It’s rare to see Trevor van Riemsdyk without a smile on his face.
It’s just part of the happy demeanor of the Blackhawks’ defenseman. But coming off last season, his first healthy one in several years, there was even more reason to be beaming.
Van Riemsdyk completed a much-needed full season last year with the Blackhawks, playing in all 82 regular-season and seven playoff games. It was a happy and relief-filled season for van Riemsdyk, who missed most of the 2014-15 regular- and postseason with knee and wrist injuries. He had also fractured his ankle in January 2014, when he was at the University of New Hampshire.