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Red Wings' Todd McLellan has high praise for veteran forward
Photo credit: NHL.com
Detroit Red Wings Head Coach Todd McLellan has high praise for veteran forward James Van Riemsdyk.
While Detroit Red Wings forward James Van Riemsdyk finds himself in the bottom-six of the lineup, he's been a clutch scorer lately.
In the last five games, JVR has produced four goals, of which he's scored a point in the last three games. This has matched the longest streak of his NHL career, and as a depth option, it's welcoming news.
General manager Steve Yzerman signed James Van Riemsdyk in the summer to a one-year, $1 million average annual value deal (AAV).
JVR might've had a slow start to the year, especially after dealing with a life-changing turn of events for the Red Wings forward that kept him out longer than expected, missing training camp.
Van Riemsdyk scored the game-tying goal against the Seattle Kraken in Climate Pledge Arena. His goal would mark his third goal in three games and his fourth goal in five of his last six games played.
His hot streak has been paying off for the Red Wings, big time.
He's managed to stay on despite having a limited role on the fourth line.
The great player JVR has caught the eye of his coach, Todd McLellan, who praised the veteran who has more than a thousand games of experience under his belt.
"You could see for James, he's got such a patient game," McLellan said of van Riemsdyk afterward. "You could tell he's played a long, long time. Even at the end, with getting the puck out off the glass, no panic in his game."
The former 2nd overall pick has proven to be a great bottom-six forward after playing in the top six the majority of his career.
He's reinvented himself to stay relevant in Detroit, and instead of claiming any kind of glory for his play, he's staying humble.
«I was just looking pass pretty much the whole way, I thought the D did a good job of taking that away, and that's usually kind of my last resort is firing it in on the far side," van Riemsdyk said. "Thankfully, it went in.»
"To score and make it 3-3, it kind of settled everything down a bit."
"To score and make it 3-3, it kind of settled everything down a bit."
Yzerman's acquisition of the 1000-game veteran has been one of the Red Wings' best moves of the summer.
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