the team with 34 points11 goals and 23 assistsin 31 games. He received two Hockey East Rookie of the Month selections, in January and March, and was a Hockey East All-Rookie Team selection. New Hampshire was defeated that year in the NCAA tournament by Notre Dame in the regional semifinal round. The following year, van Riemsdyk led New Hampshire in scoring, with 17 goals and 23 assists before he decided to pursue professional hockey. Professional Philadelphia Flyers On April 1, 2009, van Riemsdyk agreed to forfeit his final two years of collegiate play in order to sign an entry-level contract with the Flyers. Although his contract did not go into effect until the 2009–10 season, meaning that van Riemsdyk was barred from participating in the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was allowed to play with the Philadelphia Phantoms for the remainder of the American Hockey League (AHL) season under a tryout contract. He played in seven regular-season games for the Phantoms, scoring one goal and one assist, but went scoreless during the Calder Cup playoffs. Van Riemsdyk continued to impress Flyers coach John Stevens during training camp, scoring four goals and an assist during a September 11 preseason game against the Washington Capitals. Van Riemsdyk began the 2009–10 season serving on a line with Darroll Powe and prolific sophomore Claude Giroux. He made his NHL debut on October 2, 2009, picking up his first NHL point with a power play assist in the Flyers' 2–0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes. On October 24, he scored his first NHL goal in the third period of a 5–1 rout of the Florida Panthers. Van Riemsdyk continued his momentum through the month of November, scoring four goals and five assists in 12 games to be named the NHL Rookie of the Month. After scoring 18 points over his first 16 NHL games, Van Riemsdyk entered a prolonged scoring drought, with one goal in a 22-game stretch. He regained his momentum by late December, and by January 22, van Riemsdyk was a serious contender for the Calder Memorial Trophy, awarded to the top rookie in the NHL. He was third in scoring at the time, behind Matt Duchene and John Tavares, while playing fewer minutes per game. By the end of the season, van Riemsdyk had mostly fallen out of Calder Contention, but he received three points in trophy voting, tying for 11th place.