Lottery.
With that draft pick, Philadelphia picked left wing James van Riemsdyk, a local kid born in Middletown, New Jersey on May 4th, 1989. Ironically, van Riemsdyk grew up a fan of the Flyers’ arch-rival New York Rangers.
The 6′ 3″, 200 pound van Riemsdyk took a little longer to make it to the NHL than did the #1 overall pick that year, fellow-American Patrick Kane, who was taken by the Chicago Blackhawks. While Kane made the jump right to Chicago and eventually won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie that season, van Riemsdyk decided to go to college at the University of New Hampshire.
Categories: Atlantic, Calder Profiles, Eastern Conference, NHLHS Features, Philadelphia Flyers Tags: Calder trophy, James van Riemsdyk, john leclair, John Tavares, Matt Duchene, Patrick Kane, Philadelphia Flyers, Tyler Myers
Calder Profiles: Tyler Myers
When Tyler Myers was drafted , Buffalo had high hopes but did not expect him to take the blue line by storm.
In his first season in the NHL, Myers is logging top pairing minutes amongst Buffalo’s defensive pairings.
Categories: Around the League, Buffalo Sabres, Calder Profiles, NHLHS Features, Northeast Tags: Buffalo Sabres, Tyler Myers
Calder Profiles: Matt Duchene
NHL Hot Stove presents it’s “Calder Profiles” series which will profile the top candidates for the 2009-2010 Calder Award.
From the draft to the NHL, Matt Duchene traveled a short distance in order to make his debut. Impressive two-way hockey with speed and skill made it difficult for head coach Joe Sacco and company to keep Duchene off the opening day roster.
Categories: Around the League, Calder Profiles, NHLHS Features Tags: Cody Hodgson, Colorado Avalanche, Evgeni Grachev, Joe Sakic, John Tavares, Matt Duchene, Mike Richards, Ryan O'Reilly, Steve Yzerman
Calder Profiles: John Tavares
As the first overall pick in any National Hockey League entry draft, the fans leave expectations relatively high. Yes, busts come from these parts in the past as players never lived up to the hype they garnered coming into the draft. It happens. As an organization, bite the bullet and move on.
For the New York Islanders, coming into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft as the lottery winner to acquire the first overall pick felt like nothing short of a blessing. Teams attempted to trade up for the pick in order to draft the talent slated to be stud-like but the Islanders and General Manager Garth Snow would not bite.
Categories: Around the League, Calder Profiles, NHLHS Features Tags: Bobby Orr, John Tavares, Matt Duchene, New York Islanders, Oshawa Generals
