Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable: This Season’s Most Pleasant Surprises

Alec Downward

While a handful of the Toronto Maple Leafs stars have experienced their fair share of performance fluctuations this season, one stands above the rest. James Van Riemsdyk has remained steady this season, coming off of a career-high 2016-17 campaign.

The 28-year old has recorded 29 points in 45 games while flaunting a respectable 19 goal tally that has him tied for the team lead with Auston Matthews. Van Riemsdyk ranks first on the Leafs for shots on net at 129, while also boasting the third highest shooting percentage at 14.7%.

JVR continues to be deadly on the man advantage, through his net-front presence and offensive flair. He’s scored seven goals on the PP to lead the team in power-play goals while tying for the team lead in power-play points, alongside Morgan Rielly who has 12.

The fact that Van Riemsdyk is still managing to set a steady pace towards career-high numbers while being given a paltry amount of ice time is incredibly impressive. Through the first half of the season, JVR has only been recording a mere 14:40 ATOI (Average Time on Ice). That is shocking.

Through his ability to produce career-high numbers, both at even strength and on the man advantage, while being given limited minutes undoubtedly factors into JVR being a pleasant surprise for Toronto’s fan base.