Veteran Blackhawks defensemen will tell you that it takes several games, sometimes multiple seasons, to get comfortable playing the demanding position in the NHL.
Duncan Keith, a Norris and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, admitted recently there are times when he still doesn’t feel completely at ease on the ice.
Trevor van Riemsdyk, in his second full season with 130 regular-season games played, is still developing as an NHL defenseman. Despite the flak he gets from fans when he makes a mistake, general manager Stan Bowman said is an NHL defenseman with "no question" about it. And he has earned regular playing time under coach Joel Quenneville.
"You can prepare all you want for certain situations or the length of the season or whatever it may be, but until you really experience it for yourself and go through it yourself, that’s how you really get the true feel for it," van Riemsdyk said. "You have all these guys letting you know what it’s like and my brother (James van Riemsdyk of the Maple Leafs) to lean on … but nothing beats going through it yourself and kind of seeing how you react and respond."
Quenneville said he noticed van Riemsdyk had a "good feel" for the game, could anticipate plays well and had good awareness both offensively and defensively. But Quenneville suggested last week that he was expecting more from van Riemsdyk.
"This year, there are some stretches where he’s been good and others he’s been OK," Quenneville said. "We need him to be better than that. Every case is different but I think our defense, across the board, could be better."
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on the OT win over Minnesota
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on the team’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Wild. (Chris Hine/Chicago Tribune)
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on the team’s 4-3 overtime victory over the Wild. (Chris Hine/Chicago Tribune)
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Specifically, van Riemsdyk, who has two goals and five assists, said he needs to tighten his gaps on defense when defending the puck.
"If you’re not engaged enough you find yourself lagging behind the play and that leads to a bad gap and that leads to a lot of worse stuff," van Riemsdyk said. "The big thing is throughout the long season there’s going to be stretches where everything is going really well and there are other times where it seems things are bouncing the other way. You roll with it. Don’t get too high or too low."
That means not paying attention to social media comments when he makes a bad play or contributes to a goal against. At first, van Riemsdyk said he would look at what fans were saying, but it wasn’t worth the time.
"As long as you know you’re putting in an honest effort and you’re doing everything you can that’s all that really matters," van Riemsdyk said. "You can drive yourself crazy looking at some of that stuff where sometimes they’re watching their first hockey game. People have their own opinions when they watch games but you watch the film, be honest with yourself. That’s what you worry about."
chine@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @ChristopherHine
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