It's crazy to think that American left winger James van Riemsdyk is already in his 12th year of service in the NHL. With nearly 800 regular season games played under his belt, he continues to find ways to be a useful offensive producer in the league. He has proven that when healthy, he is a force on the ice. With the combination of size and skill. van Riemsdyk is truly a dynamic player. He has speed, he gets to the dirty areas, he was a jack of all trades so to speak.

For JVR, it all began when he was drafted second overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers., The New Jersey native was part of history, going one pick after fellow American Patrick Kane. This would mark the first time in NHL history that American-born players were picked with the first two selections of the draft. Overall, 10 Americans were taken in the first round, which remained a record for nine years until the 2016 NHL Entry Draft when 12 Americans were taken.

Following his draft, van Riemsdyk opted to attend the University of New Hampshire for two years. While playing two seasons for the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, he was invited to join Team USA at the 2008 World Juniors camp. After making the team, van Riemsdyk posted five goals and six assists through just six contests. His performance earned him a second stint the following year during his rookie season with the Flyers.

Heading into his aforementioned rookie season, van Riemsdyk impressed coaches right out from the get-go in training camp. He would stick with the team to start the season and was placed with the elite sophomore Claude Giroux. van Riemsdyk would enjoy a relatively solid rookie season, putting up 35 points in limited minutes.

The highlight of his rookie season would come in the postseason though versus the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With their backs against the wall down 3-0 in the series, the Flyers would rally all the way back and win the series 4-3, becoming only the third team to ever accomplish the feat at the time. The Flyers would ride that momentum and make it to the Stanley Cup Final that year, but they would eventually fall to the Chicago Blackhawks. Though van Riemsdyk played a limited role in his first playoff stint, it undoubtedly was an amazing experience for a rookie, and perhaps it even played a part in his decision to eventually return to the club many years later.

Over the course of his first three seasons, van Riemsdyk showed promise and was ultimately rewarded a six-year, $25.5 million dollar extension heading into his last year of his entry-level contract. Unfortunately, the season following him signing that extension, van Riemsdyk would break his foot and only play in 43 games. To many people's surprise, the following offseason the Flyers would opt to trade van Riemsdyk to the Maple Leafs for defenseman Luke Schenn. 

JVR's years in Toronto would indisputably be his most productive. Following the surgery to repair his broken foot, and also a lockout that would shorten the 2012-13 season, he would finally make his debut for the Leafs. In a shortened season, van Riemsdyk would put up 18 goals and 13 assists, which would be a 53-point pace in a regular 82 game season. To this point in his career, this was the best clip he produced at, and he would continue to find success while donning the blue and white. 

Through six campaigns with Toronto, van Riemsdyk established himself as a reliable scorer and a great net-front presence on the power play. He averaged around 30 goals a season in every year except his first one. He would break the 60-point plateau twice while playing for Toronto, and just missed it a couple other times. Unfortunately for van Riemsdyk, he was on the team for some of its most lean years in recent memory. After being part of the infamous third period collapse versus the Bruins in the 2012-13 playoffs (yes, that one), the Leafs would enter rebuild mode shortly thereafter.

Over his time in Toronto, the Leafs gradually drafted a ton of high-end offensive talent, and by his final season for Toronto in 2017-18, he was more of a complimentary piece to the club rather than a main focal point. He still managed to hold his value though, as he racked up a ton of power play points on the man advantage. Coming up on a contract year, van Riemdyk would score 36 goals, 11 of which were on the power play It's even more impressive when you consider he managed this while only averaging 14:52 minutes of ice time, which was way down from his previous seasons in Toronto. This essentially priced himself out of the equation in Toronto going forward.

During the offseason van Riemsdyk would be one of the main high-ticket targets for teams to try and acquire during free agency. When it was all said and done, JVR would opt to return to the City of Brotherly Love, signing a five-year, $35 million dollar contract with the Flyers. While the $7 million dollar per year cap hit was clearly an overpayment by Philadelphia, the Flyers did manage to bring back a fan favorite who was still in the prime of his career.

In his return season in 2018-19, van Riemsdyk would post a respectable 48 points in 66 games, including 27 goals. Unfortunately for fantasy purposes, upon his return to the Flyers JVR's shot totals began trending downwards. After averaging around three shots per game for most of his career, since returning to Philly he has averaged 2.4 shots per game over his three years since returning. Though this isn't terrible, it certainly isn't optimal either. 

2019-20 was certainly a down year for van Riemsdyk. He would only put up 40 points, albeit it was a shortened season due to COVID-19. Still, at an 82-game pace he only would have hit 50 points which ends up trending down for him. At this point of his career, he had just entered his thirties, and it seemed like maybe his best years were behind him. He does have a bit of a track record with injuries, so that could also be part of it. The Flyers would enter the playoff bubble last season, and in 12 games, van Riemsdyk only scored two goals and averaged a meager 14:20 of ice time.

Coming into this season, van Riemsdyk had a lot to prove. It's been a whirlwind season for the Flyers. After coming out the gate hot, the Flyers have found themselves in a freefall over the past month or two, highlighted by getting outplayed by the lowly Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back games, and have the dubious distinction of being the team that snapped the Sabres’ 18 game winless streak in March. Despite all that, van Riemsdyk has found himself having a bit of a bounceback season. He's found some great chemistry with sophomore Joel Farabee. He also has had his minutes bumped back up to over 17 minutes per game. 

Through 43 contests, JVR finds himself with 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points. This is back up to a much more respectable pace. Seven of his 13 goals have come on the power play, so that's something to keep in mind. While JVR doesn't add too much extra in the way of extra peripherals, if you lack offense and are heading into your fantasy playoffs, he could make for a decent option. If he gets into a bit of a groove, he could get you some valuable power play points too.  Going into next week, the Flyers have two games versus the Rangers, and then play the Devils for four straight games. He is currently at 65% ownership in Yahoo leagues, so if he's out there he may be worth a grab for your playoff run.