Game No. 500 in the City of Brotherly Love: Capitals’ Trevor van Riemsdyk to Play 500th NHL Game Against Brother James

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Michael Fleetwood

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Washington Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk will take the ice tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers for his 500th career game in the NHL. To add to the milestone, he will be facing brother James, who is a forward for the Flyers.

van Riemsdyk (Trevor) signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as an undrafted free agent out of the University of New Hampshire, and won a Stanley Cup with Chicago in 2015. After three seasons in the Windy City, van Riemsdyk was drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, and was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, playing 206 games in a ‘Canes sweater before signing a one-year deal with the Capitals in free agency in 2020.

After proving himself as a solid, third-pairing defenseman, the Caps re-signed van Riemsdyk to a two-year contract, which is set to expire after this season. In 43 Games Played this season, the 31-year old Middletown, New Jersey native has recorded four goals and six assists, while averaging 17:50 of ice time for Head Coach Peter Laviolette, who placed the rearguard on the first pairing for the team’s tilt against Philly.

Although older brother James (two years his senior) did not play in the teams’ first meeting this season, he was in the lineup in the last meeting on December 7, 2022 and recently played his 900th career game in the NHL. James, a first-round pick of Philly in 2007,  is 9-9-1 in meetings against Trevor (10-9-0) in their careers.

Trevor has played in a total of 136 games (counting tonight’s matchup) of his 500 NHL contests, recording 30 Points in the first 135 (6G, 24A); for his career, he has recorded 99 Points (21G, 78A). James’ family also paid tribute to “Uncle Trevor” during pregame warmups.

By Michael Fleetwood

About Michael Fleetwood

Michael Fleetwood was born into a family of diehard Capitals fans and has been watching games as long as he can remember. He was born the year the Capitals went to their first Stanley Cup Final, and is a diehard Caps fan, the owner of the very FIRST Joe Beninati jersey and since then, has met Joe himself. Michael joined the NoVa Caps team in 2015, and is most proud of the growth of the NoVa Caps community in that time. An avid photographer, Michael resides in VA.
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