One of the most encouraging signs for the Flyers' future has been the development of James vanRiemsdyk over the last year. Despite one local writer's assertion that he's coming off "disappointing" production last season at the University of New Hampshire, he's actually come a long way since last summer.
For one thing, he's dedicated himself to a strength and conditioning program that can only pay dividends down the road. For another, from everything the Flyers people have been saying, he appears to be more assertive and confident.
The truth of the matter is that player's vanRiemsdyk's size often take a little longer to develop and he's right where he should be on the learning curve. He still has yet to use all of his physical tools to their full potential, but as he gets stronger and more experienced, he could become a terror down low in the zone in addition to his ability to score and set up goals on the rush.
As evidenced by his stellar performance at last year's World Junior Championships, JVR sees the ice very well and has a very quick shot release. But it was only last year -- in his draft season -- that he started to have faith in his shot.
Prior to that, he always thought of himself as a setup guy, and his passing skills remain underrated by those who look at him mainly as a player who is best suited to parking himself in front of the net and playing a power forward game. While I think he can and will be effective that way, I think he has the chance to make NHL teams respect his finesse and skill as well. It's just going to take some time and patience.
As for the assertion that he underachieved (at least statistically) at UNH last year, nothing could be further from the truth. First of all, he was a true freshman last year. College hockey is filled with 20 year freshmen and 23- or 24-year-old upper classmen.
For an 18 year old, his 11 goals and 34 points in 31 games was more than acceptable (by the way, Kyle Turris had 11 goals and 35 points in 36 games for Wisconsin last year before turning pro -- and vanRiemsdyk had a better overall WJC tourney than Turris).
Secondly, JVR spent a significant portion of last season playing center, which meant adapting to a more demanding position as well as being a first year player. Add in the need to balance hockey with classwork and he did fine. The fact that he had a goal-scoring slump over the latter part of the season was no cause for alarm. Many players his age "hit the wall" at some point in their first campaign after they move up a level of hockey.
It's all part of the process of recognizing the need to build strength and endurance. From all indications, JVR has gotten the message loud and clear.
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I have gotten a lot of emails and personal messages asking me if I think the Flyers will make a push for Jay Bouwmeester.
The answer is yes. Paul Holmgren is a sharp general manager, and recognizes that high end defensemen who are just hitting their prime aren't available very often.
A trade for Bouwmeester would require a hefty return than alters some of the long-term roster plan the team has put in place. But it would be worth it, and the Flyers actually have the type of assets to deal that could make their trade bid for Bouwmeester a competitive one. It doesn't mean they'll be able to land him, of course, but the Flyers absolutely could put together the sort of package (top-end prospect, proven young roster player, first round pick) that it'd take.
From a Florida Panthers standpoint, I think it makes sense to deal Bouwmeester now rather than to have his apparent unhappiness in Florida and impending unrestricted free agency hang like a dark cloud over the club all season.
These situations rarely end with a change of heart by the player. And no matter how talented a player is, a club is better off getting rid of people who don't want to be there. The
one-year contract Bouwmeester agreed to today is a virtual guarantee of a trade.
The team that acquires the player will have him this year and would then be able to negotiate a long-term deal that kicks in for the 2009-10 season at a much higher cap figure.
Thus, a one-year deal gives Florida more flexibility to trade Bouwmeester while getting a maximum return with more teams competing to deal for him.
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The Flyershistory Web site has made a very cool addition that I'm sure will appeal to all the
goalie mask aficionados out there: a photographic history of Flyers goaltender masks, sorted individually be goalie.
It's a fun way to not only to see the different themes and designs Flyers' goalies have sported through the years but also to look at how radically the masks' structure itself has changed (for example, compare Bernie Parent's 1967-68 mask to his famous white mask of the 1970s).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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