May 27, 2010

James van Riemsdyk is in his first year with Philadelphia

Wakefield, Mass. - University of Vermont’s Patrick Sharp (Chicago) and the University of New Hampshire’s James van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia) will represent Hockey East schools in this year’s NHL Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers. The series will begin on Saturday night, May 29 at the United Center in Chicago (8pm EST).

van Riemsdyk is in the midst of his rookie season with Philadelphia after two years at UNH (2007-2009). He recorded 35 points (15g,20a) in 78 regular-season games with the Flyers. In the playoffs, van Riemsdyk has notched four points (2g,2a) playing in all 17 post-season games for the Flyers. He tallied 74 points (28g,46a) in 67 career games for the Wildcats. van Riemsdyk was the Runner- Up Rookie of the Year in 2008 behind Boston University’s Colin Wilson and was a Second-Team Hockey East All-Star in 2009.

Sharp is a eight-year NHL veteran, who is in his fifth season with the Blackhawks, after playing his first three seasons with the Flyers. He originally was drafted by Philadelphia with the 95th overall pick in the third round of the 2001 NHL Draft. Sharp has amassed 16 points (7g,9a) in 16 playoff games for Chicago this post-season. He played all 82 regular-season games for Chicago, posting 66 points (25g,41a) as an assistant captain for the squad. Sharp, who skated two seasons at Vermont (2000-2002), played in 65 games and recorded 53 points for the Catamounts.

In addition to the players, former Boston College standout Joe Mullen serves as an assistant coach under Peter Laviolette with the Flyers and former UNH Wildcat Chris Pryor also serves as Director of Hockey Operations for Philadelphia. Former Merrimack head coach and Boston University alum Ron Anderson is the Director of Player Recruitment for Chicago, while Paul Goodman, the former strength and conditioning coach at Vermont, also currently serves as the strength and conditioning coach for the Blackhawks. 29 Hockey East alumni have won the Stanley Cup, including a league-record four members of the 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins club, which included Hall Gill (Providence), and Bill Guerin, Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi all from Boston College.

The Hockey East Association is a 10-team Division I college men’s hockey conference and an eight-team Division I women’s league which began play in 2002-03. Founded in 1983, the men’s league has won seven NCAA championships in the past 18 seasons, including the last three NCAA Champions.