Flyers' van Riemsdyk making presence felt

One month into his rookie season, the Flyers left winger looks like he made the right choice.

With a year to mature physically - and confidence gained from a strong season at New Hampshire - van Riemsdyk has rocketed onto the NHL scene.

Entering last night, the Middletown, N.J., native led NHL rookies in points (13) and assists (11). He has collected a point in eight of 10 games, and leads the Flyers in assists. He is third in points and plus-minus rating (plus-6).

He has a chance to become the first Flyers rookie-of-the-year winner (Calder Trophy) since the franchise started in 1967-68.

"I didn't really have any expectations for myself coming into this year," van Riemsdyk said. "I just wanted to come in, work hard, and just help the team win. We've had some wins here lately, and just have to keep the streak going."

He was fibbing about one thing. The player teammates call "Reemer" and "JVR" did have expectations in the preseason.

That is, he didn't want to be sent to the AHL's Adirondack Phantoms.

"I want to prove I belong and can play at this level," he said before earning a roster spot with an eye-opening preseason.

Van Riemsdyk, 20, missed two games last month with concussion symptoms, but since returning to the lineup, he has shown no ill effects.

At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds - "and he's nowhere near done growing," general manager Paul Holmgren said - he has provided a physical presence in front, displayed superb passing skills, and shown why the Flyers made him the No. 2 overall selection in the 2007 draft.

"We're pleasantly surprised at how James has done," Holmgren said last night. "He has a unique ability to protect the puck and has a sense of where people are, and his play away from the puck has been good, too. He comes up with a lot of loose pucks."

Van Riemsdyk, whose strong play could lead to a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, has six points in his last three games and is playing with poise beyond his age.

Because of injuries to Simon Gagne and Danny Briere, van Riemsdyk's time on the power play has increased - and he's made the most of it.

"I never really knew what to expect as far as points and things like that," said van Riemsdyk, who is playing alongside Jeff Carter and another impressive rookie, David Laliberte. "We're throwing pucks in front of the net and I'm playing with some great players, and when that happens, you have chances for points."

As for the rookie-of-the-year award, van Riemsdyk is likely to be competing with players such as Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto, Colorado center Ryan O'Reilly, Islanders center John Tavares, Dallas left winger Jamie Benn, and Buffalo defenseman Tyler Myers.

Forsberg update. Holmgren downplayed a report that the Flyers have dispatched scout Ilkka Sinisalo to the Karjala Cup specifically to check out 36-year-old Peter Forsberg. The tourney starts tomorrow in Finland.

"Ilkka will be at the tournament anyway, and to say he's scouting Peter is a stretch," Holmgren said. "But he'll probably see him play."

Holmgren added: "If Peter is healthy and interested in returning to the NHL, who wouldn't have interest? But that's putting the cart before the horse. We don't know if he's healthy. We'll see how it plays out and then cross that bridge."

Breakaways. Left winger Simon Gagne underwent successful hernia (near his navel) and abdominal surgery yesterday, the Flyers said. He will be sidelined six to eight weeks. An ultrasound seemed to show Gagne had two hernias, but it turned out he had only one, Holmgren said. . . . Entering last night, the Flyers led the NHL in goals per game (3.67) and power-play success (28.1 percent).

Contact staff writer Sam Carchidi at 215-854-5181 or scarchidi@phillynews.com.