BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer
Twenty years ago, there was Jim Dowd, and now there’s James van Riemsdyk.
Dowd is a veteran of 14 NHL seasons, who played this past season with the New Jersey Devils after becoming a local hockey legend growing up in Brick in the 1970s and 1980s.
Van Riemsdyk is an 18-year-old kid from Middletown, who was selected second in the June 22 NHL draft after playing two glory-filled seasons at Christian Brothers Academy before starring for a pair of U.S. developmental teams in Michigan over the past two years.
From now on, the two players will forever be linked in a way that will always be a great source of pride for them both – they both grew up playing for the Brick Hockey Club, and they’ve both helped legitimize the notion that New Jersey is home to plenty of hockey talent.
“Jimmy Dowd proved a long time ago that Jersey kids can play,” said Alex DePalma, a longtime coach for the Brick Hockey Club. “There’s real good hockey in New Jersey – it’s just a matter of getting them recognized. You don’t see much college hockey here, other than Princeton, so you don’t see a lot of scouts. You have to go to them.”
For Dowd, the recognition came rather easily.
As a high school star at Brick Township, he broke the national school record with 375 points (189 goals, 186 assists). In his freshman and sophomore years, Brick Township won the keenly competitive Gordon Cup in the toughest division in the state and lost in the state championship game both years. The following year, the Green Dragons won the state championship but lost in the Gordon Cup finals. In his senior year, his team lost in the Gordon Cup finals and in the state quarterfinals to Delbarton that ended his high school career.
Dowd launched his pro career as the eighth-round pick in the 1987 draft by the Devils, their seventh player selected in the draft. He played first with Lake Superior State University where he was an All-American before going to the Devils in 1993-94.
Over the past 14 years he’s been a journeyman of sorts, playing for the Devils, Vancouver Canucks, New York Islanders, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild.
Van Riemsdyk took a different route to becoming one of the most coveted young talents in the world.
After his sophomore year at CBA, where he won a state championship as a sophomore, he joined the U.S. developmental program in Ann Arbor, Mich., where he tallied 105 points (59 goals and 46 assists) in 97 games and helped lead the USA team win the gold at the Ice Hockey Federation World Under-19 Championships in Sweden.
His exploits led to his being picked second in the draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, after the Chicago Blackhawks selected Buffalo, N.Y., native Patrick Kane as the top pick, making Kane and van Riemsdyk the first two American-born players to be drafted first and second in draft history.
Van Riemsdyk, who will play at least one season at the University of New Hampshire before pursuing his pro career, is also the third straight New Jersey native to be selected in the first round, joining Bobby Ryan of Collingswood (the second pick in the 2005 draft by Anaheim) and Bobby Sanguinetti of Lawrenceville (the 21st pick by the New York Rangers in the 2006 draft).
His selection at No. 2 sent shock waves throughout the Garden State’s hockey community, as he immediately became the latest poster child for hockey enthusiasts who have long been crowing for more respect for Jersey’s top players.
“I take a lot of pride in being part of the next wave of hockey players from the U.S., and specifically New Jersey,” van Riemsdyk said. “I think Jersey doesn’t get a lot of respect, but that should start to change pretty quick with the three of us getting drafted so high.”
The Middletown native has been doing his part to promote New Jersey hockey for a number of years now, playing on select travel teams out of the Brick Hockey Club that enjoyed tremendous success in out-of-state tournaments.
DePalma said that the success of those teams is a source of pride for local players and coaches alike.
“It says a lot for New Jersey hockey,” he said. “For years we’ve been taking our kids up to Massachusetts to play in tournaments and have done very well. In 2004, we went up there and faced five of the top-ranked teams in the nation and won the tournament.”
And van Riemsdyk’s ability to thrive as a member of the national teams only strengthened the argument that Jersey’s best players can play with anyone.
“I think the high-end players in New Jersey can stack up with the high-end player anywhere,” he said. “It’s really just a matter of depth. You know when you’re playing a team from Minnesota there’s going to be more good players, because there are so many more kids playing the sport.”
However, with more and more youth and high-school-level hockey programs popping up in communities all over the state, New Jersey is producing more talented players every year, something CBA coach Mike Reynolds said will only turn more eyes to the Garden State when evaluating potential prospects.
“Even Jimmy Dowd said this is something special,” Reynolds said. “This is phenomenal for New Jersey hockey.”
Which is exactly what they were saying when Dowd became a New Jersey Devil 20 years ago.