van Riemsdyk Brings Veteran Presence to Blue Line

Over the summer, Trevor van Riemsdyk was asked for a fun fact about himself, and shared that he eats a full kiwi, skin included, before going to sleep each night.

“Just trying to find little hacks that may work, where you don't feel totally groggy the next day. I actually never really liked kiwis, but I saw it was good before bed,” van Riemsdyk elaborated at training camp. “The first time I did it, my wife kind of looked at me funny, but now it just saves a bunch of time, and it's actually probably a little better for you to eat the skin.”

Entering his 13^th season in the NHL, van Riemsdyk has clearly found ways to stay on top of his game.

“He’s just been in the league for a long time, and I’m still learning things from him,” Hendrix Lapierre said, who was van Riemsdyk’s teammate in Washington. “He’s unbelievable. We got really close last year, and I feel like I’m leaning on him a little bit (in Pittsburgh). We push each other and keep one another accountable.”

When free agency began on July 1, van Riemsdyk signed a two-year contract with the Penguins, as the 35-year-old blueliner thought the black and gold would be a good fit.

“At this point in my career, I just want to help a team win, and this team has proven it. I mean, last year I think people thought maybe it wasn't going to be a playoff year, and they proved that it very much was,” said van Riemsdyk, who had spent the previous six seasons with Washington. “Hopefully, I can kind of plug in and help contribute in a way.”

Coming to Pittsburgh, van Riemsdyk intends to stick with what has gotten him this far in the NHL – being defensively responsible, blocking shots, and playing a large role on the penalty kill. The message from the coaching staff is clear about what they expect of him.

“You're not going to wonder whether they just want me to do this or that,” van Riemsdyk said. “I think they want you to do the things that make you a successful player. I've done it for a long time, and I know what I need to do to help contribute to the team and help the team win.”

While van Riemsdyk is a righthanded shot, he is capable of playing on the left. He learned how to play on his offside from a three-time Stanley Cup champion.

“Some things are a little different and require maybe different positioning, responsibilities, and things like that,” van Riemsdyk said. “I was lucky enough early in my career to watch Niklas Hjalmarsson for the first three years of my career.”

“(Hjalmarsson) got to play on his offside probably more than he ever played on his strong side, so I got the privilege of watching him do it for a long time.”

Throughout the early parts of training camp, van Riemsdyk has been used on the left side with Kris Letang on the right.

“He’s a world-class player. He can make any play, any pass,” van Riemsdyk said. “You’ve got to have your stick on the ice, give him the puck, and he’ll do a lot. He’ll break the puck out – he does that on an elite level. Whenever we seem to play them, he seems to be in the offensive zone a lot more than the defensive.”

While this is their first time as teammates, there’s plenty of familiarity having faced one another in the same division for the past decade.

“He's really good defensively. He's really solid,” Letang said. “But he can actually make plays, and he's got poise down low. Whenever he gets to the puck, he's looking for his option. It’s been fun to play with him.

What has made van Riemsdyk such an accomplished and respected player in the league for so long is that he has found a role with whatever team he has been on. Playing on bluelines that featured franchise defensemen like Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, and John Carlson, this new opportunity with Pittsburgh and being paired next to Letang is a continuation of what has worked for so many years, but there is always room to grow. 

“I feel like every year you come into camp, obviously, you work hard all summer, and you want to be able to add,” van Riemsdyk said. “If opportunities present themselves - more minutes, different situations - you want to be prepared for all of them. You want to be ready when you get a chance to show you can do more, to do more.”