CHICAGO -- There are many names on the Stanley Cup, some of them belonging to the most famous players to ever play the game. No matter where the player goes in his career, or how long he stays in the game, once that name is on the Stanley Cup, it’s there forever.
One of those names is now going to be Trevor van Riemsdyk.
After appearing in each of the last four games of the Stanley Cup Final for the Chicago Blackhawks, the undrafted rookie defenseman will meet the criteria for getting his name engraved on the historic trophy. Of the Blackhawks that got to skate the Stanley Cup Monday night, van Riemsdyk was probably the least likely to be among them.
For starters, van Riemsdyk was not drafted into the NHL. It’s not an uncommon thing, of course, but van Riemsdyk was just hoping to be good enough to play Division III college hockey when he was coming out of high school.
His pro prospects were slim. All the while, older brother James van Riemsdyk was gaining accolades as he grew into one of the game’s elite prospects as a teen. James was selected one spot behind Patrick Kane in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, going to the Philadelphia Flyers, with whom he played until being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he has been a star forward.
Trevor was a totally different player than his older brother, but a sibling in the NHL often casts a long shadow. The younger van Riemsdyk was a lanky defenseman with good offensive skills, but as a teenager it was clear that he had a long way to go.
“Coming out of high school I thought I was going to play Division III hockey and get my education,” van Riemsdyk said after Game 6 Monday. “My junior coach convinced me to play [with the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs], then I got to go to [University of New Hampshire].”
Though van Riemsdyk produced well in junior, the Eastern Junior Hockey League wasn’t regularly churning out pro-caliber defensemen and he went unselected in his draft-eligible years. The league however was a path for van Riemsdyk to reach a level he previously though unattainable, as he was offered a spot to play Division I at New Hampshire, where James had starred before making the jump to the NHL.
Over three seasons, van Riemsdyk packed on some muscle to his lengthy frame. His offensive skills became more defined and suddenly the big defenseman looked like an NHL prospect. Even after an injury cut short his junior season with the Wildcats, van Riemsdyk had done enough to draw the attention of NHL teams.
Last spring, he signed an entry-level contract to join the Blackhawks.
“This seemed like a perfect fit,” he said. “It ended up working out.”
It worked out better than TVR could have ever dreamed. He made the team out of camp this season, which was a complete surprise. Undrafted players almost always will see time in the American Hockey League before making the jump, especially less-heralded college UFAs, but van Riemsdyk earned his spot. He also earned regular playing time.
“They showed confidence in me,” van Riemsdyk said. “They gave me a great opportunity to step in and play a bunch.”
The 23-year-old appeared in 18 regular season games, seemingly growing in confidence with each outing, but then he suffered a severe injury.
The rookie defenseman suffered a fractured left patella in a game against the Dallas Stars in November. The recovery timeline was three to four months, stopping his rookie season dead in its tracks.
After rehabbing the injury, van Riemsdyk was sent to the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs to get his playing legs back under him. He lasted eight games before suffering yet another injury, this time to his right wrist. He underwent surgery in early April and needed eight weeks to recover.
Even though he missed all that time, there was still hope that he would be recovered enough to participate late in the playoffs if the Blackhawks needed him. When veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival went down with a postseason-ending leg injury in the second round, the opportunity was there, but van Riemsdyk’s wrist still wasn’t ready.
As the Blackhawks rotated Kimmo Timonen, David Rundblad and Kyle Cumiskey in as fifth and sixth defensemen throughout the Western Conference Final, the team was experiencing varied results.
The questions kept coming to head coach Joel Quenneville about if van Riemsdyk would be ready. Despite his light resume, the Blackhawks were desperate. Ahead of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, van Riemsdyk was cleared to play and his number was called.
Despite not playing a game in two full months, van Riemsdyk was being asked to go into a series the Blackhawks were trailing 2-1 at the time and his only job really was to not make a big mistake. Even in limited minutes, that's a mountain of pressure for an undrafted rookie.
He didn’t play much, but when he did he looked like he belonged out there. van Riemsdyk helped bring a little stability to the Blackhawks’ defensive depth and got to participate in Chicago’s historic third Stanley Cup in six years.
When the Blackhawks started this run of recent success, van Riemsdyk was in his first season of junior hockey with the NHL looking like an impossible dream. Older brother James, meanwhile, was on the ice against the Blackhawks, ending up on the wrong side of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. Fast forward to Monday night and the younger of the van Riemsdyk boys had his moment to step out of the shadows and into the silver glow of the Stanley Cup.
Just as Trevor had supported his older brother throughout his career, James was on the ice along with youngest brother Brendan to enjoy the moment.
— Brendan van Riemsdyk (@BVR_17) June 16, 2015
With the smile that’s been plastered on his face since the second he got into the NHL, van Riemsdyk briefly reflected on his winding journey.
“I owe a lot of people a lot of things along the way,” he said.
