He stood in the middle of the dressing room on a hot
July day, and James van Riemsdyk must have wondered what he was getting himself
into it.
In came 8 television cameras, countless microphones
and note pads as the Toronto media anxiously filed into the room, to hear from
the Toronto Maple Leafs forward, who just moments earlier stepped off the ice
of a hockey school run by the team.
“It’s a little different,” said van Riemsdyk as he
looked around the large media gathering. “Obviously is it still July but you
sense the excitement over hockey here.”
That you do.
In his first face to face meeting with the Toronto
media, van Riemsdyk seemed calm, poised and ready to handle the pressure of
playing in the so-called “capital of the hockey universe.”
He also seemed quite open to playing center, a
position Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said he would like to see the 23 year-old
play in training camp.
“It is something that would be a good opportunity
for me,” said van Riemsdyk, who will wear # 21 with the Leafs this season. “I’ve
played a little bit in the past. It can help me be a bit more versatile as a
player and I think that is always a good thing. I’m definitely excited by the
opportunity.”
Van Riemsdyk played center in college, but with the
Philadelphia Flyers loaded up the middle, he never played the position during
his time in Philadelphia. So to feel better about the position, van Riemsdyk
has been spending his down time watching video.
“I kind of
asked for some stuff that he (Carlyle) would like to see out of a centermen so
it’s a little bit easier of a transition when I get here for camp,” said van
Riemsdyk who had 47 goals and 52 assists for 99 points in three seasons with
the Flyers. “It’s a good challenge. The added responsibility of playing 200
feet of the ice is something I’m definitely excited about. “
He’s also excited at the thought of playing with
Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul and being on the Leafs top line.
“You want to be in those key moments on the ice when
the game is on the line,” said van Riemsdyk. “Those are the moments I love
being a part of and being out there for. I can be out there in those kind of
opportunities it would be great.”
In his three seasons in Philly, van Riemsdyk took 10
face offs. He won just 2 of them.
Injuries have been something van Riemsdyk has had to
endure during his NHL career, as he looks to put that past him this year.
As far as an ailing hip – a hip that the Flyers
allegedly wanted van Riemsdyk to have surgery on – it’s feeling better.
“It’s all good,” said van Riemsdyk. “That’s what the
summer time is for to get everything straightened out. We found a way to
strengthen it (exercise program) and keep things feeling good and that’s what I’m
going to continue to do.”
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