I did this Biofile with the rising NHL star also known as “JVR” at the team’s practice facility in Voorhees, N.J. last week. Van Riemsdyk signed a six-year contract for over $25 million this past off-season and the Flyers are currently the top-rated team in the NHL Power Ratings according to ‘The Hockey News.’ As always the Flyers are a hot ticket with sporting ticket brokers
Status: Philadelphia Flyers left winger is in his third NHL season.
Ht: 6-foot-3 Wt: 210 pounds
DOB: May 4, 1989 In: Middletown, N.J.
First Hockey Memory: “Watching Wayne Gretzky’s Above & Beyond video. At my house. I think I could recite like every word when I was younger. So that video is my earliest hockey memory.”
Nicknames: “‘Riemer.’”
Last Book Read: “Open by Andre Agassi. (Like it?) Yeah, I loved it. I got to meet him a couple weeks ago which was even better. He was here for the Legends Tour in tennis. Before his match, him, (Pete) Sampras, Jimmy Connors and Jim Courier talked with us for a few minutes.”
Hockey Inspirations: “Adam Graves, Brian Leetch, Mike Richter.”
First Job: “I guess this.”
Current Car: “BMW.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Making it to the Cup final.”
Most Painful Moment: “Losing in the Cup final.”
Favorite Uniforms: “Oooh, favorite uniforms…Canadiens. ”
Favorite Arena: “Minnesota. (Why?) I don’t know, I have a lot of good friends out there. And I think the rink gets pretty loud. Can only imagine what it will be like if their team turns it around a little bit more. But no matter where they are in the standings, it’s always a great place to play.”
Closest Hockey Friends: “Colin Wilson, Kevin Shattenkirk.”
Funniest Players Encountered: “Brian Boucher and Jody Shelley.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Chris Pronger and Sidney Crosby.”
Most Memorable Goal: “My first one.”
Funny Hockey Memory: “I guess seeing Carcillo and Asham kind of give it to each other last year when we played against them. They were pretty good buddies – they played here together. And when they lined up against each other, they were whacking each other and one guy ended up getting a penalty, so we were all howling on the bench during that.”
Embarrassing Hockey Memory: “Wow. Can’t think of one right now…maybe in world juniors, coming in fifth the last year we were there. That was kind of embarrassing. We were kind of expected to do a lot better than that.”
Strangest Game: “I’d say that one two years ago. Last game of the year. I don’t know if that’s considered strange. That last game when we played the Rangers to make the playoffs – you don’t expect to play a game like that. Like a playoff game, essentially, in the regular season. So I think that would probably be it.”
Favorite Sport Outside Hockey: “Tennis. (How are your tennis skills?) Pretty good. I like to play quite a bit in the summer. So keep up on it a little bit.”
Favorite Tennis Players To Watch: “(Roger) Federer and (Andy) Roddick.”
Personality Qualities Most Admired: “I think loyalty and perseverance. And work ethic.”
Topics: Adam Graves, Andre Agassi, Arena Minnesota, Brian Boucher, Brian Leetch, Chris Pronger, Good Buddies, Hockey Friends, Jody Shelley, Jvr, Kevin Shattenkirk, Mike Richter, Nhl Power Ratings, Nhl Season, Painful Moment, Pete Sampras, Philadelphia Flyers, Sidney Crosby, Sports Moment, Wayne Gretzky
Biofile with James Van Riemsdyk | 