Toronto Maple Leafs still waiting for a breakthrough from James van Riemsdyk
TORONTO — On the surface, James van Riemsdyk is having a season that you cannot really complain about.
He is tied with Phil Kessel with a team-leading 22 goals. He is ranked just outside the top-20 in league scoring with 45 points. In terms of offensive production, he is on pace for the exact same number of goals (30) and points (61) that he achieved last year in what was deemed a breakout year for the Toronto Maple Leafs forward.
And yet, it feels like his season has been one big disappointment.
Maybe it is because the Leafs, who went from a playoff contender to a lottery team in the last two months, have been such a colossal failure. Or maybe it is because van Riemsdyk, who teammates say could easily be a 40-goal scorer, has not even scratched the surface of his potential.
“He’s got all the advantage of
At the same time, with five goals and 10 points in the last 22 games, he has come up empty when the team needs him the most. He has not been alone in that regard. Phil Kessel has four goals and seven points in the last two months, while Tyler Bozak has three goals and seven points during that same span.
As Joffrey Lupul noted, “I just don’t feel that anyone’s played that well.”
“I don’t know what the word is for it, but you want to help the team win, so when you’re not doing that, it’s definitely not ideal,” said van Riemsdyk, who is a team-worst minus-23 this season. “You guys are the experts with those numbers. I don’t really look at stuff like that. But as far as that is concerned, when you’ve been the playing the game for a long time, you have a feel for how things are going.”
Based on the numbers, van Riemsdyk has been the product of poor luck more than anything else. In the last two months, he has actually been shooting the puck more than he had earlier in the season. But his shooting percentage dropped from 15.7 in December to 9.1 in January to 4.3 in February.
“Again, you’re not really focusing on the end result; you’re focusing on the process,” said van Riemsdyk. “I know it’s my job to score goals but if you’re doing the work every day and following the routine and preparing yourself to have success, that’s all you can do and you let the chips fall where they may.”
While the Leafs are reportedly planning to take a “scorched earth” approach to the roster, it is expected that van Riemsdyk will be part of this rebuild going forward. He is, after all, only 25 years old and still improving. The question is whether he is capable of taking the necessary steps to become an elite scorer.
The Philadelphia Flyers grew impatient with his inconsistency when they moved the late-blooming second-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft to the Leafs three years ago in exchange for defenceman Luke Schenn. Since then, van Riemsdyk has blossomed into a productive power forward. And yet, everyone who has played with him believes he could be so much more.
“He’s a great goal-scorer,” said Olli Jokinen. “He’s got one of the best releases in the league. He and Phil can both shoot the puck. He’s still young and he’s going to get better.
“I know he’ll be one of those guys that’s going to be a 40-goal scorer in the league. “
