BOSTON — James van Riemsdyk joined an exclusive club Tuesday night when he played in his 1,000th NHL game. The Bruins forward, who signed with Boston on a one-year deal this offseason, will be honored with a pregame ceremony March 16 against the Philadelphia Flyers — the team that drafted van Riemsdyk.
The 34-year-old said it was “surreal” to accomplish such a feat — one that only 391 other NHL players amassed, including teammate Brad Marchand.
Despite Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers at TD Garden, van Riemsdyk reflected on the “pretty cool” milestone as something “you definitely don’t take for granted.”
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“I think as much as as I feel good about it, I think it’s one of those things to where it’s a chance for me to kind of recognize a lot of people that really helped me get to this point,” van Riemsdyk said. “So I think that’s one of the cooler parts about this is whether that’s different family or friends or coaches along the way, things like that, people in your life that impact you and influence you. And I think that’s what’s been pretty cool about this milestone.”
TD Garden gave van Riemsdyk a standing ovation in the first period when the public address announcer mentioned it was his 1,000th game. It was a moment that only added to the forward’s positive experience in Boston.
“I can’t speak enough about my experience as far as being here and getting treated by the guys and the team and the organization and the fans,” van Riemsdyk said. “It’s been great so far, and hoping for that to continue to get better as we get down the stretch and had had toward the other goals that we want to accomplish as a team.”
His first career game, which came in the 2009-10 season, was on van Riemsdyk’s mind a little bit as he took the ice. It was “a bit of blur,” having it been over a decade ago, but he remembered having a few friends in the stands for his debut.
van Riemsdyk’s wife and kids were at TD Garden on Tuesday to celebrate, but said there will be more people in the stands March 16 when the Bruins honor van Riemsdyk. Details of the ceremony aren’t known. But if it’s like others in the past — Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci — there will be some gifts, a tribute video and of course, the silver stick.
